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Alyx Vance

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Alyx Vance
Half-Life character
A young Afro-Asian woman with brown hair and light brown eyes. She is clad in a grey crop top, brown leather jacket, blue jeans, fingerless gloves and a small cubic necklace. The right shoulder of the jacket is held together with duct tape.
Alyx as she appears in Half-Life 2
First gameHalf-Life 2 (2004)
Designed byDhabih Eng
Voiced byMerle Dandridge
Ozioma Akagha (Half-Life: Alyx)
Motion captureJamil Mullen

Alyx Vance is a fictional character from Valve's Half-Life video game series. She is introduced as a non-playable, supporting character in Half-Life 2 (2004), accompanying the player's character, Gordon Freeman, throughout much of the game. She subsequently appears in a similar capacity in Half-Life 2: Episode One (2006) and Episode Two (2007), and as the titular protagonist of the VR game Half-Life: Alyx (2020).[1]

Alyx is portrayed as a young woman in her mid-twenties of Afro-Asian descent, and is a prominent figure in the human resistance against the rule of the alien empire called the Combine and their human representative, Dr. Wallace Breen. She is the daughter of resistance leader Dr. Eli Vance, and becomes a close friend and ally of Gordon. She received highly positive reviews from critics.

Character design

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An early concept drawing of Alyx

Alyx Vance was created for the video game Half-Life 2, and her design was created by Dhabih Eng.[2] Her motions are performed by actress Jamil Mullen, who also provides the face design.[3] She is voiced by Merle Dandridge in Half-Life 2 and its episodes, and Ozioma Akagha in Half-Life: Alyx.[4]

Appearances

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Alyx appears in the video game Half-Life 2 as a recurring ally to protagonist Gordon Freeman, and the daughter of Eli Vance, all of whom operate as members of the Resistance. She is first encountered when she saves Gordon from an attack, and later gives him the gravity gun (a tool used to manipulate objects) while playing with her robot, Dog. She helps Gordon through various incidents, including helping rescue her father and defeating one of the game's antagonists, Wallace Breen. She also has disputes with the character Judith Mossman, who later betrays them before they eventually make peace and work together. She ultimately becomes separated from Gordon after the G-Man stops time during a dark energy explosion at the Citadel, removing Gordon from that point in time and leaving Alyx.

In the expansion, Half-Life 2: Episode One, it's revealed that Alyx was rescued by Vortigaunts, who also retrieve Gordon from G-Man and leaving them both outside the Citadel. They work together to delay the explosion by slowing the core's progression toward meltdown. They later go through a zombie-infested underground station and later working with Barney Calhoun to rescue members of the rebellion before the Citadel explodes.

In Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Alyx and Gordon travel to the White Forest Rocket Facility to deliver a crucial information packet stolen from the Citadel. Along the way, she is gravely wounded by a Combine Hunter. Healing her requires Gordon to make a dangerous trek through an Antlion colony to retrieve their "larval extract," an essential ingredient in the Vortigaunt healing process. As part of the healing process, her life is entwined with Gordon's. During this time, the G-Man appears to Gordon in a surreal "heart-to-heart" sequence and programs Alyx to tell her father to "prepare for unforeseen consequences." Once Alyx awakens, she and Gordon resume their quest toward White Forest. She delivers the Combine data to Dr. Kleiner, who manages to decrypt it and discover that Judith Mossman has found the legendary Borealis, an icebreaker ship which has disappeared during teleportation experiments. She delivers the message to her father after the G-Man triggers her programming, and later, two creatures called Advisors break in and kill Eli before Dog saves Gordon and Alyx.

