Rumination Analysis on Portal

[@DarkStar1406]

I’m sorry to hear that you get a lot of negative private comments so let me go ahead and put this out there to try and bring some balance to the universe because it needs to be said: You Arch are awesome! I can’t believe how many hundereds of hours of enjoyment I have been given watching your lets plays, ruminations and discussions. You have enhanced my enjoyment of so many great games, films, TV shows and characters with your thought provoking work and I am deeply grateful for it. In short to reiterate what has already been said: You Archengeia are AWESOME!

[@billsutherby]

I spent about 3 minutes at the beginning of this video wondering why there was cake on your bed behind you. Then I facepalmed when it dawned on me. Very nice touch. I particularly remember a line for GLaDOS early on when you first encounter the deadly water, she says something like "Coming into contact with the water will result in immediate failure of the test, a negative mark on your test score.... and death". The obvious implication being that the test results were far more important to her than your life is.

[@RevolverRez]

Wait, is that cake in the background? Oh you. Entertaining and interesting stuff as always, I really enjoy having these videos on in the background.

[@salmonking007]

Lol at the cake in the background!

[@kblargh]

I read down the first row of comments to see if this was already mentioned, so apologies if i'm beating the drum, but we do know something about Chell's history, from implied info in Portal 2. Chell was one of the kids who did the science assignment on the "Bring your Daughter to Work" day (all those potato batteries). She was the one whose potato grew right into the ceiling, by way of some "secret ingredient from Dad's work". Considering that was the day GLaDOS went online, it's a relatively safe bet that she lost at least her father that day, and has been a prisoner inside Aperture since childhood. It paints a rather heavy picture of her, and might imply she hasn't actually said a single word in a long, long time. Which in turn makes me think you probably already knew about it, because this is the first time i ever heard of the People Bound and Gagged inside the Cube theory. Now at first glance i'd think that's crazy, for a lot of reasons - most of which are just common sense (i mean, does the thing even have the size to store a person, provided said person doesn't die at one of the chambers first?). Still, it does make one think. If i have nightmares about it, i'm blaming you.

[@Vorodill]

Great rumination. *Says this while holding a companion cube cuddly toy which was bought online*

[@OhManTFE]

I remember the most difficult puzzle in Portal 2 co-op, which I solved - literally jumping out of my chair to run to my mate to explain the solution - was that one where you hda to both jump through your own portals, flying and colliding in mid-air, cancelling out each other's momentum and dropping onto the platform.

[@TheBoundBowman]

Well done, Arch. The enrichment center once again reminds you that Android hell is a real place, where you will be sent at the first sign of defiance.

[@padawanmage71]

You can probably imagine my eyes bulging at the point where you discuss what *might* be in the companion cubes...now all those pictures, memes, etc. of people loving their 'cubes' makes a form of horrific sense. Either way, great Rumination!

[@Braigwen]

The Voice Actress for GLaDOS is [Insert Name Here].

[@alexraffeo3629]

I always assumed that Portal 2 was probably a few years after Portal 1. The fact that it is CENTURIES later makes things make much more sense. Thanks for the new info!

[@MugWump]

It appears that the cake may not in fact be a lie! That was a fun rumination Arch - thanks as always for taking the time.

[@JordanFromJersey]

It took me about 30 seconds to realize why the cake was on Arch's bed. And now I feel really stupid that it took me that long...

[@EatinBubsy]

Seriously love your videos. They're so precise, eloquent and considered. Always a fresh perspective. Also weirdly relaxing..?

[@fatsqueek2657]

Wow, never actually heard the Companion Cube theory, but it definitely seems like something that Valve would allude to. Great rumination about an awesome game.

[@monkeytime9851]

I realize that these are really old now, but I'm seeing them for the first time (5 years later) and I'm really enjoying the stuff you put together. Very in depth and very insightful. Loved your dragon age one and this is good too.

[@Braigwen]

Haha! The cake! The cake is real, right?

[@daph.leppard]

What I loved about this game is how it made me feel.Yes, it is a short game.yes it took me like 3 hours to beat however...Those 3 hours took months.I couldn't play for more that 10-15 mins. per session because it made me feel so lonely.I felt so desperate and the lack of NPC, the sterile environment of the labs.I just felt like I was suffocating in there and I liked that a lot.It evoked so many feelings.

[@Wesker10000]

As soon as I saw this a small 'Yay!' emitted from my orifice. ...That sounded way more dirty than I intended.

[@OmniOtter]

Nice cake on the bed. Also, it's nice to see you ruminate on one of my favorite games (including Portal 2). When I first played both games, I didn't look into the subtleties much. But on subsequent play throughs, I really payed attention, and both game were very horrifying in their own way.

[@GentleHeretic]

I'd love to hear your thoughts about Shodan... Heck, I'd like to hear you talk about System Shock.

