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[Baha]

Exactly what I was thinking.

There was this image: http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081219172344/half-life/en/images/6/6d/Vance_family_photo.png

I don't know

Spoiler

since in Portal there were slides that proved that Aperture and Black Mesa were competing with each other which establishes the time frame and GlaDoS implies that the Combine have taken over the planet during the final battle ("Are you trying to escape? Things have changed since the last time you left the building. What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here. I have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I'm not sure what's going on outside. All I know is I'm the only thing standing between us, and them. Well, I was.") and Chell was in cryostasis before the events of Portal (game intro basically). So if we take that into consideration and then the fact that immediately after the battle, Chell is put into Cryostasis for who know how long, it doesn't add up that she could be Alex's mom.

 

[EatChildren]

While we're at it; G-Man = Gordon from the future.

 

[Baha]

This led me to that other theory I had:

Spoiler

Chell Rattmann

Spoiler

That would make sense given what little context we're given in the comic about their relationship. However, the reason for picking her (her inability to give up, a.k.a. stubbornness) does make it seem like he's helping her for other reasons than blood relations.

 

[Salsa]

No need to tie everything up. Chell is Chell, really doubt there's more to that. At least when it comes to relate to the HL characters.

 

[MNC]

This led me to that other theory I had:

Spoiler

Chell Rattmann

:O

 

[classicdms]

While we're at it; G-Man = Gordon from the future.

I completely agree.

Spoiler

No, I don't.

I'm just playing with theories while the ARG is on hiatus. Gotta kill time somehow. I'll be happy to be wrong, but I'm gonna keep making connections that don't really exist in my head while I wait another agonizing week before the game drops.

 

[Baha]

While we're at it; G-Man = Gordon from the future.

Being a man of few no words made him develop his speech impediment at an older age.

 

[dwebo]

Alyx's mom has a name, apparently.

Spoiler

Azian Vance... Asian Vance... Chell!

 

[TheOGB]

While we're at it; G-Man = Gordon from the future.

GODDAMN YOU

Spoiler

I've not played through the games myself, but that still doesn't seem likely

 

[Hylian7]

Alyx's mom has a name, apparently.

Spoiler

Azian Vance... Asian Vance... Chell!

Damn, forgot about that.

 

[MasterShotgun]

This led me to that other theory I had:

Spoiler

Chell Rattmann

That could make sense.

Spoiler

He brought her during "Bring your daughter to work" day, but then she somehow got mixed in with the test subjects. It would give reason to why he tried so hard to save her, and it could also have been a cause of his schizophrenia.

God damn I'm so hyped for Portal 2.

 

[EatChildren]

GODDAMN YOU

Spoiler

I've not played through the games myself, but that still doesn't seem likely

Its a running joke with Half-Life theories.

 

[Salsa]

That could make sense.

Spoiler

He brought her during "Bring your daughter to work" day, but then she somehow got mixed in with the test subjects. It would give reason to why he tried so hard to save her, and it could also have been a cause of his schizophrenia.

God damn I'm so hyped for Portal 2.

He would have picked her from a "hunch" though.

 

[Deleted member 80556]

While we're at it; G-Man = Gordon from the future.

Nah, Gordon is just Dr. House.

Originally posted by Baha

Spoiler

I don't know since in Portal there were slides that proved that Aperture and Black Mesa were competing with each other which establishes the time frame and GlaDoS implies that the Combine have taken over the planet during the final battle ("Are you trying to escape? Things have changed since the last time you left the building. What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here. I have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I'm not sure what's going on outside. All I know is I'm the only thing standing between us, and them. Well, I was.") and Chell was in cryostasis before the events of Portal (game intro basically). So if we take that into consideration and then the fact that immediately after the battle, Chell is put into Cryostasis for who know how long, it doesn't add up that she could be Alex's mom.

It's interesting, considering that

Spoiler

The outside of Aperture Science looks very well intact, the sky is normal blue, there doesn't seem anything to be out of place (except of course for the fact that the facility exploded

.

 

[Majukun]

I completely agree.

Spoiler

No, I don't.

I'm just playing with theories while the ARG is on hiatus. Gotta kill time somehow. I'll be happy to be wrong, but I'm gonna keep making connections that don't really exist in my head while I wait another agonizing week before the game drops.

but are we sure the ARG is REALLY on hiatus?
the phrase "you have earned a rest" it's written in the second part of the portal comic released today...maybe all those e-mails are just another part of the ARG

 

[rasberryjam]

It's interesting, considering that

Spoiler

The outside of Aperture Science looks very well intact, the sky is normal blue, there doesn't seem anything to be out of place (except of course for the fact that the facility exploded

.

That's not too surprising. In the Half-Life 2 series the combine generally

Spoiler

seem to avoid forested areas and focus on the occupation of cities. Not to mention, there was a lot of fairly uninterrupted forest area in Episode 2 and you never see much past a tree line at the end of Portal.

But who knows, maybe Gordon is actually Chell's son from the future and she found a super portal to send him back in time because he was the destined hero to stop the alien invasion. ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN!

