Portal

But to comment on your post:

I did notice the R.I.P., but I didn't think of the significance that Johnson already knew they were dead. In which case I would assume GLaDOS killed them. Perhaps he's the last one left, and all the pictures are the other employees that have already perished. And maybe in his mounting insanity, Johnson associates them with the Cube, to him his biggest loss.

Yeah, now that you mention it, the cube is covered in hearts, unlike the other helpful cubes throughout the game. So maybe you are supposed to love it. Maybe it's like a soldier and his gun: This weapon/cube is your life. Love it and take care of it, and it will reciprocate. *shrugs*

I'm not sure about Cake being a code word, but I suppose anything is possible. And another thing I recently discovered are the jellyfish. There are two offices in the game that have a cartoonish face drawn on them. Under the one it says: The nice little jellyfish. Under the other it says: The big bad jellyfish - Wanted.

As for the number of times C is used, I hadn't noticed that. But it is a good point. Ah...puzzles/mysteries like these always drive me crazy until I figure them out. I certainly hope a prequel is forthcoming. Smile

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"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

Okay, I know I could be getting too deep about all this. I'm sure the developer's are probably laughing at me, as most of these things are simply inside jokes of theirs'. But I'm having so much fun deciphering it all! Smile

Just thought I'd include some pictures of the things I've been talking about.

Cake ingredients hidden within scrolling monitor text:

If you notice, there's also a sentence that says, "Don't forget she's such a...", and I don't know where the rest of it is. *shrugs*

Nice little jellyfish:

Big bad jellyfish:

Then we have a test subject that resembles a chicken that obviously failed its test:

Next we have a test subject that resembles a human that seems to have passed:

Now here would be yourself:

Notice the heel springs on the feet. How did those get there? GLaDOS is only a computer, so how'd she apply them? She must have helpers of some kind. Maybe she recruits the Androids that Aperture Science orignally used. I had assumed they were all gone, possibly destroyed by GLaDOS, but I wonder if she's using them as her lackeys. *ponders*

Here we have a still running PowerPoint presentation about their rival Black Mesa:

I know Black Mesa (and Aperture Science, come to think of it) were used in Half-Life, but I've never played the game. So I know next to nothing about them.

Then we have another room where someone holed up:

However, this one is on Level 19, after you've escaped GLaDOS's clutches. Perhaps another escaped test subject? I'm assuming they didn't make it. As I saw someone else pointed out on another forum, there are two colors of ink used in writing the notes on the walls. Red and black. Perhaps there were two test subjects that escaped. The one that wrote in black got as far as his hidey-hole that I don't have a picture of, went insane and died there. The second got farther (as the red ink messages appear farther into Level 19 than the black ones do), but died presumably in the last room with the huge turret ambush. As the messages on how to escape stop there. I didn't come up with that scenario, but I completely agree with it. It makes perfect sense once you think about it.

Last thing, the song at the end: Still Alive. Think about the line where GLaDOS says there's research to be done on those still alive. Does that mean there are more poor people trapped somewhere in the facility that she was planning on using after you were disposed of? Now what happens to them? Hmm...perhaps Portal 2 will be a prequel/sequel. Starts out before, then jumps forward to after. *shrugs* Can't wait to find out! Smile

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"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

Knight Joined: 02 Feb 2008 Posts: 150

i was actually about to ask if portals was somehow connected to the half-life games. maybe...

Yeah, there's also another speculation concerning a tie-in to Half-Life. Supposedly one of the major characters in that game is Adrian Shepherd. Well...the Portal gun's full name is the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, or ASHPD. Those letters closely resemble Adrian Shepherd. Also, there are keyboards in the Portal game (sitting on office desks) that have highlighted letters. The letters highlighted are the all the letters it would take to spell Adrian Shepherd. Valve claims it's just a coincidence, though, so...who knows.
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"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

Just a point of clarification on the ink thing: in one of your screenshots both colors are used. So is this early in the level before the color trend occurs?

As for Still Alive a darker possibility is that escape was merely an illusion. You said that the end is in a room with a cake and an arm snuffs out the candle and then the credits role. So it could be that everything was just an elaborate rats maze, the cake taking the place of the stereotypical cheese at the end. It is entirely possible that the guide of how to escape are actually all part of the test as part of a psychological examination of how subjects react to the possibility of escape after undergoing more and more dangerous tests.
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I was curious as to the two inks being together in some cases, SV. So you make a good point there. This particular room (that I posted a pic of a couple of posts back) was found before either of the inks disappeared. So I was wondering if perhaps the first escapee (who wrote in black ink) wrote these notes and moved on after living there for so long. I'm assuming the tally marks are days. And perhaps the second escapee (who wrote in red ink) added his notes to the first. Notice that the red ink is only arrows pointing from the tally marks to an energy ball. These are deadly if run into, and I wonder if maybe he's saying that's how the first guy died. *shrugs* Just a guess.

