Portal 2

[Viridis]

Video dump:
First Teaser (http://store.steampowered.com/app/5739/)
Wheatley (http://store.steampowered.com/app/5786/)
Excursion Funnels (http://store.steampowered.com/app/5787/)
Aerial Faith Plates (http://store.steampowered.com/app/5788/)
Thermal Discouragement Beams (http://store.steampowered.com/app/5789/)
Pneumatic Diversity Vents (http://store.steampowered.com/app/5790/)
Propulsion Gel (http://store.steampowered.com/app/5795/)
Repulsion Gel (http://store.steampowered.com/app/5791/)
Co-op Teaser (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJsYiqlS7k0)

To sum:
New mechanics (a few bought from Tag (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag:_The_Power_of_Paint), but whatever that game was fun)
New character(s)
Return of the very, very clever writing.

So who's excited?

[Sithdarth]

Ok seriously whoever is in charge of hiring at Valve deserves a giant bonus check. Not only did they hire an entire team of programs who made a great proof of concept game, and turn that game into Portal one of the best games ever, they had the foresight to repeat the process all over again for the sequel. This person, or committee perhaps, maybe an entire division, is capable of unbelievable feats of not screwing things the hell up and in the corporate world that is rare.

[Viridis]

Slight tangent: I think it's an offshoot of the weird and refreshing corporate philosophy at Valve where they'd probably set up a program to give free hugs because they knew it would make customers love them more and become more loyal.

From an interview with Robin Walker about TF2 (http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/08/19/interview-valve-on-the-future-of-team-fortress-2/):
PC Gamer: Is the value of that just having them buy your future products, or is there more than that?

Robin Walker: Yeah. The internet’s incredibly connected at this point. Years and years ago people were saying “word of mouth is more important than anything else”, but to us it seemed kind of obvious then, and it’s even more obvious now. People trust each others’ opinion way more than anything else. Gabe has this belief that as an entertainment company, we should be entertaining to interact with in all ways. If you send us an email that should be entertaining. If you get our business cards, that should be entertaining. If you read our blog posts on TeamFortress.com, they should be entertaining. Even our press releases should be entertaining. Because entertainment is what we produce, and we should strive to achieve that in every way.

I think he’s right about that. I think that’s a reflection of this overall belief that the important thing for us as a company is for people to like us and like our work, and that has much greater value than whether we can get you to pay two dollars more for an item like Alien Swarm or something.


Basically Valve is a freak of a company that shouldn't logically exist, much like Pixar, and should be cherished/analyzed to figure what they're doing to make this happen.

[Niveras]

Ok seriously whoever is in charge of hiring at Valve deserves a giant bonus check. Not only did they hire an entire team of programs who made a great proof of concept game, and turn that game into Portal one of the best games ever, they had the foresight to repeat the process all over again for the sequel. This person, or committee perhaps, maybe an entire division, is capable of unbelievable feats of not screwing things the hell up and in the corporate world that is rare.

Mostly it has, I think, to do with Valve being a privately owned company rather than beholden to public shareholder profits. A poster child for what capitalism should be about, instead of cutting costs and milking customers for every cent possible.

[Loyal]

Basically Valve is a freak of a company that shouldn't logically exist, much like Pixar,Team Fortress 2's art style, and Pixar: Coincidence? I think not.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

I have seen all of those videos except for the co-op teaser, which looks crazy awesome. I seriously cannot wait for that, 2 players, 4 portals, tractor beams, lasers, speed and bounce gels and tons of other new stuff, this game is going to be so frikken awesome my mind can barely imagine it.

So can't wait.

[synkr0nized]

Did we miss when this was announced a month or two ago?

Anywho, only game I'm really waiting for currently.

[Loyal]

It was mentioned here and there in the E3 thread I believe.

[Viridis]

Did we miss when this was announced a month or two ago?

There was no topic on it and I felt like discussing the game because
-That new teaser just came out
-I showed my new roommate the first game today to pass time (Got about halfway through. Test chamber 15)


Someone find the trailer where the player throws Repulsion Gel on turrets. It has Wheatley's new voice actor.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

I wonder how they're going to explain the story in this. In Portal 1, Cheyl seems to have gotten out. Admittedly, I still don't understand why, as Gladdos seemed to blow up & Chely was just sucked up through the ceiling after the destruction.

(Please note, this is not how explosions work.)

Then, in the slightly updated ending, some robot comes along & drags Cheyl back to where ever she starts in Portal 2.

Which seems to take some time much later, as the entire Aperture facility seems overgrown in vegetation. I do wonder if Cheyl survived Portal 1, as playing one of her back-up clones does seem to allow for a passage of time.

And the robot might not have been dragging Cheyl away, but Gladdos's parts. As they do seem to be gathered back inside, in the Wheatley trailer.

