User:Klow/Stuff

From Combine OverWiki, the original Half-Life wiki and Portal wiki
Jump to: navigation, search

HECU BTS

Throughout Half-Life and its expansions, both used and unused HECU quotes and Black Mesa Announcement System announcements from the file "sentences.txt" feature additional information about the HECU's modes of operation. For instance, Squads are also referred to as "Teams" or "Forces", as heard in status reports or messages to Squads never clearly identified in-game. Using the NATO phonetic alphabet for their names, they include Alpha Force (to be mentioned in Silo D's Experimental Propulsion Laboratory, but not heard in-game), Search and Destroy Squad Alpha (heard in Level 3 Dormitories), Team Bravo (to be mentioned in Silo D's Experimental Propulsion Laboratory, but not heard in-game) / Bravo Team (to be mentioned in Decay, but not heard in-game) / Bravo Force and Search and Destroy Force Bravo (heard in Sector D's High Security Materials Storage Area), Charlie Team (heard in Level 3 Dormitories), Delta Team (heard in regular Marine quotes and to be mentioned in Sector E's Track Control, but not heard in-game), and Echo Team (to be mentioned in the High Altitude Launch Center, but not heard in-game) / Echo Force (to be mentioned in Sector E's Track Control, but not heard in-game). A "Search and Destroy Force" (Advanced Biological Research Lab), "Topside Containment Force" (Ditto) and "Search and Destroy Force Kilo" (Central Command and Communication Center) were also to be mentioned, but are not heard in-game.

"Sentences.txt" also refers to some HECU-related locations, mentioned in messages or presented separately as supposed to be "silent" areas (suggesting they appear in-game in some form or were simply cut). They include "Topside Checkpoints", located in the exterior parts of the facility. Like the Squads, while many checkpoints and choke points are seen throughout the games, they are never clearly identified when met. Also using the NATO phonetic alphabet, they include Checkpoints Alpha (to be mentioned in the Advanced Biological Research Lab but not heard in-game), Bravo (mentioned in Sector C) and Delta (to be mentioned in the Advanced Biological Research Lab and Central Command and Communication Center, but not heard in-game). A Tactical Operations Center is also mentioned in a Sector C message, but again is not clearly identifiable in-game. Regular Marine quotes also uses the terms "Bravo post", "command post" and "lookout post".

To add

What follows is information that will soon be included or not into the several articles, depending on its relevance.

Cut lines

  • "[english]ravenholm.monk_mourn01" "<clr:128,176,164>Well, brother, if I survive this night, I shall build you an honest pyre. "
  • "[english]ravenholm.monk_mourn02" "<clr:128,176,164>Oh Light of Lights! Why have you taken my helper? "
  • "[english]ravenholm.monk_mourn03" "<clr:128,176,164>So... again I am alone. "
  • "[english]ravenholm.monk_mourn04" "<clr:128,176,164>Well, brother... you have found another egress from the House of Chaos. "
  • "[english]ravenholm.monk_mourn05" "<clr:128,176,164>Rest now, brother. For you will surely live again. "
  • "[english]ravenholm.monk_mourn06" "<clr:128,176,164>Rise, brother. Rise! "
  • "[english]ravenholm.monk_mourn07" "<clr:128,176,164>Live again, brother! "
  • "[english]citadel.br_mock02" "<clr:188,188,188>I'm relying on you to fail again, Dr. Freeman. Just as I relied on you at Black Mesa. "
  • "[english]citadel.al_tearapart" "<clr:255,212,255>Once he teleports, the whole thing will tear apart. The beam is unshielded. We'll be cooked in the singularity. "
  • "[english]citadel.al_reactor03" "<clr:255,212,255>I can't go in there while it's activated, but your suit should protect you. Look for some vulnerability in the core."
  • "[english]citadel.al_exhaust" "<clr:255,212,255>Watch out for the exhaust. Try to find cover from it. "


