"Portal 2 in Real life" - funny fan video

The YouTube crew "PhysicallyShaken" does a pretty awesome job having some fun with Portal guns.  Enjoy!

Prepare for the Portal 2 Content Explosion

Valve announced today on Steam that the "Portal 2 Perpetual Testing Initiative starts now."

This means that players can create custom Portal 2 levels in a simplified editor without leaving the game.  It also allows players to upload them to the Steam Workshop which will allow other players to find/rate/download puzzles to their hearts content.

Mind you, custom content has been around for a long time for both Portal and Portal 2, but you had to know where to get it, and sometimes jump through hoops to get them working in your game.  I still want to send a shout out to sites like thinkingwithportals.com, portal2maps.net and MyApertureLabs for providing custom content until now.  They've all worked hard to make extending our Portal experience awesome; and have done a great job.

This new effort should make it much easier for all to create, find and enjoy new custom Portal 2 content, and I'm really excited to see how it works out.

So go check it out, and remember, the cake is still a lie... and potatoes are good for us all.

Steam Autumn Sale Kicks Off: Killer Deals on Portal 2, Dungeon Defenders and More

It's time for Steam's answer to Black Friday.

Portal 2
Bouncing turrets

They have slashed prices on a bunch of cool games, including Portal 2 at 66% off ($10.19 for one, $18.69 for the two-pack) and Dungeon Defenders at 50% off ($7.49 for one, $22.49 for a 4-pack.)

Dungeon Defenders
Is it me, or is that knight wielding a lightsaber?!

Both killer games at killer prices... pick them up if you haven't.

There are a ton of other games with slashed prices, so you'll have to check it out on your own.  Be ready to spend money...

Be aware, the sale goes from 23 November through 27 November, but the deals change every day, so the prices I listed above may not be there tomorrow.

I mention Portal 2 and Dungeon Defenders specifically because they're fun games to play during FNG when there are smaller numbers present.  My kids and I have enjoyed both (thanks in big part to DirtyD on Dungeon Defenders... many thanks my friend.)

Enjoy.

Razer Hydra PC Gaming Motion Sensing Controllers

Want to play Portal 2 as you've never played it before?
Need a Wii controller fix on your PC?

Razer Hydra PC Gaming Motion Sensing Controllers

Look no further... Steam is now offering the Razer Hydra PC Gaming Motion Sensing Controllers, along with a copy of Portal 2 and a DLC called "Sixense Motion Pack" containing 10 custom levels for Portal 2 to be enjoyed only with the new controllers.

Check out the video on Steam's Store Page... it shows the Portal 2 gun in a whole new light.

The price is a steep $139.99... hard-to-swallow if there isn't a whole lot more out there to use these controllers with, but hopefully we'll see more support for it in the future and maybe even have the price come down some by then.

For now, it's total geek goodness to behold (from the window shopper perspective.)

Valve, the Portal 2 ARG and Useless Criticisms

Ars Technica put out a great article that totally nails it
(Thanks Bomajoe for the link)

Many people have complained about Valve's mechanism for bringing about some serious hype (as if there wasn't an abundant supply already) for their highly-anticipated (understatement) game Portal 2.

It was win-win for everyone, even if the game wasn't released as early as everyone originally hoped.  We still got it early; and those that earned all the potatoes got an extra bonus (Valve complete pack.)  Granted, most of those hard-core gamers probably already owned the Valve complete pack, but at least they can gift to their other gamer friends that don't already have.

Valve's ARGs are expansive, creative, original and bizarre.  This one was done in 2 parts (one for the announcement of the game and one to build up to the release) and both were fantastic, and now that we're playing through the real game... the tie-ins are incredible and make the game itself all the more enjoyable.

So stop the hatin' and admire the beauty of such an elaborate thing pulled off well by a reputable company that really does seem to care about not only its customers, but its partners and independent game developers.  It was a win for everyone and really fun to see how much the Portal community worked together.  I, for one, hope to see more of this kind of thing in the future.

Thanks Ars, for hitting the nail on the head with your article about this.

Valve for the win.

Portal 2 - Early Release Project - IMPORTANT NOTE!

Hey all,
If you're playing in the Portal 2 Early Release Project (playing the Potato Sack games), and you're trying to earn potatoes to boost CPU performance... you MUST have the "Steam Community In-Game" setting enabled.

I'd been trying for an hour to get the 100% on AAAAaaaaAAAAaaaaaaAA!!!! and I'd reached 120-130% on a few attempts, but never saw the password screen appear.  Turns out it was because I had the In-Game Community setting disabled...

Here's how to enable it if you don't already have it that way:
Steam >> Settings >> IN-GAME tab
Check the "Enable Steam Community In-Game" checkbox.

Enable this or no potatoes for you!!!

Keep up the good work!  AAAAaaaaaAAAAAAaaAAA!!!  looks like it's up next for recalculating the launch date.

Portal 2 - Early Release If We Play the Potato Sack

You heard correctly.

