By Jim Rossignol on March 18th, 2011 at 12:02 pm.
Valve decided to make their own TV commercial for Portal 2. This was because, said marketing VP Doug Lombardi, “We’ve had many creative kick-off meetings with agencies over the years, and you’d be shocked by the treatments that have come back. Copycat treatments. Cliché treatments. Treatments that reveal the agency wasn’t listening in the initial meeting.” So instead Valve opted to make their own advertisment, in an eight week project.
It’s cute. And embedded below. The game is out in the 21st of April.
Full of win. Only one more month to go!
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I agree. This has given me the happy
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Why’d they have to go and spoil it by saying that the actual game will be nothing like this? Okay so it perhaps should be commended that a company admits its marketing is bullshit before the game is released. But it does make it a rather pointless exercise to carry on with it. They’d be better off showing us some actual gameplay videos of what will actually be in the game now.
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(Pssst, you are not the target advertising demographic, they don’t care about what you think of the ad)
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It’s a /TV/ advert.
You know, for people that watch TV.
As in, for my mom.
So don’t take it personally.
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I must be blind. Where do they say that? From what I understand there will, in fact, be fun in the final product. And science. And two robots (in the multiplayer mode). Or were you referring to the face that this is pre-rendered rather than in-engine footage?
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I’m going to counter this by saying that I’ve always appreciated Valve putting out trailers that don’t spoil anything from the game. This trailer is more an idea than footage from the game.
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If that’s not actual gameplay footage at 0:26-0:27, it’s close enough that I wouldn’t feel cheated if they called it that.
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@ Daniel Klein
What they’re saying is that the game will be simplified and a lot easier than the first game. It will be designed with controllers in mind so even people with reactions of a sloth can join in. They’ll be there to hold our hands every step of the way.
Now that’s not the impression I got from the trailers at all, it must be said. In fact some bits almost looked too difficult.
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I’d say this was entirely representative of the gameplay in the game. The co-op at least. Only thing is it’s pre-rendered and not in the engine which the target audience wouldn’t care about.
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Valve does this weird thing with trailers where they use the source engine as their animation platform, and then set Source to “render mode.” So technically, it is “in engine”, but not the visual quality is too high for real time.
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The sequel is going to be easier? My interest level just went up a bit. I enjoyed Portal, but I haven’t finished it. I reached (what I assume to be) the final “boss-battle”, but couldn’t do it quickly enough.
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“It will be designed with controllers in mind so even people with reactions of a sloth can join in.”
Yes because the first game wasn’t successfully ported to Xbox and PS3 without compromising the gameplay.
Oh no wait, it was, you’re just talking nonsense.
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Yeah I’m with the Albatross here.
A lot of people were raising concerns that with the new gameplay mechanics and the videos shown so far, that the game would actually be harder, not easier.
Valve basically said that their objective all along with Portal 2 wasn’t to make it more difficult (or easy for that matter) than the first game, but to give it a greater breadth as an experience.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/13/valves-erik-wolpaw-on-portal-2s-difficulty-ps3-steam-features/
So yeah, I’m not really willing to apply the whole “dumbed down for consoles” spiel.
They’re not trying to make a game that’s easy for console gamers to get to grips with. They’re trying to make a game that’s easy for your mom to get to grips with.
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Download Portal Prelude if you want more twitchy gameplay for the original Portal. I also hope that Portal 2 will get some sweet mods that add crazy twitchy puzzles. I like to keep myself on the edge otherwise I’ll loose all the hand/eye coordination that I’ve built up over the years :)
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very few of us reading this story won’t have played Portal and, I suspect, loved it. We’re not the target demographic for the advert.
To those that haven’t: you really should.
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The music kinda reminds me of those Mac VS PC adverts. I’d love to see a Portal 2 Advert that focuses on Steamplay :D
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Like the TF2 Mac ad?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX7ZUEpkA00
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I admit to those adverts tweaking me a bit, since a Mac is a PC, just one running an OS that isn’t Windows, BSD, or Linux – specifically an Apple OS.
