Erik-Wolpaw
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How Cave Johnson's talking head got cut from Portal 2
Cave Johnson, the eccentric, unstable president of Aperture Science, was going to have a more purposeful role in Portal 2, writer Erik Wolpaw said during the Plot vs. Play panel (co-hosted by Joystiq's Ben Gilbert) at PAX Prime today.Wolpaw described the following scene, which was cut from the final version of Portal 2 after Valve realized it was too vague mechanically for players to enjoy: Cave Johnson's voice said, "I'm Cave Johnson" over the intercom, followed by, "No, really, I'm Cave Johnson. Look down." Cave's personality was trapped in a computer and he begged to be unplugged, while players found use in his hardware and had to push him against a wall to jump on a ledge.In the end, the gameplay didn't fly and the scene – and story arc featuring Cave in a computer – was removed entirely. We like to think that means Cave got his wish, and he's not still trapped inside a box, screaming about lemons and plugs.
Watch a live stream of Joystiq's PAX panel with Erik Wolpaw, Tim Schafer, Kotaku [Update: It's over!]
Joystiq's Ben Gilbert is sitting down with Valve's Erik Wolpaw (writer on the Portal series), Double Fine's Tim Schafer (company president and fundraising maven) and Kotaku's Jason Shreier at PAX Prime today, to talk "Plot vs. Play."This ragtag group will dissect the importance of narrative over gameplay, vice versa, inside-out and inverted, and it's all captured live for you to watch below via Twitch TV. The panel begins at 3 p.m. ET, or as the indoctrinated few call it, right now.Update: The panel and live stream are now finished. If you missed the action, keep an eye on the PAX Prime 2012 page on Twitch TV, which should update with the day's recording.
The importance of playtesting: What Portal 2 could have been
When Erik Wolpaw and Chet Faliszek first sat down to write Portal 2, they went mad. It certainly appears that way now, when the final version of Portal 2 that shipped in 2011 was such a resounding success, especially for a highly anticipated sequel. The first iteration Wolpaw and Faliszek envisioned got rid of three important mechanics in the Portal universe: Chell, GLaDOS and, as we knew and are still reeling over, portals. In a talk at GDC, Wolpaw and Faliszek explained why they thought that was a good idea, and how they learned it was pretty much the dumbest thing ever.The original Portal 2 had three new things in place of the classic ideas: F-stop (the new portal mechanic), Cave Johnson (antagonist replacement) and Betty (GLaDOS substitute). Betty was a knee-high personality sphere on wheels, a piece of concept art showed, and she spoke in quick legalese, "like those ads for medicine where they show puppies while they talk about the rectal bleeding you're going to have," Wolpaw said.
Watch Valve's Erik Wolpaw lecture on Portal 2 development, nixed ideas
If you missed Valve writer Erik Wolpaw's talk on Portal 2 at New York University's Game Center lecture series event last Thursday, don't worry -- we've got you covered. NYU has uploaded the entirety of Wolpaw's massive, hour-plus talk and the Q&A session that followed in video form (which we've embedded below the break). Grab a drink and relax -- you can put that notebook away. There won't be a test or anything.
NYC: Portal 2 writer Erik Wolpaw speaking at NYU Game Center
You know that wonderful, memorable, hilarious experience you just had with Portal 2? Wouldn't you like to shake the hand of the dude who helped shape that excellent narrative arc? Well, we can't promise you'll be able to do just that at next Thursday's New York University lecture series talk with Valve writer Erik Wolpaw, but you should at very least be able to give him a rousing round of applause. Beyond his latest project, Wolpaw is known for his work on the Half-Life series with Valve and Psychonauts with Double Fine, as well as being a co-founder of lauded game humor site Old Man Murray. During the talk, Wolpaw will introduce the audience to Portal 2 with a "brief guided playthrough," before being grilled by interim director at the Game Center, Frank Lantz. Like past NYU Game Center events, this one will likely fill up quick, so be sure to RSVP (to gamecenter@nyu.edu) asap, if you're interested in attending -- it's free! Still, consider bringing a little cash, as the Game Center will be selling 18x24-inch prints of the various Rachel Morris pieces that accompany each lecture for $20 a pop. They're quite fetching, if we do say so ourselves. Head past the break for complete details, directions and a better look at the event's artwork.
