List of Half-Life universe characters

This is a list of characters in the fictional "Half-Life" universe, which comprises "Half-Life", "Half-Life 2", their respective expansion packs, episodes, and "Portal".

Central characters

This section deals with characters that appear in the "Half-Life" and "Half-Life 2" series, with the exception of Alyx Vance, who does not appear in the first series but plays a pivotal role in the second.

Gordon Freeman

Infobox character
name = Gordon Freeman
first = "Half-Life"
noinfo = yes

Gordon Freeman, Ph.D, is the silent protagonist of the "Half-Life" series, and the playable character in "Half-Life", and all games in the "Half-Life 2" series.

He is a theoretical physicist, and holds a Ph.D from MIT in that field. At the time of "Half-Life", he works at Black Mesa Research Facility , a facility in New Mexico, conducting nuclear and subatomic research.

Barney Calhoun

Infobox character
name = Barney Calhoun
first = "Half-Life"
lbl1 = Voiced by
data1 = Michael Shapiro
noinfo = yes

Barney Calhoun is the playable character in ', and a major character in the "Half-Life 2" series. In "Half-Life" and ', the name "Barney" referred to a class of security guards, who would serve a role similar to scientists; aiding the player in progressing through Black Mesa and combating enemies. In "", the playable Barney progresses through Black Mesa to escape the events of the resonance cascade, and is able to do so, in contrast to Gordon Freeman and Adrian Shephard who are held in stasis.

In "Half-Life 2", Barney works as a mole for the Lambda Resistance in the Combine Overwatch. He provides the player information in the first chapter, leading him to Kliener and Vance, and in the third chapter provides the player with his crowbar. He is then encountered during the player's return to City 17, where he is fighting in the uprising against the Combine, and mostly aids in shutting down the suppression field.

Barney is encountered in the penultimate chapter of "Half-Life 2: Episode One", where he provides the player a replacement for the crowbar destroyed in the Citadel in "Half-Life 2", and suggests that Alyx and Gordon provide a diversion so the remaining citizens can approach the train station. He appears again in the final chapter, during an escort mission at the train station. He takes the citizens on one train, while leaving Gordon and Alyx to board a separate train as a diversion.

G-Man

Infobox character
name = G-Man
first = "Half-Life"
noinfo = yes
lbl1 = Voiced by
data1 = Michael ShapiroThe G-Man, voiced by Michael Shapiro, is a mysterious recurring character in the Half-Life series of first-person shooter computer games. He is known to display peculiar behavior and capabilities beyond that of a normal human and his identity and motives remain almost completely unexplained. He plays the role of an overseer and employer, both observing the player as the games progress and pulling strings to control the outcome of specific events throughout the Half-Life saga. The G-Man's constant appearances in the Half-Life games, as well as his revealing monologues with series protagonist Gordon Freeman, imply he is of great importance and somewhat anchors the endeavors of the player. His mysterious nature has made him an icon of the Half-Life series.

Alyx Vance

Alyx Vance is a fictional character in Valve's 2004 first-person shooter computer game Half-Life 2, and its following episodes: Half-Life 2: Episode One and Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Alyx is portrayed as a young woman in her mid-twenties of Black/Asian descent, and is a prominent figure in the human resistance against the rule of the alien race called the Combine and their human representative, Dr. Breen. She is a close friend and ally of Gordon Freeman and is considered to be the primary heroine of the series.

Eli Vance

Infobox character
name = Eli Vance
first = "Half-Life"
last = ""
cause = Death
noinfo = yesDoctor Eli Vance is a fictional character from the computer games Half-Life (1998) and Half-Life 2 (2004) by Valve Software. Vance, a brilliant physicist and researcher, is in his early sixties with short grey hair, a beard and mustache. He wears a prosthetic to replace his left leg beneath the knee, which was lost when he was attacked by a bullsquid while helping Dr. Isaac Kleiner climb over a wall into a Combine city. [1] He is presumably a graduate of Harvard University; his shirt has "Harvard" partially obscured on it but clearly shows the university's shield.

He is the father of Alyx Vance. His late wife, Azian, also lived on the premises of Black Mesa, but died in the aftermath of the resonance cascade.