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Neatly done – gets the main game concepts across well, although, yeah, it’s hard to say how this will come across to someone who’s never heard of Portal before – hopefully it will get them interested. (Certainly, it’s a better attempt at luring a new demographic than just whacking in a load of thrash metal and cutscenes, which seems to be a common tactic).
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That tangentialy reminds me of the TV ad for Brutal Legend, which is about the only time an ad SHOULD have thunderous metal playing all the way through. Instead, it got this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVo98qkUoTc
Pop-rock jingle wank. Oh dear. Valve have the right idea – game developers should just make their own adverts, because they know what the game is and who they’re aiming it at. Ad agencies don’t have a clue.
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It’s better like this
http://tubedubber.com/#xsQQSUEeiFY:CD2LRROpph0:0:100:0:0:true
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http://tubedubber.com/#xsQQSUEeiFY:cr6CnG5dmvM:0:100:0:0:false
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Still unsure of what to think of http://tubedubber.com/#xsQQSUEeiFY:KehwyWmXr3U:0:100:0:2:true ;p
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yhancik, that makes it seem like a buddy movie about the two robots. Gives it a nice, warm feeling. I vote for your soundtrack.
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@ yhancik, if you had a scene of one of the robots staring at a photo of their beloved toaster to that tune you’d have the trailer for Gears of Portal 3.
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Or try:
http://tubedubber.com/#xsQQSUEeiFY:fA3j3VTAsTk:0:100:0:0:true
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tubedubber is as bad as TV Tropes. Stop reminding me that it exists.
http://tubedubber.com/#xsQQSUEeiFY:Px_nrsFNgtI:0:100:0:0:true
http://tubedubber.com/#xsQQSUEeiFY:urpWouwano0:0:100:0:0:true
http://tubedubber.com/#xsQQSUEeiFY:P5xc9VxXNq0:0:100:0:0:true
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Cheers to that Robyn one for giving me this idea:
http://tubedubber.com/#xsQQSUEeiFY:r4rhX6iB-2o:0:100:0:0:true
(and it syncs spectacularly, if I may say so myself)
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Not epic enough. Needs more O Fortuna.
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Okay, there’s no way I’m the first one to do this:
http://tubedubber.com/#xsQQSUEeiFY:bl0WIw8KOVc:0:100:0:0:true
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as always, i like this one the most :)
Hawaii 5.0
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That pretty accurately sums up my first half hour in Portal, yeah. Except it missed out the bit where I kept trying to cop a view of my own ass.
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Is it me or does the music at the end sound very reminiscent of F-Zero GX on the ‘ole GameCube?
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It is okay to still love it if you’re not the target demographic?
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**puts up hand shyly for being in the ‘loving it as well’ group **
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Less shyly admitting to loving it here. It’s a wonderful bit of animation.
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*Throws his hands up and dares anyone to look shocked.
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A great little ad. Reminds me of Pixar’s work a lot and that’s a great marketing move, people love Pixar.
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Yeah – I got a real Pixar vibe from this, which is a huge compliment to Valve’s ability to infuse those robots with personality.
That ad just makes the game look like a big bag of fun to me. But then, my opinion of Portal is already that it is a big bag of fun.
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This ‘TV’ thing you chaps are on about, what is it?
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A TV is the thing that you used to plug your C64 or Amiga500 in.
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It can also be used for video streaming. IN REAL TIME.
Its a n awesome new piece of technology.
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Commonly refereed to as “the other glowing box” in our home.
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Maybe when they’re done making ads for games I’ve already bought, then they’ll finally do Meet The Medic and Meet The Pyro.
Also: E10+!?! Some poor kid is going to be disappointed when his Mom refuses to get him the previous game in the series because it’s only available in an M-rated bundle…
Also, also: best use of FMV to convey game mechanics through a story since the L4D opening. Very nice.
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No, Portal is available for separate purchase both on Steam (since launch) and at retail (at least, if anyone still stocks it). Valve/EA broke up the retail Orange Box into separate SKUs about six months after its first release.