GLaDOS

Commentaries

  • [Erik Wolpaw] Creating the AI voice was a multi-step process. First, we ran every line of dialog through an automatic text-to-speech program. In the studio, we cued the actress who plays GLaDOS, Ellen McClane, with the computer-generated sound file. She'd mimic it, and then, over the course of several takes, adjust her performance to clean up any words that were unintelligible in the computer version. For instance, here's a line as Ellen delivered it: <INSERT RAW ELLEN LINE>. Once the recording was done, we processed all of the dialog to give it an extra computery edge. Here's that same line as it appears in the game, with the pitch constrained, pitch modulation suppressed, and the formant moved up: <INSERT LINE HERE>.
  • [Ellen McLain: Voice of GLaDOS] I know that I was told that, you know, sort of the idea of Valve is that everything... Everything is planned. Everything is worked out in advance. But that's a big, fat lie. Because: The initial idea is started, and they bring an actor into the studio and they say, you know, 'Say these words for us, say this computer generated voice for us.' Okay, I'll do that. Well, then, that gives the creators other ideas. And it's... It's a rolling process; You roll from one idea into the next idea.
  • [Ellen McLain: Voice of GLaDOS] In the beginning, when I came in, I was just supposed to recreate the sound of a computer-generated voice. Just recreate it. And that's what I did. And there was no emotion involved; I just listened to the sound of the computer, and I repeated what I heard. But as the game continued, I was supposed to get more and more emotion into the computer, into GLaDOS. And she developed into a very sweet, passive-aggressive person.
  • [Ellen McLain: Voice of GLaDOS] As an actor, you know, you come in, you do what you're told; You want to make your money. And sometimes you get good direction, and sometimes you don't get good direction. But it doesn't matter. And you certainly don't tell the production team any of this. But you come in and they'll, you know, they'll give you a lame line reading. And you're supposed to find some emotional value in that. But this is not what this team did. They would come in, for example, [and give me the direction] 'explosively indignant'. That's a wonderful direction for an actor. So, I must say that the production team won me over. Because so often I get bogus direction. But this time, I was actually directed and had fun at all the sessions.
  • [Ellen McLain: Voice of GLaDOS] Sarcasm. GLaDOS is sarcastic a lot. And that's so much fun! But while I was trying to do this, trying to build in all these emotions, I still had to maintain the computer sound and maintain the pronunciation of repeated phrases. You know: 'Aperture Science' and 'The Enrichment Center'.
  • [Ellen McLain: Voice of GLaDOS] I went to Portal's, umm... I Googled 'Portal in-game,' and I went to the trailer. And I just loved it! I loved hearing my voice! [Laughter] And as I told the production team, I have never played a computer game in my life. But I want to play this one! [Laughter]
  • [Ellen McLain: Voice of GLaDOS] In the sound booth, you're only connected to the production team by an intercom. And they can talk about you, and you don't know what they're saying. But you trust that they're being kind. And, you know, they'll... They'll push a button and then they'll say something to me. They say a direction. 'No, that wasn't right. Do it again. Give us three more reads.' And a lot of time what happens is they'll... They would play the computer-generated sound for me on one line. And then I'm supposed to recreate that three times with the director saying, 'Ok, well, you know, more sarcastic,' or, 'More angry,' or, or, 'More irritated.' So: You stand in the booth hour after hour after hour. They're always very nice; they let you have water in here, and maybe a pencil to take a few notes. And of course you want it to be interesting, because you want them to hire you again!
  • [Ellen McLain: Voice of GLaDOS] So when they told me that there was going to be a song at the end, I thought, well, allright, who's going to write the song? And they told me there was going to be a song written by Jonathan Coulton. And I listened to a song that Jonathan had written, and it was very funny, very clever. So, I thought at that point, well, you know, this'll be okay. But I am an opera singer, so usually I sing: [opera singing]. And I thought, well, will I be able to have the right style for the song? So I was concerned. But then before the recording, they sent me an mp3 file of the song. And I listened to it with Jonathan singing it. But I loved the little song. And at home, as I practiced the little song, I tried to, you know, get back to GLaDOS's voice. You know: 'Aperture Science...' Just this tiny little passive-aggressive computer who's all alone until people try to come in and murder her. So of course she gets upset! But she seems... She seems to have this real affinity for cake. And... And I want to play the game because I want to recreate the cake recipe. And then put 'Portal' on it, and be able to serve it to my friends when they come over to my house.

