DOCSLIB.ORG

Half-Life 2 (Orange Box)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Half-Life 2 (Orange Box) PRIMA OFFICIAL GAME GUIDE DAVID SJ HODGSON STEPHEN STRATTON MIGUEL LOPEZ Prima Games David SJ Hodgson A Division of Random House, Inc. Originally hailing from the United Kingdom, David left his role as a writer of numerous 3000 Lava Ridge Court, Suite 100 British video game magazines (including Mean Machines, Computer & Video Games, Roseville, CA 95661 and the Offi cial Nintendo and Sega Saturn magazines) and a bohemian lifestyle on a dry-docked German fi shing trawler to work on the infamous GameFan magazine in www.primagames.com 1996. David helped to launch the fl edgling GameFan Books and helped form Gamers’ The Prima Games logo is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., Republic in 1998, authoring many strategy guides for Millennium Publications, registered in the United States and other countries. Primagames.com is including The Offi cial Metal Gear Solid Mission Handbook. After launching the wildly a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., registered in the United unsuccessful incite Video Gaming and Gamers.com, David found his calling, and States. began authoring guides for Prima Games. He has written over 30 Prima strategy guides, including The Godfather: The Game, Knights of the Old Republic, Perfect Dark © 2007 by Prima Games. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be Zero, Half-Life 2, and Burnout Revenge. He lives in the Pacifi c Northwest with his reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, wife, Melanie, and an eight-foot statue of Great Cthulhu. including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from Prima Games. Prima Games is a division of Random We want to hear from you! E-mail comments and feedback to dhodgson@ House, Inc. primagames.com. Product Manager: Todd Manning Stephen Stratton Editor: Rebecca Chastain Stephen Stratton has worked on more than 30 projects in his fi ve years of writing Copyeditor: Sara Wilson strategy guides for Prima. His repertoire of mastered games includes Counter- Design and Layout: Winter Graphics North Strike: Condition Zero, Rome: Total War, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, The Manufacturing: Suzanne Goodwin Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine, Hitman: Contracts, and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. © 2007 Valve Corporation. All rights reserved. Valve, the Valve logo,Half-Life, the Steve is a lifelong video gamer who attended the Rochester Institute of Technology Half-Life logo, the Lambda logo, Steam, the Steam logo, Team Fortress, and the Team in Rochester, NY. In addition to his Prima Games guides, he also held a staff position Fortress logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation. All with Computec Media and managed the strategy section of their incite.com video other trademarks are property of their respective owners in the United States and game website. other countries.. RIDING SHOTGUNMiguel Lopez All products and characters mentioned in this book are trademarks of their respective Miguel Lopez has been working as a journalist in the video game industry since 1999. companies. OVERVIEWDuring his nine-year stint as an in-house editor, he’s worked at GameSpot.com, The pace to White Forest quickens, now that the open roadGameSpy.com, is before andyou. the Until, now defunct of course, Gamenow the Magazine. road becomesAs a freelance writer, he’s Please beclogged advised that with the ESRBrusting Ratings vehicle icons, “EC,” hulks “E,” and “E10+,” the “T,” long-dead “M,” “AO,” and remains contributed of hapless to numerous refugees mainstream and and worse. enthusiast Amid publications, the eerie including Wired, “RP” are trademarks owned by the Entertainment Software Association, and may only Games for Windows Magazine, Gamepro, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and X-Play. be used withquiet their permission of these and mountains authority. For is information a lonely regarding radar station, whether a whichHalf-Life needs 2:to The be Orange powered Box is uphis fifor rst projectAlyx towith communicate Prima. product haswith been White rated by Forest. the ESRB, This please area visit www.esrb.org.is your fi rst For combat permission with to use the hated Hunters, but Alyx is ready for them this time. the RatingsContinue icons, please driving contact until the ESA you at esrblicenseinfo.com. reach an abandoned farmhouse Aand native barn...although of Hialeah, Florida, Miguel a new now and lives frightening in the sunny Mission resident District of San has taken up a corner: the dreaded Advisor. After tacklingFrancisco, him California, and a Combine with his wife, scout cat, and team, two house you plants. quicken Important: the pace, driving erratically down a winding railroad to avoidACKNOWLEDGEMENTS the guns and bombs from a Hunter Chopper Prima Games has made every effort to determine that the information contained in David SJ Hodgson would like to thank: all at Valve for going above and beyond to this book isattack accurate. craft. However, Only the when publisher you makes reach no warranty, a Rebel either train expressed yard can youfurnish disembark us all with insane from tactics your and overheating exceptional