Topic: Portal

Video Gallery: 9 Cool Things Fans Have Made With ‘Portal’

Video Gallery: 9 Cool Things Fans Have Made With 'Portal'

I realize that I tend to write about Portal a lot– A LOT a lot– but there’s just so much good stuff floating around out there regarding it that I just can’t help myself. There’s Companion Cube soap. There are real-life talking turret plushes. There are awesome covers of the awesome in-game songs. The list just goes on, and on, and on– and here, it goes on again. Fans of the Portal games are some of the more creative fans out there– it’s actually quite a credit to Valve Software that they’re able to create game mythologies that people get this into– and subsequently, they put out some of the most astounding fan projects based off their beloved source material. Some of them are hackers and programmers; some of them are storytellers; and some of them are comedians; but all of them are worth taking a look at. Here are some of the coolest things fans have done with Portal: More »

Video Gallery: 9 Awesome Geeky Theme Song Covers

Video Gallery: 9 Awesome Geeky Theme Song Covers

A good theme song does many things: It amps you up for whatever you’re about to watch or play; it gets stuck in your head, but doesn’t get annoying; and perhaps most importantly, it always makes you happy when you hear it. Maybe this is why the best theme songs come attached to geeky things. And maybe, because geeky things have such dedicated fans, that’s why there are so many mind-blowingly awesome covers of those terrifically geeky themes. Furthermore, there’s something for every style preference. A cappella? Metal? Acoustic? Tesla coil? Take your pick– they’re all represented here! Here are our favorite fan-made covers of our favorite geeky theme songs: More »

14 Practical Applications of the Portal Gun

14 Practical Applications of the Portal Gun

Portal 2, the long-awaited follow-up to the unexpected 2007 video game hit Portal, finally went live on Tuesday– And there was much rejoicing (yay)! A first-person shooter based not around kill count, but around puzzles, the Portal series features a unique piece of weaponry developed by Aperture Science known as Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, often shortened to “portal gun.” Unlike most guns, this gun does not fire bullets; instead, it fires portals. For those of you unfamiliar with it, here’s how it works: The gun fires portals in two colors, orange and blue. Fire one color at one surface; then fire the second color at a second surface. Once both colors are in place, the portals create a physical connection between the two different locations. Naturally, you can see the potential such technology holds. While you COULD use the portal technology to fight self-aware insane robots, there are also a variety of every-day tasks that can be made easier with the aid of a portal gun. Here’s your guide to the many practical applications of the portal gun. More »