The original Portal was a unique and entertaining experiment by Valve, one that resulted in positive feedback from anyone who played it. The game proved to be a crossover of genres, combining the immensely popular first-person shooting genre with some old-school puzzle solving and platforming. The crossover worked like a charm, and fans were eagerly asking for more.
They got more, when Portal 2 was officially announced about a year ago. Since then, tons of information has popped up, not the least of which is a trailer from the Spike VGAs showing two robot buddies. But oddly enough, of all the information that’s surfaced regarding the sequel, little has been said of the protagonist from the first Portal, Chell. Where is she? What happened to her? Will she be returning?
Well, as it turns out, yes, she’s back. In the original game, Chell was very ambiguous. We knew very little about her, why she was a test subject for Aperture Science, what her background was, anything like that. The intent behind this was to allow the player to further immerse themselves in the game; to put themselves in Chell’s place and make it feel like their adventure instead of hers. Her outfit reflected that in that game, and it does the same for this one.
In the first game, Chell wore the strange orange jumpsuit that labeled her a test subject of Aperture Science. Just like Chell, the player first thinks that this is just a humorous series of tests to see how crafty one can be. Once GlaDOS decides to dispose of Chell, she’s desperate to make her escape, and like her, the player just wants to get out of there and get back to civilization.
Now, for the second game, Chell returns with the jumpsuit, only with the top half removed and tied around her waist, instead wearing a simple white undershirt for more mobility. This explains both her and the player’s intent: return to Aperture Science and take out GlaDOS for good.
The art director of Valve explained that this was also an attempt to better humanize Chell, to further reflect that she’s no longer just a rat in a cage, but someone hellbent on ending a menace to humanity. Centuries have passed since the first game’s events in the storyline, but for the sleeping Chell that time has passed in a split second, explaining her eagerness to end things and finally move on with her life, wherever that may lead her.
What do you think of Chell’s new look? Does it properly reflect her development? Can this be seen as an indication of things to come in the sequel?
Portal 2 is coming out for the Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and Mac on April 20, 2011.
Source: Kotaku
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I love it, and it looks way better than the first images in GI. Chell deserves to be her own character now, and making steps to distinguish her own personality is a great move.
Coveralls get really warm, so Chell is probably wearing hers like that for comfort, not mobility. Back when I worked at a refinery we had nomex coveralls like that, and to cool off on break you would unzip it halfway and tie the arms, just like in that screen shot.
I’m a lot more worried about Wheatley. The subtlety and isolation contributed immensely to the atmosphere in Portal. Now we have a wisecracking eyeball sidekick? Jar Jar Blinks?
I already know why they changed her look: add more sex appeal
I feel the new outfit is a step towards sexualising Chell, with her much-more obvious bust and midriff showing. Portal 1 was groundbreaking in terms of feminism within gaming in that Chell was not necessarily attractive, and completely covered. You could argue that her more obvious skin in this game shows a sense of power in that she fights against stereotypes of meek, covered women but I feel we are past that time anyway and the only thing this does for Chell is sexualises her for male gamers as Valve tries to attract a larger audience. I guess this is understandable since it will probably work to attract male audiences who enjoy how she looks and females who like to play an attractive protagonist, but personally I preferred Chell when she was ugly and wearing a full-on orange jumpsuit.
Ehhhhh no no no no no
This has nothing to do with sexuality at all, how about you two actually click on the picture and enlarge it, it’s not her midriff, its the top of her pants… come onnnnn, get over it, she looks like she is just prepared to take GLaDOS down.
Good eye, I never noticed that. So instead of a midriff she’s exposing… control top pantyhose?