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Valve Opens The Portal

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the come-on-in dept.

Via Joystiq, an IGN story giving some background on the Portal project, the interesting FPS/Puzzler that Valve has planned to go out with Half-Life 2: Episode 2. The article interviews the team behind the technology, and gives some insight on what it must be like to have the best senior year of college ever: "Along with the other members of the Portal team, we were students at DigiPen Institute of Technology located in Redmond, WA, next to the Nintendo of America campus. During our senior year, the seven of us created a game called Narbacular Drop, which was an early test of our ideas about portal-based gameplay. Every year, DigiPen puts on an expo for graduating seniors to show their game projects to prospective employers. A couple of Valve people attended, and they asked us to come to the Valve offices and show it to Gabe Newell. Gabe watched our demo and basically hired us on the spot. It was kind of shocking. We stood around in the parking lot afterwards gibbering to ourselves for about 20 minutes."

61 comments

  1. It might be fun... by PrescriptionWarning · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    but it won't save you any money on your inter-planar insurance

  2. The aliens are coming... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Hurry right up, ladies and gentlemen! Get your alien acid resistant sun block lotion for $19.95! Don't leave home without it in this heat wave!

    1. Re:The aliens are coming... by Tackhead · · Score: 1
      > Hurry right up, ladies and gentlemen! Get your alien acid resistant sun block lotion for $19.95! Don't leave home without it in this heat wave!

      Pay no mind of the hands on either side that hold the portal wide! This way to the egress!

    2. Re:The aliens are coming... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Pay no mind of the hands on either side that hold the portal wide! This way to the egress!

      Was that a Goatse joke?

    3. Re:The aliens are coming... by RedDirt · · Score: 1

      Yanno, that word picture you painted really brings to mind a T-Shirt I saw at OSCON this year (Anil Dash from Six Apart wore it during his keynote) ... http://www.threadless.com/product/235/Goatse The link is work-safe though still disturbing.

      --
      James
    4. Re:The aliens are coming... by WilliamSChips · · Score: 1

      No, it's a P. T. Barnum joke.

      --
      Please, for the good of Humanity, vote Obama.
    5. Re:The aliens are coming... by Tackhead · · Score: 1
      > > Pay no mind of the hands on either side that hold the portal wide! This way to the egress!
      >
      > Was that a Goatse joke?

      It's a Goatse joke and a P.T. Barnum joke and a FPS joke, all in one tasty package!

      For inspiration, see the screenshots of the Q2 and UT2K4 mods

  3. In Related News PC Gaming Continues To Die... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    This is just like those stories about Geometry Wars or that retarded Pingpong game on the 360, nothing else worth playing or even talking about...

    The whole x86 PC/Xbox/Visual Studio/DirectX world is getting left behind on the trash-heap of gaming.

    1. Re:In Related News PC Gaming Continues To Die... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      PC gaming has been in a steady decline for over five years, but the one area it continues to shine is MMORPGs like WoW or Everquest. Until/unless consoles allow players to easily type/chat with other players the PC will continue to be the platform of choice for games like WoW.

      The fact that x86 chips have fallen so far behind in performance that they need something like the AEGIA 200 to 300 dollar addon board should be a pretty clear indication that Intel/AMD chips will increasingly become the gimped part of x86 gaming machines.

      The gaming world has moved on from caring about FPSes and RTSes. PC game makers need to find new genres if they want to stay competitive in the future.

    2. Re:In Related News PC Gaming Continues To Die... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh no, people are playing games that're fun now, let me cry and stomp my feet!

    3. Re:In Related News PC Gaming Continues To Die... by heinousjay · · Score: 1

      Can't you guys keep the fanboy crap on gamefaqs? It gets really boring reading the same thing over and over from people without enough testicular fortitude to post under their own names.

      --
      Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
  4. Played Narbacular drop. by MindStalker · · Score: 1, Troll

    I have a copy of Narbacular drop, and while its interesting its definatly error prone, ie often forgets to draw things that are supposed to be there. Havn't been able to complete the demo because of this. But it is interesting. I assume they didn't hire these guys for their excellent coding skills :)

    1. Re:Played Narbacular drop. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      The rocks in level 3 won't show? Try hitting esc, and then 'Restart Level'. 9/10 this fixes problems like that for me.

