Protozoan

Protozoan
General information
Faction	Xen
Type	Wildlife
Individual information
Entity	cycler

 

The protozoan is an inoffensive entity seen on Xen.

Overview

• The Protozoan appears as a bluish, transparent rock-like entity orbiting above the ground, with a smaller reddish rock-like shape inside, also transparent and turning on itself. It has no AI, cannot be destroyed and does not react to the player's or any NPC's presence.

• It is first seen in Half-Life for a few seconds during the Resonance Cascade, orbiting behind two Bullsquids drinking from a Healing Pool. It is also seen in the same map in Opposing Force (reached several times with the Displacer Cannon) as well as Decay, at the very start of the bonus chapter, Xen Attacks.

Behind the scenes

The "protozoan" (Gr. "prôtos", "first" + "zôon", "animal"), also named "protozoon", actually exists. It covers any of a large group of single-celled, usually microscopic, eukaryotic protist organisms commonly living in water, such as amoebas, ciliates, flagellates, and sporozoans. Protozoa can be plants, fungi or animals. Thus the Protozoan can be considered as an extremely enlarged protozoan that does not live underwater.

Trivia

• "Protozoa", the model name, is actually the plural form.

• When viewing its model in a model viewer, it is completely opaque. Its transparency is achieved in-game.

Gallery

• 

  Protozoan.

• 

  Inside the Protozoan model.

• 

  In Half-Life.

• 

  Same area in Opposing Force.

List of appearances

• Half-Life (First appearance)
• Half-Life: Opposing Force
• Half-Life: Decay