EDIT: Sorry, this post got out of hand. The character of Alyx is just so interesting to me from both a technical and creative standpoint, so I went a bit far into my thoughts. All valid though.Vault101 said:no, sorry.....I was sort of agreeing with and adding to your point, because as I said this is a thing that confuses people, as for her being "just ok", I guess he is..but this is also part of the point I was making..that as soon as a female charachter comes along she has to be "the standard" or female protagonists..which is stilly because theres more than one way to have a female charachterRagsnstitches said:Alyx is fine. I don't want them to change what she is, maybe Ep.3 will flesh out her personality and give her a more, personal, stake in the story. That will be good, thats what I want from her. But as she is she is adequate... and thats it.Vault101 said:I agree...[b/]AND ITS OK[/b]Ragsnstitches said:She [Alyx vance]doesn't deserve to be on "strong character" lists or even "strong female" lists. You can rate her as a completely neutral/functional character or slightly above average (the average not setting the bar too high) at the very best. Again, not something that should be given a pedestal.
seriosuly..its [i/]ok[/i] that Alyx is the charachter she is, she works and fits within the Half Life 2 story....she's not a bad or sexist charachter because she's not a comander shepard for female freeman, she simply is as she is and there is absolutly nothing wrong with that
this seems to be a thing that confuses people...that its "weak or may sue" no, thats not it, for a charachter to be trated pn par with the "default" male they need to take their hits too...
as for Alyx...umm a "personal" stake in the story?
1.the state the world is in its personal for almost everyone in the half life universe because "holy shit we are being collectively fucked by aliens"
2. you remember that thing....[spoiler/]the combine killed her father...thats pretty personal..and even before that she was directly involved in the ressitance..she prety much grew up in the world of half life 2[/spoiler]
Original Post:
Yeah she should have a personal stake in things, but compared to everyone else in the story she seems some what unaffected by it. It can be argued that she grew up in that world, but then why are the resistance fighters, some of whom are likely her age too, far more troubled by events?
Remember the 2 guys you meet before you have to cross the Ant Lion beach on foot (after the lighthouse battle with the Gunship)? When one of them dies to an Ant lion, the friend stays with the body when you leave, urging you to go on ahead because "there's something I have to do". If go back there after travelling a certain distance, you find the guy kills himself.
The world they are in is horrible. Why does Alyx not show it?
Eli has a grudge against breen and laments the ruin he and his cohorts brought upon the world. Barney is an all out resistance fighter and a well respected leader, Kleiner is a quirky scientist who takes way too much interest in the horrors that he was partly responsible for creating, but is always considering what will help others the most. Mossman is a troubled soul, who fears the worst will happen which drives her to defect, but she was determined to make amends after the fact.
Alyx? I don't know, up until "that moment" her reason for being was to aid gordon. Her presence in the world doesn't feel solid, she feels somewhat artificial, as if she was made just to aid Gordon. Now obviously, that's literally what she is, since she was made by a developer who specialises in crafting finely tuned linear experiences. But other characters don't FEEL artificial. Alyx is burdened by her utilitarian role in the story.
And they seemed to be addressing that in the Episodes, especially 2. She has so much more personality in episode 2, but its easy to still see her as a tool, created to guide the player. After the ambush, it seems like the devs finally took off the training wheels or something to that nature, and started to use Alyx as a character. When "that" event happens, we finally see the world impact Alyx... that's after 1 12 hours and 2 4-6 hour games, do we finally see Alyx becoming a feature of the world.
And I like that... I like what she is becoming. Though, we can only speculate how they address "that" event in the next title, but hopefully we see Alyx act like a character in a story and not just a functional NPC.
(Sidenote: I'm aware Alyx has "history" in the story, but I can't be the only one who feels her history is not part of the story right? Just because you can right a biography on her in a Wiki, does not mean her character works in the narrative.)
Sorry, I'm being really nitpicky. I don't want people to think I'm dismissing her, cause I really don't feel that way.