by ·Comments Off on Portal 2 Music Video – Exile Vilify By The National

I have another film from the Tortoise Butler crew to share today.  This one was made for Valve’s recent Portal 2 music video competition.

 

I actually didn’t have such a massive involvement in this one.  I worked on some of the special effects and just sat at my computer churning out Half Life / Portal themed posters and citadel images that they placed in the film in post production to give the deserted streets of London a more in-universe feel.

The production was really done on a shoe string (with a steady-cam repair being carried out using a wooden spoon at one point) and in a very short space of time, approaching 48 hour film challenge conditions.

The way in which this one came out surprised me.  Some of the effects I worked on were much more effective than I expected they would be and it just went to show just how much you can do with the machines you have in your home and how even in a short space of time you can produce some decent quality content.

I also can’t believe they found someone who looked so much like Chell.

by ·Comments Off on Games Journalist Duty: Portal 2

It is times like this I realise as a young and inexperienced gaming journalist that I have a responsibility to share experiences and offer advice for others who may not have played something yet.

If you ever play games or have an interest in games whatsoever, if someone starts talking about Portal 2 and you have not yet played it, do this one simple thing:

Run away.

Run away until you can not hear them any more.

If this requires you leaving buildings, crossing streets or jumping off cliffs, you might still be grateful of this advice.

It’s a remarkable game and one day I might write about it.  I can’t now for the sake of my games journalist duty, as it puts people at risk of finding out about the game before they’ve played it.