Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Valve’s canceled Portal prequel with unique gameplay revealed in documentary

By

Aperture Camera, Valve’s canceled prequel to the popular puzzler series Portal, will be featured in a documentary series by indie developer LunchHouse Software.

Valve, which moved away from prolific game development to focus on its digital storefront Steam, released the source code of Aperture Camera to LunchHouse Software. The developer is now working on Exposure, a multi-part video series that already released its first episode.

Recommended Videos

In Portal and Portal 2, players use the portal gun to solve puzzles by creating portals and passing through them. In Aperture Camera, things are a little bit different, as the portal gun is replaced by a camera.

Exposure by LunchHouse Software • Announcement • Episode 1

The first episode of Exposure reveals the unique gameplay of Aperture Camera. Players take pictures of objects using a camera, and they then transfer the object from the photograph back into the world at the size and position that they choose. For example, the episode demonstrated the player taking the picture of balloons, and then transferring the balloons from the photograph onto a box to make it float.

LunchHouse Software said in the first episode’s description that there remains a lot of depth to the unique game mechanic, which will be featured in succeeding episodes. It remains unclear how Aperture Camera fits as a prequel to the Portal series, why the game was canceled, and why Valve decided to send the source code to LunchHouse Software, but these questions may be answered as Exposure continues.

The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley revealed years ago that Valve was working on a spinoff of the Portal series that did not include protagonist Chell and the evil supercomputer GLaDOS. LunchHouse Software’s Exposure, however, is the first real look at the game, which was previously codenamed F-STOP.

Valve, meanwhile, is returning to game development with Half-Life: Alyx, a virtual reality game that will highlight the capabilities of the Valve Index VR headset. The game takes place in between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2, with players to take control of Alyx Vance.

Valve programmer David Speyrer revealed that if Half-Life: Alyx succeeds, it may lead to the development of more Half-Life games, which will hopefully include the long-awaited Half-Life 3.

Topics
Aaron Mamiit
Aaron Mamiit
Contributor
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
Fortnite Crew subscriptions will soon contain every battle pass
Fortnite characters surrounded by V-Bucks.

Fortnite is making some big changes to how battle passes work in a couple of weeks. Epic Games already announced that it would be streamlining battle pass progression, but it's implementing a similar change to its subscription service Fortnite Crew.

In a Wednesday blog post, Epic Games revealed that all battle passes will be available in Fortnite Crew. So not only will all your progression apply to the Music Pass and Lego Pass as well as the Battle Royale Pass but all of those will be included for the same $12 per month fee starting on December 1.

Read more
How to upgrade and repair weapons and gear in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
A soldier with a broken gun in Stalker 2.

It won't be long into Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl that you encounter your first weapon jam. Whether you're fighting mutant dogs or enemy bandits, the last thing you want to hear when lining up a shot is the clicking of your weapon despite still having plenty of ammo. The more you use your weapons, the lower their durability becomes and the more likely you are to experience a jam. You don't have the skills to repair or upgrade your weapons yourself, and Stalker 2 is more than willing to let you miss out on finding the places to do it. Never get caught with a broken or weak weapon again by learning how to repair and upgrade your weapons in Stalker 2.
How to upgrade and repair weapons

You can see how beaten down your weapon is in the inventory by highlighting it or based on the color of the broken shield icon. If that icon appears at all, you can expect jams to start popping up.

Read more
How to fix reputation in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Two groups pointing at each other in Stalker 2.

Unless you played any of the previous games, it might come as a surprise to learn just how many immersive sim elements are in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. In a lot of ways, it is closer to a more hardcore Fallout game than a pure FPS title, with lots of loot, quests, and characters to meet and talk to. One somewhat hidden mechanic is the reputation system. Stalker 2 won't stop you from opening fire on anyone you want, but not without consequence. Upset someone from a particular group, and you'll find yourself being hunted by them until you do something about it. There are enough things in Stalker 2 trying to kill you so if you accidentally angered a group and want to get back in their good graces, here's how you can fix your reputation.
How to fix your reputation in Stalker 2

If you've intentionally or accidentally shot or hurt a friendly NPC from one of the main groups in Stalker 2, you will instantly be put on their "shoot on sight" list if it lowers your reputation enough. Thankfully, there are ways to get yourself a second or third chance, but only two.

Read more