hospitality. Car, use Special the thanks to Eric or implied, as to the accuracy,Chopper’s effectiveness, own or completeness weapons againstof the material it, and in win theTwelker, respect David Speyrer,of your Phil new-found Co (for his gnome-herding friends. skills), and Dario Casali this book; nor does the publisher assume liability for damages, either incidental or (who took down over a dozen Striders in an amazing display of carapace-exploding). consequential, that may result from using the information in this book. The publisher Thumbs way up to Miguel Lopez and Steve Stratton, Todd, Rebecca, and Sara. Polite cannot provide any additional information or support regarding gameplay, hints and cap-doffi ng to Laibach, Ladytron, and The Knife. All my love to Melanie. strategies, INVENTORYor problems with hardware PICK-UP or software. Such questions ENTITY should be directed ENCOUNTER ENTITY ENCOUNTER to the support numbers provided by the game and/or device manufacturers as set And “W” for Winnie, embedded in ice. forth in their documentation. Some game tricks require precise timing andFRIENDLIES may HOSTILES require■ repeated Crossbow attempts before the desired result is achieved.■ Alyx Vance Stephen Stratton would ■like Zombine to thank: all the nice■ folks Zombie at Valve for being so friendly ■ Dr. Magnusson and helpful. Special thanks■ toHunter Eric Twelker, Robin ■Walker, Headcrab and the entire TF2 team ■ Rebels* for being so great and sharing■ Combine their time Pod* and knowledge.■ Fast Big Zombie ups to David Hodgson, ISBN: 978-0-7615-5693-0 Miguel Lopez, Rebecca Chastain,■ Combine Todd Advisor*Manning, and■ SaraFast Wilson Headcrab for pitching in to Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2007927559 keep the insanity of the project■ to a minimum. Hugs and kisses to Julie Mervyn, the Printed in the United States of America Combine Soldier* most loving and awesome■ game Combine store manager APC* in the world. ■ 07 08 09 10 GG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Miguel Lopez would like to Hunterthank: everyone Chopper* at Valve for being such gracious hosts during the visit, and particularly Jeep Barnett and Eric Twelker for their generosity * Indicates fi rst exposureand expertise. to entity Many thanks go to the co-authors, David Hodgson and Steve Stratton, for their insight throughout my fi rst strategy guide project. Finally, boundless appreciation goes to my brilliant and patient wife Emiko for her support and encouragement during this challenging deadline. Protected by copyright. Unauthorized or unlawful downloading expressly prohibited. CONTENTS Half-Life 2: Basics . 4 Getting Started . .4 Weapons Detail . 13 Half-Lifers: The Characters . .22 The Bestiary . .27 Half-Life 2: A Condensed Walkthrough . .42 Chapter 1: Point Insertion . 43 Chapter 2: “A Red Letter Day” . 43 Chapter 3: Route Kanal . .44 Chapter 4: Water Hazard . 46 Chapter 5: Black Mesa East . .50 Chapter 6: “We Don’t Go To Ravenholm” . 51 Chapter 7: Highway 17. 54 Chapter 8: Sandtraps. 56 Chapter 9: Nova Prospekt . 58 Chapter 10: Entaglement . 60 Chapter 11: Anticitizen One. 62 Chapter 12: “Follow Freeman!” . .65 Chapter 13: “Our Benefactors”. 68 Chapter 14: Dark Energy . 69 Half-Life 2: Episode One . .70 Undue Alarm. 70 Direct Intervention . .82 Lowlife . 91 Urban Flight . .106 Exit 17. .128 Half-Life 2: Episode Two . .136 To the White Forest. .136 This Vortal Coil . .146 Freeman Pontifex . .160 Riding Shotgun . .169 Under the Radar . .178 Our Mutual Friend . .190 T-Minus One . .202 The Art of Half-Life 2 . .205 Portal . .216 Overview. .217 Chapter 1: Test Chambers 00—03 . .220 Chapter 2: Test Chambers 04—07 . .222 Chapter 3: Test Chambers 08—09 . .224 Chapter 4: Test Chambers 10—12 . .226 Chapter 5: Test Chamber 13 . .229 Chapter 6: Test Chamber 14 . .231 Chapter 7: Test Chamber 15 . .234 Chapter 8: Test Chamber 16 . .238 Chapter 9: Test Chamber 17 . .243 Chapter 10: Test Chamber 18 . .247 Chapter 11: The Escape. ..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Now We Are All Sons of Bitches
    Now We Are All Sons of Bitches MICHAEL BONTATIBUS “Wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and smell the ashes,” the enigmat- ic G-Man murmurs as he leers into the camera, finishing an eerie opening monologue—and so begins Half-Life 2, Valve Corporation’s flagship game. The last time we saw Gordon Freeman, the protagonist, the same rigid and mysterious (though more poorly animated, since the prequel was released six years earlier) G-Man was handing him a job offer after witnessing the former scientist transform into a warrior, bent on escaping from the besieged Black Mesa Research Facility alive. Now, suddenly, Freeman finds himself on a train. No context.1 Is it a prison train? The three other individuals on it wear uniforms like those the inmates wore in Cool Hand Luke. The train soon stops at its destination, and we realize that it is a prison train, in a way—Freeman has arrived at the Orwellian “City 17,” where the ironically named Civil Protection abuses and oppresses, where antagonist Dr. Breen preaches poet- ic propaganda from large monitors hung high above the town. In the years since scientists at the facility accidentally opened a gateway between dimen- sions and allowed a bevy of grotesque creatures to spill into our universe, Earth has been taken over by the Combine, an alien multiplanetary empire. Breen is merely Earth’s administrator—and we realize that the ashes the G- Man spoke of were the ashes of the prelapsarian world. It’s classic dystopia, complete with a Resistance, of which Freeman soon finds himself the “mes- sianic” leader (HL2).
