Poll Question 068 - Would you like to see a connection with Portal in Half-Life 2: Episode 3?

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

Well, I just finished playing Portal and whilst it’s a great game I only played it becasue I felt I had to. I didn’t really enjoy the sameyness of the puzzles. However, shooting stuff is almost always the same, so it’s just a matter of taste.

Would you like to see a connection with Portal in Half-Life 2: Episode 3?

HALF-LIFE 2: EPISODE 2 AND PORTAL SPOILERS BEGIN
As those player’s who have finsihed EP2 know, Aperture Science is mentioned in the game but it’s not clear how much connection it will have or if it was just a way of promoting the game.
Now, as much as it was fun to play Portal for a few levels, I definitely got bored and felt a lot of the design was specifically for the game. Now that sounds obvious but I don’t believe a player should feel that way. The design should seem natural.
HALF-LIFE 2: EPISODE 2 AND PORTAL SPOILERS END

Do We Need It?

Personally I hope there is no Portal content in EP3 becasue I feel it will be an artificial inclusion. It was clever of Valve to make Portal part of the Half-Lfie universe but not essential. Why did they do this? Probably to add a twist in EP3. Maybe to have the playing character appear in the game and help you out?

That would make sense and allow the mechanics to be used but controlled by Valve.

If You Vote “Yes” What Do You Want?

So, if you voted “Yes” (Either option) what and how exactly do you want to see it work?

More Portal?

If you loved Portal (That’s you CubeDude89!) then you will be pleased to know that Valve have said More Portal coming for sure

The Poll

About this entry

Published:: 3rd February 2008 at 11:15 am

Category:: Poll Questions

Responses:: 15 Comments (add)

MattyDienhoff 3rd February 2008 at 12:03 1

The Portal Gun is a great tool but it has no place in the Half-Life world, to be honest. Not just from a storyline point of view, think about the technical side of things. Portal’s gameplay is limited to test chambers and tight industrial corridors because anything else would be a development nightmare. Those kind of environmental limitations don’t feel too contrived in Portal, but they would in Half-Life.
Gypsy_Jim 3rd February 2008 at 12:27 2

I wouldn’t actually put any money on it, but I have a sneaking suspicion the player might just get the Portal gun for, perhaps an entire map, even if it would have to be a slightly contrived corridor based map, before losing it again, maybe via one of those weapons displacement field things we had in the Citadel….

I voted “Yes but no” as I agree it probably shouldn’t actually be there, but think they might already have decided….
Memobot 3rd February 2008 at 14:31 3

There will be, and already has been, a connection to Aperture Science, but I don’t think it will be a Portal Gun on the Borealis.
I think it’ll be something truly original, like a Parralel Universe gun that could switch between the real world, and a different world by just walking through a portal.
Maybe my imagination is just running away with itself here, but I though it sounded good
cubedude89 3rd February 2008 at 17:26 4

I would be happy if the entire episode 3 was just about portal haha!
firba1 3rd February 2008 at 18:20 5

Episode Three should not have a Portal Gun in it. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked Portal, but I don’t think that what made portal fun was the portal gun exactly. I think the big thing that made it fun was GLaDOS talking to you the entire time, it was great, especially during the last section of the game. Also, the credits song was just great.

I just don’t think a “person” like GLaDOS would be appropriate in the Half-Life 2 style gameplay.

Also, I think the Portal Gun would make part of the challenge out of the Half-Life 2 formula. You would be able to just shoot a portal behind combine or something and shoot at him from behind. Both Portal and Half-Life were built upon limited resources. In Portal, you had no real “weapons,” and in Half-Life, you had no real means of transportation. This excludes the Highway 17 chapter, but there you still can’t go everywhere with it.

In short, Portal was fun, but its fun is not compatible with Half-Life 2 fun.
MikeS 3rd February 2008 at 18:50 6

I can’t imagine anything cooler than battling combine in a spaceship environment while wielding the Portal Gun. Likewise I’ll be happy to see the Gravity Gun crossover to Portal 2.

I actually find it odd that some folks are saying the Portal Gun doesn’t ‘belong’ in the HL universe. From both a technological point of view and the HL storyline it could easily belong. In fact, it already does. I think the Portal Gun (or something like it) is needed if the HL series isn’t to grow stale. For instance, I welcomed the Magnusson bombs in Episode 2. At last, a new toy to play with, but it’s not enough, I want more.
CrowbarSka 3rd February 2008 at 18:57 7

A connection is inevitable as we are heading for the Borealis, which was part of Aperture Science. The question is how much will it impact the HL story? Not too much I hope, as until The Orange Box we had never even heard of that company. I would like to see some plot elements of Portal explained, such as when it took place in the HL time line and what became of Chell (the main character).