Reception

Pittsburgh Tribune editor Jessica Severs called her villainy "easily the most entertaining of any other video game character in 2007".[1] Mobile Magazine editor Michael Kwan called her one of the creepiest video game characters ever made.[2] Tech Radar editor Patrick Goss called her 2007's most memorable video game character.[3] 1UP.com editor Scott Sharkey ranked her the most insane computer in video games, commenting that she trumped all other similar characters in books and film as well due to her being the closest to having a human personality of them all. He described her appearance as an upside-down woman in bondage.[4] Crave editor Rich Trenholm named her the fourth most evil computer.[5] Computer and Video Games editor Tom Francis stated that he would most want to see GLaDOS return in a sequel to Portal.[6] GamesRadar listed GLaDOS on their list of video game villains players did not want to kill, stating that players feel guilt over killing her, especially because the players are killing her piece by piece.[7]

Gamasutra editors Leigh Alexander, Brandon Boyer, Simon Carless, and Christian Nutt ranked GLaDOS second on the list of the top most affecting characters in video games in 2007, crediting her with coining such phrases as "I'm doing science." They also praised her for making Portal what it is.[8] IGN editor Hilary Goldstein called her the "best of the worst guiding voices", praising her wit as to why she won the award.[9] IGN editor Daemon Hatfield called her one of the most engaging characters in video game history.[10] She was awarded best video game character of 2007 in GameSpy's game of the year awards, calling her one of the most memorable video game characters of all time.[11] She was also awarded the most memorable villain of 2007 by GamePro, referring to her as "The Voice", and Best New Character by X-Play.[12][13] PC World named GLaDOS the #2 "Big-Time, Badass Video Game Villain" behind Sephiroth of Final Fantasy VII, citing "her warped personality and hilarious non-sequitur one-liners" as part of what makes the character memorable.[14]

GLaDOS has been compared to multiple other fictional characters in both video games and other mediums, such as HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, famous for his line "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that."[15] MSNBC editor Winda Benedetti called The Sign Painter, a faceless character from World of Goo who writes signs addressed to the player, "the new GLaDOS".[16] In response to 1UP.com's article on the top five insane video game computers, Softpedia editor Andrei Dumitrescu argued that SHODAN, who had ranked fourth on the list, should have been ranked first. He described GLaDOS as a "lightweight", stating that SHODAN does everything that GLaDOS does to show her insanity and more, adding that her insanity has a much more far-reaching effect.[17] Games Radar editor Mikel Reparaz made a similar comparison between the two characters, stating that SHODAN was a precursor to GLaDOS.[18]

The name "GLaDOS" was a popular choice in a poll conducted by Wired.com for what the Large Hadron Collider should be named, the current winning name being "Black Mesa", also from the Half-Life series. The poll was conducted in response to it being named "Halo" by scientists.[19]

GLaDOS was also featured on a t-shirt, alongside the Weighted Companion Cube and the cake, two other elements from Portal.[20]

Origins

GLaDOS' origin is gradually revealed in the later stages of the game. An abandoned slideshow presentation in a meeting room shows GLaDOS was developed by Aperture Science Laboratories Inc. as a method of de-icing fuel lines in direct competition with a similar project by Black Mesa Research facility. GLaDOS is described as not only being a fuel line de-icer, but having a fully-functional Disk Operating System and being "arguably alive." GLaDOS is, however, much more than a fuel line de-icer. The AI is installed as the Enrichment Center's central control computer. GLaDOS's core is mounted in a large, sealed chamber alongside control consoles and an incinerator. The core hangs from the ceiling surrounded by video screens that show random and relevant images. The core swings continuously, dislodging one of the modules in the final level. There are no clear speakers or units which create GLaDOS' voice, though it is present throughout the facility. During the final battle, GLaDOS reveals it is the source of the facility's abandoned state; GLaDOS flooded the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin, presumably killing several scientists, just before its Morality Module was installed. Since the Module had been installed, it can be assumed that the release happened as the Module was being installed, forcing the scientists to abandon the facility.

