I took a short jaunt through the Digital Life Expo yesterday, held at the Javits Center in Manhattan. A short jaunt was all one really needed; it seemed even smaller than last year. As expected, there weren’t really many stand-out products, but I did notice this pair of booth babes dressed as Alyx Vance from the Half-Life 2 series.
Notably, the creators of Half-Life 2 have mentioned in the past how the Alyx Vance character was given a variety of ethnic characteristics, the better to make her subconsciously sympathetic to a wide variety of players. That women of almost any racial make-up could convincingly look the part in real life was probably an unforeseen side-effect.
I love the Alyx character for two reasons: She’s one of the most convincing and emotionally resonant characters in any videogame ever*; she’s dressed fittingly for alien invasion, in a warm (if stylish!) jacket and blue jeans.
* See: The introduction of Dog; the joke she plays on you in the dark in Episode 1.
This is a tad juvenile, but – teleportation may cause a slight tingling sensation.
she’s dressed fittingly for alien invasion
true.
showing breasts doesn’t make your job easier in killing abnormal creatures except in japanese porn.
As you made the point in how she dressed, she is also the best representation of a strong female portagonist (that also has the right proportions of the a real female figure) in any video game. Having played all the Half Life games and growing attached to her company I really felt dread when seeing her fall off a bridge (and perhaps dead in the hands of a vortignaut) in a Half-life 2: Episode 2 trailer.