News
15 CommentsMicrosoft Illumiroom could project the future for next-gen Xbox
By Emily Gera on Apr 29, 2013 04.29.13
Microsoft's Illumiroom could play a role in the future of the next-generation Xbox, according to a new preview video released ahead of this week's CHI 2013 event which promises to reveal more technical details about this proof-of-concept system. Illumiroom was first unveiled during CES with a demo that offered a glimpse of the new tech that is designed to create an augmented reality projection that extends gaming onto nearby walls. An earlier video of the tech showed how a Kinect for Windows camera would be used to scan the geometry of a room and tailor visuals projected outside the television to complement what's happening on the screen. According to the new video, "IllumiRoom envisions a next-generation gaming console with a projector that sits on your coffee table and surrounds...
Video
0 CommentsStar Trek's JJ Abrams' and Valve's Gabe Newell's full DICE Keynote Speech video
By Jenna Pitcher on Feb 13, 2013 02.13.13
Valve co-founder and president Gabe Newell and Star Trek and Star Wars: Episode VII director J.J. Abrams joined forces to give the 2013 DICE Summit keynote — that keynote can now be viewed in its entirety. Newell and Abrams revealed during the storytelling-focused keynote that they want to develop video games together and make movies based on Portal and Half-Life. Polygon spoke to Abrams post-keynote about his plans. The keynote was intended to be livestreamed, but was recorded instead and recently uploaded. Thankfully, Polygon was there to live blog the keynote.
Culture
3 CommentsWatch Portal turrets take on GLaDOS in 'The Turret Anthem'
By Megan Farokhmanesh on Jan 22, 2013 01.22.13
Using the power of Valve's Source Filmmaker, BioWare Cinematic designer Zachariah Scott and composer Lars Erik Fjøsne joined forces to create "The Turret Anthem," an animated musical short. The video features an ever-growing group of turrets that combine musical forces to tackle GLaDOS herself. Check out the video above, or listen to the song on Fjosne's Soundcloud.
Culture
18 CommentsGlaDOS makes her big screen debut in trailer for Del Toro's Pacific Rim
By Griffin McElroy on Dec 13, 2012 12.13.12
Pacific Rim's first trailer was released last night, and includes a few clips featuring the very-familiar voice work of GlaDOS voice actor Ellen McLain; a collaboration Del Toro described to Kotaku during New York Comic-Con. The clip doesn't just feature McLain's regular voice — it's been passed through the same filters as Portal's prickly antagonist, essentially recreating GlaDOS's voice as the AI assistant on Pacific Rim's skyscraper-sized mechs. Whether her programming will give way to an inexplicable, all-consuming malevolence remains to be seen. Pacific Rim arrives in theaters July 11, 2013.
Culture
1 CommentThe tech and memory constraints of bringing Portal to graphing calculators
By Tracey Lien on Dec 12, 2012 12.12.12
The game developer who brought a simplified version of Portal to the Ti-83/84 graphing calculator, Alex Marcolina, says that making the game for such a simple device was not easy and it forced him to be creative, according to an interview with VentureBeat. Marcolina, a game design student from California, spent more than a year of his spare time working on and off on his re-imagining of Portal for graphing calculators. He says the Ti84 calculator was the first platform to pique his interest in game programming, which is why he decided to make his game for the platform. "Plus," he tells VentureBeat, "I always say that programming for such a restrictive platform really forces you to be creative and work harder to get your work done. "If you program something simple for the computer,...
Culture
1 CommentThis is what Portal looks like on a graphing calculator
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Dec 04, 2012 12.04.12
One industrious coder has retooled Valve's Portal as a side-scrolling platformer for Texas Instruments graphing calculators, as shown in the video posted above. Omnimanga and Reddit user "Builderboy" has created his take on a pocket-sized Portal Prelude for TI-83 and TI-84 calculators. It includes 38 test chambers to navigate, a portal gun to see you through and scripted dialogue that emulates the tone of the original title. According to its creator, it took several years to code this nifty little game, which is available for download at Omnimanga.
News
2 CommentsPortal 2 Puzzle Maker is being used by more than 2,500 teachers around North America
By Tracey Lien on Nov 14, 2012 11.14.12
More than 2,500 teachers nationwide are using Portal 2 Puzzle Maker in classrooms to teach students about physics, Fast Company reports. Puzzle Maker – a set of tools based on Valve's first-person puzzler Portal 2 – was released earlier this year to allow players to create single-player and co-op test chambers. In June it was released to teachers for free as part of the Teach with Portals initiative and since then more than 2,500 teachers have used Portal 2 and Puzzle Maker as educational tools. Fast Company reports that shortly after the release of the original Portal in 2007, science teachers around the country began using the game in their classrooms to teach physics. With the introduction of Puzzle Maker, students were able to learn through designing their own levels. When...
