Author: scatty

In 2007, Valve released a bundle that would change gaming forever called “The Orange Box”. Much of the fanfare was directed toward the release of “Half-Life 2” being released on the Xbox 360 for the first time, as well as the “Episode 2” expansion that hadn’t been released before. “Team Fortress 2” also enthralled many, as it was the sequel to an already-successful multiplayer game.

Then, there was an unknown puzzle game included with “The Orange Box” called “Portal”. While many played it after beating “Half-Life 2”, it has become perhaps the most iconic game of the bunch. It’s still being referenced today and spawned a popular sequel. So what gave “Portal” so much staying power? Here are five reasons we still love it to this day.

5. The Physics

Most people hadn’t seen the type of physics “Portal” could offer until its release. Valve had hired students from the DigiPen Institute of Technology after they made a similar indie game called “Narbacular Drop”. The concept was then developed into “Portal”, which essentially became the best tech demo in video game history. To test out the mechanics of the game, the developers actually used a 2-D engine to see if it was possible.

4. The Portal Gun Itself

There are some iconic weapons and tools in video game history and the Portal Gun joined that pantheon almost immediately after the game was released. Not only does it have a neat aesthetic with its white shell and claw-like texture, but it shoots portals. 

Ever since “Portal” was released, many have been making their own replicas of the Portal Gun through various forms that range from paper mache to 3-D printing. The protagonist, Chell, doesn’t speak at all during the game but carries a big Portal Gun.

3. The End Credits

“Portal” ends pretty abruptly for those that are playing it for the first time. After you defeat the final stage, the game ends with a brief cutscene and then goes straight to the credits, making you wonder how such a short amount of time has passed.

Then, the end credits start to ramp up. The victor is treated to a song called “Still Alive” which became one of the most famous in gaming history. Lines like “But there’s no sense crying over every mistake, you just keep on trying till you run out of cake” really resonated with players. This, of course, led to the everlasting meme about the cake being a lie. The end credits also set up well for the sequel that would be released in 2011, while “Still Alive” was even given the “Rock Band” treatment.

2. The Broad Appeal

While most games are for a very specific demographic, that’s not the case for “Portal”. Because of its humor that appeals to all ages and the fact that it’s a fun physics-based puzzle game, everyone from small children to the elderly has tried out “Portal” at least once. 

Another aspect of “Portal” that most people seemed to love was the game’s length. Players can knock out the entire thing in one sitting without much problem, while still feeling like they got their money’s worth. Of course, nobody plays “Portal” just once thanks to its replayability factor.

1. GLaDOS

Of course, you can’t mention “Portal” without talking about the antagonist from the first game, GLaDOS. Voiced by Ellen McLain, GLaDOS was the perfect foil for our quiet protagonist throughout the game. At first, this AI seems sweet and instructional but develops more personality over time to the point where you can’t wait to take her down. 

Still, it was a bit sad to see her go at the conclusion of the first game (though she thankfully returned) because we missed her hilarious quips. It’s not easy to give a scientific robot a wide range of personalities, but the Valve team did just that.

In more than 120 countries, millions of people play Scrabble in varying forms every day. Whether it’s the classic board game version or on the Scrabble GO app, there’s no wrong way to play Scrabble. But how did this word game come to be, and what made it a cultural phenomenon that has lasted generations the same way as Monopoly or Connect Four? Let’s take a look at the history of the world’s favorite word game.

It didn’t take a team of people to come up with Scrabble, but rather the work of one unemployed man. New York native Alfred Mosher Butts was working as an architect during the 1930s and went he lost his job, decided to set out and make a board game. After realizing that there wasn’t a word game that involved some luck, as they were all skill-based only at the time.

Because of this, Butts came up with a board that featured bonus points for having good timing, introducing the double/triple word and letter spaces. Butts achieved perfection on his first try in terms of how the game was played (including avoiding too many plural words). The one thing that Butts couldn’t get right on the first try, though, was the name.

Scrabble was originally known as Criss-Cross Words, and even that wasn’t the first game that Butts came up with. Before Criss-Cross Words/Scrabble, Butts came up with a game called Lexiko. Lexiko took some more elements from other board games of the time and made just one board at a time upon request.

It was in 1938 that customers found out the Butts was no longer making Lexiko, and was working on Criss-Cross Words. After going back to the likes of Milton Bradley and Parker Bros to pitch his newest game, Butts was turned down once again. Finally, Butts got in touch with James Brunot, an entrepreneur who found the game fascinating.

The prototype for the board was there, and Brunot only made some minor tweaks before coming up with the finalized version of Scrabble with its now-famous name. At first, Scrabble was losing money for Brunot after his acquisition, but Brunot stayed true to his investment and kept plugging away until word of mouth started to make Scrabble a popular game nationwide.

In 1952, just three years after Scrabble had been released to the public, the game was in such high demand that Brunot had to enlist the help of a larger distributor to get the game into as many households as possible. Stores were also clamoring to have Scrabble on their shelves before Christmastime, including the likes of retail giant Macy’s.

Throughout the 1950s, millions of Scrabble sets had sold, and by the time the 1970s came around, it was an iconic name in board games. Businesswoman Harriet T. Righter acquired the trademark for Scrabble, which she retained until her death in 1982. Two years later, Coleco (known for its video game dealings), got the trademark, but then soon folded. Since then, Hasbro has owned the Scrabble trademark.

Over the course of Scrabble’s life, there have been some changes to the rules, but most of them have been minor. This includes determining who goes first, as well as the challenge system. The thing that has changed the most with Scrabble is the dictionary. Originally, Scrabble players used a standard English dictionary, but now there are multiple dictionaries dedicated to Scrabble alone. This includes the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, which was first published in 1978 and has had multiple editions ever since.

To this day, more than one million Scrabble boards are sold each year in North America alone. All in all, there have been well over 100 million boards to come off the shelves, showing that Scrabble is one of the titans of the board game industry.