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Hyperspace Beacon: Homage to we hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will
One of the best compliments you can give a creator is to make an homage to his work. The title of one of the Hyperspace Beacons was an homage to TOROCast articles. It's a way to tell the creator, "You're doing a good job. Keep up the good work." Not to mention, homages are a lot of fun. In fact, my first published work was an homage to the work of Charles Dickens. I wrote a story about what happened to the Cratchit children. But what happens when an homage goes too far? Every once in a while, the Hyperspace Beacon takes a side track and asks about ideas that should end up on the cutting room floor. We all know games have concepts that just don't work. Star Wars: The Old Republic will be no exception. This little humorous segment is called We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will -- or WHTNMIISWTORBKOLIPW, for short. Follow me after the break to see what "homageneous" ideas should never make it into the release of SWTOR, but knowing our luck, they will anyway.
Steam for Mac, Portal, Torchlight out tomorrow
Tomorrow's the big day: Valve's Steam platform is officially coming to the Mac, and it's bringing two of my favorite games along with it. Portal is the first one -- hopefully if you're a gamer you've already played it, but it was my absolute favorite game of 2007 and one of the best games I've played in the last five years. Runic Games' terrific Torchlight is also along for the ride. It's a Diablo-style hack and slash game (created by a few ex-Blizzard guys) that is another must-play. The best part is that both of these are "Steam Play" titles, which means that if you already own them on Steam for Windows, you own them on Steam for Mac as well. Engadget posted a nice roundup recently of Steam for Mac impressions, but the bottom line is that it's exactly the same as the PC version, so if you've used it on Windows, you'll know what you're in for. And on the eve of the occasion, Wired has a funny little writeup of how these games will differ on Apple's platform. For instance, Portal's GLaDOS voiceover will actually replaced with Steve Jobs, and the portal guns available in the game will only create entrances, not exits. At first, Steve will tell you that exits aren't really necessary, but then they'll later be patched in via software in three to six months. Funny.
Valve's viral plot thickens with Portal blue screen of death
Even though Portal 2 has been officially announced, it seems the clever Alternate Reality Game which gave it impetus hasn't yet come to a complete stop. Shortly after accepting a Pioneer Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards in San Francisco on Thursday evening, Valve boss Gabe Newell launched into a slideshow detailing the company's expectations of future trends, only to have it "crash" to a blue error screen. The final slide was meant to answer several infamous Valve mysteries -- Who is the G-Man? Why doesn't Valve support the PlayStation 3? -- and perhaps it did in some obfuscated way. According to seasoned ARG sleuths (posting on the Penny Arcade forums), the error code above can be read as: "S U S : P E N D ... U N T ( I ) L ... E E E." Suspend until E3? It wouldn't be surprising to see Portal 2 at this year's E3 expo, which will run in Los Angeles from June 15 to 17, but if the above decryption is accurate Valve may have additional plans to unfurl (possibly including the long-awaited Half-Life 2: Episode 3). [Thanks, Wince]
Portal receives radio patch, tunes in hints of a sequel
Valve has released a new patch for Portal on Steam, and the patch notes say only that it has "changed radio transmission frequency to comply with federal and state spectrum management regulations." A curious note, especially since Portal, as a computer game, doesn't actually transmit anything over the radio. That got the forum train a'moving on the Steam boards, and they eventually discovered that radios have been added to each level of the game which, when carried to the correct spots in each level, will tune in a series of coded messages. Connecting to all (or any, according to some reports) of the 26 messages in the game will supposedly unlock a new hidden achievement called "Transmission Received." At least, we think so -- as of this writing, no one seems to have unlocked it yet. Some of the messages are morse codes that range from the technical ("External data line active") to the silly ("Beep beep beep beep"), and some are encoded images of numbers and equations ("B.dA=3"), but the whole thing appears to be hinting that AI antagonist GLaDOS may have transmitted information or part of herself out of the Aperture Science facility before the first game ended. Which would probably mean that a sequel reveal is imminent. We'll stay tuned for more information -- we didn't really expect to hear from Valve at GDC next week, but a Portal 2 reveal would make our San Francisco visit that much nicer. [Thanks, Rob!]