    [Show full text]
  • Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2 2015
    Repositorium für die Medienwissenschaft Jennifer deWinter; Carly A. Kocurek Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2 2015 https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/14996 Veröffentlichungsversion / published version Sammelbandbeitrag / collection article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: deWinter, Jennifer; Kocurek, Carly A.: Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2. In: Thomas Hensel, Britta Neitzel, Rolf F. Nohr (Hg.): »The cake is a lie!« Polyperspektivische Betrachtungen des Computerspiels am Beispiel von PORTAL. Münster: LIT 2015, S. 31– 48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/14996. Erstmalig hier erschienen / Initial publication here: http://nuetzliche-bilder.de/bilder/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Hensel_Neitzel_Nohr_Portal_Onlienausgabe.pdf Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Creative Commons - This document is made available under a creative commons - Namensnennung - Nicht kommerziell - Weitergabe unter Attribution - Non Commercial - Share Alike 3.0/ License. For more gleichen Bedingungen 3.0/ Lizenz zur Verfügung gestellt. Nähere information see: Auskünfte zu dieser Lizenz finden Sie hier: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ ­­­Jennifer deWinter / Carly A. Kocurek Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in ›Portal‹ and ›Portal 2‹ Chell stands in a corner facing a portal, then takes aim at the adjacent wall with the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. Between the two portals, one ringed in blue, one ringed in orange, Chell is revealed, reflected in both. And, so, we, the player, see Chell. She is a young woman with a ponytail, wearing an orange jumpsuit pulled down to her waist and an Aperture Science-branded white tank top.
    [Show full text]
  • PORTAL 2: PLAYER IMPACT GUIDE Ages 8+ | 1-2 Hours
    Spatial Awareness PORTAL 2: PLAYER IMPACT GUIDE Ages 8+ | 1-2 Hours “There’s a lot of challenge in trying to figure out how as the player is moving through this, in terms of a story space, how can you make a gameplay space out of this so they can travel through it in an interesting way.” --Jeep Barnett, designer and engineer In Portal 2, portals are used to navigate obstacle courses filled with deadly hazards inside the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories. To navigate the game, you must move through the space by following a simple concept: anything that enters one portal—including boxes, lasers, bridges, and you yourself—will exit the other without changing speed. In order to escape Aperture Science and defeat GLaDOS, the lab’s computerized overlord, you must think in three dimensions and use physics to solve puzzles in unusual ways. In this guide we invite you to think about the ways Portal 2 challenges players’ special awareness. As you play, reflect HOW TO on your experience. How is spatial awareness important in Portal 2? How is it important in your life? What kind of USE THIS impact does it leave on your understanding of how the world works? GUIDE Answer the questions below and add up your points when you’re finished! What is a “portal?” How do portals work? [+1] What are some tricks for using portals? What happens when you put a portal directly above you and another one directly under you? [+1] GAME What do the different types of gels do? [+1] How do the Excursion Funnels work? How are they different from Hard Light Bridges? [+2] How does the game indicate the steps you need to take when solving a puzzle? [+3] Many Portal 2 marketing materials use the tagline “Now you’re thinking with portals!” What do you think it means to “think with portals?” Do you find yourself “thinking” in this way as you play the game? [+1] What challenged you when thinking about using “space” in the game (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Portal: Impact Guide for Players
    Portal: Impact Guide For Players Portal and Portal 2 are games developed by Valve Corporation available for consoles and PCs. The games are first-person puzzle solving games but also provide rich narrative development, interesting characters, and have developed a strong cultural impact including merchandise and a popular series of internet memes. The popularity of the Portal series stems from the quality of the games and from the way the games teach players how to play them so seamlessly. Indeed, Portal is one of the very best games at presenting players with embodied learning and scaffolded instruction – a model for 21st century teaching. How to use this guide: Players – We’ve identified several interesting or important themes in the game. As you play through, reflect on your play. How have you experienced these themes? Are there other important ones present in the game? What kind of impact does your play allow in the larger world? Answer the questions we’ve provided – but feel free to add more at www.gamesandimpact.org. Warning: Questions contain some spoilers about the games. Theme: Problem Solving Portal begins with a player alone in a test chamber; solving puzzles is a key mechanic for both the gameplay and for the story of the game. Puzzles gradually get more difficult as players are given tools sequentially in order to build on top of their previous solutions. Game Why do you think the game doesn’t give you the portal gun immediately? What is the point of limiting you in the early part of the game? Why do you think the test chambers are designed the way they are? What do you think the game’s designers are trying to teach you? At the end of the 19 test chambers, you begin the second part of the game where you get to face GLaDOS directly.