    2. Re:Played Narbacular drop. by MindStalker · · Score: 1

      Well I do that and they are there then they just disappear again and just exist as dust trails.

    3. Re:Played Narbacular drop. by biff_larken · · Score: 1

      I assume they didn't hire these guys for their excellent coding skills

      I'd say that they were hired PRECISELY for their coding skills, as well as their ideas. So they made a few mistakes. Didn't stop me from playing and beating ND about 7 times when I first played it.

      --
      The slate is always clean when you're the one holding the eraser -Newton Tenderfoot
    4. Re:Played Narbacular drop. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      God, why? It's very cool the first time through, you play it again to be sure you didn't miss anything, and anything past that and you're obsessive-compulsive. There are millions of games with great replay value, why did you choose to spend your time with that one? Were you going for speedruns?

    5. Re:Played Narbacular drop. by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

      I don't think you understand what "demo" means.

    6. Re:Played Narbacular drop. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It never worked for me. There was always tearing where the portals would be instead of showing, presumeably, what was on the other side. Buggy is how i'd describe it, though obviously it worked well enough for someone to want to hire them. Given that it was Gabe Newell, though, maybe that isn't saying too much.

    7. Re:Played Narbacular drop. by ravyne · · Score: 1

      [Upfront disclaimer: I'm a Digipen Grad]

      It's honestly amazing to see what a group of Digipen Students can make. Consider the following: 1) A Digipen Project is completed in its entirety by a group of roughly 5 *students*, give or take. 2) Most projects are developed from concept to completion in roughtly 9 months. 3) During this 9 months, they are also balancing a truly murderous load of other coursework. 4) There is essentially no "budget" beyond what the team members are willing and able to chip in for tools or other needs. Through the school there is access to a fair selection of dev/art tools, but other than that you're on your own.

      Honestly, its not the most polished demo to ever come out of digipen (There are several good examples of such polish, such as Bantago) but what was important was that they created a game with a truly fun and different mechanic. Others here have said that the 'portal' idea is really not all that original, what with teleportation devices common in games and all. But if the idea is truly such a commodity why, then, have we not seen any other games of this type? The answer is simple, they've taken a more basic and common technology and applied it in a novel way to a new problem. Its very much like the case of some of man's earliest machines (grade school science anyone?) the ramp and the screw. At first glance the two seem unrelated when, in fact, a screw is simply a ramp wrapped around a cylinder. This machine also applied existing technology in a novel way to an entire set of new problems. Today our world is, often quite literally, held together by screws. We use them as fasteners, to dig, to move things, to turn gears in parts of even greater machines... 'portal' gaming will not change our lives in the way that the screw has, but lets all give credit for innovation and originality where it is due.

  5. You sir know nothing by Brownstar · · Score: 3, Funny

    Having had 3 Senior years at the same college. I can say by far my last one was the best.

    With only 1 four credit class, that I had previously taken but initialy failed. I had a blast.

    I didn't even mind it too much when one of my friends informed a Freshman I was chatting up that when she started middle school, I had been starting college...

  6. Wow! by Threni · · Score: 4, Funny

    Teleport! I wish I'd thought of that! Where do these guys get their original ideas from?

    Oh well - back to my 1950s science fiction books....

    1. Re:Wow! by Sage+Gaspar · · Score: 3, Insightful

      User-created portals with one of the first games to have a pretty good physics engine. It's not the abstract idea of portal, it's the possibilities that this implementation opens up.

    2. Re:Wow! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I've watched the demo video about 12 times now and all I can say is "Frickin Cool". Yeah teleport has existed for a while, but its never been used in this way.

      Even if this game isn't as good as it looks, i'm sure it will spawn a whole generation of FPS titles with new portal weapons/devices.

      How about a FPS multiplayer game, a runner can go ahead to setup the portal to beam his teammates in.
      It would make ambushes and capturing strategic locations cool, especially if your opponents could do it too.

      How about the ability to minaturize/enlarge items, a 'other dimension' storage for carried weapons or vehicles. Open your portal garage and drive out in your T180 Tank etc.

      Science fiction is as much innovation as it is invention. No, reversing the polatity on the main deflector doesnt count. :)

    3. Re:Wow! by SirTalon42 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I have to agree, from the video it looks like it would be pretty fun (hopefully it won't be crippled in multiplayer). It would be interesting to fight someone with only the teleporter gun (it could become very interesting if done right). I'm not sure if this counts as 'innovation', but its definitely going to make things much more interesting, FPS have been growing stale.