[@Farmeryeti]

Yeah, I've always said I'd rather have a 5 hour game that I can play through 5 times and enjoy every single time rather than a 25 hour game that I get bored with halfway through. Or I guess a better way of putting it is saying I'd rather have a game that's 5 hours long and every hour's a blast rather than a 25 hour game that's got 15 blast hours and 10 boring ones.

[@FrozenHollowFox]

Great Rumination as per usual. That vs. game thing made me chuckle a little, because KOTOR and KOTOR2 would be in the same category, which is funny considering that Fallout New Vegas and KOTOR2 was made by Obsidian, an odd parallel. The thing about smaller content games is in my opinion, should either be packaged together with other games (like the Orange Box) or charged at a lower price (like the Stick of Truth). Regarding the nervousness about talking about 'popular' games, understandable, but really it only helps you, as you would think more and more on them. That cake seems very important....

[@FooQuuxman]

Give in to your geekiness! You know it to be true! Thank you arch for your frequent and fantastic videos, in case there is any doubt: THEY ARE ENJOYED!

[@lipeckih]

First time I've heard about companion cubes. It does seem in line with the general tone of the game, yes. But so is that gmod asset that makes the cube slowly crawl towards you when you aren't looking, and that was fan-made. So...

[@mentalglitch9603]

Another superb video. I love listening to all if these

[@Greaseball01]

Also, I took the companion cube personality thing to be an implication that by that point in the testing process test subjects would have developed a propensity for insane behavior, due to the stress that came from them being aware of how horrifying their situation was. That's also somewhat informed by the Rat Man comic that they brought out in the lead up to Portal 2's release.

[@lcart14]

Portal 1+2 is a great example of bang for your buck in my opinion. I didn't get the games when they first came out, I got them on a steam sale something like a year ago and I beat them both in a day and I had so much fun with them. They had so much personality and game play I had never really seen before since I'm not a huge player of games by Valve. However the Portal games were such a joy for me to play and experience. I love to read all the fan theories and the Portal games inspired me to play the Half Life series because I heard they take place in the same Universe and now I love those games too. I'll always have love for the Portal series.

[@Margrave_of_Brandenburg]

Glad to see this on my Birthday, thanks Arch!

[@RebornVengeance7]

Arch when are you goin to play kotor

[@Supergrunt8]

That cake looks delicious.

[@LukeSparrow221]

Hey Arch, Seeing as you said you prefer the more psychological aspects of horror (something is wrong in the background), I was wondering if you'd ever be interested in doing a rumination of Silent Hill 2 or 3, though I'd say 2 moreso fits your category of horror. What do you think?

[@IQ2992]

What is the name of that song at the end of the video? I HAVE to know its so EPIC!

[@FaceEnjoysVidyaLP]

As someone who primarily plays RPGS and Strategy games, I can say Portal is one of the few games that breaks the mold of its genre (puzzle in this case), that I need to play through it.

[@IQ2992]

I know this sounds crazy but i never played portal. Thought it was just a boring puzzle game but this video makes me intrigued about it. Had no idea it was real deep cuz i never saw a playthough of it either. I tend to be "late to the party" on alot of things.

[@RKade15]

The stretch around the 16 minute mark where you just flip back and forth between "I won't talk about it. But it's the best.. but I said I wouldn---but it's so good!" Is delightful. Great discussion as always, it totally never clicked with me that GLADoS wanted the morality core destroyed - it makes perfect sense but somehow I never caught that. Regarding the Companion Cube Theory, I remember this being a big thing online, and while it's a lot of fun as a theory I don't think it holds up within the setting. There's no real good reason as to why it would be true... GLADoS is always presented as being evil in how calculated and inhuman she is *cough*thematicpoetryinthesequel*cough*, never through being truly hateful (until her morality core is axed). her lies and cold demeanor are purely for the sake of 'testing.' The only argument for it would be she was observing the effects of dealing with a cube that's begging for help while you're told you're hallucinating (which is terrifying to think about). The other point being, why wouldn't your cube be talking to you? And I mean, that could be a whole discussion in itself... (control groups, time passage, volunteer availability, etc etc..). Regardless, there is intentional ambiguity surrounding the companion cube, and it's super effective in setting tone.

