« Posts tagged Portal

Anticipation

August 23, 2008 / Paul posted in Family and Friends, Gaming, Photos, Rare Events / No Comments

I have neglected my website far too long. This month has been very eventful.




I had a birthday this month and the gifts I received have kept me occupied and will continue to. The cake Alexis made me was inspired by the cake in the game Portal.

Also this month we had friends staying with us while they were in town. Alexis and I suggested they eat at a Mexican sandwich shop downtown called, Tio’s Tortas. I told them the story about how the guys at work and I found the place.

We noticed the sign when it first went up and stopped by on the first day the doors were open. They were testing their recipes and training the employees so the food was free. It was so good we decided to go back the next day, but this time the credit card machines were not working. The owner decided not to charge for food instead of turning away customers that did not have cash. So we had another free meal and from then on we were hooked.

Our friends really enjoyed the sandwiches and talked about them even after their visit had ended.

I’m eagerly awaiting the birth of my nephew, who is a couple of days late so far. Every time my phone rings I think it could be the news of his birth. Alexis and I are taking a trip soon on a gamble that he will be born by the time we arrive.

Portal & Cake

January 13, 2008 / Paul posted in Gaming / No Comments

I was given “The Orange Box” for Christmas. I didn’t really ask for it. All I really wanted was Half-Life 2: Episode 2. “The Orange Box” however comes with several games one of which I was blissfully unaware is freaking awesome. The name of this freaking awesome game is Portal. The game places you in a facility where a quirky computer directs you through a series of puzzles which you must solve using a handy portal gun. The gun generates a portal on most surfaces, which includes walls, floors, and ceilings, and is limited to creating a single portal. Below are a couple of images to show what a portal looks like:



The interaction with portals is well done. You can carry/throw objects through them and momentum is conserved between portals, which become key concepts when solving puzzles. To complement the great physics and level development is the character of the computer named GLaDOS. She starts out as a likeable guide, but it quickly becomes apparent that something is not right with her. Glitches in her speech, dubious explainations, and quirky behavior are hints to trouble on the horizon. Here are a couple of quotes:
“The Enrichment Center is committed to the well-being of all participants. Cake and Grief Counseling will be available at the conclusion of the test. Thank you for helping us help you help us all.”

“Did you know you can donate one or all of your vital organs to the Aperture Science Self Esteem Fund for Girls? It’s true!”

Throughout a couple of levels GLaDOS uses promises of cake as a way to encourage the player. However, in certain locations in the game there’s graffiti with the words “The cake is a lie”.




I won’t give anything away regarding the cake or the ending of the game. I’ll just say that the ending is great and I ended up playing through the game two more times. One with the commentary enabled, which was the first time I’ve played through a game with commentary. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a Portal 2.

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