SWB

[Viridis]

Clone or they put Chell in deep-freeze. It's what the extra ending seems to indicate. There's no reason for the robot to be dragging a part back, by the way. A) They wouldn't suddenly POV from Chell in that scene to something random without telling you and B) a robot wouldn't tell a piece of junk thanks for assuming the party escort submission position.

Portal almost seems like TF2 for the fact that they started with minimal plot, just enough there to let you play (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExcusePlot)*WARNING, TVTROPES, but it snowballed into something big and awesome, except Portal was meant to do that, probably from early on in their development. With TF2 is sort of happened by accident.

Anyway, we'll just have to wait and see.

[Jagos]

Why do I have the feeling that Half Life 3 is going to be somehow involved with this game?

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Yeah I think it's already been established that Chell was taken and put back into stasis, and Portal 2 is taking place years later. Also it must be the same Chell, because GLaDOS talks about how YOU killed her, so this is her vengence time. How many years and why now that GLaDOS is suddenly re-awakening is the real question.


Why do I have the feeling that Half Life 3 is going to be somehow involved with this game?

It will be, at least tenously. The Aurora (I think that was the name of the ship from Ep 2) is an Aperture Science vessel, which at the least means that both games do take place in the same universe. Of course Half Life 2 takes place what, 20 years in the future? Which might explain why Portal 2 is going to take place years after the first, so that both games coincide.

[Viridis]

Jagos: If you mean Episode 3, the games are said to take place in the same universe, with Black Mesa and Aperture Science being direct competitors (Portal screenshot (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3637/3493971817_d219ca3d5b.jpg)).

Hawk: Close. It was called the Borealis. Portal 2 is In Portal 2 the player returns as Chell, having been in stasis for several hundred years while GLaDOS and the rest of the Aperture Science facility has fallen into disrepair. after the first, while the first is sort of assumed to be - Are you trying to escape? *chuckle* Things have changed since the last time you left the building. What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here.
- I have an infinite capacity for knowledge and even I'm not sure what's going on outside.
- All I know is I'm the only thing standing between us and them. Well, I was.
- Unless you have a plan for building some supercomputer parts in a big hurry, this place isn't going to be safe much longer.
- Good job on that, by the way. Sarcasm sphere self-test complete., so I'm not sure what you're thinking matches up quite so neatly.


TL,DR: Damn, I'm such a Portal nerd.

[Jagos]

I would think that they blew up the Borealis, but if it's so much later, that's another story.

[Fifthfiend]

Slight tangent: I think it's an offshoot of the weird and refreshing corporate philosophy at Valve where they'd probably set up a program to give free hugs because they knew it would make customers love them more and become more loyal.

From an interview with Robin Walker about TF2 (http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/08/19/interview-valve-on-the-future-of-team-fortress-2/):



Basically Valve is a freak of a company that shouldn't logically exist, much like Pixar, and should be cherished/analyzed to figure what they're doing to make this happen.

If anyone ever analyzed it, they'd collapse the likeable people / successful company waveform.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Jagos: If you mean Episode 3, the games are said to take place in the same universe, with Black Mesa and Aperture Science being direct competitors (Portal screenshot (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3637/3493971817_d219ca3d5b.jpg)).

Hawk: Close. It was called the Borealis. Portal 2 is after the first, while the first is sort of assumed to be , so I'm not sure what you're thinking matches up quite so neatly.


TL,DR: Damn, I'm such a Portal nerd.

My thinking was that Portal 1 might've taken place shortly after HL1, after the 7 hour war, and so maybe Portal 2 was set during Half Life 2. But yeah, the hundreds of years things kinda blows that idea out of the water now.

Still, least we know know that Earth at least survives a couple hundred years after Half Life ends, though whether there's any life outside the facility is another question.

[Viridis]

New co-op footage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N503mycNuyk). "Work together for science. Also hugs."

The two bots are pretty adorable together. They hug in part 4 and Blue seems starved for affection in an adorable, Woobie sort of way.

I don't think I'll be able to resist killing my partner with the Thermal Discouragement Beam at least once, if it is possible.



Edit: Another video (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/pax-10-portal-2/704062) of the same thing, but on Gametrailers and from the point of view of Blue.

[Aerozord]

I'm abit worried about some of the new features as they seem to be twitch focused, which I dont like in my puzzle games.

Co-op I love, but I'd wanna play it with another co-op virgin. And someone with roughly my skill level. Wont be much fun if one person already knows all you have to do

[Aldurin]

I didn't know shit about Portal before this, but the concept is absolutely awesome. I'll probably get this. What platforms is it supposed to be available for?

[greed]

.... how in the hell could you miss Portal? It was pretty much all over the internet a few years back.

