Portal

Portal is a single-player first-person shooter action game / video puzzle game developed by Valve. The game was released in a bundle package known as The Orange Box for PC and Xbox 360 on October 10 2007, and for the PlayStation 3 on December 3 2007. The Microsoft Windows version of the game is also available for download separately through Steam. The game consists of a series of puzzles which must be solved by teleporting the player's character and other simple objects using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. The goal of each puzzle is to reach an exit point, represented by an elevator. The "portal gun" and the unusual physics it creates are the emphasis of this game.

Gameplay
In Portal, players control Chell (as she is named in the game credits), a test subject in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center. Gameplay revolves around the "Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device" (also known as the "Portal Gun", or ASHPD, the acronym), a handheld device that can create an inter-spatial portal between flat planes, allowing instant travel and a visual and physical connection between any two different locations in 3D space. Portal ends are restricted to planar surfaces, but if the portal ends are on different planes, bizarre twists in geometry and gravity can occur, such as the player walking into the portal through a wall and "falling" up out of the floor several feet behind where she started. An important aspect is that objects retain their momentum as they pass through the portals: an object that falls some distance before entering a portal will continue moving at that same speed out of the other end. This allows the player to launch objects, or even Chell, up to higher levels that lack appropriate portal surfaces, among other possible effects. Only two portal ends may be open at a time, one orange and one blue in color. If a new portal end is created, it replaces the previous portal of the same color. Either color may be used as an entrance or exit portal. The portal gun is also used to pick up objects in a similar manner to the gravity gun from Half-Life 2, although it cannot 'punt' objects far or drag them from afar like the Gravity Gun can.

Guided by a female electronic voice-over of a supercomputer named GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, voiced by Ellen McLain) players use the "Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device" to perform a variety of tests, such as creating portals to knock over turrets and other objects or moving to a previously unreachable area.

In their initial preview of Portal, GameSpot gave an example of a gameplay scenario: In other situations, you may be under fire by a gun sentry. So all you need to do is shoot a portal open over the gun, then shoot a portal open beneath a crate, then watch the crate fall through the hole and crush the gun. It gets even crazier, and the diagrams shown in the trailer showed some incredibly crazy things that you can attempt, like creating a series of Portals so that you're constantly chasing yourself.

Two additional modes are unlocked upon completion of the main game. In Challenge mode, the player has to get through a test in either as little time, with the least number of portals, or as few footsteps as possible. In Advanced mode, the hardest levels of the game are made even harder with the addition of more obstacles and hazards.

Synopsis
Portal is set in the Half-Life universe, and is presented to the player through the game's audio messages and visual elements seen throughout the game. Additional elements of the story's background are developed from the fictional Aperture Science website created by Valve for the game.

At the start of the game, Chell wakes from a stasis bed, though how she came to be there is initially unknown. She wakes up wearing heel springs: these allow her to fall long distances without injuring herself. GLaDOS informs her of the test and proceeds to guide her through the introductory test chambers. At this time Chell lacks the portal gun altogether. As the tests progress she eventually acquires the first "portion" of the portal gun, allowing her to place blue portals but not orange ones; later she acquires an upgrade that allows her to place orange portals. Initially the test chambers are clean, friendly environments. Chell is promised cake and grief counseling as a reward for successfully completing the tests, and this appears as an available, but deactivated, component in the stage descriptions. However, as Chell works through the stages, GLaDOS's colorful dialogue begins to paint an unnerving picture of the type of research that occurs in the facility. She cheerfully informs Chell of various safety risks in each stage that could kill or seriously injure her. Glass walls in key areas of the stages allow observation of the subject by laboratory personnel, but the chairs are empty and no research personnel are seen. Some stages are broken, allowing Chell to explore behind the pristine test areas and into grimy areas which resemble a derelict factory. Prominent in these areas is graffiti from an unknown benefactor (Presumably the Rat Man, as stated in the commentary) accusing GLaDOS of lying about the nature of the tests, and repeatedly claiming "the cake is a lie". GLaDOS becomes uncomfortable with Chell exploring these areas and begins to hint that she is ultimately disposable and will be dealt with. Such areas contain hints that Aperture Labs is in competition for GSA funding with the Black Mesa research facility, from the first Half-Life game.