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Although it was kind of funny seeing the standalone Portal/TF2 boxes cost more than the Orange Box.
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“Valve/EA broke up the retail Orange Box into separate SKUs about six months after its first release.”
Ah, yes, sorry, I knew about the PC versions doing this, I was referring to the XB360 version. I think there is a standalone downloadable Portal version you can get from the Live store (or however it works), but I thought that the Orange Box on the XB360 was only available as the OB compilation on disc. But my point was that these non-OB Portal copies might not be as obviously available to the typical retail-going parent as the Orange box is, and hence… Well now my joke is ruined, but oh well. :)
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You’re right, the split up was only for the PC versions. And yes, Portal is available to purchase from Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 wacky points, which is about 10 squids; and it comes with extra levels from this map pack.
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Aww. It’s cute, but unfortunate that they didn’t showcase the humor or the nature of/general idea behind the game. Probably won’t matter anyway — I assume most of those who played and completed the first have already preordered, so…
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Right, I have one month to make enough portals in my uni’s firewall to use Steam and play Portal 2.
Also ‘Let’s have fun, with science.’ should be Prof Brian Cox’s catch phrase.
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Professor Brian “SEE HOW PROUDLY I STAND ATOP THIS MOUNTAIN (also I once played in D:Ream)” Cox, if you please.
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sometimes I look at the stars at night, and I really wonder, just what the fuck is going on?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhn8j7S4uKU
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You have to admire his extremely current collection of berghaus and north face outerwear though, which changes in every shot.
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There’s a Horizons episode from 2008 with him, with one of the greatest lines ever.
“DRIVING across the DESERT to do PHYSICS!”
Brian Cox is made of awesome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlHJDSlAzMI
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Awesome indeed, though sometimes its nice not to see him on TV 23.6 hours out of every day.
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Oh, here’s Brian, he’s on a glacier.
Piss off, Brian.
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To be perfectly honest, Brian Cox might be one of my favourite people ever.
Also: “When I think about just how vast the solar system is, and the whole universe it completely just… fucks with my mind!”. Awesome
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Brian Cox = Bloke out of Fast Show.
“Int science brilliant”
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Weird. I guess I assumed TV ads were always made by the game companies themselves (or at least the branch of them that makes the trailers put on the internet).
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From the link to the article: “Portal 2 is distributed by EA and is due April 21st on Xbox 360, PC and PS3″. Why? Dont Valve just use steam? Or are they talking about retail? Why on earth would Valve use a publisher?
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For the same reason they partnered with EA for retail distribution of The Orange Box, and Left 4 Dead, and Left 4 Dead 2. EA has the experience and contracts in place to manufacture and distribute boxes with shiny plastic discs in them around the world. Valve are essentially subcontracting this aspect of the release to EA.
This is completely different to the traditional developer/publisher relationship, as Valve is not funded by EA and so retains sole control of their game.
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Ahhh right ok, now I understand. Didnt know that about orange box, I got mine through steam. Ta for the info! Yeah I would have been a bit worried if EA started having any controlling interest.
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Wow, I’d not noticed that the ESRB age rating was so low (of course, it remains to be seen what PEGI gives it). This is a good thing, I suppose, though it’s still surprising. Presumably Chell in the singleplayer can still be crushed, shot, burned, disintegrated, subsumed by toxic waste, etc. – how do these ratings work again?
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http://www.esrb.org/ratings/synopsis.jsp?Certificate=30729
The “Fantasy” bit of “Fantasy Violence” is important. They define fantasy violence as “Violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life.”
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Today VelvetFist is Lord Knowledge of Clever III. I’m learning a lot today!
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Yeah, thanks for that, VelvetFist. Interesting.
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Neat. I’m not entirely sure why Valve wouldn’t do this kind of thing in-house, given all their experience with making trailers and Meet Thes.
