Portal - Más allá de las paredes / portal - Beyond the walls

October of 2007. VALVe launches The Orange Box, a video game bundle including Half-Life 2 with its two episodes, Team Fortress 2 and an unknown game until that moment: Portal. What appeared to be one more game on the bundle, finally became (and also because of its sequel on 2011) one of the most important video games in the history. Aside from being a wonderful puzzle game, Portal is an open universe with a story that goes far beyond what its walls or characters tell us. So, what does the Portal saga has to have developed a cult inside and outside the world of gaming? Let's start from the beginning. Portal does not born from nothing. Specifically, the original idea comes from another PC game: Narbacular Drop, from 2005, developed by Nuclear Monkey. In Narbacular Drop, Princess No-Knees has to scape from a dungeon where a demon locked her, by using Wally's ability creating portals. VALVe hired the people from Nuclear Monkey, and what was born as a college final project became later the Portal from 2007 we know. Something similar happened with Portal 2. The students team responsible of Tag: the Power of Paint, of 2010, was hired by VALVe after publishing the game. The original Tag's mechanic where we use several paints to move faster or jump over the scenario is not a coincidence, and the use of the orange and blue gels became the main novelty on the Portal 2 game mechanics. The concept of artificial intelligence has its precedents, specially from movies. HAL 9000 from 2001: A space odyssey was the first AI on the audiovisual world more than fifty years ago. Obviously its traits of madness inspired GLaDOS and another IAs, from Terminator's Skynet to SHODAN, the evil AI from System Shock 2, which manipulates us just like GLaDOS. Although Portal 2 takes place at an undetermined date after the Portal ending, we couldn't understand the beginning of Portal 2 without the extended ending of Portal which VALVe showed months before the releasing of the sequel, where we see an unconscious Chell being dragged inside Aperture. That's how it's explained why our mission in Portal 2 is to run away again from the facilities. Another change VALVe made to Portal to announce Portal 2 was on the radios located in the test chambers. If they were placed at a particular location, they would broadcast a SSTV code which, decoded, would give us pictures from the Portal universe. Something similar happens on Portal 2, where Rattman, a character who never appears on the games, really, leaves us a message which, decoded, unveils us the ending of Portal 2. Is Rattman, precisely, (the guy we only know because of some hidden graffiti in Aperture) the one who links the Portal ending with the Portal 2 opening. Character and plot VALVe explained before the releasing of Portal 2, publishing a comic named Lab Rat. The most important things on it could be to know that Rattman was one of the responsibles in the GLaDOS creation. He also was who placed Chell as a test subject, and the one who finally saves her on that undetermined time since the Portal ending until she wakes up in the relax room on Portal 2. We only know that Rattman gets injured on a knee because of a turret, and that starts the vital support to save Chell, but we really don't know what happens to him from here. The comic is available through this link in Spanish and English, although some fans made a short-film named Aperture Lab Rat, explaining the whole plot of the comic. The whole internet has generated a thousand of theories about Chell, some of them crazier tan others, since the one claiming she's an android, the one telling her relationship with Gordon Freeman, or the one reporting she's a clone. One of the few things we know for sure about Chell is that she was the daughter of one employee of Aperture Science. How do we know this? Once we arrive to the lab, if we look closely to the models made by the kids on the "Bring your daughter to work" day, we found that the project of the mutant potato is signed by Chell. Later, also on Portal 2, and after meeting Cave Johnson, the founder of Aperture Science, we arrive to one of his portraits, this time accompanied by Caroline. At a first glance she's only his secretary, but if we get closer, GLaDOS will tell us that she founds those persons very familiar. A lot of theories claims not only that Caroline is Chell's mother, but also that one part of her was transferred to GLaDOS against her will, just as a desire of Cave before his death on the nearly 80s. Several recordings imply this. "No, listen to me! Sir, I do not want this!" The ending of Portal 2 makes more sense after this, when the turrets controlled by GLaDOS sing an opera to Chell