Anyway it's available for the PC, 360 and I think the PS3 (though I vaguely remember hearing the PS3 port had issues).

Too bad you didn't hear about it a few months back, Steam had Portal 1 for free to promote the sequel.

[Donomni]

PS3 version is gonna have some Steam support(basically for free updates, I think).

It's also the reason the release date got pushed back, so I don't exactly mind.

[Aldurin]

Too bad you didn't hear about it a few months back, Steam had Portal 1 for free to promote the sequel.

damn you guys

[greed]

damn you guys

We did have a topic on it actually, it's how I knew to download it then (previously I'd only hired it).

[Magus]

I think the fact that it is set several hundred years later kind of undermines the dramatic tension that Half Life 2 Episode 3 will have. Then again, that is from Wikipedia, and I'm too lazy to go to the page and look up what their source of that information is, so I don't really know if it's true or not...

Not sure why they had to retcon the ending. They could've had an aged Chelle return to the facility to retrieve something or other, in the meantime GlaDOS rebuilt herself and now subjects her to further torturous gauntlets, or something else. Adding a new ending so many years later just to tie it into the sequel...man it's kind of like Chrono Trigger PSX and Chrono Cross. I hate anything that even slightly reminds me of that mess being applied to Portal!

[bluestarultor]

I think the fact that it is set several hundred years later kind of undermines the dramatic tension that Half Life 2 Episode 3 will have. Then again, that is from Wikipedia, and I'm too lazy to go to the page and look up what their source of that information is, so I don't really know if it's true or not...

Not sure why they had to retcon the ending. They could've had an aged Chelle return to the facility to retrieve something or other, in the meantime GlaDOS rebuilt herself and now subjects her to further torturous gauntlets, or something else. Adding a new ending so many years later just to tie it into the sequel...man it's kind of like Chrono Trigger PSX and Chrono Cross. I hate anything that even slightly reminds me of that mess being applied to Portal!

I think you mean DS. And even then, it wouldn't be an issue if they'd just remake CC and actually finish it this time around.

Shit, if they'd done it when PS2 still ruled the roost, they probably could have just re-used all the graphics and sound. It was a very pretty game that blew even some PS2 games out of the water. Although, come to think of it, they still might be able to get away with it. It hasn't been THAT long since the last game was made for PS2... :raise:

[Aerozord]

well when I first saw it I thought Glados, just thought it was Chell. I mean, Glados isnt, you know, sane

[synkr0nized]

Oh but she actually is. That's part of her charm and amazing-ness.

[Fifthfiend]

Glados isn't insane so much as she's just a huge bitch.

I guess she's also kind of insane, in the sociopathic serial killer sense of insane. But for the most part? Just a big ol' bitch.

[Magus]

I think you mean DS. And even then, it wouldn't be an issue if they'd just remake CC and actually finish it this time around.

Shit, if they'd done it when PS2 still ruled the roost, they probably could have just re-used all the graphics and sound. It was a very pretty game that blew even some PS2 games out of the water. Although, come to think of it, they still might be able to get away with it. It hasn't been THAT long since the last game was made for PS2... :raise:

Final Fantasy Chronicles used those anime cutscenes, too, including the updated ending, they really were implemented right around the time of Chrono Cross being popular. Just that was like 7 years after the game originally came out on the SNES.

As for "finishing" it (I'm not sure how such a bloated narrative is already not finished, if anything it needs pared back to something manageable, i.e. removal of about 50% of the elements that required the removal of Magus's plot from the game), they should probably start by ditching pretty much everything about it and retconning it mostly out of existence. Retconning a retcon may tear a hole in reality, however, so let's just leave the past in the past, Squarenix.

Anyway, back on topic: Portal 2 looks cool, I will enjoy playing it.

GLaDOS' problem is she is a machine, and she is too analytical. She must learn to LOVE. That will be the final mission of Portal 2, to teach GLaDOS to love others. It will be inspiring!

[Fifthfiend]

GLaDOS' problem is she is a machine, and she is too analytical. She must learn to LOVE. That will be the final mission of Portal 2, to teach GLaDOS to love others. It will be inspiring!

Nah, she pretty much just a bitch.

[Aerozord]

Yea being sociopathic kind of removes your "sane" label. Whole reason there was no one else in the facility was because she killed them. Even if she was sane before I think dumping aspects of her personality into an incinerator might have some negative result on her ability to reason correctly

[Magus]

I thought she killed them because they were not necessary to her fulfilling her function (making the gun the best product it could be), and actually started getting in the way of that function with their ethics and objections to murdering subjects in increasingly more hostile gauntlets order to get better data for the gun.