 

[Htown]

but are we sure the ARG is REALLY on hiatus?
the phrase "you have earned a rest" it's written in the second part of the portal comic released today...maybe all those e-mails are just another part of the ARG

that's what i was thinking.

 

[TheOGB]

finally got BIT.TRIP Beat's potato. My eyes can rest easy have earned a rest.

My wrists, however, are required to get a few more bandages in Super Meat Boy D:

Spoiler

i'm such a masochist ._.

 

[Twig]

I doubt there's any connection between Chell and the Half-Life characters, since Valve has gone on record stating that, while Portal and Half-Life take place in the same world, they are two different stories, with different tones, different characters, etc.

The Borealis is about as close as the two series will get to touching each other.

Unless plans have changed, which happens when people get creative!

 

[Greyvvolf]

finally got BIT.TRIP Beat's potato. My eyes can rest easy have earned a rest.

My wrists, however, are required to get a few more bandages in Super Meat Boy D:

Spoiler

i'm such a masochist ._.

I just started trying to get the potato for BIT.TRIP BEAT, and when I finished the first boss battle my iMac would quit out of the game. I tried again and got through the first boss battle. The second boss battle ends and sure enough, the game quits unexpectedly again! I'm going to take a break and try it later on my laptop.

 

[EatChildren]

I doubt there's any connection between Chell and the Half-Life characters, since Valve has gone on record stating that, while Portal and Half-Life take place in the same world, they are two different stories, with different tones, different characters, etc.

The Borealis is about as close as the two series will get to touching each other.

Unless plans have changed, which happens when people get creative!

This is true. Portal is still, as a franchise, supposed to work as a stand alone product. Valve did very recently re-confirm they share the same universe though, and promised nods to Half-Lfe in Portal 2 for those who pay attention.

 

[TheOGB]

I just started trying to get the potato for BIT.TRIP BEAT, and when I finished the first boss battle my iMac would quit out of the game. I tried again and got through the first boss battle. The second boss battle ends and sure enough, the game quits unexpectedly again! I'm going to take a break and try it later on my laptop.

Good luck to ya bro.

 

[BY2K]

One week! One week before release!

HNNNNNNNNNG!

 

[classicdms]

Outside of the possible "early release", what are the chances that Portal 2 will actually drop at midnight on Steam. I wanna take a day off work to blaze through this thing, and I wanna know if Tuesday or Wednesday would be best.

If it doesn't release til Tuesday 4pm on the East coast, then Wednesday would be best.

 

[gblues]

There's an interesting parallel between Half Life and Portal.

HL1: Gordon fucks the alien shit up, G-man shows up and puts Gordon into stasis for ~20 years, until HL2.

Portal 1: Chell escapes, then gets dragged in and GlaDOS puts her back into stasis for ~200 years, until Portal 2.

Spoiler

G-Man = GlaDOS host body confirmed!

 

[Jintor]

One week! One week before release!

HNNNNNNNNNG!

Can't wait! Can't wait! Can't wait! Oh god, can't wait

 

[MGHA]

BELIEVE

 

[JaseC]

10 potatoes down. Super Meat Boy, Killing Floor (which I can't update without it chewing away at the ~1GB of quota I have remaining for the next day or two) and that giant prick by the name of Bit Trip Beat to go.

 

[BY2K]

Two new achievements are spotted for Defense Grid: Top of the Class and Few and Proud, referencing the DG Recruitment Drive.

OH SHI-!

Top of the Class
Earn a gold medal on all the modes of Tony's Training and C.H.A.S.

Few and Proud
Volunteered to take part and completed the mission! You may now recruit another group.

What!?

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

This is true. Portal is still, as a franchise, supposed to work as a stand alone product. Valve did very recently re-confirm they share the same universe though, and promised nods to Half-Lfe in Portal 2 for those who pay attention.

Well of course they share the same universe - was that something that needed to be re-confirmed? The end of Ep 2 and that projector room in Portal was all the confirmation you needed.

I have to admit, one of my most anticipated things about Portal 2 is seeing how it ties into Ep 3.

 

[Hylian7]

Is there a definitive list somewhere on how to get all 13 potatoes? I hope they don't lock down the possible early release of Portal 2 only to those with all 13 potatoes. I don't have all of the games, and the ones I don't have cost $1 more than the pack does.

 

[Xiul]

Is there a definitive list somewhere on how to get all 13 potatoes? I hope they don't lock down the possible early release of Portal 2 only to those with all 13 potatoes. I don't have all of the games, and the ones I don't have cost $1 more than the pack does.

http://valvearg.com/wiki/Aperture_Science_Login_Screens

 

[EatChildren]

Well of course they share the same universe - was that something that needed to be re-confirmed? The end of Ep 2 and that projector room in Portal was all the confirmation you needed.

I have to admit, one of my most anticipated things about Portal 2 is seeing how it ties into Ep 3.

Nah. No reconfirmation was necessary, but it was just a bit of commentary from Valve on what to expect in Portal 2. Its its own game, so people shouldnt expect it to be some Half-Life circle jerk that will fill in a bunch of information. A large part of it's time setting is to distance itself from the Half-Life franchise.

