Antlion (Half-Life 2)

Antlions are a fictional insect-like alien species found in Valve Software's first-person shooter action computer game, Half-Life 2. They ended up on Earth after being transported from Xen by the portal storms. While they prefer sandy environments, these Antlions have otherwise little in common with real antlions, preferring to directly assault prey rather than passively trap them. Antlions appear in Chapters 7 (Highway 17), 8 (Sandtraps), and 9 (Nova Prospekt) of the game. They are seen in Half-Life 2: Episode One throughout City 17, and also feature in the trailer for Half-Life 2: Episode Two, where a different colored Antlion Guard hurtles through a tunnel, and several Vortigaunts are seen attacking Antlions with their signature green energy blasts.

Antlions
Antlions live in underground colonies, typically situated in sandy areas such as beaches. They usually hide under the sand, waiting for anything unlucky to cross its path and then quickly surface and tear it apart. Antlions sense a victim's presence via vibrations transmitted through loose soil or sand. This makes it possible to safely venture through Antlion territories by walking solely over foreign items placed on the sand, or by walking across rocks. If a swarm of them are disturbed, temporary refuge may be sought in water, since Antlions cannot swim and quickly drown when they come into contact with it. It is also possible to flip the Antlions over with a burst from the Gravity Gun, allowing for a quick escape. Antlions also possess the ability to fly over short distances. Their aggression is not limited to humans or even to the Combine. When undisturbed by human interference, they will also attack other xenofauna such as headcrabs.

The Combine refer to the Antlions as "virals," "biotics," or "exogens." When Gordon Freeman assaults the Nova Prospekt maximum-security prison, bringing many Antlions with him, an Overwatch soldier can be heard mentioning a "full biotic overrun" of the facility. In their attempts to fend off the creatures, another soldier over the radio can be heard saying, "Nomad, get those restrictors back online, your sector shows active biotics." The term biotic however might be a general term used by the Combine to refer to hostile life forms such as antlions, headcrabs and other Xen life forms.

The behavior of Antlions in respect to sound, vibration and aversion to water is analogous to that of Sandworms in the Dune universe. However, while the use of Thumpers in the Dune universe attracts Sandworms, Antlions in Half-Life 2 are repelled by the strong vibrations produced by them, possibly causing either sensory overload to them, or causing them pain due to their sensitivity to vibrations. Other similar fictional creatures include the Graboids of the film Tremors, which react in a similar way to loud noises such as explosions, and the arachnid warriors of the film version of Starship Troopers.

Antlions are the only enemies in Half-Life 2 that gib rather than becoming ragdolls if killed with a stronger weapon (save for zombies sometimes being blown or cut in half, and occasionally the larger synths).

In the second Episode Two trailer, a new variation of Antlions is seen. These Antlions appear to have a glowing green abdomen, similar to a firefly. Antlions are very protective of these young, shown that they become more aggressive with each death. These Antlions in one teaser trailer seemed to explode with an acidic blood which burned the player.

Antlion Guards


Far larger and stronger, Myrmidont giganticus have command and control over Antlions. Their primary attack is a charging head butt; or simply a head butt if within range of a strikable target. Any objects within the Myrmidont's line of sight are thrown towards enemies.

While traveling along the coast, an encounter ensues with a Myrmidont. After its defeat, a Vortigaunt extracts its aromatic pheropods. The "bug bait" identifies Gordon as a Myrmidont and grants command and control over Antlions. Antlions will swarm wherever a burst pod lands. Pheropods can also be thrown at soldiers, temporarily debilitating them when it bursts, releasing its contents. It is not known how thrown pheropods are replaced. It has been theorized that a pherapod would drop a smaller pod off of it and the smaller bugbait would grow. Worthy of note is that the Antlion guard, when viewed in the Source SDK model viewer, has an unused animation for throwing a pherapod with its shortened front 'claws'.

As Gordon progresses into Nova Prospekt, an Overwatch soldier can be heard saying, "Warning, primary target is, uh, engaged in, uh, command and control tactics with biotics. Repeat: Primary target has tactical C&C over biotics." It is also curious that antlions are absent whenever Antlion Guards are present, other than the first Antlion Guard Gordon fights, which has the ability to call nearby antlions for help.

An image caption on the official Episode One site refers to an Antlion Guard seen in a screenshot as an "Ant Lion Queen", although it bears no difference in appearance from other normal ones (Alyx herself simply calls them Antlion Guards). Though this could simply be an error, it may indicate that this particular specimen is a female of the species, or that possibly all Antlion Guards are female. There is an unused alternate texture for the Antlion Guard in the Episode One gcf file, giving the creature a blue-color skin. An Antlion Guard with a glowing abdomen, similar to the glowing Antlions mentioned below, has also been seen in recent Episode Two media.