[@Snardbafulator]

The Companion Cube theory? I don't think so and here's why ... First, the obvious point that you'd have to be chopped up to fit in a cube; it's just too small to fit a functional human body, nor do the physics imply that kind of weight ... More importantly, there's a much better explanation that's also quite dark psychologically. GLaDOS gives the game away in the first long hallway, when she lists the symptoms commonly experienced by Enrichment Center test subjects (the darkness there is that Wolpaw or one of the writers actually read this in recently-declassified intel agency documents) and one of them is the tendency to believe inanimate objects are alive ... So what GLaDOS is doing is *fucking with you.* She's taking that tendency and amping it up to 11, and then adds a gratuitous "euthanization" process at the end, in the hopes you'll find it brutally traumatic. Why? Emotional sadism seems to cover it ... Now there are game mechanic reasons for that level to require a player to drag the cube through most of it (to use as a footstool, to deflect energy balls, etc.) and according to the developer commentary, play testers tended to abandon the cube. So they built in the Companion Cube story as a way to facilitate the game play. And made it extremely dark. Why, after all, would you need an incinerator? If you tried to take the cube past the emancipation grill into the chamber lock, it would get fizzled like everything else, right? This was training, to introduce the player to the incinerator mechanic for the boss battle (and also, to set up a little sweet revenge for when we get to do this to parts of GLaDOS). You don't need to get too literal here. The darkness just *oozes* from the things GLaDOS says if you hesitate for a moment (and the incinerator timing is quite strict). The Enrichment Center is absolved of all responsibility by "independent ethicists." Although the euthanization process is "quite painful," eight out of ten Aperture Science engineers "believe" that the Cube is incapable of feeling "much" pain. The equivocations are brutal ;) There doesn't have to be an actual human being in a cube. This is psychological torture ;)

[@ostingguitar]

I think I am one of the few people that were not affected by the companion cube part. I laughed a little, but that was it. After I finished the game, I looked for reviews and comments and everybody was saying how amazing and creative this part was. I can appreciate the idea now, but at the time, for some odd reason, it didn't catch my attention. That said, I still think Portal is a perfect example of good level/puzzle design and above all of gameplay "rythm" (I don't know if this is the right word, but I hope you know what I'm talking about).

[@alexb.e7498]

A late response, but, me too.. for some reason, the Companion cube meant nothing to me.. In fact, I think I found that whole part a bit laughable and was intrigued by how much it affected other People

[@WesselHagen]

As to your final note, Arch, after your rumination I now really feel the desire to reinstall Half-Life to play it again... Can't wait!

[@phillipbrumfield8026]

Hey Archengeia. Mrphilgood here. Just wanted to say that I enjoyed your rumination.

[@juanz888]

Great Video Thanks, i wasnt sure to play the game, maybe i will give it a chance

[@SLGS-productions]

10:30 This didn't age too well (artifact)

[@permeus2nd]

ok im surprised that only 6 people (7 with me) mentions the cake (it looks lovely) even after you eyeballed it. i wonder if anybody else has considered the thought you put into what you are going to have behind you when you make a vid/stream. as for your work been stressful while i have never put out a vid on the internet i have made a dozen or so to try out what its like and if i would want to do it as a hobby (doing it as a living would come later if enough people found it interesting) so i can at least sympathise with you on that i also know what you mean about the been around people been tiring but for me its because i wear a mask when im around people.

[@WesselHagen]

One can't not say this: The cake is a lie!

[@Wesker10000]

So about the cube theory: 1. Would those people suffocate in a box like that? 2. When do the cubes actually talk? I've played this game a few times and don't remember hearing it talk.

[@0xlamon]

1. They would. 2. After 5th glass of whiskey.

[@Repeeli]

I think people have that "I don't want to review something because I think I can't add anything new to it" attitude way too often. I'm not sure for others, but I watch specific people (like Archengeia) because I enjoy HIS view on things, no matter what his opinions are and no matter what the subject is. I don't care if 100 other popular reviewers have reviewed the things before, because I clicked YOUR video for YOUR opinion. I also think that you think most subjects way more deeply than other reviewers, which really brings some things into new light for me at least. It's very interesting and informative to listen/watch your videos because of that. Just my opinion. :)

[@IamDootsdoot]

On the horror part, I actually felt I should stop playing the game when I found myself laughing at the turrets. I just felt like I was so twisted and depraved for laughing like a maniac at how absurd the turrets were and just how disturbing they are.(companion cube theory not withstanding at this point- that theory, when I saw it a few weeks after having played the game, mad me never want to play it ever again.) Eventually I picked it back up, but I felt like I had just kicked a puppy. As for getting stuck, I got stuck, for what seemed, every 5 levels and then every level, and it would not be just a few minutes. I got stuck on 18 or 19 for about 50 minutes. Albeit, I am bad, horrendously bad, at puzzle games. It took me a full 10 hours and then some to complete this game. Make fun all ya like. :P

[@alexb.e7498]

I got stuck on Chamber 18 for awhile aswell.. it was the only Chamber that was actually a bit difficult

[@Maz345]

What's the song at the end? It sounds familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. Is it one of your renditions?

[@Lorerunner]

Yeah that's another one of my remixes of a song from the Lufia series.