But they still wanted to make sure people knew it was considered part of the universe, and that stuff will be there for those who look. It just wont be completely in your face, or even necessarily integral to the plot. Much like it was in Portal.

 

[JaseC]

Finally got the Bit Trip Beat potato. I am never touching that fucking game ever again.

 

[Mr. Spinnington]

this image: http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081219172344/half-life/en/images/6/6d/Vance_family_photo.png

for the record i lol every time i see eli's render next to two normal-looking people

Finally got the Bit Trip Beat potato. I am never touching that fucking game ever again.

"Get to the boss in Descent and enter MEGA mode as soon as you can. Stay in MEGA mode throughout the battle and you'll get the login screen. Works on easy."

 

[JaseC]

for the record i lol every time i see eli's render next to two normal-looking people

"Get to the boss in Descent and enter MEGA mode as soon as you can. Stay in MEGA mode throughout the battle and you'll get the login screen. Works on easy."

8 potatoes so far. Just got the Toki Tori one.

Bit Trip Beat is going to be the hardest for me, I think. Even on Easy I find it hard to play once you hit Mega mode as the crazy visual effects screw with my head.

^

Killing Floor is the one potato that eludes me. I still have around 2GB of it to download. Should be done within an hour.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Nah. No reconfirmation was necessary, but it was just a bit of commentary from Valve on what to expect in Portal 2. Its its own game, so people shouldnt expect it to be some Half-Life circle jerk that will fill in a bunch of information. A large part of it's time setting is to distance itself from the Half-Life franchise.

But they still wanted to make sure people knew it was considered part of the universe, and that stuff will be there for those who look. It just wont be completely in your face, or even necessarily integral to the plot. Much like it was in Portal.

Oh, absolutely, I'm all for Portal being its own game. I don't want the series to just constantly tie in to Half-Life and everything. The cool thing about Portal was the few small winks and nods to the Half-Life series and I'm looking forward to keeping an eye out for that in the sequel. You just know there's going to be one major cock tease for the next Half-Life game, which will be the smallest of details somewhere. I don't expect the two games to merge by the end of Portal 2

 

[JaseC]

I'm still expecting there to be an Episode Three teaser in Portal 2 somewhere, perhaps after the end credits a la the Episode Two teaser that came with Episode One.

Spoiler

I know it's an unrealistic expectation, but damn it, I'm going to stand by it.

 

[XAL]

I'm still expecting there to be an Episode Three teaser in Portal 2 somewhere, perhaps after the end credits a la the Episode Two teaser that came with Episode One.

Spoiler

I know it's an unrealistic expectation, but damn it, I'm going to stand by it.

Since the Borealis and therefore Aperture have a strong focus in Ep3, if not the main focus - it is expected that Portal 2 is important to Episode 3 story-wise (theorized by some that's why Episode 3 was held up because Portal 2 had to be released first..). I mean, all of the trouble was started in HL because of portals right? And it appears that the portal generated on the Borealis will be something Gordon and Co will need to take the fight to the Combine...

 

[JaseC]

Since the Borealis and therefore Aperture have a strong focus in Ep3, if not the main focus - it is expected that Portal 2 is important to Episode 3 story-wise (theorized by some that's why Episode 3 was held up because Portal 2 had to be released first..). I mean, all of the trouble was started in HL because of portals right? And it appears that the portal generated on the Borealis will be something Gordon and Co will need to take the fight to the Combine...

I suppose it would depend on how you define "important". It's very doubtful there's going to be core information pertaining to Episode Three in Portal 2.

Also, I don't think Portal 2 took any resources away from Episode Three. The team size only went up to about 30 from the ~8-person team that worked on the original, and Valve have around 260 employees.

 

[Cipherr]

I hope a lot more is learned about the Borealis in P2. I really want to know what they were trying to do, and what went wrong.

 

[Jintor]

I think it might be a wholescale reference to... the Philadelphia experiment? But who knows

 

[EatChildren]

The Portal 2 achievements made it preeeetty clear that there's going to be a HL2 reference.

 

[JaseC]

The Portal 2 achievements made it preeeetty clear that there's going to be a HL2 reference.

Or that's just what Valve want us to think. It's probably Lombardi's doing!

 

[EatChildren]

Or that's just what Valve want us to think. It's probably Lombardi's doing!

That...bastard.

 

[BY2K]

It continues.

 

[Stallion Free]

Or that's just what Valve want us to think. It's probably Lombardi's doing!

Lombardi is a PR god.

 

[The M.O.B]

Pic URL is this

nnnnnnnnnn______nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnejobaan.net/dl/_ssiiiss___________.s.comincoming.jpg

O_O What DOES IT MEAN!

 

[JaseC]

When this ARG is all said and done, I hope somebody gets in touch with Valve and co. for the purpose of a retrospective. It'd be great to hear how the idea came about, the logistics involved, etc.

Lombardi is a PR god.

A fact that can't be denied.

 

[EatChildren]

Imagine the ARG that will lead up to Episode 3/HL3's announcement.

Imagine.

Imagine.