As for your ending possibility, I hadn't thought of that. And it's a very saddening thought. Sad

However, the Cake scene doesn't come until after you're transported through a faulty portal up to the surface of the research facility. I forgot to mention this part. You see a little gatehouse that says Aperture Science surrounded by a fence. Then the game jumps to the Cake and Companion Cube underground. It's not like you're actually there. So I wonder if that could simply be a message that there's still something down there. Like the Cake is still a lie (hence the snuffing), but there's still a puzzle to unravel. Confused

Oh, and just to clarify. I know I said an arm snuffed out the candle, but I did mean a metal grasper/claw arm. Thought that might have sounded a little funny. Smile

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"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

I guess I didnt reaally try to read all the writings on the wall....haha...I just go with the flow...I bet even If I had noticed all of this...I wud've been to slow to put it all together Sad

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Well Salaris has been a lot of help...even without playing the game, he's got a lot of insight I've passed up. Or maybe it's because he hasn't played the game. Smile

At any rate, I'm 99.9% positive that the drawing is of an energy ball, beacuse they have these throughout the game as warning signs (GLaDOS puts them up in the test chambers...I suppose so her test subject doesn't get knocked off too quickly). However, you're right about it being written in both inks. Hmm...perhaps they did meet up, as you said. Maybe the one died before the other, and so that's why the red writing lasted longer. That seems very plausible, yes.

And yeah, I like the idea of the possibility that the facility continues to operate even without GLaDOS, and even though you think you've destroyed it. Certainly sets it up for a sequel. Guess we'll find out for sure when it comes out. Or at least I hope we find out! And I hear Valve takes years to make a game once it's been announced, so I wonder how long it'll take...? Confused

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"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

Hey, that's an interesting thought! And it makes perfect sense. You're told many times that you'll receive cake once you finish the levels, and so perhaps it is indeed standing for freedom. Since the whole idea of partying (a party is mentioned also) and cake implies relaxtion, or freedom from work/school/whatever. But as you're running through the complex in the end, you find written everywhere, "The cake is a lie." Implying, "Freedom is a lie." Because, as is seen, you were meant to die at the end, not receive cake.

I like that analogy. Whether it was meant that way or not, I'll think I'll pass it by the developers. They may want to claim that idea as their own and weave it into the second one. Very Happy

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"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

Well I've just started playing Portal: Prelude. The fanmade prequel to Portal. It's fun, and amazingly well done. I just don't enjoy the suggestive dialog. It's nowhere near necessary, but whatever. I just mute it.

Anyway, indeed it is enjoyable, though harder than the original. I don't think it's quite as hard as everybody says, but definitely harder than the original. I've beaten 13 chambers so far, and I've got to say that the 9th chamber was by far the hardest. I had to cheat to figure out how to beat it, and then it still took me awhile to accomplish the task. Beat the rest of them on my own mainly, but I doubt I'll be able to do so in the remaining 6.

Moving on, I'm interested in the storyline. Prelude takes place before GLaDOS is activated and the place is run by actual people. However, I also know that it ends with the activation of GLaDOS, and what I believe is the annihilation of all employees. I haven't watched it yet, so I'm not sure. But I can't wait to watch that part of the game.

I guess I'm just a sucker for mysterious storylines. Wink

Anyway, for anyone who enjoyed the original Portal game, this one is definitely worthy of being played. It's difficult, so only go at it if you're feeling adventurous. But it's also free, so there you go. Very Happy

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"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

Update:

Kay, just beat the game a few seconds ago. Very much fun, and just as mysterious as the first one. Definitely didn't spell everything out in plain English, and leaves you wondering. Of course the creators won't tell what exactly they were intending with the ending scenes, especially the scene after the credits, so it's all up to interpretation. Have to remember, though, that it's just a fanmade prequel. It's not 'canon', so to speak. Valve has said they're making an official prequel, though. So if they come through on that, I'll be very excited. Smile

Anyway, the game was extremely well done. Much harder in the last level than the original game was, but other than that, a worthy mod. Took me a couple hours today just to beat that last level. I figured it out on my own, though. So for that I'm very happy.

Levels 14 and 15 were pretty fun, but 16, 17, and 18 had me stumped. If I'd stuck at it a little while longer, I probably could have figured them all out. But I'm not a very patient person. I'm just proud of myself that I managed 15 and 19 with no help. So yeah, a very enjoyable game, just wish they'd left the language out. Other than that, a great mod to keep me going until the real prequel is released. Wink

So for those who are interested in playing it themselves, just remember: The cake is a lie! Still. Neutral

Heh, just playing (although you still don't get any cake, even if it is sitting there on the table beckoning to you Sad

). I was actually going to say: Never give up! Levels 9 and 19 can have you down and depressed, convinced you'll never be able to do it, but it is possible! Just keep on trying. You'll feel so accomplished in the end. Smile

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"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

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