When the original Half-Life launched on PC's way back in 1998, you'd have to think that no one would ever consider the possibility that it could be played on a watch. Well 17 years later and here we are. A modder by the name of Dave Bennett has just found a way to make Valve's FPS masterpiece playable on an Android Wear smart watch.
Using the SDSlash app and bit of programming wizardry, He was able to get Half-Life working on his Smart Watch. Granted playing a game meant for a mouse and keyboard on a tiny screen with touch inputs doesn't exactly sound like the most fun experience. However Bennett's little experiment is nonetheless impressive and shows just how powerful wearable devices have become.
The LG G Watch Bennett was able to eke out playable framerates, but as expected the limited hardware struggled in some of the game's more graphically demanding areas. Here's Bennett's quick review of the playability:
"Surprisingly, the performance was not as bad as I was expecting. At times, the game got as high as 30fps and other times as low as 2 fps. Of course, things such as the lava graphics and special lightening caused a huge drop in fps. Also, trying to play a game on Android wear is a nightmare within itself. The app offers touchscreen controls, but on a 1.65 inch screen, they are almost impossible to use. Also, swiping to the left causes the screen to go back to the previous window."
This isn't the first time Bennett has experimented with Valve games on his watch. He previously got Team Fortress, another classic shooter, to work on the device. To see instructions on how to get Half- Life up and running, check out Bennett's blog.