Concept and creation

While writer Erik Wolpaw was working on Psychonauts, he used a text-to-speech program to create temporary dialogue, noting that "people were laughing at that way more than what the lines were worth". He commented to himself that "No amount of writing is funnier than this text-to-speech thing reading it." This revelation eventually led to him implementing it in Portal. Erik Wolpaw brought sample dialogue created using a text-to-voice program, which originally played exclusively in the "relaxation vault", the first area of the game, as an announcement in Portal. The development team found it to be humorous, so Erik continued to record announcements for other chambers. Over time, the developers discovered that the voice was motivating the play testers to complete the chambers, and that they became attached to the voice, particularly once they connected the voice as the "villain" of the game. Due to the humor the developers found in it, Erik continued to use this voice for other chambers in the game. Erik originally intended to have different characters to interact with, such as the villain, but changed his mind after seeing the way players reacted to the voice. Another factor that went into choosing this style of voicing and character was due to the difficulty of implementing human characters.[21][22]

GLaDOS was voiced by Ellen McLain. Her voice was created by playing a line of text using text-to-speech software on a computer, and having McLain recite it in her own voice while she attempted to imitate the voice, adding emotion where she was directed to.[10] Her voice was then digitized to sound more like a computerized voice.[23] "Still Alive" songwriter Jonathan Coulton stated that while he expected Ellen's voice to have been digitized, she sounded much like GLaDOS before the digitization.[15] During the final confrontation with GLaDOS, a "morality core" is removed from GLaDOS, and McLain changes her voice to accommodate the newly created lack of compassion. Erik attributed GLaDOS' growth as a character in part to their love for McLain, saying "Oh man, I don't want Ellen to say this. Ellen is super-likable. We should write for that."[24]

Kim Swift, the level designer and team leader of Portal, explained that the development staff wanted gamers to be able to complete the game in an afternoon's sitting so that the players could hear GLaDOS and hear her song.[25] They designed GLaDOS to be a devious boss originally, but did not like this design. The battle originally featured "James Bond-like lasers", but the developers found it boring. In their second attempt, they tried yet another action-packed battle jokingly calling it "Portal Kombat", but it did not click with the developers. The developers felt that it distracted too much from GLaDOS and alienated players who enjoyed the puzzle gameplay. Their final attempt before they created the final version of the boss was a chase scene where players had to pursue GLaDOS, but the developers found that play-testers had no sense of what to do.[26] In the end, they chose to scale back the end boss in order to allow players to actually reach the end by simplifying things, yet adding a time limit.[27]

Chet Faliszek, a fellow writer employed by Valve, called introducing GLaDOS a "scary thing".[28] In an interview, Erik stated that he preferred a villain he can empathize with in a film or comic book, saying it makes it more tragic for the viewer. He stated that the character of GLaDOS was written as if she were human who has problems that a piece of technology would have. Lines were written for GLaDOS to make play testers care for the Weighted Companion Cube, an object that the player carries with them, as well as the incineration of the cube. This allowed for players to both gain an idea of how to defeat GLaDOS in the end as well as get revenge for having to incinerate the cube.[24][29] Erik also insisted that GlaDOS be written for as a person that is angry and manipulative towards the player, instead of as a self-aware computer, and to avoid dropping computer terms as part of her lines.[22]