    4. Re:Wow! by Rapsey · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Tell me how many innovative companies or products are trully innovative? There were plenty of mp3 players before iPod arrived, there were search companies before google. Very few ideas are truly innovative. Most are just improvements over old ideas or finding new ways to use something.

    5. Re:Wow! by PFI_Optix · · Score: 1
      Where do these guys get their original ideas from?


      Looney Toons' portable hole, of course.
      --
      120 characters for a sig? That's bloody useless.
    6. Re:Wow! by that_xmas · · Score: 2, Informative

      That scene in the demo where the player seems to be chasing someone. He's actually chasing himself.

    7. Re:Wow! by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 1

      Perhaps they could make a capture the flag variant where players could create these "portals"
      near the enemy flag...

      Maybe they could add "classes", such that the Engineer constructs portals (maybe even, say, sentry guns), Medics could heal
      their teammates, etc, so as to encourage teamplay. Of course, level design and balance would be made easier if all the levels
      were symmetrical, with each team having their own fortress.

      What would really seal the deal though, is if they gave this "team fortress" mod away for FREE with every copy of Half-Life.
      I challenge Valve to continue pushing the envelope in gameplay innovation.

    8. Re:Wow! by pregister · · Score: 1

      Maybe they could add "classes", such that the Engineer constructs portals (maybe even, say, sentry guns), Medics could heal
      their teammates, etc, so as to encourage teamplay. Of course, level design and balance would be made easier if all the levels
      were symmetrical, with each team having their own fortress.

      Then they could call the portal a spawn point, set it in a jungle, add 60's music, and call it Battlefield Vietnam.

    9. Re:Wow! by Das+Modell · · Score: 1

      So exactly like Teamfortress, but with portals? Unlikely, since Portal and Teamfortress 2 are separate projects.

    10. Re:Wow! by pdbaby · · Score: 2, Informative

      Unreal Tournament has had a teleporter gun since its inception - you throw a beacon and you can right-click to teleport to it. Great fun telefragging people with it :) portals-as-an-offensive-weapon might be tricky, though

      --
      Global symbol "$deity" requires explicit package name at line 2. - If only $scripture started "use strict;"
    11. Re:Wow! by Lally+Singh · · Score: 1

      Question is, how do you keep people from making portals that give them visibility of _way_ more players than normal, saturating their network pipes?

      --
      Care about electronic freedom? Consider donating to the EFF!
    12. Re:Wow! by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 1

      My sarcasm apparently went unnoticed. Team Fortress allows Engineers to construct portals already.

  7. Game Industry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I hope these kids got good contracts and aren't going to be exploited like so many other game developers . . . .

    1. Re:Game Industry by Das+Modell · · Score: 1

      Valve really doesn't strike me as that sort of developer.

  8. bundled with episode 2 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    to make it even interesting to buy it?

  9. How do I own a copy? by eison · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Ok, so I think this 'portal' game looks neat, and would like to try it.
    But 'episodic gameplay' sounds suspiciously like 'recurring monthly charge' or whatnot.
    Can I walk into a store and buy a copy? How do I get and play just this 'portal' game?

    I don't have half life 2, or valve or steam or whatever. And I'm not willing to sign up for any sort of we'll-give-you-a-new-game-every-month-try-it-you'l l-like-it sort of system. Can I still play?

    --
    is competition good, or is duplication of effort bad?
    1. Re:How do I own a copy? by labalicious · · Score: 3, Informative

      To answer your question specifically, you can refer to this post http://www.steampowered.com/index.php?area=news&ar chive=yes&id=691. This is part of Valve's Content Delivery system aka Steam. It would appear that you only need to purchase Half Life 2: Episode 2 which comes bundled with Portal and TF2 (Team Fortress 2).
       
      Having said all that, you are not obligated to buy anything by setting up a Steam account. I've had a Steam account for over 4 years (early beta tester was not fun :/ ), I've had my fair share of frustrations with Steam but lately, it's rock solid. Valve has been done some good work with the system. In addition, if you haven't already played Half Life 2, or the original, I'd highly recommend it. I'm a firm believer in the episodic content (if implemented correctly) that Valve is testing out. I finished Episode One in about 5 hours and thoroughly enjoyed it. HTH.

