Episode One is the first in a trilogy of episodes serving as the sequel of the 2

004 first-person shooter video game Half-Life 2.[13] In February 2006, Valve ann
ounced that they would be releasing a trilogy of episodes covering the same stor
y arc. While the plots and dialogue of Half-Life and Half-Life 2 were written so
lely by Valve's in-house writer Marc Laidlaw, the Half-Life 2 Episodes were coll
aboratively written by Laidlaw, Chet Faliszek, and Erik Wolpaw, with Laidlaw ret
aining overall leadership of the group.[14]
Valve explained that the focus of Episode One was character development, in part
icular that of Gordon's female sidekick and friend Alyx, because she accompanies
the player for virtually the entire game.[15] Project lead Robin Walker discuss
ed the reasoning behind this approach in an article announcing the game in the M
ay 2005 issue of PC Gamer UK, saying, "It's kind of ironic that despite so much
of the theme of Half-Life 2 being about other characters and other people, you s
pent most of the game alone."[16] Lead writer Marc Laidlaw expanded further on t
he game's premise, saying,