The developers described Alyx's programming for Episode One as a 'personality code' as opposed to an 'AI code', emphasizing the attention they gave to make Alyx a unique and believable companion. The artificial intelligence (AI) for Alyx Vance, Gordon's companion, was explicitly designed for co-operative play in Episode One to complement the player's abilities.

Unlike in Half-Life 2, where Gordon's first weapon is the crowbar, Gordon first acquires the Gravity Gun, which plays a crucial role in the game by allowing the player to use physics to manipulate objects at a distance in both combat and puzzle-solving scenarios. Throughout the course of the game, the player accesses new weapons and ammunition that are used to defend the character from enemy forces. A head-up display appears on the screen to display the character's health, energy, and ammunition.

Episode One integrates tutorial-like tasks into the story to familiarize the player with new gameplay mechanics without breaking immersion. The gameplay is broken up between combat-oriented challenges and physics-based puzzles. In Episode One, players make their way through a linear series of levels and encounter various enemies and allies. It was ported to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as part of the 2007 compilation The Orange Box. It uses an updated version of Valve's Source engine, with new lighting and animation technology.Įpisode One received mostly positive reviews the co-operative gameplay with Alyx received particular praise, although the short length was criticized.

For Episode One, they focused on developing the character of Alyx and expanded her artificial intelligence.

Like previous Half-Life games, Episode One combines shooting, puzzles and storytelling.Īfter the six-year development of Half-Life 2, Valve switched to episodic development, hoping to release games more frequently. It continues the story of Half-Life 2 (2004) as scientist Gordon Freeman, players must escape City 17 with Gordon's companion Alyx Vance. Half-Life 2: Episode One is a 2006 first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve for Windows.

Half life google play