Cortana from Halo could have been Alyx from Half Life 2
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One of the most complicated things involved in developing a new company, a new product or a new idea, is finding an appropriate name for it either. And the more people involved in the propositions and decision, the more difficult it is.
And so it happened, when it was just taking its first steps, what would be the future virtual assistant Cortana; that used a name - Alyx - just as mythical or more for the world of video games.
Half Life 2's roots in Cortana
Who is Alyx Vance - Alex in Spanish? Well, nothing more and nothing less than Gordon Freeman's companion in the second version of the first-person shooter Half Life Nominated by the majority of users and critics of the industry as the best action title of all time, and whose third installment has been expected for years.
This girl with multiracial features and a delicate figure, who has as a pet one of the cyber dogs with the most personality ever seen in a virtual adventure, is a co-star throughout the game's plot, pushing, pushing, defending and accompanying Freeman in the adventures within the post-apocalyptic world initiated in the secret laboratories of Black Mesa, years ago.
From a secondary appearance in the early stages of HL2, it gained prominence in the first and second chapters of the saga, until it became an icon of a female virtual avatarwhich is a compendium of sensitivity, intelligence, firmness, resolution and courage.
How did Cortana unseat Alyx?
However, the community, through the User Voice feedback tool, was enthusiastic about the idea of using the name of the character from the Xbox Halo game, Intelligence Artificial and faithful companion of the Master Chief: Cortana.
What's more, the debate quickly came to an end when some photos of an alpha version of Windows Phone 8.0 update 3 and 8.1 were published, where you could see the use of the zCortana name and that it was received very positively by potential users.
And so Cortana ousted Alyx as the name of the project, and so it has come to our phones.
More information | Here's what Microsoft's Cortana was almost called before you changed everything In XatakaWindows | Cortana in XatakaWindows, Cortana, a real virtual assistant in Windows Phone 8.1
