Friday, June 27, 2014

Playing With Portals... Again!

I spent the last few days playing Portal 2 again, and I'm even more convinced it's pretty much the perfect game. SO FUNNY. (Cave Johnson is my hero.)

Plus there's no killing - unless you count robots, there are no penalties if you die, and there are only a few timed challenges, so it doesn't get too frustrating.

Anyway, if you've somehow managed to not play it yet after all my raving, then please, PLAY PORTAL 2. You can even skip the original Portal if you like; the basics of the game and storyline are easy to pick up.

Which reminds me: check this bad boy out:


John surprised me with this fully articulated Atlas for my birthday last month. (Atlas & P-body are from the 2 player version of Portal 2, where you play as robots instead of Chell.)

The glowing eye is unbelievably cool, but it only lasts a few hours on battery power, and is next to impossible to turn on. You have to open the battery compartment in the back, and then use a paperclip to reach the "on" switch between the eye and body frame. EESH.

The gun is lit, too, but it's just a faint glow.

I redid the shelf over my penny desk to make a proper display for him:

(Remember my lemon grenade tutorial? And my Portal Easter Eggs? Ahhh, good times)

What's that? You want to see the rest of my newly decorated shelf o' geeky goodies? Well... SINCE YOU ASKED:
 

The Star Wars corner, with my Katie Cook Yoda, papercraft R2, and "SQUEE-wok" (a gift from the creator.)

The view from down below:

 Songbird watches over me. :)

And the other side:

 Oswald ears! 
A reader got them for me at E3 a few years ago, and they have "Epbot" embroidered on the back - which is extra cool since the parks are finicky about only embroidering "real" names.


At some point I'd love to have the entire shelf full of Portal goodies - and ThinkGeek is NOT making it easy on my sense of restraint. Heh. I want to build my own GLaDOS potato, though. I wonder if there's an Instructable for that? Hmmm....

Well, before I get lost on a Google potato hunt: time to announce this month's art winner!

Congratulations to... Shai of Ginger Maiden Musings! Please e-mail me your mailing address, Shai, and your choice of prize from my Pinterest art give-away board.

Happy Friday, everyone! John and I will be working on our Death Eater costumes this weekend - how 'bout you guys?

15 comments:

  1. 1. THAT GORGEOUS SNOGBRID
    2. I love Portal so much! Our newest kitteh is named Wheatley :DD
    3. OH MY GOSH do you have any of the blind box turrets from ThinkGeek/the Valve Store? There are two series (series 3 is coming in October, I think) and 10 designs (plus open and closed variations) plus a few chase designs for each series. I now have a small army of them and I adore them so much that it will soon become a medium army <3

    Turrets are so cute and I want to hug them all!

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  2. Why, Jen, why? Why do you own and then post such adorable things? Now, not only have I discovered what a SQEE-wok is, but also that I can buy a WamPAL! WANT. You're torturing my bank account.

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  3. Congratulations, Shai! LUCKY!!
    ThinkGeek sends me reminders that from all my nerd-worthy belongings i have purchased in the past, I have a buttload of free points I need to use... then I start throwing things in my cart... then I remember I can't afford it. So I cry and put everything back on the shelf.
    Next time, ThinkGeek. Next time.

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  4. Oh my WORD, that "SQUEEwok" is adorable! Also, the WamPALs....and the WookSQUEEs......I think I found my kids' next birthday presents.... :-)

    I've never been a video gamer, but you really have me itching to play one or both of the Portals....gonna have to talk my little brother into teaching me how to use his XBox, I think! :-)

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  5. Replies
    1. GET MAD!


      P.S. Hello there Sherlockian.

      Delete
  6. I'm not sure if you've played this game before, or if you even take recommendations but: The Room.
    My husband and I played it a few weeks ago and loved it so much we downloaded the sequel the second we finished it. It's a little puzzle game, but it's beautiful and steampunkish and just a little bit creepy. Might be something you and John enjoy?

    Here's the link (swear I'm not a spambot!!) http://www.fireproofgames.com/the-room

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  7. My 13 year old son LOVES Portal 2. We're planning to go to DragonCon for the first time and he's going to dress as a test subject. He also dressed up as Glados and did a monologue for his drama class last year. I love Portal2 because he asks me to play it with him!! I love it even though he's usually bossing me around and laughing at me because I can't look at walk at the same time. I showed him this post and he's in awe! :-)

    Oh, and since I'm in full mommy brag mode, he's working on a website that explains the science behind video games! Check it out if you like. http://gamerscience.weebly.com/

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  8. I'm at ConTemporal, a local steampunk convention in NC. Today's the day I've launched my Alice in Wonderland costume, complete with John's flamingo cane. Within the first 15 minutes I've had three requests for photos. Someone said that the cane makes the outfit. Thank you so much for sending it! Photos via email later.

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  9. We love Portal and Think Geek. Here's my son with his 18th birthday cake, on Think Geek's site:

    Our Customer Action Shot

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  10. I'm so happy to see my little SQUEEwok in such great company! Every house needs a room with a Star Wars corner (at a minimum). :)

    PS---There's another Big Bang Bazaar coming up in August! I hope to see you guys there again!

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  11. Is the mad Donald Duck available somewhere? My 10 year old loves Donald Duck!

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  12. Congrats Shai!


    Do you know where I can buy the TARDIS "Believe" poster? I've tried to find the artist's name but can't!

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  13. Did you know if you hover of the pictures on ThinkGeek with your mouse, a funny joke pops up?

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  14. I am wearing my Get Mad and Make Life Take the Lemons Back shirt right now! Portal 2 rules!

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