Valve is busy again with their upcoming iteration of Portal 2. I am very excited for the release of this game as it will play a large role in the upcoming story line for Half Life 2: Episode 3. Game Informer had the opportunity to interview Valve’s concept artist Matt Charlesworth on how the character designs are coming along. The first character that he discusses is the main character from the last game, Chell. All of the designers explored other character ideas for Portal 2 but ultimately came back to using Chell again. The team decided that she needed the same type of look, clean and simple. “Some of the images started with a sporty look – almost like motorcycle gear.” The designers are also looking for a different color scheme and not the orange suit from the first game. Along with the cosmetic look and feel of Chell they also discussed changing her appearance to have a more recognized nationality.
The best result so far is the concept art you see here. Matt states that “The stuff that was more successful was the really minimal approach, and that’s sort of led us to this concept. This just seemed to strike a chord with everyone, because it really seemed like it belonged in the Portal world. It made her look physically capable, but at the same time, there is a vulnerability about her. That’s what is attractive to everybody.” The suit that Chell wears is supposed to represent her as a test subject among the machines of GLaDOS. The design of the suit, along with the hat (which Matt described as reminding him of test pilots) make it so the machines can easily recognize her without having bar codes all over her. That was something the designers felt had been done before. They are all about originality when it comes to Portal 2. “We’re still not entirely sure what we’re doing with the spring heels. They were always something that was in Portal 1, and some of us are attached to them, and some of us aren’t, so I’ve experimented with how we can do with them right this time around, and how we would go about replacing them. Everything should look 10 times better than the first Portal, that’s the goal.”
In Portal 2 there will be a new Co-Op feature where you can play with a friend. In this version of the game the characters are robots made from salvaged parts from personality spheres and turrets. The concept art for the robots looks great and something that will definitely fit into the Portal story line. Matt finishes the interview by saying “We drew them holding hands because it just kind of describes the whole co-op idea, if slightly tongue-in-cheek. Portal’s got a sense of humor. It’s quirky, but it shows that one of the biggest things that is important to Portal 2 will be that you’re playing with a friend. It’s one of those weird things, where somebody just kind of did it, and we had the sort of team moment where we were like ‘yeah that’s pretty cool.’”
Portal 2 is shaping up to be an amazing game. As usual Valve is taking their time in developing all aspects of the storyline and characters. According Gabe Newell from and interview with 1up, Portal 2 is “the best game we’ve ever done.”