References

  1. ↑ 2007's best took gaming beyond the ordinary. Pittsburg Tribune (2007-12-27). Retrieved on 2009-08-24.
  2. ↑ Portal's GLaDOS Invades Garmin nuvi GPS Units (Video). Mobile Magazine (2008-06-30). Retrieved on 2009-08-24.
  3. ↑ GLaDOS voice for your Garmin. Tech Radar (2008-06-30). Retrieved on 2009-08-24.
  4. ↑ Top 5 Insane Computers. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2009-08-24.
  5. ↑ Top 10 evil computers - page 6. CNET (2007-11-01). Retrieved on 2010-01-04.
  6. ↑ PC Review: Portal. Computer and Video Games (2007-10-10). Retrieved on 2009-08-24.
  7. ↑ The Top 7... bad guys you didn't want to kill. GamesRadar. Retrieved on 2010-01-05.
  8. ↑ Top 5 Most Affecting Characters. Gamasutra (2007-12-31). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  9. ↑ IGN Xbox 360 Awards: Director's Cut. IGN (2008-01-08). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 GLaDOS Speaks. IGN (2007-10-31). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  11. ↑ Best Character - GLaDOS (Portal). GameSpy. Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  12. ↑ GamePro's Editors' Choice *2007*. GamePro (2008-01-25). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  13. ↑ Winners of "X-Play Best of 2007 Awards" Announced – BioShock is Videogame of the Year. G4TV (2007-12-18). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  14. ↑ Lui, Spandas (2010-03-12). Top 10 Big-Time, Badass Video Game Villains. PC World. Retrieved on 2010-04-05.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Aperture Science has an opening. Games Radar. Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  16. ↑ Benedetti, Winda (2008-11-25). Quit your job and make your game. MSNBC. Retrieved on 2009-08-24.
  17. ↑ Weekend Reading: SHODAN Is the Insane One - GLaDOS is undeserving. Softpedia (2009-05-23). Retrieved on 2010-01-04.
  18. ↑ The scariest villains EVER. Games Radar (2008-06-13). Retrieved on 2010-01-04.
  19. ↑ What would you name the Hadron Collider?. News.com (2008-09-18). Retrieved on 2009-08-24.
  20. ↑ Portal T-Shirts for the Masses. Filefront (2008-01-04). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  21. ↑ Exclusive: Inside The Making Of Portal. Gamasutra (2008-01-10). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Graff, Kris (2009-11-02). Valve's Writers And The Creative Process. Gamasutra. Retrieved on 2009-11-02.
  23. ↑ Portal: The Skinny. Jonathan Coulton (2007-10-15). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Still Alive: Kim Swift And Erik Wolpaw Talk Portal. Gamasutra (2008-03-25). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  25. ↑ Student Union. Develop Online (2008-03-18). Retrieved on 2009-08-24.
  26. ↑ GDC 08: Portal Creators on Writing, Multiplayer, Government Interrogation Techniques. Shack News (2008-02-22). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  27. ↑ GDC 2008: Producing Portal. IGN (2008-02-23). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  28. ↑ New character in Left 4 Dead 2 a 'terrifying' prospect. Destructoid (2009-07-31). Retrieved on 2009-08-24.
  29. ↑ Best Of GDC: The Secrets Of Portal's Huge Success. Gamasutra (2008-02-27). Retrieved on 2009-08-25.

Journeys

Half-Life

Opposing Force

  • Santego Military Base
  • The cliff (from the Osprey)
  • Infirmary
  • Lasers
  • Small cliff
  • Crashed Osprey
  • Power station
  • Maintenance-ish
    Catwalks and steam
    Lift
    Collapsing radioactive room
  • Black Mesa Transit System
    Sector C Line
    Sewer
    Loader room
    Sector E Line
  • Sector E Biodome Complex
    Sector E Line
    Sector E - Subsurface Transport - Level A
    Elevator
    Pulling out building
    Maintenance
    Flooded office
    Fans
    Fan Unit 1 + 2
    Four other fans
    Fire room
    Cave tunnel
    Unnamed underground parking lot
    Left: Storage Areas 2 and 3, Vehicle Repair (Pit Drones) and Service Elevator
    Right: Employee Parking + Employee Elevator (cannot be accessed)
    Elevator shaft puzzle
    Offices
    Elevator
    Sector E Materials Transport
    Offices
    Big hole
    Generator
    Ordinance Storage Facility
    Lambda Sector Transport
  • Sector F
  • Xen
  • Sector E
  • Waste Processing Area 3
  • Sector G
    Black Ops-controlled hangars
    Voltigore tunnels
    Ruined hangars
    Dam
    Exit H-287GQ
  • Desert
  • Sector E
    Underground parking lot
    Storage Unit 04
    Gene Worm hall

Blue Shift

Decay

  • Underground parking lot
Retrieved from "https://combineoverwiki.net/index.php?title=User:Klow/Stuff&oldid=366182"