Toki Tori - Valve
Updated to new Steam SDK
Added link to Toki Tori 2 beta

Portal

Portal 2's Cave Johnson rants about citrus fruit in this trailer for an "Electronic Combustible Lemon," which, when ignited, plays an ominous ticking countdown followed by what I presume is the sound of lemons exploding. Sadly, the lemon itself does not explode.


The lemon's case plays the Aperture Science founder's infamous rant from Portal 2, in which he explains to listeners exactly what to do when life gives them lemons.


The bizarre gadget is on sale for $80 over at e-commerce site Etsy.


Electronic Combustible Lemon [YouTube]


Toki Tori - Collo
Hi,

We just updated with a blog about the 'knowledge unlock' mechanism we're implementing in Toki Tori 2. We're pretty excited about it, and believe it's going to set Toki Tori 2 apart from other titles in the genre.

Direct link: <a href="http://twotribes.com/message/toki-tori-2-update-17/">Update 17: Knowledge Unlocks!</a>

Thanks for your time!

Two Tribes
Toki Tori - Collo
Hi,

We just updated with a blog about the 'knowledge unlock' mechanism we're implementing in Toki Tori 2. We're pretty excited about it, and believe it's going to set Toki Tori 2 apart from other titles in the genre.

Direct link: Update 17: Knowledge Unlocks!

Thanks for your time!

Two Tribes
Portal 2

Come Share Your Portal 2 Co-Op Stories at Kotaku Game ClubHello everyone, welcome to the Kotaku Game Club. Today will be our last meeting discussing Portal 2. After covering many aspects of the single-player experience in our last few meetings, today we'll be talking about the co-op missions, which offer a whole new set of surprises and challenges.

Since Portal 2's co-op contains some story elements, including its own ending, we must warn you once again that this discussion may include spoilers.


If you're a Game Club first-timer, here's a primer: Our goal at Kotaku Game Club is to experience games as a community, so we play a specific game each month, meeting each week in the Game Club's comments section to discuss our thoughts on a many aspects of the game, including its narrative and mechanical themes and our own responses to them.


Our meetings start at 4pm Eastern every Thursday, and last an hour or so. The Game Club is here to get everybody talking with each other, so don't be afraid to bring up any topic related to the game, speak your mind and start a dialogue with other posters.


Here's your question of the week: Does Portal 2's co-op effectively re-create the essence of the Portal experience?


One of the topics we've discussed in recent weeks was the nature of controlled experiences in gaming. Though they don't hold your hand, Valve uses clever puzzle and level design to ensure that everyone advances through the game the way they want. This allows for the subtle story cues and the hands-off teaching that define the series. Adding a second player dramatically reduces the efficacy of that type of design since the two players can (well, must) focus on each other as much as they do the level itself.


That's all, folks! Congratulations on completing another month of Kotaku Game Club! As always, there will be a thread below where you guys can let me know what game you'd like us to play next: We will most likely be going back to playing something current next month, so keep that in mind when coming up with ideas. We will make an announcement as soon as we choose what game to play next. Stay tuned and thanks for playing!


Portal 2

Remember to come join our last discussion of Portal 2 at Kotaku Game Club tomorrow at 4pm Eastern!


Portal

This Custom Portal 2 Toy Has Its Eye on YouThe work of custom toy creator Christian Hooton is no stranger to Kotaku. Whether it's StarCraft or Portal, Hooton's craftsmanship dazzles. Check out his latest creation: a 7-inch Portal 2 Wheatley light-up toy.


Hooton worked about a month to finish the Wheatley, which is made from lightweight plastic and has a moveable center "eye" that also lights up. According to the sculptor, "The weird thing about this one is that it's dangerously close to able to be used as a puppet. The eye is mounted on a gyrroscopesque [SIC] hinged in the center of the ball, and there are thin fishing line like strings keeping it a neutral position."


More photos on his blog in the link below.


PORTAL 2 Wheatley 7" custom light up toy [Sabretooth's Workshop via SuperPunch]


The Wonderful End of the World - Valve
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Portal

Come Talk About the Epic of GLaDOS, Portal 2, at Kotaku Game ClubWelcome everyone to week 3 of the Kotaku Game Club's look back at Portal 2. In our third meeting we'll be talking about the game's story and characters.


Gameplay aside, the world of Portal 2 plays such a large role in making Portal 2 a rich experience, and I'm sure you all have something to say about the game's memorable story moments.

As with our past two meetings, the discussion today isn't chronological. There will be spoilers from the entire game, including the ending. Since today's discussion focuses on the plot, today's meeting will be especially jam-packed with spoilers.


If you're joining us for the first time, Our goal at Kotaku Game Club is to play games as a community so that we can share our thoughts as we're experiencing the game. We meet each week in the Game Club's comments section to discuss our experiences with our game of the month.


Our meetings generally start at 4pm Eastern every Thursday, and last an hour or so after the post is published. The Game Club is here to get everybody talking with each other, so don't be afraid to speak your mind and to start a dialogue with other posters.


As for our question of the week: Is there such a thing as too much GLaDOS?


In the original Portal GLaDOS accounted for 100% of your character interaction. (No, I don't count the turrets.) She was your guide and your nemesis for a few sentences between each puzzle. In Portal 2, her presence has grown, but her role has not. In fact, it's shrunk—GLaDOS never plays that double-role the same way. Shrunk into her personal story, GLaDOS, once an instrument of narrative utility, is now a superfluous flourish to the player's experience. So here's the larger question: Can a story that's compelling but tangential to your experience be as compelling as one that effects you directly?


Don't miss our last meeting about Portal 2 next Thursday! We'll be looking at the co-op levels and what makes them special. That's Thursday, February 2nd, at 4pm Eastern.


Portal



Quantum Conundrum is being developed by Portal creator Kim Swift. It's a first person puzzler in which you play a twelve your old boy lost in his mad scientist uncle's underground laboratory. It's full of safes, switches, lava and vast gaps with no bridges. This would be a serious problem but for the fact that you can switch between five dimensions, each of which affects matter differently. By switching between world on the fly, otherwise immovable objects like safes can be tossed, stacked and even surfed to make it past the mad machines and laserbeams that every mad scientist installs in their homes as standard. It's all demonstrated perfectly in the walkthrough video above from Gametrailers, spotted on RPS. It's out early this year, and looks rather good, don't you think?
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