    2. Re:How do I own a copy? by LocoBurger · · Score: 1

      As it works now, Valve's releases have been available at retail, but they still install Steam, and the the game require Steam to operate, so there's no escaping that. So far, Steam hasn't had any sort of subscription option (with a recurring monthly charge), like you describe. It does look likely that you won't be able to buy Portal standalone, though. Looks like it will come part-and-parcel with Half-Life 2: Episode 2. You didn't need to own Half-Life 2 to play Episode 1, so you probably won't have to have either of the previous installments to play this batch.

      $20 one time and you're done, if you like.

    3. Re:How do I own a copy? by vincentj7 · · Score: 1

      Not sure if you'll be able to purchase Portal by itself, but Half-Life 2:Episide One was (inexplicably) available in many stores for less that it was on Steam. Even if you're not interested in Half-Life, I would think that a similar package for Episode Two would be well worth it. Fifteen bucks for HL2:Ep2, Portal and Team Fortress 2? That's a good deal no matter which of the three games you're interested in.

      However, you will probably still need to sign up for a Steam account (it's free) since that functions as Valve's anti-piracy measure. The Steam client software is likely on the disc to save you from a sizeable download.

    4. Re:How do I own a copy? by Inverted+Intellect · · Score: 2, Informative

      "I'm not willing to sign up for any sort of we'll-give-you-a-new-game-every-month-try-it-you'l l-like-it sort of system. Can I still play?"

      Yes, yes you can. This "episodic content" is essentially in the form of (small) self-contained games which are published in a serialized manner, to be bought either through stores or through Valve's downloading service.

      Sort of like a series of novels. You don't actually have to buy the former novels to read the new ones, though you might miss out on something if you do. Expansion packs are a bit like extra chapters, you can't read them without the book which they belong to (ok, you technically could in that case, but you shouldn't).

    5. Re:How do I own a copy? by TiggsPanther · · Score: 1

      So, basically, you can get it without having Steam but you can't actually get Portal as a standalone game. Unless I'm reading the page wrong.

      This is a shame, really, as there are people (myself being one of them) who have no interest at all in standard FPS games who would like Portal - as it's not a standard FPS. But without a way of buying it on its own, the fact that you also have to buy it with HL2:E2 is pretty much a dealbreaker.

      --
      Tiggs
      "120 chars should be enough for everyone..."
    6. Re:How do I own a copy? by Sage+Gaspar · · Score: 3, Informative

      Portal is three hours of single-player gameplay, you probably wouldn't want it as a standalone game. They use steam to track things like how many people bought it, how many people downloaded it, and how many people actually finished it. If it does well, I'd expect it to get fully fleshed out into a longer single-player game and also several multiplayer components.

    7. Re:How do I own a copy? by LiquidAvatar · · Score: 1
      So... spending $20 for an innovative title by itself is cool...

      but spending $20 on an innovative title, a revisioned old game and an expansion to a new game is a bad deal?

      --
      It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.
      -Voltaire
    8. Re:How do I own a copy? by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

      -Option 1-

      Download the Steam client and set up an account. It sounds like Portal is bundled with HL: Ep 2, so then you need to buy that. It will definitely be available on Steam, and probably in stores as well. If you buy it in a store, you will enter a CD-key that gets tied to your Steam account.

      Steam then magically unlocks a key for you to play the game. You now have to agree to a license that says you will be a good little consumer, and never try to fool their "protection" measures or disassemble the game to figure out how they work.

      You will always have to run your games through Steam, and they have some mechanisms that report back to the mothership from time to time. There is an "offline mode", but this mode can only be used when you are not connected to the Internet, and it only works on games that you've had blessed by the Valve servers. And if you want to loan or sell a game to a friend, tough.

      -Option 2-

      Disclaimer: this option is not entirely legal.

      Buy the game. Wait for the crack.

    9. Re:How do I own a copy? by ChildeRoland · · Score: 1

      Steam sucks. I cannot play even a single player game without being connected to the interweb. Of course Steam gives me the option to go into "Offline Mode." But, that just means "Exit Program, try again when you got a connection."

      --
      The mark of a mature person is not creating arbitrary criteria for considering others mature.
    10. Re:How do I own a copy? by TiggsPanther · · Score: 1
      Portal is three hours of single-player gameplay, you probably wouldn't want it as a standalone game.

      Actually, I would. I like short, pick-up-and-play puzzle-based games. (I like RPGs mostly, but they're less use for a quick burst of gaming, and puzzlers fill that niche)
      This is exactly what Portal looks like, and hence something I would want on its own.

      --
      Tiggs
      "120 chars should be enough for everyone..."
    11. Re:How do I own a copy? by TiggsPanther · · Score: 1
      So... spending $20 for an innovative title by itself is cool...
      but spending $20 on an innovative title, a revisioned old game and an expansion to a new game is a bad deal?

      Yes, very much so, and for two definite reasons that I have against game bundles in general. (Although if it's a really short game I'd prefer a slightly cheaper price - but it's the bundling not the price that I'm really talking about here)

      One, having to buy buy a game (or games) I don't want to get one that I do is annoying. I'd rather put that money towards more of the games that I do want. So it's $20 (or pounds, in my case) for one game I want and two I don't, as opposed to three that I would actually play.

      Two, it becomes a sale for that other game. Especially if the unwanted game is the major part of the bundle. So, in this case, any sales purely for Portal by non-FPS players become sales HL2:E2. They won't be registered as Sales for just Portal. So when the sales figures come it, it skews the figures towards FPS sales and away from puzzle-based sales. Whereas a standalone version would more accurately reflect what people are actually spending their money on.

      Actually, it does come over to me as a slightly cynical stab at getting people who otherwise would avoid FPS games to actually buy one.

      --
      Tiggs
      "120 chars should be enough for everyone..."
    12. Re:How do I own a copy? by Robmonster · · Score: 1

      Why dont you just view it as buying Portal and getting Episode 2 for free?

      --
      I have no sig yet I must scream.
    13. Re:How do I own a copy? by Sage+Gaspar · · Score: 1

      Actually, I would. I like short, pick-up-and-play puzzle-based games. (I like RPGs mostly, but they're less use for a quick burst of gaming, and puzzlers fill that niche). This is exactly what Portal looks like, and hence something I would want on its own.

      I hear ya there, but I think Portal is honestly the tech demo and we're going to see a more complete version coming out later. What I'm actually thinking more about in terms of the puzzle aspect is user-created puzzles. If the portal gun is fun and modding it isn't too terrible, we might start to see a stream of innovative maps and mods for it. That's when it'll really be worth owning a finished version.

      I would like to see them sell TFC and Portal separately for like $6 a piece or something, that would work out nicely for people like us that aren't too terribly interested in Episode 2. But I bet they're relying on people interested in playing Episode 2 in supporting the other two mods, and not the other way around.

    14. Re:How do I own a copy? by LiquidAvatar · · Score: 1

      It actually strikes me as a stab at getting people who would purchase a popular title from a popular genre to take a look at an innovative product in a less popular genre. Also, Valve is tracking play-time through Steam, so if you buy both and log 15 hours in Portals and 0 hours in HL2:e2 and TF2... Valve will know and get the appropriate demographic information from your purchase. Remember, the Thought Police are everywere... ;)

      --
      It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.
      -Voltaire
  10. One-zee? by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

    IGN: ... It looks like the character is wearing an orange one-zee, is this guy maybe performing some sort of "community service?"

    Excuse me, but when did a "onesie" become a "one-zee"?

    Does it come from that PBS series with Queen LaBiblia kidnapping Miss Reader to teach her blue-haired alien subjects how to make imaginations grow with Earth children's stories with the help of her ship's computer, 1Z2Z? (Why can't I remember the name of that show, and why isn't it listed on IMDb or anywhere else on the net? That and the other one where a witch kidnaps a librarian and keeps her in a tower to tell her childrens' stories. Doesn't anyone have video torrents or MP3s of the theme songs?)

    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    1. Re:One-zee? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I already TOLD you, it's a SPEED SUIT , okay?
        - Dr. Venture

    2. Re:One-zee? by Lifelike · · Score: 1
      I like perfoming random acts of kindness, so here:

      Source: http://www.rickstv.com/tvo/feedback.html (Control+F "1Z2Z")

      "Back in the early-mid 70's, NBC had spent a load of dough to convert their classic "Peacock" logo to a streamlined looking "N". However, NBC forgot to take into account that the Nebraska Public Television Network had a nearly identical logo for years. NBC managed to avoid a messy lawsuit by paying NPTV some money in an out-of-court settlement, as well as donating a bunch of state-of-the-art (for the time) TV production equipment.

