Xen (Half-Life)

In the Series of video game Half-Life , Xen is the world from where the Extraterrestres responsible for the incident in Black Mesa are originating. Xen is sometimes called “ world-border ”.

Presentation

Neither a real planet, nor a space station, the visible places by the player (through Gordon Freeman, Adrian Shepard and Barney Calhoun which has all three visited part of this world) let think that Xen is made up small Astéroïde S (or small island S) floating in what seems to be the empty vastness of a Nébuleuse.

Compared to that of the Ground, the Pesanteur on Xen is more reduced. However, being given the absence of real planet and as Xen seems made up only of asteroids of low mass, it is surprising that there can be any effect of gravitation appreciable, and even more surprising that he can exist an enough strong attraction to make it possible to maintain a viable atmosphere. Another strange effect, gravity is always directed towards “bottom” rather than towards the asteroid nearest so that one can really fall from an asteroid in the vacuum. If it is possible that these floating “small islands” are only satellites of larger and not-visible planetoid, the particular physical laws of Xen can let suggest that Xen is in another Dimension where the conventional physical laws do not apply. This version is also implied when Xen is mentioned under the term “world-border”.

At the end of Half-Life 2 , one can intend Doctor Breen to describe “”. It is probable that Xen is one of these worlds, to see even it “”.

Ecosystem

The asteroids of Xen contain a large variety of animal species and vegetable. If Xen constitutes their original ecosystem, all these species were moved elsewhere and were forced to run away itself elsewhere to escape their enemies.

Some species, like the barnacles , bullsquid and houndeyes , seem to occupy of the ecological niches similar to that of the animals Terrestre S in spite of a Anatomie and a not very common Physiologie. On their side, the crabs of head (or headcrabs ) visible in the Research center of Black Mesa are adult but their form Juvénile is met on Xen. They are infantés by another resident of Xen, Gonarch, giant monster of 6 meters.

Other creatures are with difficulty classifiables. Many luminescent stems not-mobiles appear in any Xen. They retract and die out with the approach of the player and, as for other species, it is difficult to determine whether it is about animal or of Végétaux. The landscape of Xen also comprises strange structures resembling Arbre S tentaculiformes. In at first sight, they gently balance until the approach of any prey which they stab then faultily.

More evolved/moved, of the species such as the Controllers and the Vortigaunts seem to attest of a advanced Civilization extraterrestrial. The species like the Alien Grunts and the Gargantuas could then form the military arm of this civilization. If these species differ from many manners, they share a morphology common including a third member apparently vestigial to the center of their Thorax and their Bouche with vertical opening, suggesting that they could be species closely dependant. At the end of Half-Life , the player discovers that this civilization is ordered by a central brain, Nihilanth.

Frequent on Xen and occasional with Black Mesa (where they are used as transport with the Alien Grunts ), of the organizations similar to lines manta are often met slipping into the vacuum. These creatures live in two forms: one with a “divided” head and a double tail, the other with a round head and a simple tail. They seem to follow and do not react to the attacks or the contacts with other organizations. However, they can emit a ray of energy and one of the lines with double-tail was seen assailing a plane V-22 Osprey in the kinematics of opening of Half-Life: Opposing Forces . It is not certain that these lines are really creatures alive or machines of war resulting from a advanced biotechnology (like that employed by the Trust).

In the sequence of end of Half-Life , and in several levels of Blue Shift, several kinds of flying creatures are observable, emitting alleviating sounds and moving quickly bandages some between the various floating small islands of Xen. Without incidence on the gameplay. They are indicated under the name of “”, probably in reference to Boids, a simulation of life on the behavior of the birds.

Reactions

Whereas the majority of first Half-Life is held in the complex of Black Mesa, the final chapters occurs on Xen. The opinions of the players are divided on this subject. Some think that the force of Half-Life is to integrate extraterrestrial creatures in a “normal” environment and that this force is lost when they are not any more but foreign creatures in a completely foreign environment. However, other players appreciated the levels on Xen for their dépaysant design and their design. Whereas many plays putting in scene the extraterrestrial ones draw their inspirations from films of horror, the creatures of Xen and their environment in Half-Life were very neat with a strong attention of the detail to make this world more credible (for example: ecology, traces of homologous anatomy…).

The many meetings of platform on Xen where the player jumps of small island in small island also displeased with some. The transgression of the usual physical laws implied several parts where the player must carry out series of rather precise jump where the least forgery not results in death. Many a hardcore gamers was opposed to this kind of test even if parts on Xen in Opposing Force and Blue Shift comprises less this kind of passage.

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