okidoki
Spy
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2005
- Messages
- 160
- Reaction score
- 2
I'm hoping ep2 has less Alyx than ep1. I believe having an NPC travel with you makes your journey through the game seem less remarkable. It's not as heroic of Gordon if someone goes to the same places and does all the same things he does. I believe a quote from Raising the Bar touches on this:
I think this philosophy should have been applied to the episodes more. I thought Alyx made ep1 less satisfying than HL2, but I understand she was vital to the story. I thought "at least there will be less of her in ep2". But apparently Valve's not cutting back on the NPCs according to the previews. There's apparently a place for Alyx in the vehicle now, when in the gameplay videos she was nowhere in sight. Also seen in the videos is a vortigaunt alongside Gordon in the antlion caverns. I hope I'm wrong and that Gordon goes on some solo quests, but it's not looking that way.
I'm not saying NPCs are bad for the game. The characters are the most realistic in any game due to the well written dialogue and brilliant voice acting. Alyx's AI and animations in ep1 are the best I've seen in any FPS. I just prefer a balance between lone exploring and cooperative gameplay like in HL2.
Originally we had citizens up on the street level shooting RPGs at the citadel, and we were planning to have an all out assault on the citadel underway. But at a certain point it felt better to have the player all alone entering the citadel, with the only sound being the eerie creaks and groans of the citadel itself. It was more in keeping with the classic quest theme of a lone knight entering the fortress of the enemy, which was the feeling we were tring to evoke.
I think this philosophy should have been applied to the episodes more. I thought Alyx made ep1 less satisfying than HL2, but I understand she was vital to the story. I thought "at least there will be less of her in ep2". But apparently Valve's not cutting back on the NPCs according to the previews. There's apparently a place for Alyx in the vehicle now, when in the gameplay videos she was nowhere in sight. Also seen in the videos is a vortigaunt alongside Gordon in the antlion caverns. I hope I'm wrong and that Gordon goes on some solo quests, but it's not looking that way.
I'm not saying NPCs are bad for the game. The characters are the most realistic in any game due to the well written dialogue and brilliant voice acting. Alyx's AI and animations in ep1 are the best I've seen in any FPS. I just prefer a balance between lone exploring and cooperative gameplay like in HL2.