Half Life Connection: It's not as big as everyone thinks

[Redlazer64]

Before you accuse me of being a troll, hear me out. I'm not trying to troll anyone. I'm just stating something that has become apparent to me in these Game Informer interviews with the developers and all the information that has come out recently.

If you look at the Game Informer Article here (http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/03/10/opening-the-portal-exploring-portal-s-creation-and-its-ties-to-half-life-2.aspx). They talk a lot about what Game Informer gleaned from the developers of the game regarding the Half Life connection. After scouring through the article for any tidbit of information, the only thing I could find regarding the connection was the fact that they were using Half Life 2 art assets in order to create Portal's setting because Portal was an experiment. When I read this I came to the conclusion that the developers behind Portal didn't care much about the connection at all. They wanted to make their own separate game, not one that will eventually lead into a plot point in Half Life's story. The team simply put Portal in the same setting as half life out of necessity so that it would be able to use the same art assets, because the team did not have the manpower at the time to make their own, unique assets. So of course they'll hint to things in the Half Life universe as easter eggs since both games are in the same setting, but this game is truly separated from Gordan Freeman's timeline. Why do you think the developers created Portal 2's setting to be hundreds of years after the first game? So they can get away from storyline of the Half Life series. Also, the fact that both games are different in style and direction lead me to think that they won't ever unite the two series in an encounter between Gordan and Chell.

Please don't flame me or accuse me of being a troll, I am just trying to bring up a point that has been slowly building in my mind as I've read through countless articles regarding Portal 2. If you would like to make a mature counter-argument, I would appreciate it. But please don't simply reject my idea because it does not align with your theory. I hope we can have a mature debate regarding theories on this. It's something that has been itching at my mind for weeks.

[WillBright]

I don't think you're "trolling" (God, I hate the now-ubiquitous use of that as a verb) and I don't "reject" your idea. The only problem with your post is...

...duh?

Thanks for the summary :eek:

[mr turkey40]

We kind of realized that the 100 years later was to break connections, probably because they said it.

[Redlazer64]

I don't think you're "trolling" (God, I hate the now-ubiquitous use of that as a verb) and I don't "reject" your idea. The only problem with your post is...

...duh?

Thanks for the summary :eek:
Lol, thanks. I just didn't want everyone who was thinking "THEY HAVE TO COME TOGETHER SOMETIME ZOMG" to come and accuse me of being some kind of troll :P. You'll be surprised how many posts I've read where people think that Portal and Half Life have some big conspiracy together.

[Ole' swifty]

Before you accuse me of being a troll, hear me out. I'm not trying to troll anyone. I'm just stating something that has become apparent to me in these Game Informer interviews with the developers and all the information that has come out recently.

If you look at the Game Informer Article here (http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/03/10/opening-the-portal-exploring-portal-s-creation-and-its-ties-to-half-life-2.aspx). They talk a lot about what Game Informer gleaned from the developers of the game regarding the Half Life connection. After scouring through the article for any tidbit of information, the only thing I could find regarding the connection was the fact that they were using Half Life 2 art assets in order to create Portal's setting because Portal was an experiment. When I read this I came to the conclusion that the developers behind Portal didn't care much about the connection at all. They wanted to make their own separate game, not one that will eventually lead into a plot point in Half Life's story. The team simply put Portal in the same setting as half life out of necessity so that it would be able to use the same art assets, because the team did not have the manpower at the time to make their own, unique assets. So of course they'll hint to things in the Half Life universe as easter eggs since both games are in the same setting, but this game is truly separated from Gordan Freeman's timeline. Why do you think the developers created Portal 2's setting to be hundreds of years after the first game? So they can get away from storyline of the Half Life series. Also, the fact that both games are different in style and direction lead me to think that they won't ever unite the two series in an encounter between Gordan and Chell.

Please don't flame me or accuse me of being a troll, I am just trying to bring up a point that has been slowly building in my mind as I've read through countless articles regarding Portal 2. If you would like to make a mature counter-argument, I would appreciate it. But please don't simply reject my idea because it does not align with your theory. I hope we can have a mature debate regarding theories on this. It's something that has been itching at my mind for weeks.

Mature counter argument:Borealis

The ship has aperture science shipping containers and it vanished with part of the dock years ago.

The borealis is a major key plot device in half life 2.

It has an amazing something that could be used against the combine but is so scary to the person who apparently knows the most (eli knew about g-man) that he says it needs to be destroyed.

