Odell

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This article is about the early character. For his successor, see Odessa Cubbage.

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Odell
Biographical information
Homeworld	Earth
Function(s) / Belongings
Rank / Occupation	Engineer
Equipment	Welding torch Cigarette lighter
Vehicles	Submarine
Physical description
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Eye color	Blue
Chronological and political information
Era(s)	Combine occupation
Faction	The Resistance
Game information
Modeled over	Travis Dunlap
Designer(s)	Marc Laidlaw (backstory) Tom Leonard (artificial intelligence) ai_odellhackery1 and ai_odellhackery2
Entity	npc_odell

 

"Hey, here's a thought. I've got a cigarette lighter. You've got a gun. Maybe you should go first."

― Odell

Odell, originally known as Owen, is a character cut from Half-Life 2. His appearance was recycled for Odessa Cubbage.

Overview

Odessa Cubbage's model, based on Travis Dunlap who was the martial arts instructor of one of the game's developers, was originally intended for a character named Odell who was to be met at the start of the Borealis chapter. With grey hair, a beard, wearing an orange gumby suit and a dark brown-colored beanie, he is shown to have hurt his right knee at some point, as it is tied with bandages. He was to use a welding torch to unlock doors aboard the ship, an ability similar to the HECU Engineer's role in Opposing Force.

Odell was to be the engineer of the Borealis, a science ship stranded in the ice that had been discovered and attacked by the Combine. Odell was to be the only remaining crew member; Gordon was to meet him on the ship after leaving the Air Exchange, go through the ship and then leave in a submarine to Kraken Base to meet with Elena Mossman. Odell was then to die in the base while Gordon was to narrowly escape in an escape pod after battling Mossman.

According to the Half-Life 2 leak sound files, Odell's personality was to be that of a sarcastic, ironic man, making remarks in the vein of that of Barney Calhoun.

Behind the scenes

In the WC map pack maps, Odell's model appears often. It was used for measurements, light tests and placeholders (Alyx's model also alternatively fills this role). It also appears to be often used as a placeholder for Captain Vance in the Air Exchange maps.

Map d1_canals_end.vmf from 2003, found in the Half-Life 2 leak have a rebel with entity name underground_npc_odell. This may be a reference to Odell, or even one of the last attempts to fit him into the storyline. However, he uses a generic citizen model, and doesn't state his name in the placeholder dialogue.

Gallery

• 

  Picture of Dunlap, the martial arts instructor used as the reference for Odell's and Odessa's face textures.

• 

  Odell's model as found in the leak, with incorrect texture positions.

• 

  Odell's leak model with proper textures.

• 

  Early face texture.

• 

  Odell in a 2002 build of Half-Life 2.

• 

  Odell entering the Borealis through a starboard side deck.

• 

  Searching the ship for any signs of the crew.

• 

  Checking the captain's tape recorder.

• 

  A Stalker, standing in as a placeholder for an Alien Assassin, darts by and startles Odell.

• 

  Odell shortly before leaving the Borealis.

• 

  In Kraken Base.

• 

  Ditto.

• 

  Ditto.

• 

  Whiteboard outline for Kraken Base laying out Odell's death.

List of appearances

• Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar (Non-canonical appearance)

See also

• Borealis (cut ship)
• Half-Life 2 original storyline § The Borealis - Hyperborea

References

Combine OverWiki has a list of quotes for Odell.