Apr 18, 2011

Portal - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alec Meer)

Okay, what. All this diligent, web-wide meta-potato-harvesting to apparently> get Portal 2 unlocked early, and now something’s gone all weird, just when the end was in sight. The GLaDOS@home site is showing the work so far seeming being undone at a rate of knots. We don’t know why, we don’t know the result. But we damned well hope people haven’t spent money on a collection of indie games purely because they thought it would win them early access to Portal 2 that they now may not get.

On the other hand 1) the site now lists ’9 test subjects’ as having been found and ~~2) the chaps on the ValveARG site are claiming the G-Man can be seen in the background… No. C’mon. We’re being gamed, right?~~ That one’s been removed already, which I take to mean it was trolling by someone. Unsurprising, given its lack of subtlety. Additional: the ’9′ appears to be the ARG’s most successful players being taken to Valve to play the game.

Apr 18, 2011

Valve ARG not over, Half Life clues emerge

Portal

As if a race against time to unlock Portal 2 early wasn't enough, Valve have been dropping cryptic hints that there's more to come from the ARG. A decrypted morse code message hidden in the latest Steamcast read "it's not over the others have been compromised." Later, a message from the mysterious "Doug" alludes to an Aperture Science Icebreaker Ship. The only one of those we know about is the Borealis. The Borealis was last seen seen at the end of Half Life 2: Episode 2. This is getting very exciting indeed.

Catch up with the latest clues below. We'll be updating this post with the latest info as it arrives.

The details here have been gleaned from the Valve ARG wiki. Here's the message from Doug in full.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---LOG FROM , BY J.H. TO C.J.---

1. We designed the entire thing to be very, very durable. It was easy to get the materials since everyone's been thinking it's a simple icebreaker ship. Ha.

2. We have made sure to strip it of anything not necessary, so that we have plenty of space for it. It doesn't have any backup supplies in the event the crew runs out of food, though. And there isn't much food onboard in the first place.

3. In the event you need to send it off all of a sudden, use the OR box with code 'hb1'.

That's all, C.J. Not much else I can tell you other than this won't leave a blight on our record. Mesa is going to be sore when they see what we've done.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

C.J. is likely to be the CEO of Aperture Science, Cave Johnson. We don't know who J.H. is just yet. Notice also the mention of Mesa in the final line, surely a reference to Black Mesa, Aperture Science's competitor in the Half Life 2 universe.

There's more. Throughout the ARG, select players have had their Steam and email accounts taken over by GLaDOS. After yesterday's message about the Borealis, Valve employee, Jeep Barnett responded to questions denying that there was anything going on outside of the Portal 2 countdown. This morning, he responded to all emails with this message.

"I am okay. I am still a person. Who is okay. I am busy doing safe things that are supervised by a responsible safety associate."

He's been taken over by GLaDOS, too.

Current estimations suggest that Portal 2 will unlock in just over a day's time. Perhaps we'll know more then. We'll be updating this post with all the latest from the ARG as it happens.

Apr 17, 2011

Even Team Fortress 2 Has Gone Portal Crazy

Portal

Team Fortress 2's recent "hatless" update may not have had any hats, but this week there is a new, single accessory: a pin you can stick on your players. A Portal pin. You know, in case anyone hanging around Steam hadn't seen too much about that game already.

Anyone pre-ordering Portal 2 through Valve's own online store Steam - will get the pin, which features a Companion Cube hurtling through a portal.

Being a small pin and not a giant hat, you may well miss it in all the chaos of battle. That is, if anyone in Team Fortress 2 still actually fights. I sometimes get the feeling that, in 2011, everyone just stands around looking at each other's hats.

Apr 17, 2011

Get A Look At The Inside Of A Portal Gun

Portal

Seems the whole world has gone Portal mad this week. Artist Miles Donovan certainly has, coming up with these great schematic pieces showing how the guns actually work.

Or, how he thinks they work. It's not like Miles actually knows. Or he wouldn't be selling paintings on Etsy (including this one), he'd be, I don't know, touring the women's change rooms of the world, or trying to bring about world peace.

Portal Gun Schematic by Miles Donovan

Apr 17, 2011

Potatwo? The Valve ARG Ain’t Over

Portal - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alec Meer)

While the GLaDOS@Home distributed potato-collecting event is still ongoing, hints are emerging that there may be even more to come following its conclusion. Portal 2 being released early is the apparent plan, but could there be something more?

The latest Steamcast (an unofficial fan radio show) apparently aired with a brief Morse Code signal playing over the chatter, which the hosts claim to have been unaware of. You can hear it for yourself below and ponder upon its authenticity, but if it’s real this is what it says:” it’s not over the others have been compromised.”

Ah.
(more…)

Apr 16, 2011

So How Close Are We To Unlocking Portal 2?

Portal

With two titles "completed" in Valve's play-for-an-early-release stunt with Portal 2, GLaDOS says we've only shaved about 90 minutes off the scheduled release of 7 a.m. Tuesday. Several sites calculate that the effort is much further ahead than that. Like, between 16 and 18 hours as of writing.

That means at this pace, everyone's beating their brains out playing indie games all weekend just to get Portal 2 to unlock in the middle of a workday - 3 p.m. Monday on the east coast, noon, on the west.

Has Portal 2 Launched Yet?
Portal 2 - GLaDOS Reboot Process
Calculated Prediction of Portal 2 Launch
Another Calculation of Portal 2's Release Time

Apr 15, 2011

Collaborative Disposition Test

Portal

The following personality test was developed by Aperture scientists in the late seventies as a way to determine test subject compatibility for cooperative testing initiatives. The test was categorized UNSAFE by Aperture Laboratories in 1977, after every test subject who took the test became immediately insane from having so many unassailable truths and gut-wrenching personal secrets about themselves revealed at once. The test was placed in a locked strong box and secured in an abandoned sub-basement. This sub-basement was then filled with cement, and the doorway bricked over.

Upon rediscovery of the document last month, Aperture scientists felt the results were "inconclusive." A further round of testing has been requested. And you can help!

Apr 15, 2011

GLaDOS@home

Portal

Well, the end is definitely near. Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group of ingenious test subjects, we've located enough potatoes to generate the required power to start the GLaDOS reboot process. It's not too late to participate, though. The more CPU power dedicated to the process, the faster it will finish. What does that mean? From now until release, play any or all of the Potato Sack games to expedite the launch of Portal 2. Your efforts will be tracked on the official GLaDOS@home page.

The Potato Sack games are all great, and each one has also received a massive Portal-themed update. So why not get a taste of Portal 2 now while you help launch it?

There's also still time to collect all 36 potatoes. Anyone accomplishing this feat by the time Portal 2 launches will receive a very special, non-hat-based reward.

Apr 15, 2011

Countdown appears on Aperture Science site. World initiates preload

Portal

A countdown has appeared on www.aperturescience.com, along with a message from the ever-enchanting GLaDOS.

She seems pretty happy with humankind's progress through the Valve Arg over the past few days, but what could the countdown actually be leading up to?

Office speculation is rife: the early release of Portal 2? The early release of a bit of Portal 2? A mini Portal 2 mini-game thing? Companion Cube plushies for everyone? Some Half-Life 2: Episode 3 info? More potatoes?

Initiate speculation and mild panic... NOW.