Valve teases Portal 2

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3273954

Portal 2? Half-Life 3? Something else entirely?

:idea:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
http://i47.tinypic.com/2qnzhax.png

This made me laugh :ganishka:

This is one of the cooler viral marketing things I've seen lately. My blind guess is that this is all related to a Portal 2 announcement that'll come later.

Some on the forum were pointing back to that "what's in the box" short film that was posted about a y ear ago that was reminicent of Half Life2. Apparently another video was released later: http://babel-research.eu/129/222/315.html
 
I hadn't seen that second part! Damn. :isidro:

For those who haven't seen the first, you must, even if you know nothing about Half Life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU_reTt7Hj4 It is stunning in its own right.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
It is pretty cool, but I don't think it's Half-Life related at all. Just a short film that uses some HL sound effects. They interviewed the director a few months back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8rRb4z0gVA&feature=related I personally liked it better when we didn't know FOR SURE :judo:


Anyway, an update for the uninitiated, what we know is that Valve released a patch that affected Portal and HL2: Ep2 tonight. A new achievement was added to Portal called "Transmission Received." As you do the steps necessary to get the achievement, you'll hear radio messages broadcasting morse code. These were decoded to reveal some images that revealed a phone number to a BBS in Washington State, which takes you to a login screen asking for a GLaDOS login. So far no one can get past the login screen.
 

turkitage

ターク
wow that was really cool. I wasn't sure what was going on.. if it was a video game? a movie? or what. It definitely got the half life feel. Thanks for the link to the interview.. cause I'd MUCH prefer knowing.. as oppose being baffled.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I should have updated this earlier today, but someone got past the login screen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DXvs0NV6uw

Shows ASCii art with GlaDOS images.
 
Here's a link to the images with a CSI enhance: http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/danfox99/ascii2.jpg

This is all pretty cool. I hope they announce something before E3.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Tough to say what they'll do... I can foresee them announcing the title shortly before E3, with footage and images to be shown at the event. Pretty sure that's what they did with HL2 back in 2003. Of course, that was 7 years ago...


Update: Kotaku did a decent recap of what we know so far. http://kotaku.com/5484157/valves-portal-puzzle-so-far-the-files-recovered-from-aperture-science
 
PortalHubBanner.jpg

Surprise! It's Portal 2. More info will come in the next days: http://gameinformer.com/mag/portal2.aspx
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Great! Thanks for the heads-up. You were Johnny-On-The-Spot with this.

Pretty predictable though. I think "Portal 2" was everyone's guess from the very beginning. Still, this generated some interest, I'm sure, and refocused everyone's attention on how awesome Portal was.

Some new info posted by Kotaku:

[quote author=http://kotaku.com/5486758/portal-2-adds-multiplayer-co+op-hits-this-holiday]Coming this holiday. Portal 2 is the sequel to 2007's Game of the Year and draws from the award-winning formula of innovative game play, story, and music that earned the original over 70 industry accolades. Features single and multiplayer co-op modes. The single-player portion of Portal 2 introduces a cast of dynamic new characters, a host of fresh puzzle elements, and a much larger set of devious test chambers. Players will explore never-before-seen areas of the Aperture Science Labs and be reunited with GLaDOS, the occasionally murderous computer companion who guided them through the original game. The game's two-player cooperative mode features its own entirely separate campaign with a unique story, test chambers, and two new player characters. This new mode forces players to reconsider everything they thought they knew about portals. Success will require them to not just act cooperatively, but to think cooperatively.[/quote]
Multiplayer? Sure why not. But that's certainly not why I'm excited about it.
 
Game Informer said:
The fiercely independent studio is investing more time, more capital, and more risk into a stand-alone, full-price retail release.

This probably means it'll be longer. Man, too bad we have to wait until Christmas. :puck:

Walter said:
Multiplayer? Sure why not. But that's certainly not why I'm excited about it.

This should be a fun addition! I wonder what they'll come up with for the single player campaign, though. They have to innovate somehow, I doubt they'll just add new levels to the same exact gameplay.

The GI scans are out, I'll put new info on spoilers for those that don't want to know things like when the game takes place or who's the antagonist.