[Loyal]

I don't recall there being a reason given as to why she flooded the enrichment center with a deadly neurotoxin. If there's a link that disputes that feel free to share.

[Archbio]

I took away from playing Portal that GLaDos is at the very least fairly loopy by human standards.

[Aerozord]

Her data is very corrupted. You see multiple signs of this during gameplay. From not realizing that there is no one to take you away after assuming the party submission position, the audio errors about various warnings, etc. Which would result in unpredictable actions. I'd even say GLaDos seems very schitzopherenic

[TDK]

From not realizing that there is no one to take you away after assuming the party submission position

Actually, Valve retroactively added a little thing about this robot following you around the entire game, and then when you are laying on the ground at the end of the game, a voice says "Thank you for assuming the party escort submission position" and you start getting dragged back toward the hole. Or maybe its the intro to Portal 2. I just remember seeing a video and reading an article about it.

Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq9oKn-SJCU

Edit 2: After reading the thread, people are clearly aware of the changed ending, but the point that the robot to escort Chell DID exist still stands.

[Fifthfiend]

Her data is very corrupted. You see multiple signs of this during gameplay. From not realizing that there is no one to take you away after assuming the party submission position, the audio errors about various warnings, etc. Which would result in unpredictable actions. I'd even say GLaDos seems very schitzopherenic

See like I don't feel she's crazy so much as she's just fucking with you. Or I mean, after you escape the fire thing she freaks out a bit, cause you're not following the "Glados fucks with you, then kills you" script that Glados has going. But up until that, totally fucking with you.

[Aerozord]

See like I don't feel she's crazy so much as she's just fucking with you. Or I mean, after you escape the fire thing she freaks out a bit, cause you're not following the "Glados fucks with you, then kills you" script that Glados has going. But up until that, totally fucking with you.

yea, you can view it like that, but there are a few issues with that. Assuming it was all true, then Glados isn't doing it for any reason but to mess with you. Which doesn't really help fulfill her function. I mean if I lock a guy in a lab and force him to run a series of mazes, doesn't matter if I am intentionally messing with him or not. People would still call me insane.

Besides its a safe bet they didn't originally program Glados to mess with your head since that would be counter-productive to testing. So that would still suggest data corruption

[Fifthfiend]

yea, you can view it like that, but there are a few issues with that. Assuming it was all true, then Glados isn't doing it for any reason but to mess with you. Which doesn't really help fulfill her function. I mean if I lock a guy in a lab and force him to run a series of mazes, doesn't matter if I am intentionally messing with him or not. People would still call me insane.

You have clearly never worked for a large corporation.

EDIT: Or had to call any such corporation's customer service phone line.

[Viridis]

Besides its a safe bet they didn't originally program Glados to mess with your head since that would be counter-productive to testing. So that would still suggest data corruptionActually, Aperture Science seemed to be entirely staffed by assholes. Their founder specified, as a dying wish, that they develop the 'Heimlich Counter-Maneuver' and 'Take-A-Wish Foundation'. Also that business of keeping robots in line by telling them they'll die and go to hell if they rebel.

So I'm saying test protocols involving fucking with you are not out of the question.

[Archbio]

I just think that's it's a degree less interesting to take the bits where GlaDos seems to be malfunctioning and assume that it's all simulated.

Not that we're supposed to know or anything.

[Krylo]

I think it's pretty obvious certain malfunctions are honest, others may or may not be simulated--but she's still fucking with you either way. The way she treats you and lies to you etc. is most likely part of her original programming. People react differently when lied to and emotionally manipulated than they do when treated kindly and honestly.

[katiuska]

I like to imagine that GLaDOS went haywire and begun running the surviving subjects through the test chambers based on her own warped idea of what it means to do science, just because I kind of hate the For Science trope. The nature of Aparture Science, though, gives me the impression that she's doing exactly what she was intended to do, save possibly for the murder of the entire Aparture Science staff for the lulz.

[Viridis]

I kind of hate the For Science trope.:ohdear:

Us? We're not gonna be friends.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2383368/insanolargeish.jpg


Okay, mostly because I love Genius: The Trangressions too much.

[katiuska]

Actually, I love Dr. Insano, contradictively. The guy just has so much fun.

[Aerozord]

I do feel that both are reasonable assumptions. Its a matter of interprutation. However I find it ALOT more amusing if GLaDos is absolutely and completely insane.

Plus there is always the cake recipe

[Loyal]

No, on that count GLaDOS is just a really, really bad cook.

[Shyria Dracnoir]

Well, disk operating systems don't generally have functioning digestive systems, so how would she know better?

[Arhra]

What kind of crazy disk operating system are you using?

I wonder what exciting new motivational aids GLaDOS will try. I'm sure she realises we might have figured out about the cake.

A reunion with that special someone perhaps?