which translated, we found it's a love song from a mother to her daughter. Leaving theories aside, but still on the Portal universe, is important to clarify that the cake is not a lie. Although the sentence "the cake is a lie" written by Rattman became one of the most known lines on the videogame history, GLaDOS isn't lying when she says that has a cake ready for you. However, it's only accesible for a few privileged. As a curiosity, during the development of Portal 2 VALVe decided not to make any fun about the cake on the sequel, tired of all the memes borned on the internet. Anyway, they couldn't resist the temptation and finally added a little reference. There's a lot of easter eggs referencing Portal made by VALVe on its own games, like the ones connecting Black Mesa, from Half-Life, and Aperture Science. Although there are little details like this sign from Black Mesa on Portal, or the Portal credits where GLaDOS literally says: "...someone else to help you, Maybe Black Mesa...", we can affirm the rivalry between these two companies because of several recordings from Cave Johnson accusing Black Mesa of stealing. "You've most likely used one of the many products we invented, but that other people have managed to steal from us. Black Mesa can eat my bankrupt..." But if there's anything that relates Half-Life and Portal that's the ship named Borealis, whose disappearance is explained on Half-Life 2: Episode 2, (where, by the way, Aperture Science is named) and which dock can be found at the Aperture facilities on Portal 2. The Borealis is also referenced on Saints Row: The Third in a list of lost ships, both real and fictitious. As a curiosity, the Axiom makes reference to Mass Effect, and MSG Ishimura is one of the ships we explore on the first Dead Space. Half-Life isn't the only game which makes allusions to the Portal universe. VALVe also relates Portal with Team Fortress 2 and even with Left 4 Dead 2. On the first case, in one of the ads of the DLC Portal Testing Initiative, if we pay attention, we'll see one of the employees watching the "Meet the Pyro" video, one of the videos VALVe made for the Team Fortress 2 promotion. The fandom on internet does not fall short. We have a custom map for TF2 simulating Aperture Science. There's also references on L4D2. At "The Parish" campaign, if we skip a song four times on the jukebox, Still Alive will start to play. Like TF2, there's a few fanmade maps on L4D2 making reference to Portal like Suicide Blitz 2, which is also a "featured campaign", (maps offered by VALVe on its blog and servers). In the same way, Warcelona also makes a little reference to Portal. Counter Strike hasn't any direct reference, but the adaptation made by the community of the map Dust 2 to the Portal game is absolutely worth to play. The fandom of Portal does not stop here. There's a very extense list of adaptations, maps and mods for Portal. This mod turning Portal 2 into Minecraft is quite curious, but if there's one map needed to be mentioned is the one which a boy used to propose to his girlfriend. But it's not all about maps and mods when we talk about Portal and its community. There's also a few and interesting projects made by lovers of the saga with a bunch of good ideas. Portal for NintendoDS is a good example, not to mention this 2D version of Portal reminding an arcade platformer. And which is the favorite platformer of the community? Super Mario meets the Portal world too thanks to these two games: Portal meets Super Mario and Mari0. Not to forget another classic game with the Portal mechanics added: Portal Tetris. There's also some short-films and videos made by the fandom with a very high and nearly-professional quality. There's a lot to be told about, aside from the one already mentioned about Rattman. Portal Survive, which also references Black Mesa, should be of obligatory viewing, as well as Portal: No Escape, or the Aperture R&D webseries. The Underground is another webserie about the saga, in this case, starring the Personality Cores. Also, if we mix 'personality cores' and 'internet' we can't stop watching this video demonstrating that Wheatley exists. The fever of referencing Portal in another games or cultural items reached so far that the development team of Portal itself did it on another great game of 2011: Skyrim. When Skyrim released its Workshop on Steam, VALVe created a mod for the game where the 'space core' gets crashed on Tamriel. They also placed it into the habilities menu on the game taking advantage of the starry sky, where wanders around the constelations on space. Obviously, this little obsession about the references can also be found on Portal 2. The achievements of the game are a good example. Many of them are named