Alyx Vance

"Is Dr. Kleiner really telling everyone to... get busy?"

Alyx Vance during the ride to White Forest in Episode Two. Her hoodie bears the logo of the Black Mesa Research Facility

-Alyx Vance

Alyx Vance is a prominent recurring character in the Half-Life 2 series. She is an woman of African-American and Asian descent in her early to mid-twenties and is one of the central figures of the Human Resistance against the Combine Empire.

Early Life

Alyx lived with her father, Dr. Eli Vance, and mother Azian Vance at the Black Mesa Research Facility up to the time of the catastrophic Resonance Cascade. When this occured, she was only an infant. Nevertheless, Dr. Vance was supposedly able to save Alyx and a family picture (which can be seen in Black Mesa East and White Forest Base), leaving everything else (including his wife Azian, who died during the incident) behind.

Growing up in a post-Seven Hour War world, Alyx quickly learned the skills that would serve her well at the time of the Rebellion. She became very adept at making her way through City 17 and its outskirts, and learned the arts of marksmanship, martial arts, and hacking into Combine panels. She also learned a good deal about advanced physics and engineering from Dr. Isaac Kleiner and her father.

Appearances

Alyx with her father, Dr. Eli Vance, at the Black Mesa East lab

Gordon Freeman first meets Alyx in a building in City 17, where she rescues and revives him after he was beaten unconscious by Civil Protection. From then on, Gordon's and Alyx's paths are constantly intertwined. After being successfully teleported to Black Mesa East (Gordon had to take the "scenic route" to that location), she introduces him to Dog, her pet robot and loyal protector. She also gives Gordon the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator, or Gravity Gun, which would later play such a major role in both their fates. After Black Mesa East is compromised, she and Gordon are separated by falling rubble, forcing Gordon to take the route to the surface through Ravenholm. Gordon and Alyx later meet up at Nova Prospekt, and both search for her father. Although he is found, Dr. Vance is teleported to the Citadel by the treacherous Dr. Judith Mossman. Gordon and Alyx barely escape a flood of Combine Elite soldiers by using the teleportation device, which explodes after teleporting them away, destroying Nova Prospekt and sending a signal to The Resistance to start the rebellion.

Gordon and Alyx arrive at Dr. Kleiner's lab a week after the teleportation device at Nova Prospekt exploded. While Gordon goes with Dog, Alyx concentrates on getting Dr. Kleiner out of City 17 safely. Gordon later meets her in City 17, and they fight alongside each other for a short time before she is knocked unconscious and captured by Overwatch soldiers. She is taken to Dr. Wallace Breen's office, where she is freed by Dr. Mossman who has again changed her loyalties. She then provides indirect assistance to Gordon while he destroys the Citadel's Dark Energy Reactor. The Reactor explodes, and Alyx is left behind by the mysterious G-Man, who instead "captures" Gordon and places him back into stasis.

Alyx as seen during Episode One. The damaged Citadel looms in the background

In Episode One, Alyx manages to survive the ensuing explosion, being rescued by Vortigaunts along with Gordon Freeman. They spend almost all of Episode One together, only being separated for brief periods of time. After making a direct intervention in the Citadel's Core and delaying the inevitable explosion, she and Gordon make their way through the devastated city, eventually reaching Barney Calhoun and assisting him with saving citizens remaining in City 17. She is with Gordon on the train out of City 17 when the Citadel explodes, whispering "Gordon..." as the screen turns white and fades to credits.

Alyx is seriously wounded by a Hunter in Episode Two

In Episode Two, Alyx manages to free Gordon from the wrecked train by using the Gravity Gun. A few minutes later, she is critically wounded by a Hunter, which impales her twice. An Antlion nearly drags the lifeless Alyx off, but a Vortigaunt kills it at the last minute. Gordon and this Vortigaunt eventually travel deep into an Antlion nest to find the larval extract that would save Alyx's life. During the healing process, the G-Man appears, telling Gordon that the only reason Alyx survived Black Mesa was because he personally extracted her. His motive was to use her as a conduit between himself and Eli Vance, and for some other undefined purpose. In any case, he still considers Alyx to be a worthy investment, and charges Gordon with keeping her safe on the way to the White Forest base. He also commands Alyx subconsciously to relay the words "Prepare for Unforseen Consequences" to her father.

Alyx and Gordon eventually reach the White Forest base, where she is happily reunited with her father and Dr. Kleiner. Dr. Magnusson is also there to "greet" Alyx and Gordon. After she delivers the data packet, it is decided that she and Gordon will go looking for Judith Mossman on the Aperture Science ship Borealis via helicopter. Following the successful defense of the base from an onslaught of Striders and Hunters, the rocket is successfully launched and the Superportal hovering above the ruined Citadel closed.

Alyx holds the body of her father after he was killed by an Advisor

After watching the closing of the Superportal, Alyx, Gordon, and Eli head to the helicopter. On the way, the group is attacked by a pair of Combine Advisors. With Gordon and Alyx powerless to help, Eli is impaled and killed by one of the Advisors. Gordon and Alyx are also nearly killed, but Dog appears at the last moment and drives the Advisors away. The Episode ends with a heartbroken and sobbing Alyx holding the body of her father in her arms.

Alyx is confirmed to be a part of Episode Three.

