Gang Garrison II rendered Team Fortress 2 in loving 2D and Portal: The Flash Version was so successful its levels were released in 3D then even the Xbox 360 port, but ASCIIpOrtal takes the Valve 2D remake lark to dizzying new heights.

Joe Larson's free 2D version of Valve's holey puzzle game Portal is rendered purely with text characters, yet creates portals so authentic they almost hurt to look at. Levels can be created simply by 'drawing' in a text file, putting the ASCII skills of your youth to good use.

ASCIIpOrtal is up for download on Larson's website. If you're anxious about having your melon twisted, check out the following pre-release dev diary then hop to it... Read more

A video that appears to show a Unity-coded version of Valve's first-person puzzler Portal has been posted on Youtube.

While immediately suspect for looking as good as it does, there are enough differences between the one-room demo and the full version of Portal to suggest that the effort is authentic. The original poster claims that the video is the result of three weeks of work.

PocketGamer seems to buy into it, but we'll let you guys be the judge on this one.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

After announcing an agreement nearly one year ago today, Valve has updated its Orange Box games--Team Fortress 2, Half-Life 2, and Portal--to support Novint's Falcon three-dimensional controller.

Left 4 Dead, Counter-Strike: Source and Day of Defeat will also soon receive similar updates.

The $150 Novint Falcon (shown left with optional pistol grip) was released in 2006. The three-dimensional "haptic" device is operated by a small spherical grip connected to three robotic arms.

The device's motors react to in-game events, with the end result... Read more

For the second time this month, a fan of Valve's work has taken things into their own hands, and produced a real-life replica of some previously virtual in-game item. Last time, it was a Team Fortress 2 dispenser. This time? The gun from Portal.

Flickr user emilyskeith received the Volpin Props-commissioned device from her boyfriend. As with the real virtual thing, the gun's barrel lights up in blue and orange, with little red lights on the prongs. It's even got battle wear, complete with blood splatter.

Fortunately, the replica differs from its in-game counterpart as it's (theoretically) safe to touch said prongs and is powered by a 9V battery. Sadly, an all-knowing, smart-quipping disembodied robotic voice and dependable, lovable companion cube were not included. And surely you know better than to expect cake, or some kind of joke to that end.

Beloved developer Valve has released lifetime retail sales figures for some of its more popular games, including the Half-Life and Counter-Strike series, revealing that the studio has sold over 32.8 million games since the 1998 release of the first Half-Life.

Sales from Valve's digital distribution client are not factored in, with the figures only accounting for worldwide retail sales. With Half-Life 2, Valve began simultaneously releasing all of its PC games at retail and via Steam. The numbers were originally printed in the November issue of Game Informer, then republished by Gamasutra.

Furthermore, it was not specified if the figures of multiplatform games--Half-Life, Half-Life 2, The Orange Box--included both PC and console sales, or just PC.

• Half-Life (Valve) / 1998 - 9.3 Million
• Half-Life: Opposing Force (PC, Gearbox) / 1999 - 1.1 Million
• Half-Life: Blue Shift (PC, Gearbox) / 2001 - 800,000
  
  
• Counter-Strike (PC, Valve) / 2000 - 4.2 Million
• Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (PC, Valve) / 2004 - 2.9 Million... Read more

Not content with PopCap sending over mere cookies, Microsoft has taken things to the next level in its effort to promote this week's release of Valve's Portal: Still Alive through the Xbox 360's online Xbox Live Arcade platform.

That's right, Microsoft sent over an Aperture Science-branded box of Delicious & Moist Cake Mix, bundled with a hand-written note that promises, "The cake was not a lie."

Of course, leave it to Aperture Science to be a little on the shady side. If you read the fine print for that "Get Your Own Weighted Companion Cube" ad, it's revealed that "this limited-time offer is a complete fabrication." And I'm pretty confident that Aperture just took a box of Betty Crocker Cake Mix and threw a new label on top.

Then again, when it comes to cake, do you think Aperture really cares about ethics? Just look at these ingredients, some of them don't belong in a non-lethal cake... Read more

Microsoft has announced that Valve's enhanced re-release of its wit-driven puzzle-shooter Portal will arrive in the Xbox 360's online Xbox Live Marketplace next Wednesday, October 22, priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15).

Titled Portal: Still Alive, the downloadable Xbox Live Arcade version packs the beloved original along with 14 new challenge maps and 6 advanced maps, but contains no additional plot details or commentary from the ever-present GLaDOS.