WoW Moviewatch: Still Alive -- JoCo version
I think Still Alive -- JoCo version wins the "genre bending" award. Still Alive was originally the closing credits song for Portal by Valve Software. The computer system known as GLaDOS promises the Portal player cake throughout the game. It's kind of the carrot to keep the player moving. (This is also the source of The Cake Is Not A Lie.) Still Alive is performed by GLaDOS at the end of the game. Well, being the geek savant that he is, Jonathan Coulton covered Still Alive. Being the WoW culture savant that he is, Spiff took JoCo's cover and turned it into a World of Warcraft machinima. (There are plenty of references to the original Portal game in the video, though, so this version isn't entirely detached from its roots.) Like all of Spiff's videos, Still Alive -- JoCo version is a lot of fun. Spiff does a great job capturing the fun and humor of JoCo's original music. Not to mention, his animation skills are constantly growing and always impressive. Edit: JoCo wrote the original song, mind you. Still Alive was performed at the end of the game by a female artist. This song, then, is the version performed by JoCo. "Cover" is a tough word to use for this, so I wanted to clarify it. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
Rock Band Wiikly: Ministry, The Zombies, the Cranberries, 19 more
This week's Rock Band 2 DLC update brings not only the promised tracks from last week's multiplatform Rock Band DLC announcement, but 19 tracks from the back catalog as well. That includes one free track that most of you are going to run to the Wii and download right now: the "Still Alive" song from Portal. Well, you'll run to the Wii tomorrow, when these tracks actually go up. Now you can play the song on a console on which you can't play the game! How ... novel!The list is after the break. Everything not performed by a rogue AI is 200 Wii Points per song.
Portal: Still Alive additional levels based off Portal: The Flash Version, won't include GlaDOS
There's been an understandable amount of excitement regarding the pseudo-sequel to 2007's "Game of the Year", Portal, following the E3 '08 unveiling of Portal: Still Alive. However, little was announced about the title by its digital anti-heroine at the Microsoft Press Conference -- luckily, Valve's Doug Lombardi spilled the beans about the game's new features, and its relationship to the first groundbreaking title, in a few interviews during last week's shenanigans.In one such interview with GameSetWatch, Lombardi explained that Still Alive is a standalone version of the original Portal. The additional maps and challenges that were revealed on Gamerscore Blog will be pulled from the Portal: The Flash Game map pack, a 3D rendition of the award-winning web game based on the original pastry-rich puzzler. This map pack, lovingly crafted by We Create Stuff (the minds behind the Flash game), is available (and free) to download for PC portal-hoppers now.Unfortunately, neither GlaDOS, nor any other "story elements", will be included in the extra content. As excited as we are for this expansion, the prospect of zipping around an abandoned research facility without the accompaniment of an unsettling, sing-song voice just doesn't seem right.
GLaDOS GPS voice pack just wants to help you find your way. To the morgue.
An enterprising nerd by the name of Ryan VanMiddlesworth is clearly a bigger Portal fan than you, since he's cobbled together a GLaDOS-simulating voice pack for Garmin Nüvis. Just don't try to prevent "GLaGPS" from constantly trying to divert you to cake-related points of interest, else you may find yourself tossing your Garmin into an incinerator. Video after the break.
