City 17

Introduction

City 17 is the main human population center on Earth under Combine control, and is probably located somewhere in Eastern Europe. The city also houses the Citadel (although it is not the ONLY Citadel on Earth), which serves as an administration center for all Combine operations as well as Dr. Breen's headquarters.

Architecture

City 17 represents an interesting juxtaposition between the old world and the alien Combine influence. Keep in mind that the very nature of the Combine is to assimilate other species into their power; they adapt rather than destroy and rebuild. Apartment buildings are converted into command centers; sentry towers are attached to tall office buildings; the railway station is being used to transport victims to Nova Prospekt, a human experimentation and augmentation facility. The buildings' original functions should be clear to the player, as well as the Combine's perversion of those functions.

The buzzword for City 17 when Half-Life 2 was in development was "Eastern European architecture". This basically means that buildings should seem old and strong; brick, stone, and to a lesser extent concrete work best. Balconies, pillars, and spires are common. Streets are not built on a grid basis, instead the precise arrangement of roads and buildings has evolved over many hundreds of years. Since it is probable that City 17 was under Communist rule for some decades leading up to the 1990s, it was likely to have been in a dilapidated, outmoded state even prior to the arrival of the Combine.

Certain buildings can appear elaborate if they are for public use - museums, libraries, government buildings, and so on. Look for pictures of buildings in western Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic and nearby nations for ideas. Also, while Brussels is a western European city, it too has some remarkable architectural similarities to City 17.

• Prague skyline
• Prague street and tram
• Prague street buildings
• Brussels skyline - complete with Combine citadel
• Google image search

Environment

City 17 is, obviously, a city, and as such buildings should work as borders for a level. Otherwise, Combine fences or, for smaller gaps, police themselves can be used. Buildings should be large and tall, not only to create better visual blocking but to create a slight claustrophobic feel, which may be desired.

Again, since this is a city, there is considerably less vegetation than other areas. Grassy areas should appear to be gardens or lawns, not open fields. The general sense of disuse and dilapidation means that vegetation is likely to be overgrown and unkempt. Also, since Half-Life 2 appears to be set during the late autumn, trees are almost bare and dead leaves are scattered over nearby pavements.

NPCs

Virtually any NPC will fit in City 17, with perhaps the exception of antlions, as City 17 is probably fortified against wildlife and is located away from the coast. It has been speculated that the machinery at the base of the Citadel works to discourage antlions - at any rate, antlions appear to make an entry into City 17 in the upcoming Half-Life 2: Aftermath mission pack.

Since almost anything can go in the city, wise NPC placement becomes a matter of timing. If making a single-player map, consider when in your storyline this level occurs. If making a multiplayer map that includes NPCs, focus on the player's abilities at the time they would encounter the opponent or ally.

Reference

Because of the importance of City 17 and the amount of time spent, only major or unique portions of the city will be referenced below.

Dining hall portion of the City 17 train station. Click to enlarge.