Alyx Vance

Alyx Vance is a fictional character in Valve Software's 2004 first-person shooter computer game Half-Life 2. She is portrayed as a young woman (apparently in her early or mid-twenties) and is a prominent figure in the human resistance against the rule of the alien race called the Combine and their "Administrator", Dr. Breen.

Family

Alyx is the daughter of Dr. Eli Vance, former colleague of Gordon Freeman at the Black Mesa Research Facility. Her mother, Azian, can be seen in a family photograph in Black Mesa East, although the circumstances of her death are not explained. (She may have died during the Black Mesa Incident, but this is conjecture; Eli simply says that the picture and Alyx are the only two things he carried out of Black Mesa.)

Personality and skills

Template:Spoiler From her appearances early in the game, Alyx quickly emerges as a very sympathetic, likeable character. She is obviously very intelligent, working alongside three doctors in advanced physics (her father, Dr. Judith Mossman and Dr. Isaac Kleiner) as an equal. She also displays a fiery, independent spirit; not only does she choose to oppose the Combine, but she refuses to be intimidated by Dr. Mossman's intimations that she is to blame for a failed experiment. Alyx also retains a youthful enthusiasm and sense of humor, referring to the "Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator" by the more memorable name "Gravity Gun" and using it to play fetch with a robot (see "Dog", below).

Alyx is very skilled at hacking into Combine computer systems, frequently subverting security to open locked doors. She is also very proficient with a pistol and in unarmed combat, and helps fight alongside Gordon briefly during both the Entanglement and Anticitizen One chapters.

Despite Alyx’s friendly nature she shows some hostility towards Dr. Mossman because of Mossman's somewhat patronizing attitude as well as her interest in her father.

Dog

File:HalfLife2 Dog.jpg

Alyx introduces Dog to Gordon in Black Mesa East.

While Alyx was a small child, her father built a robot named Dog to protect her. As she grew, Alyx "upgraded" Dog, who grew from approximately 1 metre to 3 meters in height. True to his name, Dog has the personality of a loyal, intelligent, playful pet dog. This robotic sidekick helps Freeman at several points as well; Dog opens the long-closed way to Ravenholm when Combine soldiers attack Black Mesa East. Much later in the game, Dog uses his incredible strength to reveal an underground passage that leads to the Citadel.

While having no built-in firearms, or the ability to handle them (Dog's hands are far too large for anything but grasping large objects), Dog's immense strength allows him to use heavy objects as projectiles, hurling people, burnt-out car husks and even dumpsters with ease while his built in Gravity Gun allows him to handle smaller objects such as his ball (which is in actual fact a rollermine). His construction renders him immune to sidearms, frag grenades (and similar low-explosive devices), assault rifles and light machine guns; in general, most infantry weapons.

Appearances

Alyx helps Freeman more frequently and directly than any other character in Half-Life 2. In the first episode (Point Insertion), Alyx saves Gordon from Civil Protection forces when he is unarmed and not yet wearing his protective HEV suit. Later, in Black Mesa East, she gives Gordon a Gravity Gun and demonstrates its use. During the chapter titled Entanglement, she helps search Nova Prospekt for her captured father. She fights alongside Gordon through a section of Citizen 17 during the armed uprising in Anticitzen One, and provides indirect assistance to Gordon during the final confrontation with Dr. Breen in the final areas of the Citadel in Dark Energy.

In Black Mesa East, Alyx argues heatedly with Dr. Judith Mossman. Alyx's dislike of the latter is seemingly justified: Freeman and Alyx learn in Entanglement that Mossman has betrayed the resistance and given away the location of their hidden facility. Nevertheless, in Dark Energy, Dr. Mossman explains her actions (see related article for more detail) and the two women finally make peace.

In the ending scene of Half-Life 2, Alyx is with Gordon Freeman at the time of the dark energy explosion. While the G-Man saves Gordon from the enormous blast, Alyx is apparently left behind, frozen in time with one arm shielding her eyes.

It would seem that Alyx manages to survive, however, since Valve has announced that she will be a significant character in the upcoming expansion pack Half-Life 2: Aftermath. The developers of the expansion pack have said that they wish to see Alyx "grow as a character"; this is somewhat confusing, given that Alyx was one of the most fully-developed characters from Half-Life 2. Rumors that Alyx will be a playable character in Aftermath have been firmly denied by Valve Software.

Notes

Actress Merle Dandridge provides Alyx's voice, while her face and body are modeled after Jamil Mullen.

It is worth noting Alyx's appearance, importance to the story, and mannerisms in comparison to those of NPCs in the original game. All Half-Life NPCs were interchangeable within their "class" (e.g., scientist, guard, soldier) and most were completely expendable. Every guard looked, sounded, and acted exactly like every other one; there were a few different "scientist" models, but they all shared the same voice files. It is quite likely, however, that this was attributable to limitations inherent in the Quake engine used rather than a deliberate design decision. In Half-Life 2, there are several unique NPCs including Alyx, Dr. Eli Vance, Barney Calhoun and Dr. Isaac Kleiner.

Unlike other games which feature extremely vulnerable mission-critical characters, Half-Life 2 gives Alyx the ability to absorb a large amount of damage before death (due to the fact that her health regenerates extremely rapidly). This makes it highly unlikely for her to die during the two relatively brief sections in which she participates in combat. (Compare this approach to that of the developers of the N64 title GoldenEye 007, and its rendition of the character of Natalya.) While it is possible for Gordon Freeman to fire on friendly NPCs, this causes no visible reactions and it appears that it is impossible to injure Alyx even indirectly with the Grav Gun.