after several songs or movies, like the "Bridge Over Troubling Water" one (which references a song by Simon & Garfunkel), the "Can't Touch This" one (the famous song by MC Hammer), or the "Stranger Than Fiction" one, referencing the movie with the same title. On the film, a man discovers that his life is being narrated just like a novel. Portal does not forget Literature or Paiting. At Chamber #8 in Portal 2, GLaDOS gives us some instructions, which slowed, we found are quoting Moby ***. The Myth of Prometheus also appears on Portal 2. At one point of the game we find a turret calling our attention and claiming to be different. It's also called Oracle Turret because advances us some events of the game, or Prometheus Turret because talks about that myth. If we play the game in Spanish we won't notice it because the lines were not translated. What the turret does is comparing Portal with Greek Mythology. This theory tells us that, as like as Prometheus gave fire to mankind and was punished for it, GLaDOS gave the portal gun to Chell just to condemn her. Atlas (obviously, his name is not a coincidence), P-Body and Wheatley, would represent the Prometheus' brothers: Atlas, Menoetius and Epimetheus, while Chell would represent Pandora. The myth of Prometheus does not end here. It fuses with the worlds of Arts and Philosophy on The Portrait of a Lady, at the Old Aperture facilities. If we look closely, we'll notice a figure which many theories like to point that represents Aeschylus, a greek tragedian often said to be the author of Prometheus Bond. The achievement on this area is named "Portrait of a Lady", which also could be referencing the painting by Van der Weyden under the same title, or the book by Henry James. In this case, the novel is about a lady that becames a victim of Machiavellian machinations. All of this make sense a bit later, when Wheatley, aside of the attempts to kill us, quotes this famous philosopher. "Anyway, just finished the last one, just now, the hardest one. Machiavelli. Do not know what all the fuss was about, understood it perfectly". The meta-reference to the gaming history also appears on Portal 2. Even if is something a little bit elaborated, is curious to look at the dates on the first test chambers at the Old Aperture. 1958, 1972, 1976 and 1978. Coincidence or not, those are the dates where Tennis for Two, Pong, Breakout and Space Invaders were created. All of them crucial titles on the video game history. While it's clear that the Portal universe is full of references and tales about Aperture Science far beyond the main story of Chell trying to escape, we can't forget that, since the release of the first Portal on 2007, has been a lot of games, series, movies and comics which wanted to make a tribute or homage. When talking about Portal references in other games we can't obviate the one VALVe arranged with the Potato Sack between 2010 and 2011. Although everything started with the radio signals we already mentioned before, on 2011 VALVe made an agreement with several indie developers to promote the releasing of Portal 2. In exchange of models and material of Portal 2 with advance, those indies should include on their games some content about Portal. And this does not end here, because the funny thing of all this is that in April of 2011, VALVe set a counter on the official web which promised to premiere Portal 2 before the release date if the players reached a limit which only could be achieved playing the games from Potato Sack for hours. The success was so huge that the game was released ten hours before. Anyway, not only the Portal team was the only beneficiary of this advertising method. The indie developers were the ones who really saw their revenues grow thank to the sales success. Inside this Potato Sack bundle we find games like Killing Floor, which presents us a map inspired by Aperture Science. Audiosurf, which included a stage with a song by Victims of Science decorated with companion cubes, portal guns, and the colour scheme of the portals, blue and orange. Or Super Meat Boy, with its endearing protagonist turned into a jumping potato. The Ball added a puzzle inspired on Aperture. Amnesia: The Dark Descent made something quite similar with its game, also adding the voice of GLaDOS. On Bit.Trip.Beat, GLaDOS keeps an eye on us on a stage of the game, while on Defense Grid there's also a map that takes place in Aperture Science with GLaDOS speaking to us the whole time. But the references to Portal on other games do not end with the Potato Sack. Because of everyting we've said, is quote regular that a lof of developers want to make some kind of homage to Portal into their own games. That's the case of Dishonored, where we found an oval painted