Alyx is the titular playable protagonist of the 2020 virtual reality game Half-Life: Alyx developed by Valve.[1] The game follows a 19-year-old Alyx's story in City 17 five years before the events of Half-Life 2. Initially performing routine reconnaissance for the Resistance, Alyx is captured along with her father by the Combine after he discovers images relating to an apparent Combine superweapon called "the Vault." Russell, a Resistance mechanic, frees Alyx and sends her through the zombie-infested Quarantine Zone outside City 17 to rescue Eli. Along the way, Alyx meets an eccentric Vortigaunt who warns her of Eli's death in the future. Alyx manages to derail the train sending Eli to Nova Prospekt before discovering that the Vault is actually a prison containing Gordon Freeman. When Alyx reaches the Vault, however, she instead finds the G-Man, who gives her a vision of her father's death in exchange for freeing him. He gives her the power to kill the Advisor, saving Eli's life, but puts her in stasis to replace Gordon Freeman, causing her to be removed from time.[5]

In 2020, an Alyx-inspired skin was added to the massive multiplayer online obstacle course battle royale game Fall Guys.[6]

Gameplay

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In Episode One, where Alyx's role as a companion is expanded upon, her artificial intelligence (AI) was designed specifically for co-operative play to complement the player's abilities. The developers described Alyx's programming for Episode One as a "personality code" as opposed to an "AI code", emphasizing the attention they gave to create a unique and believable companion. In addition, she was specially programmed to avoid performing too many mechanical or repetitive actions, such as repeating lines of dialogue or performing certain routines in combat situations.[7]

Examples of this co-operative gameplay include combat in underground levels, where the player can use their flashlight to help Alyx spot and kill oncoming enemies, thereby conserving their own ammunition.[8] Similarly, Alyx will often take up strategic positions and provide covering fire to keep the player safe while they travel to a certain area or perform certain actions.[9]

Reception

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Since she first appeared in Half-Life 2, Alyx Vance has received positive reviews for both her intelligence and her beauty, among other factors. GamesRadar named Alyx "Miss 2004" due to her intelligence, personality, and design.[10] In its 2010 cover feature, Game Informer named Alyx Vance one of 30 most important characters of the 2000s, feeling that she stands apart from female characters who exist for the sake of male characters without putting too much emphasis on her strength and independence.[11] GamesRadar+ staff also considered her one of the best new characters of the decade due to her strong attitude and personality, which they felt was nonstandard for non-playable characters at the time.[12] Entertainment Weekly's Darren Franich considered her one of the best female characters, feeling that she was a vital component to the game due to Gordon being a silent protagonist.[13] In 2013's BioShock Infinite, the player character's female companion Elizabeth was developed by the team to attempt to live up to Alyx Vance in terms of being an AI companion, with developer Ken Levine arguing that AI companions have not been done as well as Alyx.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Ingraham, Nathan (November 21, 2019), 'Half-Life: Alyx' is a VR prequel set before the events of 'Half-Life 2', engadget, archived from the original on November 22, 2019, retrieved November 21, 2019
  2. ^ Half Life 2: Raising the Bar, p. 149
  3. ^ Wilde, Thomas (November 18, 2019). "Valve confirms 'Half-Life: Alyx' for VR, the first 'Half-Life' game in 12 years". GeekWire. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  4. ^ Purslow, Matt (January 22, 2020). "Valve Responds to Half-Life: Alyx Voice Actor Change". IGN. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  5. ^ Olson, Matthew (March 25, 2020). "Half-Life: Alyx: The Story, Lore, and Ending Fully Explained". US Gamer. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  6. ^ "Fall Guys Brings Back Half-Life Skin". GAMING. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Lee, Garnett (August 29, 2005). "Half-Life 2: Episode One Preview". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2006. Retrieved October 12, 2007.
  8. ^ Berghammer, Billy (May 26, 2006). "Half-Life 2: Episode One Hands-On, Details, And Extensive Video Interview". Game Informer. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  9. ^ Ocampo, Jason (June 2, 2006). "Episode One review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007. Retrieved April 28, 2007.
  10. ^ "The sexiest new characters of the decade". GamesRadar. December 30, 2009. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  11. ^ "The 30 Characters Who Defined A Decade" Game Informer 212 (December 2010): 52.
  12. ^ "The 25 best new characters of the decade". GamesRadar. December 29, 2009. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  13. ^ Darren Franich (March 5, 2013). "15 Kick-Ass Women in Videogames". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  14. ^ Wesley Yin-Poole (December 17, 2012). "BioShock Infinite's Elizabeth: Ken Levine on creating the best AI companion since Half-Life 2's Alyx Vance". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
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