Virtually every creature that appeared in Half-Life made its way into Black Mesa. In general, the sounds are used both to create a horror feeling and to warn the player of what may be to come. Which one is appropriate depends on where the player is, and what has already happened- alien cries would seem highly out of place if no aliens have shown yet. Sounds can vary from military radio messages, to laboratory activity sounds, to alien cries. Hazard lights are turned on in several places where damage is higher, such as the office area, and can provide a good lighting situation for sudden attacks. A near yellow-orange color can produce this effect. Outdoors, the sun should feel hot- this is New Mexico, after all. Whites and soft blues tend to give this impression best. Lighting, where it works (the accident causes several power problems), should be clean and sterile. Therefore, water should be used minimally, or as something more dangerous such as radioactive waste. Water is fairly uncommon outside of laboratories, or the one river Gordon swims through. There are several other mesas surrounding the facility, some of which can be seen in the cliff sequence about halfway through Half-Life. Since Black Mesa is in New Mexico, the surrounding area is largely desert. The mesa that the facility seems to be built into has a relatively awkward shape, which allows for sheer rock faces to serve as barriers and stone archways to add to the atmosphere. Outside, the structure is more clearly a military base, with its heavy use of concrete and metal doors. Overall, the architecture in the laboratory section is simple, designed solely to serve the lab's function.
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The facility is well-ventilated, so vent sections can be used to get past blockades (and tend to be full of headcrabs). In the laboratories, the ceilings are high, corners can be curved, and computers line several walls. The largest change in design occurs when going into the industrial area. The structure is largely concrete on the outside, and apparently metal in the laboratory areas.
For convenience, the industrial portion of Black Mesa (near the end of Half-Life and Opposing Force) is listed separately.