For fans of the original ‘proof of concept’ title Portal, it goes without saying that Valve is well aware that the pairing of intelligent and witty writing with compelling gameplay is a recipe for success. The main source of comedy and storytelling in the first game was the artificial intelligence named GlaDOS, but with the upcoming sequel, the game’s length won’t be the only thing being increased exponentially. According to IGN’s video preview, Portal 2 will be giving players over 13,000 lines of dialogue to go along with their physics-bending.
Since the plot of the game seems straightforward enough - once again, attempt to complete the tasks set out by the somewhat callous robotic overseer - we have to wonder where the dialogue will be focused.
There’s no question that Stephen Merchant’s addition to the voice cast as that of Wheatley, Chell’s floating personality sphere/guide will produce a good chunk of conversation. But that is a hefty chunk of writing for a game that seems to be expanding on previous game mechanics in a big way, so that can’t be the whole story.
If the writing is going to be giving us the details on plot that Valve seems to be witholding, then that means explaining the time between games, and the current state of the Aperture Science facility.
If you don’t already know what we’re talking about, take a look at the new bits of gameplay footage on display in the latest sneak peek video:
