"At the Enrichment Center, we believe that a highly motivated test subject can carry out rather complex tasks, while enduring the most intense pain, so in case you don't make it through the testing, goodbye."

I got the Orange Box the other day for my Xbox 360 and played Portal. I loved it. I have yet to finish it because I haven't found the time to sit down and play it, but I will. Portal is a fascinating game in which you use portals to solve puzzles and move further along in your "testing". You are a test subject of the Aperture Science Enrichment Center and your goal is to progress through the "test" while trying to keep from falling, being vaporized, and other things along the way. There is humor scattered throughout the game from the computer telling you things like, "Please note, we have added a consequence for failure. Any contact with the chamber floor will result in an unsatisfactory mark on your official testing record, followed by death. Good luck." to when you need to...*sniff* oh it's too painful. Poor companion cube. Hahaha. I hear the credits song is very funny. I need to beat the game to see what it is, hehe. The game is said to take place in the Half-Life universe, which makes sense as the creators of Half-Life made this game and Half-Life 2 is included in the Orange Box. I highly suggest playing it if you haven't already.

This topic is for discussing anything Portal related.

1) The Trailer for the Game:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=if3Qv2tHyfA
Yes the game really looks like that. It's pretty.

2) Portal: The Flash Version
If you don't have a 360, PS3, or a PC (wait what? Hehe) or just haven't bought the Orange Box yet, this is a flash game based on Portal. It is very dedicated to the original and is pretty fun to play. It has 40 levels and utilizes many of the elements of the actual game. Try it out.


3) Apply to Become a Test Subject:
This is where you apply to be a test subject for the Enrichment Center. Try it out.
http://www.aperturescience.com/
The commands you need to know to progress in the site:
http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=113318

4) There's cool merchandise too:
The Valve Store

5) Some things I found that are kind of funny:

You could buy a plush of the Weighted Companion Cube, hahaha. It's sold out though.


The main character, Chell, and the Companion Cube...And a piece of cake, but the cake is a lie.

The whole game is filled with jokes so there's a lot more funny stuff out there.

6) Some screenshots of the game in action:



Try the game out sometime. It's awesome. And when you finish there will be cake.

Again, this is where you can discuss anything about Portal whether it be the game itself, the flash game, anything. And remember:

"The cake is a lie."


"Now you are thinking with portals."

How much of portal is based off of narbacular drop?

I'll play Portal after I finish beating Half-Life 2, and buy / beat Episode 1 & 2. :)

I'm not entirely sure, but I do know that the entire team who made Narbacular Drop is employed by Valve. I think Portal is based on the portal concept from it, but other than that no because Narbacular Drop is a fantasy story about a princess and a badguy while Portal is sci-fi along with a few other reasons. You can't jump in ND, but it's still neat.

This is the main site of the creators of Narbacular Drop:
http://www.nuclearmonkeysoftware.com/
It also has the game in the downloads section. There's concept art and the original instruction booklet as well.

You can also create your own custom maps for ND. Kinda nifty, hehe.

I could've bought the PS3 version today but I was lacking funds

ive got it on pc and beat it in 3 hours (which is pretty average). its a good game.
btw: the plush companion cubes are lol-able!!

Quoteive got it on pc and beat it in 3 hours (which is pretty average). its a good game.
btw: the plush companion cubes are lol-able!!Yeah, I hear it's short, but it's awesome while it lasts. I need to play through the rest of it this weekend or some time soon, hehe.

its really good cause after you unlock certain levels you get chalenges for those levels: which are doing the levels in: least steps, least portals and least time...
but the 3 hours is only for the actuall game. if i were to play it a second time i could do it in 1 to 1&1/2 hours. a perfect speed run could be acheived in 30 - 45mins!!

I looked up Portal some time during summer after seeing an advertizment, and was amazed. Sadly, I will never play it as I will not buy a 360 just for that, my computer would probably die trying to run anything out of Orange Box, and they don't seem too interested in releasing Portal as a stand-alone game (I'm not too interested in anything else from Half-Life and will not buy OB just for Portal.)

QuoteI looked up Portal some time during summer after seeing an advertizment, and was amazed. Sadly, I will never play it as I will not buy a 360 just for that, my computer would probably die trying to run anything out of Orange Box, and they don't seem too interested in releasing Portal as a stand-alone game (I'm not too interested in anything else from Half-Life and will not buy OB just for Portal.)You can still play the Flash game though. That's why I have that link up there :)

So that's where those cubes are from. I saw them in a flash animation. :)

manyquestions, Valve has the Steam service, which does allow you to download and pay for Portal on its own.

don't forget narbacular drop

why is the girl so manly looking???
darn it

I think the main character used to be a guy...If I remember correctly. They changed that later.
It makes sense though. I don't think a "hot" girl would be applying for this kind of testing, hehe.

QuoteThe main character used to be a guy. They changed that later.
It makes sense though. I don't think a hot girl would be applying for this kind of testing, hehe.
... you're right..... she might as well be fat then too

... the trailer was awesome

I helped my cosin with this game. . I wonder if I could emulate it in game maker? Probably not....

"And most importantly do not BZZTTT!"

The game power gates on yoyogames is portal made with GM

I finally took some time to play and beat Portal today. It was a shorter game, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I'm happy because I solved every puzzle without any help. There's still more I can do though because I can import maps among a few other things. The credits song was just as amazing as I'd heard, and I loved everything that GlaDOS (the testing machine) had to say throughout the game. The last level was especially cool.

I helped my mother out with some stuff a while back and she surprised me a few days ago with two shirts. I love my mom:




Have you hugged your weighted companion cube today?
And remember: The cake is a lie

Ah, That is Awsome Jolly XD.

The Game Looks Awsome, But Sadly I Don't Own A PS3 Or Xbox360. Eh, Oh Well. I At least Passed The Flash Version THat Person Made XD

YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! I'm getting one!!!

I'm wondering - What do They MEan About The Cake Being A Lie? XD

QuoteI'm wondering - What do They MEan About The Cake Being A Lie? XD
I've been wondering that as well. Also, what's the purpose of the companion cube?

I think the cake is like the person who keeps talking to you says that there's cake for you at the end and stuff, but then the other test subjects who died are like, "the cake is a lie!"

QuoteThe Game Looks Awsome, But Sadly I Don't Own A PS3 Or Xbox360. Eh, Oh Well. I At least Passed The Flash Version THat Person Made XDYou don't need those systems to play it, you can buy the game on Steam for $19.99

You can find Steam here (it's free)
http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=getsteamnow&cc=US

You simply purchase the game on Steam and install it from the server to your computer. Now you can play the game any time on your computer. You could also just buy the Orange Box for the computer which has Portal bundled in with it along with a few other games like Team Fortress and Half-Life Two.

QuoteI'm wondering - What do They MEan About The Cake Being A Lie? XD
QuoteI've been wondering that as well.It's like drizzt7 said. The testing machine, GLaDOS, that speaks to you through the entire game continuously mentions that when you finish the test there will be cake. Later this is distorted into...well I'm not going to say so I don't ruin the end for anyone. Throughout the test there are a few "hidden areas" in the walls you can get into where previous subjects have scrawled various things:

"The cake is a lie," is one of them. I'm sure you can guess at its meaning now.

Quote Also, what's the purpose of the companion cube?The weighted companion cube acts just like any other block you find/use in the test rooms. It's simply there to help you complete the puzzles. The reason it has hearts on it and is accented so much by GLaDOS is to have a psychological impact on the test subject. You're "alone" in there, and the cube is your "only reliable friend" and it is especially upsetting when you have to...*sniff* ah! Too painful! Hahaha. Again, I don't want to ruin anything for people who don't want to know yet until they play the game. The actual reason the weighted companion cube is in the game is because it's a joke. The entire game is riddled with jokes and the companion cube is another one of them. It's awesome.
http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/files/images/CubeTemple.jpg