    [Show full text]
  • Portal Prima Official Mini Eguide.Pdf 2008-05-31 12:20 3.1 MB
    PRIMA OFFICIAL GAME GUIDE DAVID SJ HODGSON STEPHEN STRATTON MIGUEL LOPEZ Prima Games David SJ Hodgson A Division of Random House, Inc. Originally hailing from the United Kingdom, David left his role as a writer of numerous 3000 Lava Ridge Court, Suite 100 British video game magazines (including Mean Machines, Computer & Video Games, Roseville, CA 95661 and the Offi cial Nintendo and Sega Saturn magazines) and a bohemian lifestyle on a dry-docked German fi shing trawler to work on the infamous GameFan magazine in www.primagames.com 1996. David helped to launch the fl edgling GameFan Books and helped form Gamers’ The Prima Games logo is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., Republic in 1998, authoring many strategy guides for Millennium Publications, registered in the United States and other countries. Primagames.com is including The Offi cial Metal Gear Solid Mission Handbook. After launching the wildly a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., registered in the United unsuccessful incite Video Gaming and Gamers.com, David found his calling, and States. began authoring guides for Prima Games. He has written over 30 Prima strategy guides, including The Godfather: The Game, Knights of the Old Republic, Perfect Dark © 2007 by Prima Games. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be Zero, Half-Life 2, and Burnout Revenge. He lives in the Pacifi c Northwest with his reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, wife, Melanie, and an eight-foot statue of Great Cthulhu. including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from Prima Games.
    [Show full text]
  • Smod, Coolest HL2 Mod Ever! - Facepunch Studios 1/28/2015
    Smod, Coolest HL2 Mod ever! - Facepunch Studios 1/28/2015 NOV DEC FEB http://forums.facepunchstudios.com/showthread.php?t=148509 Go Close 14 captures 25 22 Dec 06 - 28 Sep 11 2006 2007 2009 Help Facepunch Studios > Facepunch Studios > General Discussion Username: User Name Remember Smod, Coolest HL2 Mod ever! Password: Log in Rules IRC Log Custom Forums Archive Steam Group More.. Register Page 1 of 165 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 51 101 > Last » Thread Tools 11/09/05 Post #1 JoshuaC Courtesy of luigi1107 Feb 2005 5196 Smartness ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The old SMOD thread was losing steam, so I decided to create a brand new thread for this brilliant mod, containing everything you need to know from weapons to console commands. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - This section will contain eveything you need to know about SMOD itself, not the features. SMOD Site: - http://www.geocities.jp/faster_down/smod_bak/ Current Version: - 36b - This section will tell you what weapons are in the current version. - Crowbar - Gravity Gun - Physgun - Gordon's Magical Stick - Strider Cannon - Shovel - 9MM
    [Show full text]
  • Super Mario Portal Game
    1 / 2 Super Mario Portal Game Lessons of Game Design learned from Super Mario Maker ... The portal gun is one of those mechanics that sounds like it has an unlimited .... The game combines the elements of the two popular video games: the platforming Super Mario Bros and the puzzle solving Portal. The game retains the traditional .... It's a mashup of Nintendo's classic Super Mario Bros. platform game with Portal. That's right – Mario now has a portal gun, which he can use to .... New Super Mario Bros. U is a game ... Portal 2, like Minecraft, is a highly popular console game that encourages experimentation and flexibility.. Last August we were promised to be able to play the classic Super Mario Bros. with 1 major difference integrated into the game. Aperature ... mario portal game · super mario bros meets portal game · blue television games portal mario.. Mario Bros Mappack Portal Mappack Mari0 Bros Mappack No WW Mari0 ... If you enjoy this game then also play games Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 64.. Much like nuts and gum, Portal and Super Mario Bros. are together at last.. Click on this exciting game of the classic Super Mario bros, Portal Mario bros 64. You must help the famous Mario bros to defend himself from all his enemies in .... and Portal hybrid from indie game developer Stabyourself.net. Yup, it's the old Super Mario Bros. with portal guns, user created content, a map .... Mario and Portal, a perfect mix. Super Smash Flash 2. A fun game inspired by Super Smash Bros.