The "new" levels are based off those found in Hen Mazolski's free PC release of Portal: The Flash Version MapPack, sporting some subtle design tweaks but no major enhancements, Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi revealed earlier this year.

"Aperture Science is pleased to inform you that your cake is indeed waiting for you and that the Weighted Companion Cube misses you in your absence," reads the release.

Valve previously released an Xbox 360 version of Portal as part of last year's mega-bundle The Orange Box, which is also available on PC and PlayStation 3.

Prior to working with Sony on the physics-based platformer LittleBigPlanet (PS3), developer Media Molecule has revealed that it was working on a game described "more Portally than Portal" and "Portal, but with scale factor."

The company even met with Valve, which suggested the two work on the game together.

"We were very tempted," studio co-founder Alex Evans told Kikizo. "But in the end we decided to talk to Sony and they just got the game at the beginning."

Media Molecule had previously worked with Valve for the Steam release of its physics-driven action game Rag Doll Kung Fu.

Developed internally at Valve, Portal (PC, PS3, 360) and its wit-driven take on puzzle-action shooting was released last fall to critical acclaim. It was inspired by the 2005 independent game Narbacular Drop, the creators of which are now at Valve.

LittleBigPlanet, originally unveiled in early 2007 as part of Sony's Game Developers Conference presentation, is slated arrive on October 21 as a PS3 exclusive.

The extra content contained in Valve's Xbox Live Arcade port of its wit-driven puzzle-shooter Portal is already freely available on PC, the developer has revealed.

The bonus levels are simply culled from Hen Mazolski's Portal: The Flash Version MapPack with no major enhancements, Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi told former Shacknews editor Chris Remo.

Bringing the levels from the fan-made Flash version of Portal to the actual game, the map pack was released as a free download for the PC edition earlier this year.

Lombardi further clarified that the levels will not include any new story elements or commentary from GLaDOS.

Billed as an Xbox 360 exclusive, Portal: Still Alive is slated to hit Xbox Live Marketplace later this year.

An expanded edition of Valve's wit-driven puzzle effort Portal will hit Xbox 360 this fall as an exclusive downloadable Xbox Live Arcade release, Microsoft announced today.

In addition to the already-released single-player game, the Xbox Live Arcade edition of Portal will include additional test chambers through a new challenge mode, and new achievements.

Traditionally, a game's status as "Xbox 360 exclusive" refers to consoles, not PCs--suggesting that a PC release of Portal: Still Alive is quite possible, especially given Valve's past emphatic support of the platform.

Astute fans of Portal may remember the quirky Flash version, released prior to the Valve title by the self-styled "group of nerds" at We Create Stuff.

Now the group has converted the same levels from the Flash version into actual PC Portal maps, available for download at the We Create Stuff website.

The developers estimate the 40 levels will add up to some three and a half hours of additional Portal gameplay, and early word from Shacknews community member DrWaffles indicates the pack is worth your time. If it's been a while since you've loaded up Portal, this sounds like a good excuse.

Valve's attempts to sell the wit-driven puzzle effort Portal separately through the online Xbox Live Arcade were shot down by Microsoft, the studio has revealed.

Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi said that the critically acclaimed title—awarded 2007 Game of the Year by the Shacknews staff and our readers—was held up by restrictions such as Xbox Live's recently increased 150 megabyte file size limit.

"We'd love to do that. Right now it's something we'd love to do. I'd love to sell Portal on Xbox Live," Lombardi told GamesIndustry. "[But] the platform holders... Read more

Caution: The full text of this article contains spoilers.

Don't tell anyone, but some of Portal's best dialog, the stuff about the importance of your weighed companion cube, came from writer Eric Wolpaw's readings of some "declassified government interrogation thing."

From that, he learned "isolation leads subjects to begin to attach to inanimate objects." So when designer Kim Swift and the rest of the small Portal team at Valve, which was never larger than ten people, were trying to make players drag "this stupid thing" (Swift's exact words) all over a map, Wolpaw had an idea.

His solution? Have a piece of dialog that implied the box was the player's only friend in the world. "After that, no one ever forget the box," Swift noted. "When all else fails, great dialog really was a great tool to give hints to players."

Making the Player Smile
"On its own, the [Portal] gameplay would be alright. Honestly, a little on the dry side," said Swift, emphasizing the importance of clever writing in the beloved title.

"If you're writing a funny game, first of all, god help you," admitted... Read more

Valve's hit puzzler Portal took home the prestigious Game of the Year award at the 8th annual Game Developers Choice Awards last night in San Francisco.

In all the team from Valve tallied three trophies for the title, including Innovation and Best Game Design.