Separated at birth: Wii Fit Balance Board and Aperture Science turret
Is Nintendo an ancestor of Aperture Science? A dummy corporation? We recently recorded the North American voice of the Wii Fit Balance Board, and it bears an uncanny resemblance to Portal's happy little turrets. Even the hierarchy of henchmen follows Portal. Aperture science has GLaDOS, and Wii Fit has a male- or female-voiced personal trainer.Yes, there are still a few differences. The Balance Board voice -- and we presume nefarious AI -- comes through the Wii and out a TV, while the turrets are all self-contained. Plus the balance board might not be trying to kill us. The verdict is still uncertain, but be warned.Aperture Science turret
Cinemassively: The Device Has Been Modified
Let's say that Gnomeregan merged with Aperture Science. What would happen if you installed GLaDOS on mechanistriders? Baron Soosdon put that question to the test, in The Device Has Been Modified. If you like Rick Astley, Shepiwot, and Linkin Park, then this is the machinima for you! Baron turns World of Warcraft into the belly of the beast, as the heroine, a lone gnome on a journey to save her life, must fight her way against the rogue MechaMurlocs and mechanistriders. Will she survive, or will she go the way of the weighted companion cube?[Thanks, Baron!]If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.
WoW Moviewatch: The Device Has Been Modified
(The sinister Baron Soosdon felt that Vimeo was the best quality stream, so he made me change it from the Veoh stream. Now it has a funky looking aspect ratio! However, he does not blame me for destroying his non-existant PR campaign, so it's okay.)The year is 1985. Gnomeregan merges with Aperture Science, which causes a chain reaction, altering history forever. In 1987, they decide to install GLaDOS on a mechanistrider, which leads to a killing spree in 1989. In the distant future, only MechaMurlocs exist, except for one determined little gnome.If you can believe it, Baron Soosdon completed this movie in one day! He was apparently inspired by an infectious tune that was mentioned in #machinima on Quakenet IRC. For more information about This Device Has Been Modified, check out his blog, but be sure to download the high quality version.[Thanks, Baron!]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Play music with a nonexistent person
For this blogger, Hatsune Miku is something to be feared. Something about the creepy voice makes this blogger cringe like that scene where Freddy is scratching his claw against a chalkboard. Except, you know, less awesome.But, the fears of one man are not to affect an entire country, as the fake thing has become quite the icon in Japan. In fact, Miku has become so popular that she is to star in a real game. Titled 13-sai no Hello Work DS, the game will have players tapping away on a virtual keyboard, eventually working their way up to the stage to sing with Miku.We wonder how long it will take for someone to turn GLaDOS into a pop diva over here, since nobody can seem to get enough of that song? Actually, she might already kind of be one ...[Via Siliconera]
GDC08: Jonathan Coulton scores 95% vocals on Rock Band's Still Alive
It's hard not to love Jonathan Coulton (or JoCo), especially if you're a fan of Valve's Portal. The recent news that Still Alive will be coming to Rock Band as downloadable content was accompanied by JoCo's appearance at Valve's party on Wednesday. Mr. Coulton posted to his personal blog about the experience yesterday, noting that he 'only' got 95% vocals on the song he created. The question we've been asking ourselves is: who is singing the song on the track - Coulton or GLaDOS?He also noted that Portal snagged the Game of the Year, Best Game Design, and the Innovation Award nods from the GDCAs. Coulton observed that BioShock had won the GDCA award for Best Writing, a merit he thinks should have gone to Chet Faliszek and Erik Wolpaw's work on that quirky game about tests, thinking, and cake. Luckily for Wolpaw and Faliszek, they're the first winners of the (soon to be coveted) Jonathan Coulton award; maybe the GDCAs should rename the prize for Best Audio?
Happy (Holiday Name Here) from Aperture Science
It's Christmas Eve Eve Eve, and most of the blue-collared work force has temporarily retired for a well-deserved holiday break -- but not Portal's schizophrenic digital antagonist, GLaDOS. It would seem that the hardest working woman in the AI business (Sorry, Cortana) will remain ever vigilant at her post during the holiday season, wishing visitors to the Aperture Science website good tidings of the greatest joy. As the camera pans across the holiday vault, revealing our Santa-hat-wearing jolly geometric friend and the ever promised pastry, carolers sing an enchanting rendition of Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive". We won't blame you for getting a little misty -- nor will we judge you for wanting to share the Aperture holiday cheer with these darling Christmas cards. If only there was a card we could send to our family and friends, reminding them that they are androids, and that android hell is a real place where they will be sent at the first sign of defiance.
