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Miniature Portal gun replica now available at Think Geek
Think Geek now sells a somewhat downsized version of the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, which is good news for people that work in super cramped cubicles, as well as tiny baby children looking to perfectly accessorize a Halloween costume that was obviously their parents' idea.At $60, the bite-sized gun features accurately colored lighting effects, portal-specific sounds and articulating zero-point energy manipulator claws, just like the bigger, sold-out versions. It also includes a display stand, which will be helpful if you're the first type of person we mentioned above. At just 12-inches, however, its cosplay potential is limited to children, as a standard ASHPD measures 30-inches long.But hey, you know what they say: "It ain't the length of you Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, it's the momentum cancelling abilities of your Advanced Knee Replacements." Or something.
Hackaday's custom Portal gun levitates a Companion Cube
Sure, everyone and their mother has made a custom Portal gun at this point, but the fine folks at Hackaday have raised the bar into the stratosphere. The floating Companion Cube effect was accomplished by ripping out the magnets in a floating globe, and the cube itself was created to proper size and weight specifications.The gun itself is not custom, however – it's store bought. The process of creating the Companion Cube and applying the magnetic housing to the Portal gun itself is pretty interesting, all of which you can check out in the video above and through the source link below.
Your Portal gun isn't as cool as Hack-a-Day's Portal gun (which actually levitates a companion cube)
There you were, thinking your NECA-produced Portal gun replica was super neat all on its own. Well, okay -- it is -- but wouldn't it be even cooler if you could use it to make a baby companion cube levitate in mid-air with it? That question is exactly what lead to Hack a Day's creation of just such a device, as seen in the video below the break. By reappropriating a magnetic floating globe's parts and attaching said parts to both the gun and a homemade companion cube, Hack a Day were able to recreate at least part of the magic Chell experiences in her Aperture Science adventures. Of course, if you move the gun too much, the companion cube will fall out. Just think what that does to its psyche! You monster. [Image credit: Caleb Kraft, Hack a Day]
Portal 2: Songs to Test By (Collectors Edition) out on Oct. 30
A four-disc set collecting your favorite ditties from Portal and Portal 2 is set to test how high your speakers go on October 30. In addition to all of the Portal 2 numbers, this physical collectors edition set (the collection is available digitally for free) will make available 13 songs from the original Portal for the first time ever. There's also a mini-comic bundled in called "Turret Lullaby" but you can read that online right now if you want.The full list of tunes is available after the break, including such favorites as Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive" and "Want You Gone," plus the remaining songs composed at Valve.
Valve taunts us with prospect of official Portal 2 sentry turret replica (video)
A Holy Grail of gamer memorabilia is the Portal turret replica -- as much a tech toy as proof that you can sing "Want You Gone" from memory. It's already been coveted when made in small batches by fans, so you can imagine the hysteria when Valve Software itself posts a teaser video (found after the break) at its store's Facebook page showing what looks to be a near life-size, computer-linked version of Aperture Science's typical sentry from Portal 2, minus the laser targeting and live machine guns. After that, however, we're left to guess whether or not it's just a decoration for Valve's offices or a commercial product to buy alongside a Companion Cube plushie. We've asked Valve about providing more details in the near future and will let you know if the developer is any more talkative than its robot guards.
Chell nearly married a turret in Portal 2
Between imaginary cakes, talking potatoes and combustible lemons, you might think Portal couldn't get any stranger. Well, it could have gotten stranger – even stranger than Cave Johnson trapped in a computer – as Valve writer Eric Wolpaw revealed during a PAX panel. Wolpaw told the audience that, originally, Chell was going to marry a turret during Portal 2.Chell was supposed to discover a lost tribe of turrets, help them out and eventually be married to one by the Animal King turret. After this, the turret would follow Chell, according to Game Informer, "in a similar fashion to Watson in Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis."And that brings us to the sole reason for writing this post: An opportunity to post the Creepy Watson video after the break. For added fun, imagine that Watson is a turret.
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.