2K Boston matched that number by winning three awards for its spooky shooter BioShock, in the categories of Best Audio, Best Visual Art, and Best Writing.

Civilization designer Sid Meier was on hand to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, with inventor video game pioneer Ralph Baer receiving a well-deserved Pioneer Award.

The full list of award recipients can be found below. ... Read more

"It's kinda a golden age of gaming. We're seeing some great games out there."

But after rifling through a half dozen titles he's played recently--including Advance Wars, Mercenaries, and Halo--Sid Meier, legendary Firaxis designer, admitted that he has yet to play Valve's Portal.

"When [Civilization Revolution] is done. On my pile of games to play."

With the upcoming release of Civilization Revolution, much of the Game Developers Conference Q&A with Meier was unsurprisingly devoted to the addictive strategy series he is known for.

Speaking of his team's early days on the original Civ, it turns out that even Meier was shocked at how enticing a round of Civilization could be.

"I actually did not really expect the game to be as addictive as it was," said Meier. "Every game had its fans but this kind of universal addictiveness.. was scary."

Meier went on to admit that much of the winning Civilization design... Read more

Update: Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi has clarified that plans to bring new maps and content to the console editions of Team Fortress 2 are still up in the air.

Original Story: The new Team Fortress 2 maps headed to the PC soon will also be available on the console editions at no cost, according to Eurogamer.

The maps will come in the form of downloadable packs on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. No release date was given for the content, though the Badlands and Goldrush maps are due out on the PC next month, with a CTF version of Well already having seen release.

In an interview with the site, Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi also mentioned that the company's hit puzzle-action title Portal will not be a one-and-done release.

"There'll be more Portal, for sure," said Lombardi. "But the details of that, to be honest, we're still working out."

An extended PC demo of Valve Software's 2007 hit (and Shacknews Game of the Year by both readers and editors) Portal (PC, PS3, X360) will be made available for free to gamers with NVIDIA graphics cards, the developer announced today.

The demo, called Portal: First Slice, comes as part of a recent agreement between Valve and NVIDIA to "collaborate on development, distribution, events, and more." Gamers equipped with NVIDIA graphics cards looking to give the test chambers and deathtraps of the Aperture Science labs a trial run must allow Steam to auto-detect their NVIDIA cards to unlock the demo.

First Slice and the collaborative campaign between the two companies marks a departure from the former marketing team-up between ATI and Valve, shifted by an increase in NVIDIA hardware use among Steam gamers. "More Steam gamers, including myself, play on NVIDIA hardware than any other GPU," said Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi, citing Valve's frequent gamer hardware surveys.

Portal: First Slice is available for immediate download from Steam—provided, of course, that you've got an NVIDIA card under the hood. Like Valve's previous free game offer for ATI users, this download also includes Half-Life 2: The Lost Coast and Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, as well as Peggle Extreme.

There's a Q&A with Valve's Erik Wolpaw on Rock, Paper, Shotgun, asking the writer about his work at Double Fine and now Valve.

Welcome to the Replay Couch, where we kick back and watch the best, and worst, of recorded video game history. Each week we'll be offering up a compilation of captures from the world of insane speed-runs, chance kills, competitive moments, and hilarious happenings, from the past and present.

This installment begins with a highlight of Valve's puzzler Portal, a game tailor-made for inventive attempts. This will be followed by a few clips from games such as Team Fortress 2, Halo 3, Skate, StarCraft, and Garry's Mod. Check it all out here; at the end of the show, there will be cake.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Want more? Click through for an abundance of moving pictures.

For this week's ShackCast, Remo spent some time hands-on with Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) and several of its new characters--Pit from Kid Icarus, Meta Knight from the Kirby series, the new Samus and her Zero Suit form, and the just-revealed Sonic the Hedgehog.

Nick was at Epic's offices checking out Unreal Tournament 3, which he feels is underrepresented by its recent demo. Carlos met with Sierra to check out several upcoming PC and Xbox Live Arcade downloadable games; some--such as Aces of the Galaxy and Commanders: Attack of the Genos--are promising, and some--Battlestar Galactica--are not.

Plus, all of us played through Portal and loved it, because it is lovely. Finally, we discuss Double Fine's new game announcement and Electronic Arts' acquisition of BioWare and Pandemic Studios.

Don't forget to send in your questions and comments about video games, the Shack, or the ShackCast to shackcast@shacknews.com!

Play or download the podcast now, or browse the episodes through iTunes, RSS, or Digg--or continue on for the full breakdown. ... Read more