Cité 17

Cité 17 is one of the fictitious cities of the Video game to the first nobody Half-Life 2 (2004). Majority of the play, and entirety of the first continuation, Half-Life 2: Episode One proceeds in the city.

Characteristics of the city

Localization and architecture

Cité 17 is visually characterized by a big city of Europe of the East, and includes/understands primarily architectures of Eastern Europe, Néoclassicisme of before the Second world war with the rebirth of traditional of post-war period, and while passing by modernistic currents Soviet and post- Soviet Union. Moreover, many unutilised or abandoned vehicles strewing Cité 17 are inspired by the Soviet models Moskvitch, Zaporozhet, Volgas and KAMAZ, the East-German car Czech Trabant and the Avia S and Škodas, dating from years 60,70 and 80; such vehicles were usually seen in the countries and cities of Soviet Eastern Europe.

Influence of the Trust

With the domination of the Trust on Ground, the Trust would like to evolve to an architecture of constructions in monolithic black in the city, in the form of turns of observation, barricades, walls mobile and closed doors, all these elements being used to restrict the movements of the citizens in the city. Moreover, broad TV screens public, which diffuse the propaganda of the speeches of the administrator of the Trust on Ground, Dr. Wallace Breen, are installed on several places public for the citizens. In the middle of the city, draws up the Citadel, a giant skyscraper which is used as office to Dr. Breen. From a certain point of view, Cité 17 can be regarded as the capital of the world.

As there is little importance given to maintain certain parts of City 17, certain districts of the city suffer from urban decrepitude, and the visible damage before the birth of Resistance suggests that the city was attacked by the Trust during the Seven Hour old War. During the revolt, much of parts of the city wiped damage following battles between Resistance and the Trust., or because of the mobile walls which destroy any construction on their passage.

Indications in the railway station of City 17 show that other cities with the similar name exist close to City 17. It is mentioned Cité 14 by inhabitants of City 17 during the visit of Gordon of the station. Breen also states that Cité 17 is one of the last urban centres of quality of the Ground and that it chose to install its administration there, thus letting hear that there exist other similar cities.

Design of the city

The heart of the city is mainly made up of joint buildings, rebels and of a set the old ones and recent constructions. The public residences are also seen inside the city and on the peripheries, with larger varieties distinctive widespread in a city being composed most of the time of rises and strange constructions under the influence of the Trust. Certain residential buildings in the city were used as residences for the citizens, of the poor residences, with little luxury and the inspections and constant raids Civil protection. However the city is fed in electricity, like televisions and lights function, even in the dwellings of the citizens. One can think that the Citadel gets energy at the city because of important electric lines can be seen connecting the building to the city.

The suburbs of City 17 accommodate the industrial districts and of the additional Soviet residences, whose majority are prohibited access to the citizens and initially kept by soldiers of elite of the Trust. The industrial districts are connected to the city by railway lines and channels. In the port, one notes the presence of containers of the company North Petroleum as well as buildings carrying his logo NP .

Separately the deployment of mobile walls, the Trust did not touch in the majority of the city before the revolt of Resistance, preferring in the place to use basic walls and barricades technology, as well as patrols in and around the city, and thus to block and restrict with the citizens the access to the streets.

Transport systems

The grid system of City 17 was very sophisticated. In addition to Highway S and streets, Cité 17 has underground roads which circulate under the city. During the revolt of Resistance against the Trust, one could see tunnels, seriously damaged, sometimes flooded by toxic substances. Several railway lines circulate in the city, with at least a station which binds Cité 17 to the other cities controlled by the Trust. The Trust maximized the use of transport by developing APC, armored vehicles (APC: (Armored vehicle of transport of troops - VBTT)), which makes it possible to patrol on the existing roads, while using trains of pre-invasion and their own shape of trains to transport the citizens and the goods in and out of City 17 thanks to the railway lines. The presence of oars of trams given up in the streets of the city also lets think that Cité 17 also had a service of tram.

A canal system is also present in and around Cité 17. The majority of the intra-urban channels are however out of use, after the efforts of the Trust to drain water out of the city and to drain the channels. Nevertheless, Resistance continues to use the network and sewers to flee of the city and to reach the industrial channels, which lead to Black Mesa Is. The majority of the channels of the industrial sector are practicable, although certain portions are polluted by toxic products. Because of the ground and water alternation, the hovercrafts are the means of transport preferred of the members of Resistance during their voyages in the industrial channels.

Appearances

Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2: One episode

Half-Life 2: Two episode

Environment and origins of City 17

In Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar (official translated describing the construction of the universe of Half-Life 2 delivers ever), Cité 17 is described as being located in Eastern Europe. Certain fans think that Cité 17 is Sofia, in Bulgaria, the town of residence of the artistic director of Half-Life 2 , Viktor Antonov. This is based at the same time on certain resemblances between Cité 17 and Sofia, and on the frequent appearance of Bulgarian words (in characters Cyrillique) on panels and graffiti (certain words are even words in others Slavic languages). A concrete example is цимент ( cement ) written on the front of a large building with Ravenholm. Moreover, at the beginning of the play one can see a newspaper entitled РаботническоДело (Rabotnichesko Delo), which was the most popular newspaper in Bulgaria during its communist period.

Others think that Cité 17 is Riga, in Latvia. This is explained once more with the strong similarities between the play and the city. In an interesting way, a district of Riga called Vieux Riga resembles Ravenholm much (even if Ravenholm does not form part of City 17, but is a distinct community). Riga is also a coastal city whose coast resembles to mistake there with that seen in Raising the Bar . Riga is strongly impregnated Russian culture. Its horizon is made up of several buildings in a style and a color similar to those seen in Cité 17, and this area is famous for its influences Art nouveau. The Riga Old man has also lines of trams and churches, in which one finds the character of the Gregoire Father. More interesting, the number of arrows on the horizon (particularly since the suspended bridge of the Latvian city) and the castle of Riga, which are located close to the street of the citadel, are a possible inspiration for the Citadel of Half-Life 2 . City 17 also resembles Vilnius, in Lithuania, because the streets in the play are similar to those of Vilnus. The principal difference is the presence of channels in Cité 17.

Other fans said that the name Cité 17 itself refers to the Soviet practice to rather call the cities by a secret number than by their name, such as for example Arzamas-16, Krasnoyarsk-26, Tomsk-7…

Another possible influence is Saint-Pétersbourg, in Russia. That would explain the abundance of channels and the omnipresence of coffee stores called Baltic Café. Saint-Pétersbourg also has an avenue, the Perspective Nevsky, which resemble phonetically Nova Prospekt , the old prison maintaining with the hands of the Trust.

A trying possibility is Odessa, in Ukraine. This city is close to a great stretch of water, with architectural styles and a heritage similar, and one of the characters, Odessa Cubbage has the same name, just like the hiding-place in which this last and a group of rebels lives, which is called the Small Nouvelle Odessa ( NLO , New Little Odessa ).

However, in addition to elements of Eastern Europe, of the examples of influences Norwegian, Italy, Polish, Finnish and French also exist, suggesting that the decorations is an assembly of several European places.

Half-Life 2 occurs in winter, the insipid trees being stripped and colors. City 17 is in all the case in a climate Tempéré/Continental, in opposition to Half-Life first of the name, Black Mesa being in a desert climate of the desert of New Mexico to the the United States.

Random links: