CVG interview with David Speyrer

[SpotEnemyBoats]

CVG: Did you always intend for Alyx to play such a major role?


Speyrer: Yeah. When she was created for Half-Life 2, she was designed as a focal character. But I think she really matured as a character in Ep One, which was when we really sat down and designed her. Alyx in HL2 was designed by the writing of her character - and she has a great character. She's smart and charming and witty and tough and scrappy and all those things.

But in Ep One, because she was with you through the game, it was the first time we really sat down and almost engineered her character. We figured out the things she couldn't be. She couldn't ever be annoying. She could never seem critical of the player.

People when they're playing the game are going to naturally make mistakes, and if Alyx calls attention to the mistake in a way which seems at all critical, players really react. It becomes a negative experience. They like her less, and they like how they're doing less. They feel like they're doing poorly because someone's telling them they're doing poorly.

In Ep Two, when Alyx is riding along with you in the car and you slam into the tree, she laughs about it. She notices it, because it would be strange if she didn't. But we had a few reactions from her in Ep Two which came off as exasperated. "Oh, she's getting annoyed with my driving. I'm already feeling bad because I ran into a tree."

Source


Nothing really new, but it's an interesting read.

 

[UseAbuse]

interesting...

 

[MrStukings]

By the end of Episode 3, I'm sure Alyx will hopefully see Gordon's charm and go out with him.
Although I keep forgetting her dad Just died

 

[Absinthe]

Dead people suck all the fun, don't they.