“Maybe not quite so heavy”
Just watched a Portal fan film called GLaDOS – which, frankly, wasn’t very good. It had lots of fun call-backs to Portal (and Half-Life), but it needs a tight edit and it’s not really for normies.
But it made me think of the night I finished Portal for the first time. I was sitting in this very spot. Uncle B had gone to bed, but I knew I was close to the end and wanted to stay up and see it through. It was a stonking experience. And then the credits rolled.
I think Still Alive is the cleverest passive-aggressive manifesto from a deranged and murderous AI ever written. It’s brilliant work, and you’ll enjoy it even if you haven’t played the game.
Want You Gone from the credits of the second game is also good.
I’ve been thinking about the mess DEI is making of AAA games in 2024. There are 186 games in my Steam account (most of which I’ve never even looked at). If they never make another game I want to buy, I can still play vidya for the rest of my miserable life.
Posted: April 9th, 2024 under games.
Comments: 5
Comments
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: April 9, 2024, 7:36 pm
Portal came out in 2007, but I put off playing it for some years. For one thing, puzzle games are not my favorite.
But, even then, I thought having two female protagonists was artificial (we didn’t say woke then; I suppose I would have said politically correct).
It may have been, too, but it was so wonderfully written it couldn’t have been any other way. The bitchy relationship between GLaDOS and Chell could only be between two women.
And having Ellen McLain do little girl voices for the gun turrets was just – *mwah*
Comment from Durnedyankee
Time: April 10, 2024, 1:09 am
I seen you playin on Steam the other day Auntie!
Course I never log out of Steam because I’m too lazy to even do save games when I get up and walk away from the PC.
As it is I came in here to turn the monitor off because someone who shall remain nameless gigs me for leaving it on, where it shines out the front window like a lone lantern in the demented scientists castle tower (her version of reality).
Subsequently I’ve logged something like a physical year destroying Europe and another year and a half piloting Battlemechs playing turn based games.
I can’t do the shooters (barf barf), wish I could. The boys played the heck out of Portal and Half-life and they looked awesome.
Comment from Jon
Time: April 10, 2024, 5:13 pm
You can until Steam starts deleting games for not meeting Current Day standards. Or when the company that made it goes belly up.
I’m still unhappy remembering when “Lego Lord of the Rings” was no longer available for new installs. Sucked when I got my new laptop, it was “technically” in my Steam library but I couldn’t use it. Oh well.
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: April 10, 2024, 5:44 pm
That is a real worry, Jon – though I trust Steam more than some.
I gather movie buffs are making a big push toward physical media for just that reason.
Comment from Jon
Time: April 11, 2024, 4:41 pm
I do “trust” Steam a little more, especially after they supported the Brazilian with the list group. Btw, here’s a Want You Gone link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVVZaZ8yO6o&ab_channel=TheMediaCows
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