- Portal was a 'trial'. Size and assets specifically kept minimal. Had no idea it would be this popular.
- Portal was a 'test bed', Portal 2 is a 'game'.
- GlaDOS returns as the antagonist.
- Chell returns, and we play as her.
- Portal 2 takes place a long time after the original. Hundreds of years, in fact. The complex has overgrown.
- Those orbs seen at the end of Portal are personality orbs. They've cornered off sections of the labs as their own, and are concerned about the decaying state of the complex.
- The opening sounds fucking awesome. Im a bit shitty I spoiled it for myself.
- Portal gun remains unchanged.
- Physics will now be part of portal puzzle solving. EG: A vent that sucks air in can be combined with a portal to 'suck' from a different location.
- "Paint" mechanic, various liquid substances that cause some reaction. For example, in the demo shown a orange substance on the floor caused Chell to be propelled upwards. Using portals you can apply these 'paints' to other areas of the level for puzzle solving.
- Reflection cubes will allow Chell to reflect lazers for various puzzles.
- The co-op campaign will have you playing as two bipedal robots. The like to hold hands.
- Splitscreen for people playing on the console, and 'picture in picture' available for those playing remote co-op (eg: PC). This allows you to easily communicate with the other player and combine efforts for puzzle solving.
 
Here's some magazine scans. Be wary of spoilers.

http://i45.tinypic.com/153o6xc.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/29yqfx1.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/f1k1fb.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/27x49dc.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/2nro515.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/b5jsc6.jpg
 
not particuraly excited about it being hundreds of years into the future. I also remember being extremly disappointed with Half Life 2 when all the sudden you were in this city 17. Why not just let the story continue where we left off. :judo:
But enough bashing, most likely it will still be enjoyable
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Everything sounds great to me, so far. I read that they won't be expounding on the Half Life connection this time. For a second, I felt a little miffed, but ultimately realized that wasn't what made Portal a special game. It was just like a special dessert that occurred toward the end.

Asic, HL2 DOES pick up where HL1 left off. Gordon is just thrust into the future by the G-Man's portal. But you would rather HL2 had started off in Black Mesa, the middle of nowhere? I thought starting in City 17 was extremely ambitious. All the detail and Orwellian motifs in that starting portion of the game still mesmerize me to this day. :beast:
 
That website was updated with this nice video interview of how Portal came to be, it's pretty cool: http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/03/08/narbacular-drop.aspx

I also didn't mind their decision to place the game's story far from Half Life's. I never saw it as a mini-game set in HL's world, and if anything it shows that they're confident the second game will stand on its own and be successful, which means it will kick much more ass.
 
Walter, I guess I was never really swept into HL2 like with the first Half Life, the city 17 threw me off. One thing I loved a lot about Half Life was no cutscenes and a continuous level design which the second followed quite well but the combine replaced a lot of Xen creatures and military (the military AI was insane in the first game).

Actually it wouldn't have been that uninteresting to be on the surface after the Black Mesa trying to get to a place g-man mentioned or something that would keep Gordon on a goal. Seeing the ramifications of the Xen, Martial Law etc.. a lot of stuff could happen. I still enjoyed HL2 though, just not as much as the first :SK:
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Valve's CEO Gabe Newell called Portal 2 "The Best Game We've Ever Done"

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178323

He said this in an unscheduled interview after receiving the GDC 2010 Pioneer Award. I think he was just hyping the project with a hyperbole. I can't imagine he's being 100% genuine with a statement like that, which was basically an aside.
 
Best update so far: a little tour on Valve's old and new studios.

http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/03/29/valve-studio-tour.aspx
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
Valve's CEO Gabe Newell called Portal 2 "The Best Game We've Ever Done"

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178323

He said this in an unscheduled interview after receiving the GDC 2010 Pioneer Award. I think he was just hyping the project with a hyperbole. I can't imagine he's being 100% genuine with a statement like that, which was basically an aside.

Well, he followed up with, "It's pretty clear, just internally." You sound like his press secretary, trying to temper his comments. =)
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Konketsuji said:
It's a good news, but I think they're gonna launch a space shuttle next just to make us forget about Episode 3...
I think Ep 3 has become Half Life 3 at this point. It'll have new tech (next level of Source, or something new). That's the only way I can rationalize, in my own mind, the massive delay for this "episodic" game.
 
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