G-Man (Half-Life) refers to simply as his "employers". His mysterious nature has made him an icon of the "Half-Life" series, with his identity and motives remaining almost completely unexplained. The G-Man's name comes from "G-Man", an American colloquialism meaning "Government Man". However, within the "Half-Life" games, he is identified by this name only in the program code and the multiplayer profile menu as a default name option, not within the story itself; his name is derived from his "Half-Life" model and entity name and has since been reused in subsequent games of the series. His name has been confirmed and he has
G-Man (Half-Life) have him express an apologetic look toward Freeman as he 'regretted' to put Dr. Freeman in this situation, but then give a slight smirk or smile at the end to keep you guessing about his sincerity." Before animating the G-Man's facial expressions, Wood spent weeks in front of a mirror practicing the expressions on himself. In "Half-Life", the Nihilanth makes a vague reference to the G-Man as he talks to Gordon before their battle, referring to him as "not man" and adding "for you he waits..." In the start of Half-Life 2 a Vortigaunt was seen speaking to the G-Man