I do not, repeat NOT, want to see the portal gun in HL2:Ep3. It is for Portal and Portal only. It’s not Gordon’s ball park.
technoblue 4th February 2008 at 10:38 8

Did you all miss the chart diagrams near the end of portal, after you [SPOILER REMOVED]
technoblue 4th February 2008 at 10:40 9

It might be small, but it was a nice touch.
your evil twin 5th February 2008 at 04:33 10

I voted yes. I wouldn’t want Episode 3 to revolve around the portal gun. But it would be a great superweapon, an alternative to the super gravity gun.

Obviously it would break the game if it was in normal HL2 outdoor environments, but if the player gets to explore the interior of the Borealis ship then that would be a perfect environment for it, as that would all be enclosed rooms and corridors. Alternatively another Combine Citadel or other Combine base could serve the same function. Half-Life 2, Ep1 and Ep2 had plenty of areas that were entirely indoors that would suit portal-style gameplay fine.

And it wouldn’t be overpowered - Half-Life 2 and Episode One both had sections with a super gravity gun that let you pick up and throw away all your enemies in an instant; the ability to appear behind Combine or to make them fall through portals or be crushed by heavy objects would be powerful but not as fast and godlike as the super-gravity gun.
I dont remember my true name 6th February 2008 at 22:02 11

I voted yes, I want to see Portal content in EP3, but I don’t need the Portal Gun to be happy, as it’s just one of the entire story behind Portal, which biggest project was GlaDOS. Probably there will be some citation in there, as

SPOILER ALERT

In the finish of EP2, you (Gordon) get to know that you are supposed to go to ship called Borealis, and, connecting things, the Borealis level available around shows many things that didn’t featured in regular HL2.

SPOILER ALERT ENDING

In EP3, maybe there will be something major there, maybe Aperture Science is a bigger project than one could ever think, maybe they have been doing experiments in all other areas (just analyze the graphics of Aperture Science in Portal to see it). We’ll have to wait, but no Portal Gun, please!
zeroth404 6th February 2008 at 22:07 12

we wouldnt be mixing the games - the games are already intimately connected. if you disagree, you obviously haven’t played either of them.
planetphillip 6th February 2008 at 22:58 13

planetphillip Said:

we wouldnt be mixing the games - the games are already intimately connected. if you disagree, you obviously haven’t played either of them.

There’s a difference between “connected” and “mixing”.

And I do disagree and I have played both games.
Werner Spahl 7th February 2008 at 17:53 14

I would like to see a portal gun in Episode 3 and to be honest, I don’t see much of a problem. Valve can steer where portals are possible by limiting the EP3 gun to certain surfaces only, just the same they did with the gravity gun in HL2, in that it can only move things it’s supposed to move. It shouldn’t make too much trouble in an ultra linear game like HL2…
Kermit 17th March 2008 at 21:07 15

I voted ‘Yes but no portal gun’ - Why ?

I have a feeling that there will be questions answered in Halflife storyline & this could be due to the Portal experiments

—Possible Spoiler follows——

How’s this - Earlier Portal experiments caused the Boralis to ‘disappear’ in a ’slow portal’ (a bit like Gordon in the ’slow transporter’ between HL & HL2) & Aperture was shutdown - but someone forgot to turn off GlaDOS.

GlaDOS continued to run & continue the experiments with clones (everyone was killed by her so she needs someone to run experiments) - but when she was destroyed in ‘Portal’ the shockwave effect caused interference to Gordon transporter jump in HL2
(Note we don’t have an actual timeframe of when GlaDOS blew up & Gordon transporter accident)

In EP3 Gordon goes to Boralis, where traces of the original Portal experiment exists, but these transport Gordon to parallel worlds (perhaps Combine Homeworld??) & different locations & since combine are ALSO after this technology (remember Combine are after new worlds to obtain resources - what’s better than numerous parallel worlds)) - Gordon has to venture between locations to find what’s keeping the portals open - maybe one leads back to deep in Aperture & it’s GlaDOS ‘eyeballs’ that are keeping it open

Gordon finally destroys ALL of GlaDOS, but in doing so creates a ‘negative portal’, All portals close (Earth & Combine) & Earth is save from other attempts by a protective ‘portal shield’

And perhaps ‘G-Man’ is in fact Gordon from a parallel world - instead of a Scientist he’s a politician