Think you can cook up more challenging Portal 2 test chambers than GLaDOS or Wheatley? You’re in luck. Valve has released a beta set of authoring tools for the game that will let you create your own levels. The download is free for anyone who owns the PC version, and you can find it under the tools tab of the Steam client.
Here's another Portal 2 map I have worked on using the in-game Puzzle Maker. This time around I planned to create a more difficult level, something which I found much more difficult - testing my own knowledge of the game mechanics, making me think more about how other puzzles are usually structured.
- Portal’s Puzzle Maker is a simplified version of the authoring tools used by the game development team. Users can create and publish their own‘levels,’ or Portal 2 puzzles. Creating solvable puzzles that have interesting and appropriate challenges is a high-order cognitive and creative task for students to engage in. Portal 2 is available.
- The download is free for anyone who owns the PC version, and you can find it under the tools tab of the Steam client. According to Valve, the authoring tools are the very same ones used to create.
According to Valve, the authoring tools are the very same ones used to create the game. Enterprising modders will be able to make single-player or co-op maps in addition to adding their own skins, models, sound effects, and music. Valve will even hook you up with Gareth Stephen Merchant and Vern J.K. Simmons if you want custom voice-over work. Just kidding.
Portal‘s puzzle-infused gameplay lends itself well to user-created levels, and I’m curious to see whether modders will embrace the game. Valve has already promised to release new test chambers as part of a free DLC package that’s being targeted for this summer. Given its history with the mod community, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Valve include the best user-created test chambers in future DLC releases—and poach their authors to work on the next chapter in the series. Thanks to Joystiq for the tip.
If you needed something fun to do tonight or for the next decade (or more) until Portal 3 releases, the Portal 2 Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC is now available. In non-hilarious, real-life non-Portal terms, that’s the game’s level creator. It’s free, and if that doesn’t tickle your seemingly untickleable fancy, the DLC contains new Cave Johnson dialogue, and he was your favorite part of Portal 2. Don’t deny it. Since you rightly love him so much, check out his hilarious letter to all of you regarding the level creator below. He’s angry.
If there’s one thing the Internet has shown us besides the copious amounts and staggering variety of porn in the world, it’s that creative people without much of an outlet are extremely good at making things when given said outlet. So, one of the Internet’s favorite video game series, which happens to feature tricky puzzles as the core gameplay, just became a creative outlet.
Here’s Cave Johnson’s letter to all of you.
TO: All Aperture employees
FROM: Cave Johnson
COMPANY MEMORANDUM
Cave Johnson here. Your boss. It’s come to my attention that some of you are concerned after receiving my all-staff memo yesterday (“You: Design Test Chambers or You’re Fired”). So to put your minds at ease, let me clarify: You are not mentally ill and you did read the memo just fine. It was real. You should be designing test chambers, right now and at all times, or by God I will fire you.
Having said that, let’s be honest: Some of you are incapable of designing a test chamber, whatever the motivation. You’re only getting marginally better results than a dog would. Worse, actually. A dog designing even a substandard test chamber’d be pretty damned impressive, let’s not kid ourselves.
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But don’t worry, you’re not fired yet. It turns out there’s an even better job you can do instead of being fired: Getting launched into an infinite series of alternate Earths to evaluate all the test chambers your smarter coworkers are making.
Wait, it gets better: I’ll be right there with you. Every step of the way, whether the tests work or not, Cave’ll be by your side, facing whatever life-threatening dangers we might run into out there. And even better, I won’t actually physically be there. I’ll be here, talking into a microphone, from complete and total safety. That way the people who’ll be monitoring whether you’re still alive won’t have to split their focus worrying about me.
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So there you have it. Everyone’s useful in the Perpetual Testing Initiative. Except Peter Jenkins, which brings me to the point of this memo: Pete, you’re fired.
Alright, that should wrap it up. Everybody except Pete get back to work when this sentence finishes… now.
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Better get to work.
(h/t PC Gamer)
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