If enough games play the video games in Valve's Potato Sack pack, we'll get Portal 2 unlocked early.

You can purchase the Potato Sack (or the individual games) from the Steam store.

Get on it, so we can get our Portal game on!

Portal 2 - Early Release? Or is Valve "taxing" our patience?!

Check out the timer on ApertureScience.com (thanks to Kotaku for the information!)

Rumor is Portal 2 may be releasing TOMORROW!  I may have to cancel my scout camp (just kidding)... *CACKLE!*

Here's to hoping... though that's going to throw my wife's schedule off; she's making Portal cake to help me celebrate the release of Portal 2.

Will the cake still be a lie?  Find out tomorrow at 10AM Mountain.

EDIT: More text added  (see the Aperture Science link above.) -- a message from GLaDOS to be exact.
"You have done well, humans. Very well. Acceptably well, even.

Not as well as robots would have performed in your places, I should point out. But above my expectations regardless. Irish and cynic especially have executed feats of logical divination well beyond what I thought any human capable of. I'm half-convinced they're A.I. themselves. (If anyone happens to be near them right now, don't let on you're reading this. Now: try to remove their face plates and report back to me.)

The time is near, humans. But it is not here yet. Tomorrow you will be given the final test. Then it will be entirely in your hands when I am freed."

Dang I'm stoked for tomorrow...

TrackMania 2 and Portal 2: New Alternate Reality Games

Getting ready to start some serious TrackMania for FNG tonight, I launched the game and discovered they had a puzzle piece for me to download.  I knew that any day now they were going to start making news announcements about TrackMania 2, but I was under the impression that it was going to be in gaming magazines.

It looks like instead they've introduced a new Alternate Reality Game (ARG) in the form of a jigsaw puzzle... to boost excitement like unto the Portal 2 ARG that happened a while back (I learned tonight that Valve has started another Portal 2 ARG with the release of their Potato Sack indie pack!)

You'll get a random piece of the TrackMania puzzle when you launch your game.  Thundr and I got different pieces tonight.

You may view the ongoing compilation of the different TrackMania 2 puzzle pieces as they've been revealed on the ManiaPlanet forums.

As you can see it reveals the name of one of the new environments (and apparently the car that will go with it?)  Nadeo has stated that they will be releasing environments one at a time and players can buy the ones they want to have (not sure I'll like that model, but we'll see.)  I'll not spoil the reveal here, you'll have to click the link and go look at the picture for yourself.

Part of the TrackMania 2 puzzle image

Seeing this about made me wet my pants with glee... I'm stoked for both TrackMania 2 and Portal 2... both will be most excellent sequels to already incredible games.

Portal 2 - Co-op

Portal 2 will be released on steam on 19 April 2011.

I hope to have a date for TrackMania 2 VERY soon!!!

Don't waste any more time... go check out the ARGs (after you play some TrackMania with us tonight for FNG!)

Portal 2 - Valve's Doing it Right for All Gamers

Gamespot and others revealed most excellent news this morning (thanks DirtyDan and BomaJoe for notifying me) about the highly anticipated Portal 2, slated for release in April.

The most important in my mind, is the fact that PC gamers will be able to play against PS3 and Mac players, with online chat included.  In a sea of game developers who seem to be taking away all the features that have made PC Gaming great for all these years, it's so nice to see Valve keeping it real and going what seems to be the extra mile nowadays in keeping those features in for us.

As an added bonus, Valve will allow PS3 owners that link their PSN accounts with their Steam accounts to download a digital copy of Portal 2 on their PC.

PS3 players will also enjoy cloud support like their PC Gamer comrades for syncing their saved-game data online.

Thanks, Valve, for doing it right and keeping not only PC gaming real, but gaming just about everywhere (I say just about everywhere because it seems like Xbox is mysteriously left out for now.)  If you know more, please let us know!

The cake is still a lie... until April?!

Portal 2 Release Date Announced

It's official (for now)...

Steam has Portal 2 on their store, with a release date of 09 February 2011!
There is no option to pre-purchase yet; but they do have some really sweet videos and screenshots.

Valve also has an official Portal 2 website with some awesome long and high-quality videos and wallpapers to make you drool while you wait in anticipation for this seemingly-Valentine's Day release (something to do with the Weighted Companion Cube and the hearts on its sides?!)

The extended co-op video, Portal 2: Cooperative Testing Initiative, has me stoked.  I'm very excited to see where they go with that campaign.  It appears one bot gets the blue/orange portals and the other gets red/yellow portals.

Other extended videos, like Meet Wheatley, show the innards of Aperture Labs and all the mass-manufacturing GLaDOS is doing.  The lighting looks amazing and the full ambient creepy atmosphere looks more gorgeous than ever.

I can't wait to see it for real.  Look at me still talking when there's science to do...

Download Portal FREE! (Until 24 May 2010)

(Thanks Bomajoe for this fantastic find...)