[MADDOGGE]

Lol, thanks. I just didn't want everyone who was thinking "THEY HAVE TO COME TOGETHER SOMETIME ZOMG" to come and accuse me of being some kind of troll :P. You'll be surprised how many posts I've read where people think that Portal and Half Life have some big conspiracy together.It's because they were tied together by Aperture and the Borealis. Furthermore, out of Gabes mouth Chell's character was supposed to have had a major role in Ep3 2-2+ years ago when Gabe gave the interview. Now they are distancing the stories and someone else most likely will take on the role Chell originally was going to play in Ep3. this is why people are questioning the 100's of years in the future stuff and whether Chell will have any part in Ep3. This is something I doubt now because of the time frame portal 2 is using.

[Redlazer64]

Mature counter argument:Borealis

The ship has aperture science shipping containers and it vanished with part of the dock years ago.

The borealis is a major key plot device in half life 2.

It has an amazing something that could be used against the combine but is so scary to the person who apparently knows the most (eli knew about g-man) that he says it needs to be destroyed.
The Borealis does belong to Aperture Science, and Aperture is in the Half Life games, but that doesn't mean that the Portal series will meet with the Half Life series. While the settings are the same, and the corporations are the same, I don't think that the actual games will ever meet each other. Especially since Portal 2 takes place hundreds of years after the Half Life series. We also know that both Portal and Portal 2 don't take place on the Borealis, so the thought that Chell will meet Gordan is not really plausible.

Again, while both games are in the same setting, that is about the only thing that they share. That doesn't mean they can't allude to each other like they have in multiple situations such as the Borealis.

[Zekiran]

It might be able to tie TF2 into the hl universe... if it's after maybe, say, the Combine are defeated and leave humanity alone for a while. What happens to the descendants of people who don't have any inkling what life was supposed to be like.... >_> yeah it's a biiiig stretch.

[Redlazer64]

It's because they were tied together by Aperture and the Borealis. Furthermore, out of Gabes mouth Chell's character was supposed to have had a major role in Ep3 2-2+ years ago when Gabe gave the interview. Now they are distancing the stories and someone else most likely will take on the role Chell originally was going to play in Ep3. this is why people are questioning the 100's of years in the future stuff and whether Chell will have any part in Ep3. This is something I doubt now because of the time frame portal 2 is using.
EDIT: nevermind, I misinterpreted what you were replying to.

The people that still hang on to that quote need to let go. That quote was given over 2 years ago, as you said. It's really not that relevant now.

[MADDOGGE]

EDIT: nevermind, I misinterpreted what you were replying to.

The people that still hang on to that quote need to let go. That quote was given over 2 years ago, as you said. It's really not that relevant now.I agree and personally I was never comfortable with the idea of 2 mute protagonists and the possibility that Gordon might touch the portal gun. Gravity gun == Gordon, Portal gun == Chell. Never the twain should meet imo!

[jasondesante]

what about the ORIGINAL half life 2, the way the story was supposed to go....

the way Half Life 2 was supposed to play out, Gordon visited the Borealis in Half Life 2. So before HL2 even shipped, way way back in the planning stages, the Borealis was still present as an idea.

http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Half-Life_2_original_storyline

if you still think its a small insignificant fact (that it was originally planned) think about the scope of the first game, and the detail put into who the combine were, how they acted, and how they were actually going to destroy the world (because lets be honest, not many people were fully aware of what they detail on that website).

this is a thick fleshed out story, and its been planned out for a while now, even if certain ideas have changed things a bit, the foundation has been the for a very long time.

and plus, Portal 2 being hundreds of years in the future means that the Combine and GMan haven't destroyed earth, and the story continues!

[WillBright]

I still wouldn't be surprised if there were some tiny reference to Black Mesa in Portal 2 (as we saw a few in the first Portal), but nothing beyond that.

However... Portal technology in HL2:EP3, that's a whole 'nother story. We'll just have to wait until 2016 to find out.

[MADDOGGE]

I still wouldn't be surprised if there were some tiny reference to Black Mesa in Portal 2 (as we saw a few in the first Portal), but nothing beyond that.

However... Portal technology in HL2:EP3, that's a whole 'nother story. We'll just have to wait until 2016 to find out.Sorry the deadline is December of 2012. After that, "it won't matter". :rolleyes:

[Tasty Uberwich]

It might be able to tie TF2 into the hl universe... if it's after maybe, say, the Combine are defeated and leave humanity alone for a while. What happens to the descendants of people who don't have any inkling what life was supposed to be like.... >_> yeah it's a biiiig stretch.