According to in-game dialogue from Half-Life 2, Dr. Vance was the first human being to make peaceful contact with the Vortigaunt species and thus the "first collaborator", quickly persuading the alien race to ally with humanity against the Combine invasion of Earth.Contents

Characters only appearing in the "Half-Life" series

hound eye-- () 04:13, 5 October 2008 (UTC)lenyeto

Characters only appearing in the "Half-Life 2" series

Wallace Breen

Odessa Cubbage

General CVG character
width=180px
name=Odessa Cubbage
caption=Colonel Odessa Cubbage, as seen in New Little Odessa, "Half-Life 2". Cubbage also wears what appear to be ribbon bars on his jacket.
series="Half-Life" series
firstgame="Half-Life 2"
voiceactor= John Patrick Lowrie
inuniverse=

Colonel Odessa Cubbage is a member of the Resistance against the Combine who speaks in distinct Received Pronunciation. He wears a jacket with emblems on it indicating that he was possibly once a security officer as part of the University of Rochester Security Services. According to "Raising the Bar", his model was based on the martial arts instructor for one of the game's developers, and the name was found in a spam filter.

Odessa's model was originally intended for a character named "Odell" in "Half-Life 2". Odell was the engineer of a science ship-vessel that was stranded in the sea. In the behind-the-scenes book "Raising the Bar", it is not made clear if the sea was drained by Combine forces, thus stranding the ship, or if the boat was locked in ice. Odell was the only remaining crew member of the ship, called the "Borealis", and was the leader of a small group of rebels that Gordon would meet.

Odessa Cubbage leads a small Resistance base and town, dubbed "New Little Odessa", in a coastal region outside City 17. Before arriving at New Little Odessa, the player can see Cubbage speaking with the G-Man by looking through a binocular spotting scope device. When Gordon Freeman arrives at New Little Odessa en route to Nova Prospekt, Cubbage is briefing members on the use of the rocket launcher against Combine gunships. Cubbage entrusts the rocket launcher to Gordon.

Dog

General CVG character
width=180px
name=Dog


series="Half-Life" series
firstgame="Half-Life 2"
voiceactor=
inuniverse=

Dog is a robotic dog owned by Alyx Vance. Her father, Eli, built Dog to both celebrate and protect his daughter, Alyx. Alyx subsequently upgraded the robot into it's current form. His role in "Half-Life 2" is to aid the player in tutorials—in particular, training in the use of the Gravity Gun—and lifting heavy objects the player cannot manipulate with the Gravity Gun.

' states that Dog's design underwent "relatively few changes" from his very first concept sketch; Valve artists were inspired by "classic movie robots", citing Robby from "Forbidden Planet". His character provides comic relief during the series; his battle sequences are often comically exaggerated, such as taking on small enemy squads by throwing dumpsters at them. His appearance as the first character seen in ' was influenced by positive fan reception.

Father Grigori

General CVG character
width=180px
name=Father Grigori
series="Half-Life" series
firstgame="Half-Life 2"
voiceactor=Jim French

Father Grigori is a Russian Orthodox monk who appears throughout the Ravenholm chapter of "Half-Life 2". He is the only human survivor encountered in Ravenholm.

He speaks enthusiastically about "tending to his flock" while dispatching the remaining zombie inhabitants of the city, using his lever-action rifle, Annabelle, and homemade traps. He helps Gordon Freeman intermittently in Ravenholm, both through actions, including giving Freeman a SPAS-12 shotgun, and combat tips. Eventually, Grigori escorts Freeman through a cemetery infested with zombies to show him a hidden passage to the mines out of the haunted town. After waving Gordon off, Grigori continues fighting the hordes of enemies until he retreats into a nearby tomb, which he ignites a wall of fire surrounding it and disappears laughing maniacally.

Characters only appearing in "Portal"

Chell

GlaDOS

Weighted Companion Cube

The Weighted Companion Cube can be found in the game Portal. It is given to you to help you through one of the level's challenges. In this level, along with many others, you can find inscriptions on the wall stating relationships that former test subjects have had with the cube.

References

Hodgson, David. "Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar". Prima Games, 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4364-3.Hodgson, David. "Half-Life 2: Prima Official Game Guide". Prima Games, 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4362-7.Commentaries for "Half-Life 2: Episode One". Valve. 2006.Commentaries for "Half-Life 2: Episode Two". Valve. 2007.Commentaries for "Portal". Valve. 2007.