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I liked that, but think they’d get allot more intrest from the TV watching public if they made an animation short like the old Pixar animations. Such as: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGxoui3IFS0
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So advertising executives are all bland, soulless lizardfolk wearing square-rimmed glasses and multicoloured vests to look creative? What else is new? :p
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I am so completely sold on those robots. They have more personality than any talking character I’ve seen in a Valve game in a long time, I’d even daresay more so than GlaDOS. In fact, more character than a lot of talking characters in mainstream games over the past few years.
A lot of this could be to do with how they’re not jaded space marines, or jaded soldiers, or jaded adventurers, but robots who’re just discovering the world, full of naivety and wonder, and just beginning to figure out how everything works. That’s an idea I can get behind, because it makes them genuinely interesting to me. I’ve little interest in Portal 2′s single player campaign, but am I ever intrigued by the co-op. I’m going to be buying it just for the co-op, I imagine.
Yes indeed, totally sold on those cheery robotic guys.
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Yeah it’s called the Pixar factor I think. They actually have a few ex-Pixar guys working on it.
And you’re certainly not going to be the only person buying it only for co-op.
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Yeah, that makes sense.
If this is the future of Valve games–at least in part–then colour me very pleased indeed.
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Future of Valve games?
Valve have been great at this sort of thing for some while now. Just look at Dog.
They’re also great at bringing character to a genre that normally makes use of placeholders with Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead.
Which is where a potential problem lies here actually, you can use voices to breath life into multiplayer games, and you can pull off great emotion with silent characters in single player, but silent characters in multiplayer? How does one go about reinforcing emotion in these robots when they are largely restricted to player controlled animations?
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I was talking about more than just the animation alone though. *points at his post.*
I’m well aware that Valve have been grand with animations for a while now, and many a time I’ve brought up the quality of facial animations in Source and how well they’ve been used. It’s a safe bet then that I’m also aware of Dog. So I’ll clarify me post just to ensure that it’s completely crystal clear! I mean, it can’t hurt, it saves other people from getting confused and all.
Right. Point is this: Valve have been and are good at doing animations. Yes, of course. That’s a given. They’re splendid at it. Marvelous even. But they haven’t done so much in the way of characterful animation, body language, visual cues, and things that would carry a character off without any spoken words whatsoever. The sort of animation that really brings something to life, and goes well beyond the simple superlative adeptness at animation that Valve pulled off in their prior games.
I think Butler said it best when he mentioned the Pixar factor. That’s a great point. And I’m sorry but their animations just hadn’t reached that point before now, where you could actually see emotion rather than just hearing it in the voice of a voice-actor, where the visuals were compelling enough to actually be fun by the merit of the visuals alone, where you could relate to what the characters were and are doing, again, without the need for spoken word. It’s an almost magical element that’s been lost from recent animation.
Disney was great at it, so is Pixar, Dreamworks too. The thing is is that the qualities of these two robots are kind of like the qualities of Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon. And that’s some bloody high praise indeed. The robots are a bit silly, yes, but at the same time they seem more alive to me than Valve’s entire cast of characters put together. That is, to say it again, probably what Butler was referring to as the Pixar factor. And this is precisely the element I’m talking about here.
I’m hoping for more of this sort of animation, where they have characters who’ll be able to pull off this level of… well, character and personality. I’m sorry to say it, but those robots have more character in one of their servos than Alyx has in her entire body. Attractive to some she may be, but Miss Congeniality she is not. And yes, this is all my opinion. Of course it is. And to wrap all of this up – if they continue with this sort of thing, in other games, then I’ll be a very happy man indeed.
To be honest, I’m a bit bored of serious games in serious settings where everything is so serious that everyone seems to have forgotten the very merits of imagination and creativity. So something like the co-op mode of Portal 2 is a breath of fresh air for me. I just hope it won’t be a one-off.
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So was I. *points at his post and then picks his nose*
But animation is important, especially when its how your achieving this character, and while trailers and ads are nice I have no idea how Valve are going to pull this off when they become player controlled in game.
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That music really reminds of that other soundtrack for this other SCIENCE! movie.
Then again, I don’t have a problem with that.
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