Portal (series)

Lore & Background

The Portal games originated through bringing students and their projects from the DigiPen Institute of Technology into Valve and expanding upon the ideas in Valve's Source engine. The concept was introduced by the game Narbacular Drop, which became the basis for the first game. Another DigiPen game, Tag: The Power of Paint, formed the basis of the 'Mobility gels' introduced in Portal 2. Both games have sold millions of copies. The first game was released as part of a five-game compilation, The Orange Box. Despite being intended as a short bonus feature, it was considered the highlight of the collection. Its success led to the creation of the much longer and more in-depth Portal 2, which included both single player and cooperative multiplayer modes.

Reader's Guide

The Portal series is significant for its innovative gameplay mechanics, particularly the portal gun that creates wormhole-like connections between surfaces, allowing momentum-based flinging maneuvers. The dark humor, written by Erik Wolpaw, Chet Faliszek, and Jay Pinkerton, with voice work by Ellen McLain, Stephen Merchant, and J. K. Simmons, has been widely praised. The games' narrative explores the history of Aperture Science, its founder Cave Johnson, and the creation of GLaDOS from the personality of his assistant Caroline. The series has spawned spin-off media and internet memes. Its legacy includes influencing puzzle game design and demonstrating how a short bonus game can become a major franchise.

Did You Know?

• The concept for Portal originated from the student game Narbacular Drop.
• The Mobility gels in Portal 2 were based on the DigiPen game Tag: The Power of Paint.
• GLaDOS is voiced by Ellen McLain, who also voices Caroline, the assistant whose personality formed GLaDOS's core.
• The first Portal game was released as part of The Orange Box compilation.