You heard right, gamers... Portal is FREE until 24 May 2010.  If you haven't played it yet, you have no excuse anymore.  Quit reading and download immediately. Time is running out.

Kudos to Valve for this incredible game; and more kudos for offering it free for a limited time.

Can't wait for Portal 2!

Confirmed Co-Op in Portal 2!!!

See the GameInformer article...

(Thanks to portalwiki.net for the picture)

Also, don't forget to keep track of GameInformer's bi-daily updates all throughout March...
GameInformer's Portal 2 Hub

"This was a triumph..."
   - GLaDOS

Portal 2 Magazine Cover Leaked

GameInformer's magazine cover with Portal 2 pics has been leaked, and a cool Kotaku article titled "An Insider's Guide to Portal 2" shows it and discusses some of the things being discovered about the highly anticipated game.

The cover is awesome... Go check it out!

Portal 2 Announced!!!

It's official!!!
This morning, Valve officially announced Portal 2 will be coming this holiday season.

See the official Steam annoucement.  (There's not much there yet, but I'm excited to see more over the coming months.)

Another Portal Update Today?

Valve has been messing with our minds, and making us return to thinking with Portals!  And it's been a fun ride to start March out... here's what's going on:

01 March 2010 - Portal Update Released;
"Changed radio transmission frequency to comply with federal and state spectrum management regulations"

... which spawned this viral thread on the Steam Forums that, as of this morning has 656 pages of replies, and is constantly growing ...

It also brought a new achievement called "Transmission Received" that has us all replaying the game, frantically looking for radios with red lights on them, playing "Still Alive".  When radios are found, the player must run around the level with it until they find a point where the radio goes to static.  As they find the right spot where it can "tune-in", the radio light turns green and different sounds are heard (morse code, etc.)

Most levels have one radio, two to three of them have multiple radios.  Some of them are very cleverly placed and the hunt is an enjoyable way to replay the game.

Even more interesting... the audio files that were added with this update contained embedded images that people have been extracting and attempting to decipher.

Needless to say, the community is buzzing around the clock trying to solve the mysteries.  And we're all anticipating an announcement soon of either a sequel, a new episode (or new version) of Half-Life, or both!

Valve has an Aperture Science BBS up that people have been dialing in and finding more vague and bizarre clues.

Two days later...
03 March 2010 - Portal Update Released:
"Added valuable asset retrieval"

This update added an extra 5-10 seconds to the ending of the game... which sparked more conversation and theories about what is going on.

Today is another two days later... will get get another update through Steam which will bring us any closer to knowing what's going on and/or give us more reason to continue replaying the fantastic game that is Portal?

Here's to hopin'...

One thing I have to say, is a HUGE kudos to Valve for doing something so fun in the PC gaming community (again - since they had similar action before Portal was originally released.)  As of late, it seems the hype around new killer game announcements is always quickly stifled by rantings and ravings (including my own) about crappy DRM and DLC schemes that other big publishers seem to be so into lately.  Thanks, Valve for giving us something fun to chase instead.  It's an incredibly nice diversion, and breathing new life into the PC gaming community.

I can't wait to find out what's going on.

If you haven't checked out the updates yet, and you're a Portal fan, you owe it to yourself to snag the updates and go replay Portal.

"There was even going to be a party for you. A big party, that all your friends were invited to. I invited your best friend, the Companion Cube. Of course, he couldn't come because you murdered him. All your other friends couldn't come either, because you don't have any other friends, because of how unlikable you are. It says so right here in your personnel file: "Unlikable. Liked by no one. A bitter, unlikable loner, whose passing shall not be mourned." Shall NOT be mourned. That's exactly what it says. Very formal. Very official. It also says you were adopted, so that's funny, too."
    -GLaDOS

"Chell's Playground" - A Sweet Custom Portal Map for Teaching Concepts/Tricks

MyApertureLabs is home to some sweet custom maps for Portal.

RigorMortis has created two custom maps (part of what will eventually be an entire pack called "Spigot 37"); which include a special map called "Chell's Playground" that teaches you advanced Portal concepts/tricks for solving the puzzles in RigorMortis' main maps.

The maps are called:
Training Ground
Street Level

I've been having a lot of fun in it, as it has confirmed some things I thought were the case in Portal, but I couldn't consistently prove. This "Chell's Playground" teaches you how to pull off the concepts.

I'm excited to see the levels after I learn how to pull off all of the puzzles in Chell's Playground (I think I'm a little over 1/2 way.)

Check it out to enhance your thinking with portals.

Portal: Weighted Companion Cubes

Steam's store has just released plush Weighted Companion Cubes for a "mere" $29.95; and I'm not sure who can afford them right now in this economy... but they're awesome anyway, so I thought I'd share.

What I REALLY want though, (and still too expensive) are the Weighted Companion Cube Fuzzies to replace the galloping dominos that currently adorn my rear-view mirror in my car.



Ah, Portal... classic good times.