[@detpistonsff7]

Archengeia Maz345 It was bothering me too...I knew I heard it somewhere before, but then it just came to me. You a fan of Demon's Souls? Look up Maiden Astraea's theme...The beginning of this song sounds very similar to that one. Oh and btw Arch - if there ever was a game that needed your thought provoking analysis/insight it is the Souls series. Not sure if you've played them or not...

[@gurufabbes1]

Companion cube makes no sense. Glados actively is resistent that Cell should leave as she needs human test subjects. If there were plenty in the cubes, then she would be replaceable

[@Greaseball01]

Wait wait wait, you're telling me that doodads is an actual programming term? That's hilarious.

[@TheMarosis]

I see what you did there Arch o_o

[@12azo12]

Do you get a lot of feedback complaining about your geeking out? I really enjoy them :D

[@peters.9371]

I would rather pay full sticker price for a shorter game of very high quality because im more likely to actually play it. I've got about 100 different games on steam most of which I have only a few hours on yet I still keep coming back to my favourite games like dishonored portal and celeste which are pretty short I mean the first time I played portal I beat the entire thing in one sitting, and when I was playing other longer games i had to remind myself to play them...

[@TheRixtah1]

I take your side in regard to gameplay length. I would have enjoyed games like Dragon Age: Inquisition so much more if the routes between plot driven quests were not over flowing with fetch quest filler.

[@josiahtheobald689]

I did not know that portal was set in the same universe as half-life

[@TreuloseTomate]

Portal got away with being short because it was part of the Orange Box. I personally would not pay 50$ for Portal alone. And since you've mentioned how bad the Portal 2 workshop is, you should check out Mevious' maps (oldest first). He has made a lot of short and well designed brain teasers. I'd also recommend the collection No Elements. The map editor is the best thing that has happened to Portal 2.

[@Jorsett]

Did Portal ever go for ~50$ if you bought it separate?

[@megamike15]

Jorsett portal on it's own is around 5 bucks and is always bundled with 2 on steam.

[@Shinisoup]

I can't think of a reason for there being people in the cubes, as nice of a creepy thought as it is, there's just no reason. Although it would explain why GLaDOS specifically refers to them as "weighted", I always thought it was strange that that needed announcing. Also we know from the comic that Chell doesn't have a filed surname, perhaps she isn't the only one, maybe there were children specifically taken (or given) to Aperture for the purpose of later becoming cubes and so were stripped of last names that could have been used to link them to their parents. But maybe Chell was slightly too heavy to meet the criteria of the cubes, hence why GLaDOS always insults her by calling her fat. Again though... why would you need to put people in cubes?

[@Jman92854]

It's kinda tough to answer. I mean, Aperture, despite obviously breaking ground in certain areas like making a portable portal device, turrets that fire spring-loaded bullets (so they say, but I find it odd there's still the bangs and flashes like when bullets are normally fired) and putting a human's brain into a computer and so on, has done a lot of questionable things. They cut corners, putting a lot of lives at risk, putting safety last on their list of priorities.If you were a test subject, your death wouldn't matter, unless you proved that whatever you were assigned to test didn't work. If we saw Aperture in it's golden years, chances are there would be a high body count, even before GLaDOS was turned on.

[@EatinBubsy]

Good video.

[@pimptastic4206]

Loved it

[@Mrcrazy80]

This is quite trivial, and I feel... kind of silly for bringing it up, but my name still isn't showing in the Patreon credits roll-thing. It is possible that it's an issue on Patreon's side, but nevertheless, I felt it necessary to point this out. Forgive me, ugh.

[@Lorerunner]

Arvid Axelsson Real quick which name should be showing up? Unless it's Arvid Axelsson.

[@Lorerunner]

Arvid Axelsson Nevermind previous comment, did some looking. Arvid Axelsson IS in the credits, if you look at about 44:45 on the video, you're on the left side under Kaideec and above Jonathan D. Kirk Jr.

[@Mrcrazy80]

Archengeia Holy crap, there it is! Sorry about that. Eye-fart, I guess. Thanks.

[@DariusMakesContent]

If you have an Xbox can you go over Halo CE.

[@DariusMakesContent]

Wait nevermind I forgot it was also on PC... Just do Halo CE

[@signaltome]

Valve, the company that cannot count to three. Or maybe they are just allergic to it? ;-) Anyway, good game, when they were still making games instead of earning huge amounts of revenue through Steam. Oh well...

[@joeschulte2972]

Who else saw the cake immediately?

[@AndreyNsk89]

Companion cube theory... :'(

[@DE235]

I forget did you already do half life?

[@Lorerunner]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4izZaWigaijf9U

[@Snufflegrunt]

Valve released Ricochet. Do you think that's a good game?!?!

[@jacksonelh]

You sound like the white version of tay zonday.