After the final test, Chell is "sent to receive her cake", but is plunged into a furnace (to "be baked," as GLaDOS had accidentally admitted numerous previous times, with glitches resembling Freudian slips). She manages to escape into a maintenance area and GLaDOS begins to show agitation, claiming first that it was the real final test, and then that it was just a joke. She tells Chell that there will be a party held in her honor and urges her to "assume the party-escort submission position" on the floor. Chell flees into the facility's numerous maintenance corridors, and GLaDOS becomes increasingly agitated. Roughly the second half of the game continues behind the walls of previous stages and the inner laboratories of Aperture Labs as Chell follows eerie notes written on walls and uses the portal gun to work her way upward to the top of the facility. Finally, Chell confronts GLaDOS, a large machine hanging in a cylindrical shaft. (Near the entrance to the room is a desk with a red phone. The developers stated that there was someone stationed at the red phone in case GLaDOS showed signs of independent thought - apparently, they weren't fast enough to make the call as the wires were cut.) As Chell destroys critical components of the machine, GLaDOS's personality degenerates. During this confrontation, GLaDOS makes several comments that something has gone wrong in the outside world, and that she is the only thing keeping the facility from "them", which many think might be referring to the Portal Storms or the Combine of the Half-Life universe. When GLaDOS is completely destroyed, the facility begins to shake and fall apart, and Chell is lifted high into the shaft, blacking out. She wakes on a pile of debris during the light of day behind the fence of Aperture Labs.

The final scene shows the promised cake surrounded by various metallic glowing orange eyes components similar to those that were on GLaDOS. Some of the eyes activate and a robotic arm puts the candle out. The credits roll as GLaDOS gives a concluding report about Chell in the form of the song "Still Alive" by Jonathan Coulton. It reveals that GLaDOS enjoys the companionship of the test subjects and that it felt a particular fondness for Chell. Although it is uncertain, the song implies that Chell has survived by lines referring to her in the future tense (the song also reveals that GLaDOS is still active- the objects in the warehouse with the cake are not only eyes, they are components of GLaDOS' AI). When the ending credits and song end, the player is greeted with a new background: a cake with lit candles on a desk next to a radio on a table as well as the same red phone (which has its buttons shaped like the Aperture logo). If the background is left alone for long enough, it eventually pans to show the Companion Cube on the floor to the right side of the desk.

Allies

 * The Weighted Companion Cube
 * GLaDOS sometimes provides the player with hints, but also acts as an enemy.
 * The Rat Man is responsible for the graffiti on the walls in the testing complex, providing Chell with hints.

Aperture Science

 * Sentry Turret
 * Rocket Sentry
 * GLaDOS

Development
Portal is Valve's professionally-developed spiritual successor to the freeware Narbacular Drop, the 2005 independent game released by students of the DigiPen; the original Drop team are now all employed at Valve. Certain elements, like the orange/blue system of identifying the two different portal ends a player can have open at a time (one connecting to the other), have been retained. The key difference in the signature portal mechanic between the two games is that in Narbacular Drop you can look through a portal to place a portal, whereas in Portal, the HPD cannot fire a portal shot through a portal; however, the HPD can fire a portal shot while the player is standing in a portal.

The Portal team worked with Half-Life series writer Marc Laidlaw on fitting the game into the series' plot. Erik Wolpaw and Chet Faliszek of the classic gaming commentary/comedy website Old Man Murray had been hired by Valve and put to work on the dialogue for Portal.

Portal, like other recent Valve releases, includes a commentary feature.

The face of Chell is modeled after Alesia Glidewell, an American freelance filmmaker.