    [Show full text]
  • From Voodoo to Viruses: the Evolution of the Zombie in Twentieth Century Popular Culture
    From Voodoo to Viruses: The Evolution of the Zombie in Twentieth Century Popular Culture By Margaret Twohy Adviser: Dr. Bernice Murphy A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the Degree of Master’s of Philosophy in Popular Literature Trinity College Dublin Dublin, Ireland October 2008 2 Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to explore the evolutionary path the zombie has followed in 20th Century popular culture. Additionally, this thesis will examine the defining characteristics of the zombie as they have changed through its history. Over the course of the last century and edging into the 21st Century, the zombie has grown in popularity in film, videogames, and more recently in novels. The zombie genre has become a self-inspiring force in pop culture media today. Films inspired a number of videogames, which in turn, supplied the film industry with a resurgence of inspirations and ideas. Combined, these media have brought the zombie to a position of greater prominence in popular literature. Additionally, within the growing zombie culture today there is an over-arcing viral theme associated with the zombie. In many films, games, and novels there is a viral cause for a zombie outbreak. Meanwhile, the growing popularity of zombies and its widening reach throughout popular culture makes the genre somewhat viral-like as well. Filmmakers, authors and game designers are all gathering ideas from one another causing the some amount of self- cannibalisation within the genre. 3 Table of Contents Introduction 4 Chapter One 7 Evolution of the Dead Chapter Two 21 Contaminants, Viruses, and Possessions—Oh my! Chapter Three 34 Dawn of the (Digital) Dead Chapter Four 45 Rise of the Literary Zombie Conclusion 58 Bibliography 61 4 Introduction There are perhaps few, if any fictional monsters that can rival the versatility of the humble zombie (or zombi)1.
    [Show full text]
  • Science of Gaming
    Science of Gaming Learn about the effects of gaming on your brain and learning capacity! Discuss whether or not games like Portal, Bioshock or Fallout are plausible in reality! February 23rd, 2015 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Mitchell Hall 121 Attend S3 event for a chance to win a FREE Kaplan course, Explora! Membership or $40 to Rude Boy Cookies Like Our Page At: Facebook.com/S3UNM Support, Strength, Success Support, Strength, Success S3 is dedicated to creating a community of support, friendship, and resources for your journey as a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) student at UNM and CNM. @S3UNM Facebook.com/S3UNM [email protected] http://goo.gl/pNs0qB What Is Happening? Main Character: Chell Robot narrator: GLaDOs (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating system) Weapon: the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device The Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device Nature of Portals A doorway that connects two distant locations separated by spacetime Instantaneous transport of an object Could be used for teleportation, time portal, other planes of existence Fun with Portals: Perpetual Motion Inconsistencies There must be a power source with a finite level of power Cannot create energy, no free energy Possible solution: energy is generated as objects are moving through the portals What happens if the portal closes when there’s something in it? Object should be bisected or object blocks the portal from closing but are instead ejected from portal Bioshock Trailer http://youtu.be/zHRNLIx6qwY What are Plasmids? Small, circular DNA found in bacteria Different bacterial plasmids do different things Plasmids traits can be passed to different organisms via horizontal gene transfer Can be manipulated for use in genetic research Inconsistencies Sea slugs are not bacteria Why inject them into orphaned girls? Superpowers? Questions/Discussion Time!.
