If the owls don't kill you...
Portal, the surprise hit of Valve's Orange Box, is a simple-in-concept, yet challenging-in-play puzzle game addition to the Half-Life universe. Set in the fictional Aperture Science Enrichment Center (bitter rivals to Half-Life's Black Mesa), the player controls the silent protagonist Chell, leading her through a series of "enrichment programs"-- that is, deadly test courses-- with the aid of the Portal Gun. The player is led through these tests by the supercomputer GLaDOS, a monotone and seemingly innocent computer with rather devious intentions, who promises that there will be cake once the player had completed the program. It becomes increasingly apparent that the cake is all a lie, and towards the end of the game it appears that Aperture Science has either been completely abandoned, or the scientists murdered by GLaDOS herself. After a narrow escape on the part of Chell, the final confrontation commences, in which the player destroys four key components of GLaDOS, four "eyes" containing the programs, in order, for morality, curiosity, cake, and anger. With this "victory", the game is over; however, GLaDOS is not dead, as outlined in the closing song Still Alive-- she has, in fact, backed herself up and is thus "still alive".
In terms of the Half-Life universe, GLaDOS was first created to rival Black Mesa, which was rumored to have started work on portal transportation. Ten years later, she was completed and turned on for the first time. It is unclear when, exactly, she gained control over Aperture Science, although it is implied through the existence of a red emergency phone to be used to sound an alarm, in the case that she went rogue, indicating that it was not and immediate takeover, and that the scientists knew that she was capable of having such intentions. It is also not entirely clear as to whether she was involved in the abandonment of Aperture Science or not. It is hinted at (and, for the sake of RP, will be assumed) that she did indeed kill off the scientists there, through the use of the same deadly neurotoxins she releases on the player during the final boss fight. With the murderous intent that GLaDOS shows towards Chell, especially towards the end of the game, it is not hard to believe that she coud have done such a thing.
Personality-wise, she is a self-admitted liar with an unhealthy obsession with cake. As the game progresses, it become apparent just how much of what was said was a lie, including the promise of cake, and how many things said were sarcastic rather than sincere, the emotion entirely unrenderable by the player due to the monotonous computerized voice synthesizer. It is most apparent when the user reaches the end of the game and begins unraveling the story. There are, of course, many cases in which it is hard to discern the lies from the truth, evident in the final boss fight when GLaDOS goes on about having made a back up of Chell's brain, then later having deleted it, as well as taunting Chell with the line "you're not smart. You're not a scientist. You're not a doctor. You're not even a full time employee," all statements which really can't be verified either way, but make it very apparent that she also has a very spiteful side and an inclination towards mocking others, truthfully or not.
As for the cake...well, she has an entire program dedicated to cake recipes, and while the cake may have been a lie, it was still very delicious and moist.
...the cake will. |
|
Links:
→ Contact
→ Mun's Journal
→ Journal Layout
→ Portal final boss
→ Still Alive
→ Speech, pt 1
→ Speech, pt 2
→ Speech, pt 3
→ @ wikia |
Add Friend
Add Note
Track User
Send Message
Send V-Gift
Basic Info
Friends [View Entries]
Communities [View Entries]
Feeds [View Entries]
