WHAT IS VANCE?: Vance is a reimagining of Half-Life 2 from the point of view of the deuteragonist Alyx Vance. In the universe of Vance, Gordon Freeman never returns and is presumed dead, leaving Alyx in his place.

STORY: The story Vance hopes to tell is a similar retelling to Half-Life 2, with some key differences: Vance respectfully uses Valve’s own cut creations to supplement the universe and provide new opportunities for gameplay, mixed in with our own carefully crafted original ideas. For example, the Coast section has been replaced with levels that are similar to the Wasteland, an area that was heavily cut down in Half-Life 2’s retail release. In the Vance universe, the Combine have drained a far greater amount of the ocean, leaving much of the seabed a desert, meaning that the player spends more time driving underneath the coast and on the seabed than near water. This is done to make Vance stand out from Half-Life 2, while not feeling like it’s just haphazardly using concepts from Raising the Bar with no thought into why those elements of story and gameplay never made it into the retail release. Remember that Vance also includes plenty of new ideas and possibilities, created with attention to their place in the Half-Life universe.

GAMEPLAY: The gameplay of Vance aims to be recognizable but distinguishable from Half-Life 2. A few concepts have been brought back from Half-Life 1, as well as plenty of completely new ideas. Combat is one of the main focuses on the team, as combat in Half-Life 2 has never been considered particularly outstanding. Vance aims to be more challenging and engaging thanks to the implementation of new enemies and new mechanics, along with revised and redone mechanics that were already present. Core level design is intended to be as similar to Half-Life 2 as possible, to the point where some maps will be completely recognizable as locations directly from Half-Life 2. However, the main combat sections are more arena based, as this better shows off the player’s (and enemies’) new mobility and verticality. There are also new utility mechanics, such as parkour, that will allow for new methods the player can utilize to problem-solve both in combat and puzzles.

GRAPHICS: Vance will make use of modern graphical and shader systems to both enhance the visuals, as well as provide more options for real-time environmental changes. Physically Based Rendering, Cascaded Shadow Mapping, Ambient Occlusion, Deferred rendering, Path Tracing, and other new additions are all changes in how Vance renders the world. Most of these things will be dynamic and directly controlled by the level designers. SOUND Vance will utilize a modular soundtrack, with industrial and techno elements and rhythms inspired by the original Half-Life. This soundtrack system will allow our level designers to create their own mix for individual levels, tailoring the pieces of the music to fit any particular level's setting or theme.

CREDITS: AdV Software & Rogue Lambda.