Valve covertly incorporates ARG into Steam version of Portal
[UPDATE] Deploying surprise in five... four...three... Time out for a second.
Published: March 3, 2010
[UPDATE 2]
Multiple trustworthy sources have confirmed that the new ending is indeed real. We can only hope that Valve won't hold back much longer on their inevitable announcements of Portal 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode 3, or Half-Life 2: Episode Portal. Whatever it shall be, you heard it here first!
[UPDATE 1]
Valve has released yet another secret update to Portal, this time changing the game's ending. A video has appeared on Youtube earlier today, and while its authenticity can neither be confirmed nor denied, it very much looks like Valve is preparing for something huge. However, if you have not finished Portal yet, beware of major spoilers!
[ORIGINAL STORY]
What the heck is going on? First Sony digs out the Y2K bug, secretly trying to eradicate every fat PS3 on the planet, then Activision starts a small nuclear war with arguably the two most successful studio heads in the biz. While that's all bad news, we finally have some of the good kind for you!
Apparently Valve has released a surprise update for the Steam version of Portal. The patch adds one Steam-Achievement titled “Transmission Received”, encouraging players to find all 26 hidden radio signals. In order to do so, players need to pickup the small radios found throughout the game and then simply find the spot in the level from which a mysterious signal can be received.
We wish we were able to say that we figured out what those secret transmissions meant, unfortunately it quickly became apparent that we just aren't smart enough. Luckily the Steam forums (among others) are nothing but a giant pile of intelligent brains, dedicated to nothing but the decryption of this secret message/code thingy.
What has been discovered thus far is that some of these new audio signals are Morse codes, while others can be translated into images with the help of sophisticated audio processing programs. Let me quote a member of the Steam forums: “uber nerdy!”.
Whatever Valve is cooking up with this, it better be big. Current theories include that this is Valve's way of promoting a new Portal game (could it be a sequel, or might it turn out to be a prequel?). Others theorize it could be Episode 3 of Half-Life 2 which might somehow be connected to the Portal universe – after all Aperture Science is Black Mesa's biggest competitor.
We will definitely keep you posted on any new discoveries, and of course the official and not-so-official announcements. As soon as one of the geniuses at the aforementioned forums cracks the code, you'll be first to know (maybe).
I'll let GLaDOS end this one:
Well, you found me. Congratulations. Was it worth it? Because despite your violent behavior, the only thing you have managed to break so far is my heart. Maybe you could settle for that and we'll just call it a day? I guess we both know that isn't going to happen...
Multiple trustworthy sources have confirmed that the new ending is indeed real. We can only hope that Valve won't hold back much longer on their inevitable announcements of Portal 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode 3, or Half-Life 2: Episode Portal. Whatever it shall be, you heard it here first!
[UPDATE 1]
Valve has released yet another secret update to Portal, this time changing the game's ending. A video has appeared on Youtube earlier today, and while its authenticity can neither be confirmed nor denied, it very much looks like Valve is preparing for something huge. However, if you have not finished Portal yet, beware of major spoilers!
[ORIGINAL STORY]
What the heck is going on? First Sony digs out the Y2K bug, secretly trying to eradicate every fat PS3 on the planet, then Activision starts a small nuclear war with arguably the two most successful studio heads in the biz. While that's all bad news, we finally have some of the good kind for you!
Apparently Valve has released a surprise update for the Steam version of Portal. The patch adds one Steam-Achievement titled “Transmission Received”, encouraging players to find all 26 hidden radio signals. In order to do so, players need to pickup the small radios found throughout the game and then simply find the spot in the level from which a mysterious signal can be received.
We wish we were able to say that we figured out what those secret transmissions meant, unfortunately it quickly became apparent that we just aren't smart enough. Luckily the Steam forums (among others) are nothing but a giant pile of intelligent brains, dedicated to nothing but the decryption of this secret message/code thingy.
What has been discovered thus far is that some of these new audio signals are Morse codes, while others can be translated into images with the help of sophisticated audio processing programs. Let me quote a member of the Steam forums: “uber nerdy!”.
Whatever Valve is cooking up with this, it better be big. Current theories include that this is Valve's way of promoting a new Portal game (could it be a sequel, or might it turn out to be a prequel?). Others theorize it could be Episode 3 of Half-Life 2 which might somehow be connected to the Portal universe – after all Aperture Science is Black Mesa's biggest competitor.
We will definitely keep you posted on any new discoveries, and of course the official and not-so-official announcements. As soon as one of the geniuses at the aforementioned forums cracks the code, you'll be first to know (maybe).
I'll let GLaDOS end this one:
Well, you found me. Congratulations. Was it worth it? Because despite your violent behavior, the only thing you have managed to break so far is my heart. Maybe you could settle for that and we'll just call it a day? I guess we both know that isn't going to happen...