The Anger Eyeball sphere is voiced by recording artist Mike Patton, the lead vocalist from Faith No More.

Portal: Still Alive
Portal: Still Alive is announced as an exclusive Xbox Live Arcade game at 2008 E3convention to be released sometime in 2008, and will feature new levels and achievements. The additional content will be drawn from levels from the map based on "Portal: The Flash Version" by We Create Stuff and will contain no additional story-related levels. According to Valve spokesman Doug Lombardi,Valve has been in discussion with Microsoft to bring Portal to the Xbox Live Marketplace, but was limited by the amount bandwith that Microsoft is willing to allow for such content.

Portal 2
Swift stated that future Portal developement will depend on the community's reaction, saying, "We're still playing it by ear at this point, figuring it out if we want to do multi-player next, or Portal 2, or release map packs. "On January 31, 2008, Lombardi confirmed that "more Portal" will be forthcoming, and promised more additional content would not just be "more puzzles"; an interview with Kim Swift on Feb.21, 2008 revealed that a full sequel, Portal 2, will be coming. Swift also stated that the team creating the previously stated they tried Portal multiplayer variant, but admitted "Its less fun than you think."

On June 10, 2008, Kotaku reported that Valve was seeking voice actors for the character role Aperture Science CEO Cave Johnson, who, according to the Aperture Science website mentioned above, is very dead. This suggests that the second game is a prequel to the events of Portal. However, a later update suggests it could be a sequel, with Johnson as another AI in addition to GLaDOS.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack that can be found inside the non-localized Portal GCF store. These are the audio files found within the game's data, however, the soundtrack to the game can be found on Valve's "Orange Box Original Soundtrack" release (available digitally from major online retailers or in physical form from Valve's store), which includes the music from Portal along with music from Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and Team Fortress 2. In addition to the game's version of Still Alive, from the end credits, the soundtrack also includes a mix of the song with vocals by its author, Johnathan Coulton.


 * 1) "Subject Name Here" - 1:44
 * 2) "Taste of Blood" - 3:06
 * 3) "Android Hell" - 3:45
 * 4) "Self Esteem Fund" - 3:30
 * 5) "Procedural Jiggle Bone" - 4:34
 * 6) "4000 Degrees Kelvin" - 1:01
 * 7) "Stop What You Are Doing" - 4:00
 * 8) "Party Escort" - 4:21
 * 9) "You're Not a Good Person" - 1:24
 * 10) "No Cake For You" - 4:05
 * 11) "You Can't Escape You Know" - 6:24
 * 12) "Still Alive" - 2:56

Critical reception
As of December 31, 2007 on the review aggregator Game Rankings, the Windows version of the game had an average score of 90% based on 19 reviews. On Metacritic, the Windows version had an average score of 90 out of 100, based on 22 reviews.

Trivia

 * To celebrate this year's Christmas, the ApertureScience.com website's contents has been replaced by a camera footage detailing "07-Holiday Vault", with a Christmas hat-wearing Weighted Companion Cube, the Cake, three red socks hanging over a fireplace, with the Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal logos on them, 5 supply crates with an inactive Sentry Turret behind them, a Christmas version of the Portal's logo hanging above the fireplace (obviously alluding to Santa Claus jumping inside a chimney to deliver presents), and a Christmas-themed version of "Still Alive" playing. Under the Christmas tree there are several presents wrapped in orange paper in reference to the Orange Box.


 * The face of Chell was reused for Zoey from Left 4 Dead but it went through 4 designs are re-designs.


 * Portal is commonly believed to take place during the 7 Hour War but it unknown how the Combine never found the Aperture Science Facilities and destroyed them or found GLaDOS or maybe GLaDOS defended the Facility against the Combine with anti-ground/air defences.


 * There have been many rumors that the G-man can be sighted walking around the Facility but they have only lead to fakes by using Garry's Mod or ingame cheats.