    [Show full text]
  • The Heroic Journey of a Villain
    Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindasvið Enska The Heroic Journey of a Villain The Lost and Found Humanity of an Artificial Intelligence Ritgerð til MA-prófs í Ensku Ásta Karen Ólafsdóttir Kt.: 150390-2499 Leiðbeinandi: Guðrún B. Guðsteinsdóttir Maí 2017 Abstract In this essay, we will look at the villain of the Portal franchise, the artificial intelligence GLaDOS, in context with Maureen Murdock’s theory of the “Heroine’s Journey,” from her book The Heroine’s Journey: Woman’s Quest for Wholeness. The essay argues that although GLaDOS is not a heroine in the conventional sense, she is just as important of a figure in the franchise as its protagonist, Chell. GLaDOS acts both as the first game’s narrator and villain, as she runs the Aperture Science Enrichment Center where the games take place. Unlike Chell, GLaDOS is a speaking character with a complex backstory and goes through real character development as the franchise’s story progresses. The essay is divided into four chapters, a short history of women’s part as characters in video games, an introduction to Murdock’s “The Heroine’s Journey,” and its context to John Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey,” a chapter on the Portal franchises, and then we go through “The Heroine’s Journey,” in regards to GLaDOS, and each step in its own subchapter. Our main focus will be on the second installment in the series, Portal 2. Since, in that game, GLaDOS goes through most of her heroine’s journey. In the first game, Portal, GLaDOS separates from her femininity and embraces the masculine, causing her fractured psyche, and as the player goes through Portal 2 along with her, she reclaims her femininity, finds her inner masculinity, and regains wholeness.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cake Is a Lie!« Polyperspektivische Betrachtungen
    Michelle E. Ouellette/ Marc A. Ouellette Make Lemonade: The Pleasantly Unpleasant Aesthetics of Playing ›Portal‹ This paper takes its title and an important cue from the folksy premise of the axiom, »When life gives you lemons, make lemonade«. The paradoxical posi- tion that something unpleasant can be turned into something pleasant offers not only an entry point for an engagement with the Portal series, but also an opportunity to consider directly the applicability of Friedrich Schiller’s model of three inherent drives to the study of video games. Thus, our paper will sit- uate Schiller’s aesthetic principles within existing game studies scholarship, will examine how these apply to the Portal series’ implementation of rules, play and affirmation, and will consider the ramifications of the commentary which inheres in the process. Most importantly, the three drives – normative, sensuous, and play – map directly onto the rules and the rewards of the games. As well, this pattern appears in the form and in the content of the games so that the ways in which rules, affirmation and their linkage through play produce en- joyment also make the Portal series obvious examples of good art. In the case of affirmation, the fact that these rewards are through negative affirmation makes no difference. GLaDOS and Wheatley’s taunts and barbs, and the jour- ney on which they lead us, engages both the cognitive and affective responses of the players. The pleasure of this game is located in both of these responses; we are driven to think about the game, and the game makes us feel (bad).
    [Show full text]
  • Emotions in Play: on the Constitution of Emotion in Solitary Computer Game Play Olli Tapio Leino
    Emotions In Play: On the constitution of emotion in solitary computer game play olli tapio leino This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) at IT University of Copenhagen. Title: Emotions in Play: On the constitution of emotion in solitary computer game play. Candidate: Olli Tapio Leino Ben Websters Vej 14-2-7 2450 Copenhagen SV Denmark +45 266 32705 [email protected] Supervisor: Espen Aarseth Abstract Computer games contribute to their players' emotions in diverse ways, ranging from sheer exhilaration to anger and disillusion. Our ability to enjoy computer game play that involves genuine intense emotions which in other contexts would be easily deemed as \negative" suggests that there is something in the ways in which we make sense of computer games that separates gameplay from other activities we engage in. Focusing on single-player computer games and situating within the emerging field of computer game studies, this dissertation starts from the assumption that emotions are always already intertwined with the experience of play and proceeds to describe, not any idiosyncratic emotional experience, but the means by which games can ensure their contents to be involved in players' emotions. Emotions are taken as intentional, as always about something. From this premise follows that to understand an emotion it is necessary to understand the reasons the subject has for relating to the object of the emotion in the particular way. Building on game studies, existential phenomenology, and philosophy of technology, this dissertation postulates a first-person perspective from which to describe solitary computer game play and the emotions it involves in terms of their experienced significance.
    [Show full text]