"Entities" { "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Hugs and Affection" "origin" "-129.552948 -9710.173828 98.031250" "angles" "0 115.843094 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment197.wav" "printname" "Hugs and Affection" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "John Morello" "synopsis" "In sketching out the scenes for the episode, we noticed a lack of interpersonal conflict between the characters who had survived from Half-Life 2. Alyx, Eli and Dr. Kleiner have a lot of affection for one another, as you will see in many of the scenes. And while we all value the benefit of strong positive relationships, we were happy to have Dr. Magnusson around to get irritated by all the hugging." "parser_id" "197" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Multi-Ethnic Heroine" "origin" "-179.285828 -9974.606445 164.031250" "angles" "0 46.206211 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment251.wav" "printname" "Multi-Ethnic Heroine" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Merle Dandridge: Voice of Alyx Vance" "synopsis" "It means a lot to me to have a multi-ethnic heroine. When I was growing up, that didn’t happen a whole lot. Maybe Storm from X-Men? It wasn’t commonplace. So to have someone that’s my type be in that kind of position is really amazing. I think it’s a popular trend now, but that wasn’t always the case. " "parser_id" "251" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Rocket Congestion" "origin" "1564.236938 -10035.541016 -283.972565" "angles" "0 -9.196232 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment196.wav" "printname" "Rocket Congestion" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Matt Scott" "synopsis" "Due to the number of characters involved in this scene, and the cramped spaces, we found that the actors were constantly pushing the player around in order to get to their marks. We developed some tech that allowed the actors to gauge the position of the player and the other actors, and choose among a selection of marks. This not only solved the congestion problem, but made scenes feel more dynamic." "parser_id" "196" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Creating Dr. Magnusson" "origin" "1750.202515 -10157.367188 -285.968750" "angles" "0 -8.876596 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment192.wav" "printname" "Creating Dr. Magnusson" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Brian Jacobsen" "synopsis" "Dr. Magnusson was the result of a decision to bring forward another signature character from the original Half-Life, along the lines of Dr. Kleiner and Barney. As we developed the character, we kept referring back to this line from Half-Life to keep us on track: Though we liked the character who came into focus, we found that this voice was sounding like too much of a caricature for our increasingly grim and realistic world. We like to hire actors with the natural voices that we want for our characters, as opposed to hiring actors to create voice characterizations. In John Aylward, we found someone who could deliver the brusque arrogance of the original lines, and also take the character forward into some of the richer and subtler opportunities we foresee for him." "parser_id" "192" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Parade of Constants" "origin" "1971.937622 -10044.014648 -285.968750" "angles" "0 -141.308640 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment233.wav" "printname" "Parade of Constants" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Marc Laidlaw" "synopsis" "If you listened closely to the vortigaunts in the antlion tunnels, you may have heard one of them using a complaint very similar to Dr. Magnusson's here. Their affinity to Dr. Magnusson has caused some of his mannerisms to spread among them by way of their lowgrade telepathy." "parser_id" "233" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Rocket Design" "origin" "1656.513916 -9937.279297 -541.968750" "angles" "0 87.522690 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment200.wav" "printname" "Rocket Design" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Matt Wright" "synopsis" "Rather than just make up something that fit our fantasies of a rocket, we designed Dr. Magnusson's rocket around blueprints from the Titan Family of missiles. Grounding the details of our world in reality, making them as precise as possible, makes the invented, fantastic elements seem that much more believable." "parser_id" "200" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Rocket scene length" "origin" "1533.513184 -10110.417969 -1373.968750" "angles" "0 -44.080803 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment201.wav" "printname" "Choreo Congestion" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Doug Wood" "synopsis" "We intended White Forest to offer a change of pace from the constant action that preceded it'a few moments to reunite with old friends and get to know Dr. Magnusson, a breather before the big battle ahead. However, our first version of the sequence was a log-jam of long, talky scenes. Gordon and Alyx stood around listening to Kleiner and Magnusson argue at the top of the silo, then rode an elevator to the bottom of the shaft while Dr. Kleiner lectured them about rockets and satellites. They wandered into a control room to watch Dr. Mossman's transmission, and then hatched a plan to get her back. We knew we were in trouble when even the authors of the scene were bored, and no one had patience for the revelations that followed. We divided the sequence into a number of smaller pieces that could be interleaved with solitary exploration and some combat. This required rebuilding the path and moving the control room upstairs, where the transmission scene became a reward for surviving the secondary silo. As a result of these changes, the White Forest experience is more varied, the narrative comes in digestible portions, and players are able to play at their own speed, rather than being led by the nose the entire time." "parser_id" "201" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Steam Mechanic Refresher" "origin" "1841.733398 -10085.272461 -1371.968750" "angles" "0 30.829252 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment202.wav" "printname" "Steam Mechanic Refresher" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Kelly Bailey" "synopsis" "This steam jet is an example of something we call a 'mechanic refresher'. It is meant to refresh the player's memory on how to perform a certain task they may not have used in a while. In this case, we remind the player about using valves to turn off steam in a relaxed environment. In the map just ahead, this trick will be fresh in their mind and they will be far more likely to realize they can use steamjets tactically when they encounter them in a combat situation." "parser_id" "202" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Meet Uriah" "origin" "1888.031250 -9457.040039 -1329.026001" "angles" "0 177.488541 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment194.wav" "printname" "Uriah" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Chet Faliszek" "synopsis" "In Half-Life 2, when we first decided to make vortigaunt ally characters, we played around with having a prominent vortigaunt companion. Because of their bowed posture and semi-servile manner, this individual was dubbed Heep, after the Dickens character Uriah Heep. In episode 2 we named the prominent vort at the white forest base Uriah. In episode 3 we will find out Dicken's unused middle name for Uriah Heep." "parser_id" "194" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "commentary_dr vortigaunt" "origin" "1912.057983 -9331.500977 -1346.968750" "angles" "0 177.611282 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment191.wav" "printname" "aka Labby" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Katie Engel" "synopsis" "Originally created as a minor background character, the vortigaunt lab assistant, known internally as Labby, was so popular with playtesters that he evolved into a fully developed character with a unique name and a special place by Dr. Magnusson's side." "parser_id" "191" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "The Secret Comment" "origin" "2200.108643 -9365.098633 -1373.968750" "angles" "0 134.691467 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment195.wav" "printname" "The Secret Comment" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Steve Bond" "synopsis" "Many of us are fans of Lost, and we noticed several strong Half-Life references in the first season of Lost. Gabe Newell and Lost creator J.J. Abrams exchanged fanmail, and Gabe promised Abrams there would be a Lost reference in Episode 2. We delivered on the promise in this obscure area of the White Forest Base." "parser_id" "195" } }