Kicking off the DICE summit in Las Vegas today was a keynote presentation by Valve head Gabe Newell and Star Trek director J.J. Abrams. At the talk, the two teased that they were interested in working together on future collaborations. "There's an idea we have for a game that we'd like to work with Valve on," Abrams said, while Newell said: "We're super excited about that and we also want to talk about making movies, either a Portal movie or a Half-Life movie."

But how serious are the pair in making their wants a reality? Apparently, pretty serious. "It's as real as anything in Hollywood ever gets," Abrams said. "Which is that we are really talking to Valve, we are going to be bringing on a writer, we have a lot of very interesting ideas."

Read more: Abrams aware of gaming's 'cautionary tales' »

Now that Steam's all couch-friendly thanks to Big Picture mode, it'd be nice if more games were reconfigured for slouching. Oh, what luck! Just after I write that sentence apropos of nothing, I notice that Valve has released a Portal 2 patch enabling split-screen co-op in its puzzle 'em up.

Read more: Modders had enabled split-screen before »

After making a quiet debut at E3, the "In Motion" DLC for Portal 2 will be available to download on the PlayStation Store next Tuesday, November 6th.

"In Motion" is a DLC expansion designed for PlayStation Move. It's identical to the Sixense expansion released on PC--only you won't need a $100 motion controller to use it. With the Move, you'll get access to a whole new slew of gameplay options, like stretching boxes and rotating objects. You'll also be able to "portal surf."

Watch: 'In Motion' with PlayStation Move »

Valve's first-person puzzler Portal 2 has received a significant update today. For months, players on PC and Mac have been able to create their own puzzles through the "Perpetual Testing Initiative." However, these creations have had to be solitary affairs. No more! Starting today, Portal 2 players will be able to design and play co-op maps.

Read more: Quick Play feature also added »

Valve has opened a new "Steam for Schools" initiative, offering a specially-designed and free version of Steam to educators. It's kicking off the new program with "Teach with Portals," a free version of Portal 2 and the Portal 2 Puzzle Maker offered through SoS to teach kids about science, technology, engineering, and math. And who better to show kids a passion for science than GLaDOS?

Read more: Lesson plans available on parabolas, terminal velocity »

Not many players could access the Sixense MotionPack DLC for Portal 2. Why? Because it required the Razer Hydra PC Gaming Motion Sensing Controller, which costs well over $100. It was an expensive proposition for just ten levels of new Portal 2 content.

There's a new way to access that content, however. It will be available on PS3 later this year, thanks to an upcoming patch which will add PlayStation Move support to Valve's critically acclaimed puzzle shooter.

Read more: Move orb matches portal color »

Portal 2's map creator was only released a few days ago, but it's already being deemed a success based on early results. Players have created more than 35,000 maps, and, those have been downloaded more than 1.3 million times, Valve announced yesterday.

Read more: Portal 2 for $7, Skyrim for $40 »

As promised, Portal 2's "Perpetual Testing Initiative" DLC is now available for everyone that owns the game on Steam. This is a "simplified puzzle maker" that allows players to create, share, and play homemade Portal 2 puzzles via Steam Workshop.

Within an hour of release, there are nearly a hundred maps already created--and that number is likely to increase exponentially.

Read more: Game on sale for 66 percent off »

Were this high school, the idea of a "Perpetual Testing Initiative" would not be met with open arms--even if it were free. However, when Valve announces said program for Portal 2, people get excited.

The next DLC for Portal 2 will be available on PC and Mac on May 8th, the company has announced.

Read more: No support for co-op at launch »

Portal 2 started off as a very different game: one without Chell, GLaDOS, or even portals. Speaking at Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Valve writers Chet Faliszek and Erik Wolpaw talked about the many concepts they had to throw away before they crafted the game that ended up being one of the best games of 2011.

For example, what's that above? It's a rare look at the game's canned competitive multiplayer mode. "While it's fun for about two seconds to drop portals under people and things like that," Wolpaw explained. "It quickly just devolves into pure chaos."

Read more: Other lost concepts »

With Portal, Valve took the mechanic of shooting--something we're very familiar with--and used it in a whole new fashion. Using a gun that opened portals, Valve created a geometry-based puzzle game, the object of which was to use the openings to navigate increasingly challenging test chambers. With that starting point established, Portal 2 hits the ground running.

Portal 2 tricks you into thinking you'd never leave the unfriendly confines of the Aperture Science labs. Then the game blossoms, blowing down the very walls needed for its portals and opens up into a fantastic adventure. Breaking out of the test chambers feels liberating, answering the question: "what could I do with this portal gun in the world outside a test chamber?"

Read more: Why Portal 2 made our 'Top Five' »

Oh, you thought that the industry had finally escaped the grasp of the Spike TV Video Game Awards? Not quite. Here are a few of the "acceptance speeches" that couldn't make it into the program--not because Spike TV decided to ignore most of the winners, but because these digitally rendered characters didn't win.

The Joker won the award for "Best Character," but here are the potential speeches you would've heard had Portal 2's Wheatley or Uncharted 3's Nathan Drake had won.

Watch: Character acceptance speeches »

Defense Grid: The Awakening is getting its first story expansion next week, December 7. Titled "Defense Grid: You Monster," the downloadable content will feature GLaDOS from the Portal series. It will cost $4.99 on Steam or 400 MSP on Xbox 360, and requires the original game to play.

Read more: DLC features, plus a free update »

Valve has hosted Portal 2 map contests in the past, but those tools are more advanced and best suited to the modding community. Now the company is reportedly experimenting with an easier tool set that will be more inviting to aspiring level creators.

Read more: Plus, a new level browser »

To celebrate today's launch of free downloadable content for Portal 2, Valve has slashed the price of the puzzle title for a limited time on Steam.

Starting now and running until Thursday afternoon, a single digital copy of Portal 2 is priced at $14.99 (50% off).

Read more: Bundle packs discounted too »