CS: Then and Now

How two students were able to make a breakthrough online shooter, and what happened to them afterward?

Of course, this discussion is about Counter-Strike. This iconic mod for Half-Life has been a huge hit and is now one of the most beloved FPS in the world. For many generations, and till this day, this game has become a legend with its unique theme that has become so popular it’s being used in many other spaces as real-life arcade games, online slots, and even merchandise. After so many years, the game has gone through several transformations, but still remains the most important representative of the genre. Today we will tell you how the mod created by amateurs turned into a cultural phenomenon. Counter-Strike was invented by Min Lee, a nineteen-year-old student at Simon Fraser University in Canada, known online under the nickname Gooseman, which he took from the animated series “Adventures of the Galactic Rangers”. Lee emigrated to Canada from Vietnam, spent his entire childhood playing video games, and in many ways, that’s why he chose Computer Science at the university. Li needed about a year to finish his first major mod, Navy Seals. Although he didn’t get much attention, he was already familiar with the first features of Counter-Strike. Min Li soon had an idea for another modification that could be used to fight terrorists and special forces. He was fascinated by the militaristic theme. He watched movies like “The Fight”,

“Ronin”, and “The President’s Plane”, learned about terrorist acts, and studied modern firearms. The Half-Life shooter was announced by Valve in 1998. This was the moment that caught the attention of the young man.

Counter-Strike Formation

Min Lee met Jesse Cliff while working. He was an active modder, creating websites about mods and publishing the best game cards. Lee informed him that he was interested in creating a Half-Life mod about terrorists or special forces. Cliff was open to the idea and offered his assistance. Soon, Cliff created a website called Counter-Strike. Once at a Canadian television series, Cliff claimed that they borrowed the name of the game from the Canadian TV show (“Counterstrike”), starring Christopher Plummer. Names like Counter-Terrorism, Strike Force, and FRAG HEADS were all considered. Min Lee was the project manager, chief modeler, and coder. While Jess Cliff was responsible for testing 2D graphics and sound effects. Despite the fact that Min was the original author of the idea, the participants invested about equal in the project. Counter-Strike’s creators worked remotely, communicating via chat rooms. Lee was from Canada and Cliff was from the east.

Before Counter-Strike 1.6 was released, they first met each other in 2003. According to the duo’s memories, creating objects, textures, and characters took most of the time. — it took about six months. But programming took no more than two months. While Min Lee was finishing the technical part of the project, Jess Cliff was engaged in sound (the voice of the announcer in the game belongs to him), menu design, and promotion of the project. It helped to speed up the development that the creators of the mod did not create maps themselves (which they never hid), but put into the game what other enthusiasts sent them. There were no strict criteria for selecting the maps sent. “We accepted almost everything that was sent to us,” Min Li recalled. As for weapons, Min selected them solely on the basis of their external qualities. If a pistol or a submachine gun looked cool, he got it into the game. The author searched for models of weapons in magazines and on the Internet, and then animated them, guided by his own guesses about how each barrel should look in action. The first beta version of Counter-Strike, with 9 weapons and 4 maps, was released on June 19, 1999. It also included one model of a terrorist and commando. “We are confident that we have created a mod which is totally different from all the rest,” Counter-Strike’s authors wrote that they hope you will be immersed in the terrifying and stressful world of fighting terrorists. 

20-Year-Long Record Of Success

Although the first version of CS didn’t attract many players,

It was a popular game that grew with each subsequent patch. In the fall of 1999, it saw a sharp rise in popularity. Everybody started talking about Counter-Strike, players, journalists, and developers. Cliff Blesinski stated, for instance, that Counter-Strike has struck the perfect balance between realism, fun, and that its creators have achieved what many game designers dream of, but very few actually achieve. After Counter-Strike’s success in 2000, Valve offered Lee and Cliff the opportunity to purchase the rights to the game as well as to join its staff. They accepted without hesitation, and they were, in their own words: happy that Valve had noticed them.

The post CS: Then and Now appeared first on GameOgre.