Portal 2's wall-walking gel would have made you sick
Portal 2's combination of slippery, bouncy, and portal-enabling gel was more than enough to keep our brains confounded during our second rendezvous at Aperture Science, but apparently yet another gel was planned for the game's many puzzles. Valve lead writer Erik Wolpaw reveals as much to EA.com in a recent interview, detailing "a new Gel that allowed players to walk up the side of walls." During the game's testing, Wolpaw says, Valve concluded that the gel's use was so "disorientating that it made people nauseas [sic]." Inadvertently imparting nausea is a constant concern when designing a first-person game, he explains. As a result, Valve "made changes to frame rate and movement that will help anyone play Portal 2, even if they do experience a feeling of nausea while playing other first-person games." As evidenced by that feeling in the bottom of our stomach, however, it's clear that Valve did little to mitigate the sheer terror felt when plummeting hundreds of feet.
Portal 2's (canceled) competitive multiplayer detailed
The biggest addition to Portal 2 is arguably the new two-player co-op campaign. But did you know that Valve was also working on competitive multiplayer? Valve's Erik Wolpaw told 1UP that they "had something up and running -- the best way to describe it is sort of speedball meets Portal. You know, a sports analog." Essentially, the goal was to get a ball from one end to another using portals. Don't expect to find this mode in the game when it ships next year. Why? "It quickly became apparent that while it's fun for about two seconds to drop portals under people and things like that, it quickly just devolves into pure chaos," Wolpaw explained. "It lost a lot of the stuff that was really entertaining about Portal." Although Valve have given up on competitive Portal-ing, that hasn't stopped the fan community from creating their own games. Team Portress, for example, mixes a Portal Gun into Team Fortress 2 with some hilarious results.
Video Interview: Portal 2's Erik Wolpaw
Although Portal was just a simple story of a girl and her cake, it was one of the most memorable gaming experiences of the generation thus far. Its sequel goes into more ambitious territory, and we chatted with writer Erik Wolpaw about the co-op and how Portal 2 ties into the greater Half-Life universe. Finally, find out more about how the newly announced PS3 version benefits from SteamWorks integration.
Valve explains why Portal's Companion Cube had to die
When we cursed the heavens and asked tearfully why our beloved labradoodle, Cagney, had to die in a horrific snow plow accident, leaving behind her best friend (our maltipoo Lacey), the only answer we received was the stony ambivalence of a silent autumnal sky. When we cursed Valve and asked tearfully why our beloved Companion Cube had to die by our own hands, Portal's writers calmly explained to Gamasutra that it was to develop a stronger bond with the Cube and teach the mechanics of the incinerator. See how it's done, God? Was that so difficult?
GDC Quest Quiz IV: Erik Wolpaw
We did a terrible thing at last week's Game Developer's Conference. Aside from our usual barrage of photographs and "reporting," a select group of attendees had to endure a particularly inane and utterly pointless line of questioning -- just for laughs. This is what happens when you hunt down several adventure game connoisseurs and challenge them to solve a typically obnoxious adventure game puzzle.The PlayerErik Wolpaw, co-author of the now-defunct Old Man Murray. He's written for games such as Psychonauts and Portal, and once accused the adventure genre of committing suicide.The PuzzleYou're standing in front of a cave. The goal is to get inside the cave, taking care to foil the ferocious robot bear guarding the entrance first.The Inventory (1) perforated parasol (1) rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle (1) sealed manila envelope (1) miniature macaroni Tim Schafer statue The Solution "How is the pulley attached to the rubber chicken? See, this is why I hate adventure games. I think you're expecting a joke answer, and I'm actually trying to figure it out. OK, type 'quit.' That's what I would do. Go to the menu and type 'quit.'"(Catch the rest of our interview with Wolpaw later this week!)
GDC08: Live from the Portal postmortem
3:36pm PT: After waiting in what can only be described as an epic line (by far the longest we've seen at GDC so far, and it's Friday afternoon!), we've found a respectable spot at the Portal postmortem, one of the most anticipated sessions of the entire week. Erik Wolpaw and Kim Swift are on stage, seemingly unaware of the sea of humans piling up outside the door.3:53pm PT: Ludwig posted a photo of the Portal postmortem line. Best part: you still can't see most of the line which wrapped around both ends of the frame. We're just happy to be in here. We're prickly with anticipation. It's like seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan ... just really nerdy ...