on a wall, with the shape of a portal. If we read its note, it tells us that a scientist wanted to use them for travelling long distances. Bastion, an indie game of 2011, includes an easter egg Portal-related. If we took a barrel of gel with the Old Aperture logo on it and use it during a battle, we'll see a familiar turret. The reference to Portal on Far Cry 3 is more subtle. In one of the moments where Jason Brody is in trouble, he says: "I could use a portal right now" Fable III makes an homage at one of the cells, where we only see not only a prisoner worshiping a box that looks like a companion cube, but also a cake. On Shadows of the Damned, if we look carefully we can see a poster with a reference to the portal mechanics. On Trials: Evolution, a motorbike-acrobacy game, if we sink in a water tank and get out to the surface at the other side of it, we'll find another homage to Aperture Science. While, on Dragon Age, someone calls for the promised cake on the first Portal quoting the famous line of the game. Duke Nukem Forever also wants its piece of cake, so, one of the achievements of the game, named "Companion barrel", is acquired if we transport to the right place a companion barrel. Another achievement, this time on Minecraft and named "The Lie", obviously is related to our famous cake. If we get the right ingredients, milk, sugar, eggs and wheat, and mix them, we'll get our cake. Continuing with the cake, our spanish friends and developers of Castlevania: Lords of Shadows, also made a reference to it, affirming that the cake is not a lie. However, the line "the cake is a lie" is commonly quoted with light variations. The developers of GTA V could not resist it. In a particular place of the map we find a graffiti claiming: "the fruit tree is a lie". But we can't forget possibly the best homage a game has made to Portal: The Stanley Parable, where the narrator of the game transport us literally into another game, and making fun of it. The fun itself resides on the replica of the first minutes of Portal, but in this case, the narrator not only replaces the voice of GLaDOS, but also mimics her. Although is more often to see a game referencing another game, finding homages to Portal outside of gaming world is quite curious and shows how Portal has become a cult object. The Walking Dead TV show talks about Portal through Glenn. The episode 23x16 of The Simpsons also makes a little reference to the game. Chowder, another animation TV show, remembers us again that the cake is a lie. Meanwhile, MAD repeats the same joke but through Ken and Buzzlight Year characters. In movies, on Super 8, the J J Abrams movie of 2011, although it's not a direct reference, it's worth to say that the film used Portal 2 for advertising with an interactive teaser included on the game extras. Pacific Rim, of 2013, walked one step more, using the same voice as GLaDOS, interpreted by Ellen Mclain, on the AI character in the movie. What looked like a simple homage of Guillermo del Toro, (an avowed Portal fan) during the movie trailer, became finally true because of all the hype generated, and finally put her voice on the whole film. As an extra reference, if we look closely to the portal at the ocean from where the monsters escape, we'll se that its sides are orange and blue. Coincidente or not, is something the fans of Portal wants to remark. All of this places us on the paradigm that Portal has set not only a before and after on the gaming world, (we must remember that first person puzzles have changed its conception, previously based on exploration), but since Portal, every single puzzle game has now concrete mechanics. It's clear then that the Portal saga has been an inspiration for later games. There are cases more obvious than others, and Q.U.B.E. is one of the best examples of how Portal has inspired other titles. Not only for its similar aesthetics to Aperture, but for its puzzle mechanics in a certain way. Also, the final goal of going through several chambers makes difficult not to relate it to Portal. Antichamber is another fine example of the Portal legacy, although its puzzle mechanics are not as intuitive as Portal's. Prometheus, for its side, is an Unreal Tournament mod which bases its puzzles mechanics on twisting and bending the Physics laws. Although its mechanics are more similar to Mirror's Edge, we can't deny its aesthetic comes directly from Portal. And, if after all this Portal hadn't gone far enough, on July 27th of 2012 NASA made the ending of Portal 2 came true, sending Wheatley into space thanks to an anonymous technician who immortalized our favorite personality core on one of the pannels of a refueling ship. Moral of the fable? To never underestimate the love of a mother.