Proto:Half-Life (Windows)/September 1997 Prototype/Entities/Friendly Entities

This is a sub-page of Proto:Half-Life (Windows)/September 1997 Prototype/Entities.

Gordon Freeman (Ivan the Space Biker)

Gordon Freeman has a completely different design in the prototype. It was informally nicknamed "Ivan the Space Biker" by Valve.

It features a much bulkier HEV suit design with a dark yellow color instead of the final's, large gloves, and the word "RESEARCH" on his back. Gordon himself has a large beard and a flat top haircut. He has a Pistol glued to his right hand.

Inside the prototype's model folder are models for a blue Gordon, a green Gordon, and a red Gordon. These models are possibly for multiplayer team modes. If so, the prototype does not have a yellow model for Gordon (game modes with four teams would usually have red, blue, green, and yellow teams, as seen in popular Quake mods). However, considering the dark yellow color the regular Gordon model has, it could be that the regular model would've been used for players on the yellow team. These colored models use an even older model version than the version the majority of the prototype's models use.

This design appears in several early pre-release images, including some of the first few images ever released by Valve.

Interestingly, this model appears in the files of certain releases of the final game, including the Steam version. The model appears to be using the same model version the rest of the prototype's models use instead of the model format the final's models use, which made it impossible to view in a model viewer for a very long time. It also appears in Half-Life: Source's files, properly recompiled for the Source Engine's model version. Ivan would finally get his chance to shine when a deathmatch player model based off him was later added for multiplayer as a part of the 25th anniversary update of the final game.

One of the first Half-Life screenshots released. This one shows the Gordon model in the prototype.

Prototype	Final

Prototype	Final

Prototype	Final

bluedoc.mdl

A blue Gordon, likely for multiplayer.

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greendoc.mdl

A green Gordon, likely for multiplayer.

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reddoc.mdl

A red Gordon, likely for multiplayer.

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Security Guard

The Security Guard in the prototype is very different compared to the retail. The officer's helmet is different from the final product just like the rest of his model, with initials saying MP, short for "Military Police." In his model file, the MP officer possesses a walk and shoot animation, but it's very bare bones. His face also has a frightened expression, with blood on his armored vest and trousers. On the other side of the coin, his name tag is also different, also showing a picture of himself. He is equipped with a standard pistol and a nightstick. The final version removes the nightstick. Interestingly, in the prototype there is a model called player.mdl. This model is a version of Barney with much simpler animations, and it uses an older model format than the rest of the Prototype's models.

In-game, the guard behaves similarly to how he does in the final game.

While friendly to the player in-game, the walkthrough included with the prototype suggests at least one guard would be hostile; in C3A1, a guard was meant to activate two turrets in a lobby, and the player was meant to kill him to get a keycard.

Much like Ivan, the old Security Guard was later added as a multiplayer model in the 25th anniversary update, referred to Proto-Barney or "bbbbarney".

Pre-release image showing the Sep. 97 security guard.

Prototype	Final

Prototype	Final

Prototype	Final

Scientist

Scientists look a bit different in this prototype. Their ties are a blue and gray color, they wear a gray shirt, their labcoats have blood on them, their pants look more like jeans instead of proper pants and lack a belt, and their shoes are lighter than in the final game.

In the prototype, scientists have no gameplay purpose. They cannot unlock anything nor can they heal the player. The walkthrough included with the prototype suggests they were meant to unlock doors with retinal scanners like in the final game, but such function does not exist in the prototype.

The prototype's scientists lack a model for their needle, suggesting the ability to heal by interacting with them was not yet created at the time of the prototype.

Glasses

Glasses, also known as Walter to fans, is quite different in the prototype. While the general design is the same as the final's, his head is shaped differently from the final design, his eyebrows are in a > shape, he has some blood on his face, his lips are open instead of closed, and his glasses are slightly-less thicker, making it easier to see his eyes.

Prototype	Final

Prototype	Final

Prototype	Final

Einstein

The prototype Einstein is a bit different than the one in the final game. While still based off of the real Einstein, this one has large and innocent-looking eyes. His skin is more cream-colored than the final one's is, and his eyebrows and mustache are thicker and larger.

Prototype	Final

Prototype	Final

Prototype	Final

Egon

The prototype contains a scientist head that was removed in the final game. The head is a red-haired man with big, open, eyes and permanently clenched teeth. This variant appears in some early pre-release screenshots.

According to the level editor definition file bundled with the prototype, the name for this head is Egon (named after a character in the movie Ghostbusters). Valve seems to have had a thing for Ghostbusters, as the final's Gluon Gun is also named "Egon" internally.

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Older Glasses Design

The models cine_scientist and scienceeat use an older design of the Glasses scientist. This scientist is noticeably shorter than both the one used in the final game and the prototype.

His face is different from both the final and prototype designs. The prototype one has a permanently angry look on his face, round instead of squared glasses, no individually-modeled mouth, and lacks a glasses frame attached to his ears.

This design appears in very early screenshots.