Abilities and Personality

Alyx's customized machine pistol, known only as Alyx's Gun

Alyx is very adept at operating Combine panels and machinery, and is capable of disabling forcefields and opening doors with her EMP tool. She is also able to reprogram Rollermines to become hostile to Overwatch Soldiers and Zombies. She is extremely physically fit and skilled in all forms of combat, including marksmanship with various weapons (including her own customized pistol, known only as Alyx's Gun, the Combine Sniper Rifle, and the SPAS 12) and as seen in Episode One, in martial arts. In Episode Two, her AI is significantly enhanced, as she is now able to fire blindly from behind cover, take cover more effectively, and formulate attack plans of her own rather than blindly follow the player. She is often able to reach areas that Gordon cannot, and conversely Gordon can survive in areas she cannot, making them a perfect complement to each other.

Alyx with her pet robot, Dog, at the base of the Citadel in Episode One

Alyx is shown as a very emotional character, capable of exuding extreme happiness and excitement or dismay and anger. She is easily the most emotionally dynamic character in the series, and Valve's lead writer Marc Laidlaw has stated that she is the most human character they have created. Alyx had a very strong relationship with her father, Dr. Eli Vance, as well as Dr. Kleiner, Barney Calhoun, and her pet robot Dog. Although she was hostile to Dr. Mossman due to her patronizing attitude and her betrayal of the Resistance to Dr. Breen and the Combine, she becomes more amicable towards her when Dr. Mossman frees Gordon, Dr. Vance, and herself from Dr. Breen's grasp. In Episode Two, she views Dr. Magnusson as pompous and arrogant, rolling her eyes and shaking her head several times at his statements, but respects him nonetheless. She shows a strong dislike for Dr. Breen, the Combine and their actions, and is a determined fighter against them despite the long odds. She is still able to control her emotions when there are things to be done, as shown by her frightening encounter with Stalkers on the train ride out of the Citadel. Alyx also displays a good sense of humor, as evidenced by the "Zombine" joke and her attempt to frighten the player during the Lowlife chapter of Episode One by making noises like a Zombie and then replying "Haha, gotcha!" when the player wheels around and turns on his flashlight. She is definitely a thrill-seeker, cheering happily when Gordon ramps the Hotrod off of several impressive jumps in Episode Two.

Alyx shows her embarassment after her father hints that she and Gordon should "do their part" since the Suppression Field is down

There is evidence that she is becoming more and more attached to Gordon as the series continues, and Valve has stated that this was intentional. She hugs Gordon after he is found by Dog at the beginning of Episode One, and is clearly embarassed afterwards. She makes several suggestive statements throughout the course of the Episode. In Episode Two, she insists that Gordon stay close to her during the elevator ride to the surface after she is healed by the Vortigaunts. During the trip to White Forest, she again makes several suggestive statements and winks at Gordon while he is driving the Hotrod. She is also extremely embarassed when her father hints that both she and Gordon should "do their part" now that the Suppression Field is offline. In-game dialogue shows that she is becoming more comfortable with Gordon, and rarely has a harsh word for him. The designers intended for this to be so, as they found that playtesters were annoyed with her whenever she nagged them. As a result of her positive "can-do" attitude and her deference to Gordon, as well as her advanced AI that makes her support viable and useful, she is generally a very popular character and teammate.

Although her energy was somewhat subdued in Episode Two, this is almost certainly due to the fact that she had almost died at the beginning of the Episode, and the general stress and fatigue of the last few days. The brutal and sudden death of her father before her eyes will almost certainly have a major impact on her personality in Episode Three.

Alyx makes the "Zombine" joke

Notes and Trivia

Jamil Mullen, who provides the basis for Alyx's model

• Actress Merle Dandridge provides the voice for Alyx Vance. Half-Life 2: Raising The Bar relates that there were over one hundred auditions for the part, but Dandridge was reportedly leagues ahead of any other contestant. According to a personal email sent by VALVe Producer/Designer Bill Van Buren, Merle Dandridge did four four-hour sessions to record her voiceovers for Episode One. In the Episode Two commentary, Dandridge states that voicing Alyx has been the best acting job she's ever had.

• Alyx's character model was based on American actress and television host Jamil Mullen, who spent several days in a studio recording various running, crouching, and combat movements, which were used as a basis for her in-game animations.

Merle Dandridge, who provides the voice for Alyx Vance

• Like other friendly NPC's, Alyx cannot be killed with weapons, including the Gravity Gun. Although it is possible for her to die, this is made difficult by the fact that her health regenerates rapidly. Nevertheless, there are several points in the game in which the player must protect her from taking excessive damage.

• According to Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, Alyx was originally intended to be the daughter of a Captain Vance, a commander of the Resistance, but this character was cut when the Air Exchange sequence was removed from the game. Instead, she became Eli Vance's daughter. She was also intended to be a much tougher character, but VALVe decided that she was too clichéd in this form. She was also to have a "tinkering mechanic" image, with glasses and braces, but this was dropped as well. The Alyx that we know today was created only a few weeks before her character was unveiled at E3.

• Alyx was originally to have a pet alien named Skitch. Presumably, Dog replaced Skitch as her pet.

• Alyx's in-game entity is npc_alyx.

• The small machine pistol used by Alyx (known only as Alyx's Gun) cannot be used by the player as there are no animations for it. It is possible to spawn it and use it, but it will not appear correctly. This version of the gun holds 30 rounds and is fully automatic, firing at a rate of around 800 rounds per minute. It is possible, however, to acquire the weapon in third-party mods, such as SMOD. The weapon's entity is weapon_alyxgun.

External Links

• Interview with Merle Dandridge on her role as the voice of Alyx Vance (this audio clip can also be found in Episode Two's commentary)- http://storefront.steampowered.com/Steam/Marketing/message/1125/MerleDandridgeOnBeingAlyx.mp3