Antlion Grubs


Antlion grubs are the apparent larval form of Antlions that were first seen in the leaked beta version of Half-Life 2, but were subsequently cut from the final game. These creatures are evidently returning in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Trailers show that Antlion grubs can be stepped on, killing them, and that they also glow. Despite the fact that they are easily killed, evidence from the recently released gameplay movies suggest that once they are killed, nearby Antlions can be alerted to the presence of trespassers. This theory is strengthened by the fact the player can be seen jumping over the grubs, however every time the player does manage to touch or kill one, a horde of Antlions (and sometimes an Antlion Guard) soon appear.

When killed, they drop a small green ball of goo that is used the same as a health pack for 1 point of health.

Poison Antlions
This form of Antlion was only shown in a Half-Life 2: Episode Two trailer. Found deep in the Antlion colonies, these forms of Antlions have glowing red and black abdomens and, with an effect similar to the poison headcrab's venom, drop Gordon's health significantly until an antidote is provided from the HEV suit. No further information is available as of yet on these new mysterious Antlions, but more will be revealed in the release of Episode Two. Early speculation has led to the belief that the light is meant to be the result of the evolutionary theory. Certain Antlions may have evolved a form of bioluminescence, producing light so they can attract prey/see in the dark - hence the reason for these glowing antlions to appear in an underground cave. This is very similar to the 'Angler Fish', which uses light to attract prey. Another idea is that they are antlion children between maturity and being a larvae, this is supported by the fact that they also glow like the larvae.

Antlion Workers
Not much is known about this Antlion only that it was found on the Orange Box site as Concept Art in the picture in the middle of the gallery.

Its abdomen and legs are similar to that of a standard antlion. It also has a head similar to a terrestrial ant's, and what appears to be a small pair of wings.

They spit toxic acid.

Antlion King
A so-called "Antlion King" was touted in a few previews. It appeared to have a face resembling more of an alien, as it has few insectoid qualities. According to Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, Gordon was supposed to actually fight one of these in a "boss battle" underground. However, as the above-ground levels gained more detail and the below ground levels shrank, the decision was made to cut the Antlion King from the game. It may be the center of Antlion colonies if they are social creatures like bees or ants, but this is unlikely as the title of "King" suggests that this Antlion is male. However, the Raising the Bar book also says that the Antlions were to have a patriarchal society as opposed to matriarchal, possibly dictating that they mate in a different way than other lifeforms typically do. Another Raising the Bar fact was that the antlion king was originally to be fought in a huge underground nest area with antlions crawling all over the walls and ceiling, but there were so many antlions increasingly being put in that there was no room for the king. Also found in Half Life 2: Raising the Bar was the slightly comical comment from one of the game designers tried to sculpt the Antlion King out of clay, which took many attempts to create without it collapsing.

Reproduction
It is not known how Antlions reproduce, but it is possible that they live in social colonies like bees or ants. This is supported by the fact that Antlions commonly work together and the presence of Myrmidonts suggest that they have some form of caste system (another possibility would be that Antlions have a form of extreme sexual dimorphism). A scene from the trailer for Episode Two also supports this. In it, an Antlion Guard is seen charging through a tunnel with what appears to be Antlion grubs on the walls. However, a resistance member also mentions that the Antlions have a "spawning season". He could have been referring to adolescent females breeding with drones, however Gordon only encounters one type of Antlion throughout the entire Highway 17 trip. This suggests that Antlions may be able to breed individually, as opposed to the colony theory. Although some suggest that currently mating antlions could be residing underground. Antlions could also be independently breeding creatures that live in queen-less colonies. It should also be noted that antlions have different markings and patterns, Some appearing more yellow, while others have black and red markings on the upper wing casing. What relevance this has with creatures that are supposedly sightless is unknown, but may be indicative of gender.

It needs to be pointed out that, as aliens from another dimension, there is no reason that antlions would reproduce in a fashion similar to terrestrial organisms. It is possible that antlions have three sexes, and myrmidonts are a non-reproducing neutral sex whose only function is guarding nests.

Defense


Along the coastline are areas protected by mechanical emplacements the Combine call "Restrictors", dubbed "Thumpers" by resistance members. By repeatedly pounding the earth with metal beams, the vibrations produced deter the vibration-sensitive antlions. Large scale Restrictors appear around the perimeters of Nova Prospekt.

In Half-Life 2, stretches of beachsides devastated by antlions prompted the Combine to set up Restrictors to combat the threat. Within City 17, the base of the Citadel functions as a massive Restrictor, installed on the sides of the structure operating constantly. This implies antlions have overrun much of the land. The destruction of the dark fusion reactor ceases most of the Citadel's functions, effectively nullifying the only defense City 17 had against an Antlion invasion. Soon afterwards, City 17 is overrun.

In Episode One it is also revealed that it is possible to block Antlion burrows with large, heavy objects such as cars. Once blocked, Antlions can no longer emerge to the surface. The improvised barricade is seen thumping as the creatures repeatedly impact the plug from below. The only method for Antlions to bypass this barrier is if an Antlion Guard strikes the barricade with its charge attack.