Co-op added to Portal 2's Perpetual Testing Initiative
"You should sit down," the Portal 2 blog recommends, because there's big news in the world of science. Valve has added co-op to the Perpetual Testing Initiative – the company's fancy name for the hit game's level creator. Meaning, armchair designers can now publish co-op maps for users to consume.Valve has also added a "Quick Play" feature that creates a "never-ending, auto-generated" playlist of the highest rated user-developed maps. "It has literally never been easier to figuratively jump in and literally play some Portal," the wordsmiths at Valve claim.As an added treat, Valve is offering current owners of Portal 2 a 75% off coupon for a second copy of the game. Just the thing you'll need to get a friend in on the action. Who are we giving out copy to? American astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium Neil deGrasse Tyson, of course! He knows a thing or two about intricate bodies of work. As soon as he accepts our Steam friend request.
NASA flinging Portal 2's space core into space, sort of
Wheatley, the adorably dumb and delightfully devious space core in Portal 2, is making a real-life trip to space. Kind of.An anonymous tech at NASA got away with laser-engraving the above image of Wheatley with the quote "In spaaaaaaace!" on the Japanese HTV-3 resupply craft to the ISS. Wheatley and the craft are set to launch on Friday, July 27, at 10:06 EST. You can watch the launch beginning at 9:15 EST on Friday at the NASA TV website."NASA in no way officially endorses secretly laser-engraving characters from Portal onto their spacecraft," the Portal 2 blog writes. "Believe it or not, they don't even officially endorse Portal 2, despite the fact that it's a really excellent game." But someone (or some robot) at NASA obviously respects quality entertainment.Update: As many readers have pointed out, the image is likely not referring to Wheatley as the official Portal 2 blog states, but probably referring to Portal 2's "space core" instead. Or it could be the space core's text below an intended image of Wheatley. Only the stars will know now.
Portal 2 Lego set reaches support goal, is off to review by 'Lego jury'
Congratulations, everyone: If you read our post about the prototype Portal 2 Lego set and threw your vote on Cuusoo to have it become reality, you've succeeded. Go get yourself an ice cream sundae, champ. You deserve it.The Portal-themed Lego set has received 10,000 votes of support on Lego's crowd-sourced idea incubator, Cuusoo, and is now off to be examined by the proper authorities. A "Lego jury" will review the idea, building concept models and testing them for playability, safety and fit with the Lego brand. Lego's Cuusoo quarterly review begins in September and will include the Portal set and any others that reach 10,000 votes. Reviews can, we should warn you, take several months.
Jump at the chance for a real Portal 2 jumpsuit
NECA is beginning a bold new behavioral experiment, to determine whether the addition of a logo will render plain orange jumpsuits desirable enough for consumers to purchase them in high quantities and for $100 each. The company's hypothesis is that it will, and we tend to agree.In order to get one of NECA's official Portal 2 Chell Jumpsuits (in women's and men's sizes) from ThinkGeek, you need to get on a mailing list. ThinkGeek will alert its "Test Subjects" about the product's availability when it arrives in October. This is the only way the retailer plans to sell these, so if you want that testy look go sign up now.Pre-orders are available from a variety of other retailers, some of which have their own restrictions – like only offering reservations during the weekend of Comic-Con (i.e. now). Given the response to other Portal memorabilia, you're better off pre-ordering immediately from your retailer of choice.
Portal 2 goes Games on Demand, 50% off sales abound on Xbox Live
Been trying to pick up the Xbox version Portal 2 but haven't managed to open a portal from the couch to your local retailer? Xbox Live has the answer, as Portal 2 is now available on Games on Demand, according to Major Nelson.Apart from GLaDOS and Wheatley's intrusion of Xbox Live, there are some pretty substantial sales going on. This week, a load of Bethesda DLC is 50 percent off, including the "Shivering Isles" and "Knights of the Nine" expansions for Oblivion and every piece of Fallout 3 DLC. Several Xbox Live Arcade games are 50 percent off as well this week, including Section 8: Prejudice, The Splatters, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, Hydrophobia and the excellent Toy Soldiers: Cold War.
LEGO Portal gun doesn't have enough features
This Portal gun model created out of LEGO bricks features movable prongs and a few lights. The creator of this slick model, a Minneapolis LEGO Store employee seen in the video above, says it took a few weeks to build the gun after designing it for over a year. Sadly, the gun doesn't shoot adorable brick portals for minifigures to pass through.Knowing that nearly 8,000 people want a Portal-themed LEGO set, Valve should definitely understand that a LEGO Portal game needs to be a reality.
This Portal Lego set is in testing phase, your vote can help it pass
You've played Portal and Portal 2, you've used the editor to build your own test chambers and you bought the replica portal gun. Your life is almost complete -- almost.All you need now is this Portal Lego set that's starting to gain traction on Cuusoo, Lego's crowd-sourcing platform that got the Minecraft set made. The Portal pitch includes GLaDOS' Chamber (complete with 12-inch-tall GLaDOS) and a Modular Testing Chamber complete with turrets, cubes, a portal gun and more accessories. Check out the specs and add your vote to the Portal Lego set right here, or check out this other, equally compelling idea.
Valve Source Filmmaker makes a movie out of any Source game, now you're directing with Portals (video)
Creating machinima with a video game engine usually requires accepting one of two truths: either that it will require a lot of fudging or that it will have all the sophistication of playing with action figures. Valve Software isn't very happy with that dichotomy, which is why it's posting its very own movie-making tool, Source Filmmaker, as a public beta. Any game that runs on the Source engine, whether it's Left 4 Dead 2, Portal 2 or another in the family, can have gameplay run-throughs edited and dissected right down to custom facial expressions. As Valve expounds in the video after the break, throwing a gaming-grade PC at the task gives directors the advantage of seeing exactly how any changes will look in the final scene; there's no rough wireframes or pre-rendering here. Budding Francis Ford Coppolas can sign up for an invitation to the Filmmaker beta at the project page. If you'd just like to see how far someone can go with the end results, we've also included the latest Team Fortress 2 character profile video, Meet the Pyro, after the jump.
Licensed Portal 2 turret replica to arrive later this year, leave ammo at home
If an enthusiast-built Portal 2 turret piques your interest, Gaming Heads' Valve-licensed miniature replica may very well force your wallet open. Modeled using Portal 2's in-game assets and cast in "high quality poly-stone," these mini-turrets aim to intimidate intruders with a motion activated light-up eye. In addition to the stoic and silent basic model, the company's offering an exclusive edition, which plays sounds and voice samples from the game. Only 1,100 of these hand-painted facsimiles will be produced (350 with sound, 750 without), but the company notes that other figures based on the adorable death machines are in the works. Pre-orders have already begun, so collectors will want to act fast -- provided they're ready to pony up $300-325, of course.
Portal Turret mini replica available later this year, features sound module
The latest Valve-licensed replica from Gaming Heads is a mini model of the Aperture Sentry Turret. The turret is 16 inches tall (including base and antenna) and features a sound module, which will play samples of the turret's "activation, search, auto search, disabled and tipped over sounds."The company is only making 350 turrets and they'll be "cast in high quality poly-stone," then painted and finished by hand. Pre-orders are available now and the item will ship in Q4 2012 for $324.99.We'd mock the price, but then we think about the cost of making a real (or realest yet) Portal Turret with a Penn State education, and now a few hundred dollars doesn't seem so unreasonable.
Valve announces Steam for Schools, helps teachers create educational Portal 2 levels
Who ever said being a scientific guinea pig couldn't be educational? With Steam for Schools, teachers can now use Portal 2's level editor to create lessons focused on boosting critical thinking, spatial reasoning and problem solving skills. Announced at the Games for Change festival in New York City, the educator edition of Steam comes with a free copy of Portal 2 and the Portal 2 Puzzle Maker. Students and teachers alike can use the tools to create puzzles, but distribution is handled by teachers alone. (That's right, kids -- no level sharing unless the teach says so.) An accompanying website serves as a gathering place for teachers to collaborate, and aims to provide sample lesson plans centered on science, technology, engineering and math. If you're an educator who can't wait to bring a Portal-assisted physics lesson to life, see the links below to sign up for the ongoing beta. Now if you'll excuse us, we're off to "study."
One day, Portal 2 in motion DLC will come to PS3, it's such a shame the same will never happen to Xbox
Remember Razer's Hydra controller that came with a motion-controlled version of Portal 2? PS3 owners will be receiving those same levels as a DLC later this year with added support for the PlayStation Move. Players will be able to manipulate objects in order to solve puzzles with more flailing limbs than you can shake a stick at when it arrives later this year.
'Portal 2 In Motion' DLC incorporates PlayStation Move
Portal 2 players who opted for the PS3 version will get some bonus DLC later this year. Available on the E3 show floor, Portal 2 In Motion is a DLC pack featuring the same missions previously exclusive to the Razer Hydra peripheral now optimized for PlayStation Move, Polygon reports. We've inquired with Valve for more information and will update as soon as we hear back.