But TF2 takes place during the sixties so unfortunately they couldn't tie it in. Unless they made a prequel or something...

[Solarmech]

But TF2 takes place during the sixties so unfortunately they couldn't tie it in. Unless they made a prequel or something...

Actually TF2 is a simulation run by GLaDOS to test weapons systems. All the people playing TF 2 are just helping out the testing. :eek: :D

As a note about the Borialis. Originally the crates on the ship where labled "Arbite Labratories". Arbite is clearly the forrunner to Aperature. sm

[jdsm89]

I still think the "hundreds of years" thing is a red herring. It doesn't take that long for a building to look like what we've seen in the scans. Also, If it has been hundreds of years, I would expect it to be in even worse shape then what we've seen. If anyone has seen "Life After People" you'll know what I mean. On top of that, the place was falling apart in the first game already.

I suspect that Valve is trying to mislead us for some reason, probably a major plot point. Or this info is given via GLaDOS and she is trying to manipulate Chell.

[we11er]

I still think the "hundreds of years" thing is a red herring. It doesn't take that long for a building to look like what we've seen in the scans. Also, If it has been hundreds of years, I would expect it to be in even worse shape then what we've seen. If anyone has seen "Life After People" you'll know what I mean. On top of that, the place was falling apart in the first game already.

I suspect that Valve is trying to mislead us for some reason, probably a major plot point. Or this info is given via GLaDOS and she is trying to manipulate Chell.

B/S. It is hundreds of years later. They're not going for complete accuracy with plant life etc. It's called Artistic License.

If Valve have said it's hundreds of years in the future, and gameinformer has reported on that saying the same thing, they aren't going to turn around and announce that they've been fooling us.

Sometimes people need to just accept what they're told. Not everything is some hidden meaning or ARG clue.

[Redlazer64]

I still wouldn't be surprised if there were some tiny reference to Black Mesa in Portal 2 (as we saw a few in the first Portal), but nothing beyond that.

I wouldn't even be surprised if we learned something about the Borealis in Portal 2. Maybe from the ratman scribblings on the wall. But that is probably the farthest they will go in relation to the connection between the two games. Most of the references to half life in Portal are just little easter eggs to have the player go: "cool, they were in competition with Black Mesa".

[reameesh]

Before you accuse me of being a troll, hear me out. I'm not trying to troll anyone. I'm just stating something that has become apparent to me in these Game Informer interviews with the developers and all the information that has come out recently.

If you look at the Game Informer Article here (http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/03/10/opening-the-portal-exploring-portal-s-creation-and-its-ties-to-half-life-2.aspx). They talk a lot about what Game Informer gleaned from the developers of the game regarding the Half Life connection. After scouring through the article for any tidbit of information, the only thing I could find regarding the connection was the fact that they were using Half Life 2 art assets in order to create Portal's setting because Portal was an experiment. When I read this I came to the conclusion that the developers behind Portal didn't care much about the connection at all. They wanted to make their own separate game, not one that will eventually lead into a plot point in Half Life's story. The team simply put Portal in the same setting as half life out of necessity so that it would be able to use the same art assets, because the team did not have the manpower at the time to make their own, unique assets. So of course they'll hint to things in the Half Life universe as easter eggs since both games are in the same setting, but this game is truly separated from Gordan Freeman's timeline. Why do you think the developers created Portal 2's setting to be hundreds of years after the first game? So they can get away from storyline of the Half Life series. Also, the fact that both games are different in style and direction lead me to think that they won't ever unite the two series in an encounter between Gordan and Chell.

Please don't flame me or accuse me of being a troll, I am just trying to bring up a point that has been slowly building in my mind as I've read through countless articles regarding Portal 2. If you would like to make a mature counter-argument, I would appreciate it. But please don't simply reject my idea because it does not align with your theory. I hope we can have a mature debate regarding theories on this. It's something that has been itching at my mind for weeks.



O RLY?http://www.flashpointsocialmedia.com/Area51/Orion/Images/o_rly.jpg

[jdsm89]

B/S. It is hundreds of years later. They're not going for complete accuracy with plant life etc. It's called Artistic License.

If Valve have said it's hundreds of years in the future, and gameinformer has reported on that saying the same thing, they aren't going to turn around and announce that they've been fooling us.

Sometimes people need to just accept what they're told. Not everything is some hidden meaning or ARG clue.