      And, from their Channel 26 studios located from the A/V section at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, they created several original educational TV programs.

      The one you're thinking of is called "Once Upon A Time", where a witch kidnapped a librarian and kept her in the dungeon of her tower with a machine that would produce books based on whatever story elements were placed into it.

      The other show you're thinking of was called "Star Lore", made by the same people who did OUAT, where an alien queen kidnapped a librarian (I sense a subliminal desire for kidnapping here) and taken her back to her home planet "until the children of her world are able to have imaginations". Instead of a bookmaking machine this time, the heroine had the aid of a computer named 1Z2Z.

      This group did a lot of shows for NPTV's Schools Telelearning Service (they were like a Midwestern version of the Children's Television Workshop), and they still show these programs (well, they OWN the shows, so of course they can afford to air them as long as they like)."

      Since that time unfortunately, the STS program has been defunded and these programs no longer air (thanks, Bush!), so the stuff I managed to get saved to DVD is sort of a memorial to an interesting era in education TV.

      Another local series I have was called "Nebraska Communities". Best way to describe this one is "eccentric 18th Century French scientist builds a time machine and travels to circa 1980's Nebraska to learn about the future" (yes, that is the premise). I kept a few sample episodes of this series since the guy who played the nutty french scientist was the same actor who played the original "Godfather" for the Godfather's Pizza commercials up until the late 90's (http://www.jobfairohio.com/godfathers/gf2.jpg).

      (I hope with such a detailed description someone can help you out!)

      ~~~

      Funny, someone apparently wanted to know about both the shows you had wanted to...

      Damn. Now I want to see those shows...

    3. Re:One-zee? by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      Funny, someone apparently wanted to know about both the shows you had wanted to...

      Damn. Now I want to see those shows...

      You don't know how long I've been racking my brain trying to recall the names of those shows. The images from them are burned into my brain, and bits of the music from them, little folksy tunes:

      "But now Queen LaBiblia won't let Miss Reader go / Until she's taught the Queen to make imaginations grow."

      For the longest time the only search results I could get on them were my own requests for information, so I'd given up doing searches.

      In Star Lore, the alien (blue-wigged) children have no imaginations because they watch TV all day. She doesn't let the librarian go until the kids don't return to the TV at the end of the last episode.

      Now that I have the titles and who made them, I have a chance to contact them and volunteer my services to help make DVDs available, as well as get more production and cast information to get IMDb entries made. (BTW, "NE" in my slashdot nick is for Nebraska, not "anyone".)

      At the very least, they're going into a TiVo Wishlist in case they ever make it to air again!

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  11. Video by cheese-cube · · Score: 0

    Here is the Portal promotional video: Portal. This game looks very promising, IMO. May even be a reason for me to upgrade my rig :P

  12. Is Valve the new id Software? by MMaestro · · Score: 1

    It seems like Valve is following a similar path to id Software's "we don't make games, we make game engines" idea. The only difference is that Valve is focusing more on developing mods rather than full fledged games. (Yes, Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat at now commerical, but considering how many other mods have been made they are the exception not the rule.)

    1. Re:Is Valve the new id Software? by epicar · · Score: 1

      Since the advent of Steam, Valve has taken on the role of a publisher. They realized that they stand to make more money publishing indy games based on their technology than they do selling engine licenses, where they have much more competition. As a coder for a half-life 2 mod project, I would say that the Source engine itself is not that special in the first place.

  13. nope you'll need Steam by snuf23 · · Score: 1

    "So, basically, you can get it without having Steam but you can't actually get Portal as a standalone game."

    You will need a Steam account to install the game. The Steam account does not cost you anything to setup or charge you a monthly fee but you do need to have one in order to install and play the game.

    --
    Sometimes my arms bend back.
  14. Integration into HL2? by Hakubi_Washu · · Score: 1

    I would favour an integration into HL2-Episodes (it's already set in the same universe, according to some articles), as the Portal-Gun would make a nifty addition to Gordon's arsenal, don't you think? Add destructible environments (like Red Faction had back in ye olde times) and it could well end up being my favourite Shooter-Universe :-)

  15. YouTube Vid by Drathos · · Score: 2, Informative

    There's a trailer of sorts at YouTube. Looks like it could be really cool.

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