I don't think it has some kind of hidden meaning or anything, they could just be telling us something different to surprise us when we play the game. It's not like that's never been done before.

[Tumdace]

It's because they were tied together by Aperture and the Borealis. Furthermore, out of Gabes mouth Chell's character was supposed to have had a major role in Ep3 2-2+ years ago when Gabe gave the interview. Now they are distancing the stories and someone else most likely will take on the role Chell originally was going to play in Ep3. this is why people are questioning the 100's of years in the future stuff and whether Chell will have any part in Ep3. This is something I doubt now because of the time frame portal 2 is using.

Gabe also said that they were moving into episodic gaming so they could get individual projects out in 6-8 months.

/thread.

[Abraham Lincoln]

Well, there is mention of Black Mesa in Portal and there is mention of Aperture Science in Episode 2.

[megamanvt]

This makes me want to play the mod Missing Information again :D
But seriously, we don't even know half the stuff Aperture Science made, so mabye there o time machines or portal guns or even leads to G-Man being an Aperture Science Android :O

[Tumdace]

All I know is that when Half Life and Portal sagas are all said and done, someone in this thread is going to feel like an idiot.

[Zekiran]

But TF2 takes place during the sixties so unfortunately they couldn't tie it in. Unless they made a prequel or something...

It may take place "during the sixties" but... 2060? 3260? Doesn't have to be OUR 1960s, as is evidenced by all the other things terribly wrong with the world at large in HL, HL2 and portal's worlds. They could very well be tied together, as the post below yours shows :)

[Ole' swifty]

The Borealis does belong to Aperture Science, and Aperture is in the Half Life games, but that doesn't mean that the Portal series will meet with the Half Life series. While the settings are the same, and the corporations are the same, I don't think that the actual games will ever meet each other. Especially since Portal 2 takes place hundreds of years after the Half Life series. We also know that both Portal and Portal 2 don't take place on the Borealis, so the thought that Chell will meet Gordan is not really plausible.

Again, while both games are in the same setting, that is about the only thing that they share. That doesn't mean they can't allude to each other like they have in multiple situations such as the Borealis.


I am not sure what you mean by the two games "meeting".

If you mean gordon meeting chell or GLaDOS then no I don't see that happening.


I could easily see GLaDOS being a large part of the whole combine situation. What I mean is maybe GLaDOS does something that changes the fate of the combine enslaved human world. I could also easily see G-Man being tied into apature science and possibly GLaDOS.


What I am saying is that I am guessing that the fate of half lifes word could be radically changed by GLaDOS's actions.

(Maybe GLaDOS had a reason to take over the enrichment center other than being crazy)

[Some_weirdGuy]

All it is and all it was ever going to be was a fairly minimal non-game link.

By non-game i mean that we will not have gordon grabbing the portal gun to fight glados and destroy the combine. It was never going to work that way, it never should have worked that way.

I'm fine with the 'backstory links', I like them better then the idea of valve throwing half life and portal in a bowl and going at it with a pair of egg beaters, which ruins both series'.
Although i don't like it when game creators add a link/whatever and then in the next game just change their mind and do nothing with it/completely ignore it.

(for example, those who know Command and Conquer might remember that the red alert series was a prequel to tiberian dawn, with kane in it and everything, and then in red alert 2 they completely ignored this and had no reference or explanation or anything. Very annoying)

[MADDOGGE]

Gabe also said that they were moving into episodic gaming so they could get individual projects out in 6-8 months.

/thread.Cough yep cough! Kinda missed those release dates a tad bit wouldn't you say?:D:D

[Fatikis]

I am not sure what you mean by the two games "meeting".

If you mean gordon meeting chell or GLaDOS then no I don't see that happening.


I could easily see GLaDOS being a large part of the whole combine situation. What I mean is maybe GLaDOS does something that changes the fate of the combine enslaved human world. I could also easily see G-Man being tied into apature science and possibly GLaDOS.


What I am saying is that I am guessing that the fate of half lifes word could be radically changed by GLaDOS's actions.

(Maybe GLaDOS had a reason to take over the enrichment center other than being crazy)

GLaD0S is making the portal gun "for the people who are still alive."

That could imply that GLaD0S thinks this gun is necessary for the survival of the human race. I mean she is crazy but maybe she is really trying to help.

I can imagine GLaD0S and her turrets fending off the Combine.

Didn't one of the sounds people recovered have GLaD0S saying "Get out" all fuzzy like?

Also turrets asking the Combine "Are you still there" LAWLS.