A new documentary series from developer LunchHouse Software has revealed the first gameplay footage from Aperture Camera, the canceled Portal prequel that was originally in development at Valve Software in the late 2000s. Both Portal and its sequel Portal 2 are regarded as some of the greatest puzzle games ever made. Yet, despite their popularity and critical acclaim, Valve hasn’t released a new installment in nearly a decade.
Valve fans have had little to get excited about since the legendary company released The Orange Box back in 2007. A compilation containing Portal and four other games, including Half-Life 2, The Orange Box marked the end of a prolific period of software development at Valve, as the studio decided to focus much more heavily on its digital storefront, Steam. Portal 2 managed to ship in 2011 and not long after, a behind-the-scenes look at the game (courtesy of The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley) revealed Valve was also working on a spin-off that didn’t contain protagonist Chell or the evil A.I. GLaDOS. Thanks to the work of LunchHouse Software, we now know some details of what Valve was working on.
As revealed in the first of several planned gameplay videos, LunchHouse is developing a documentary that will cover the core mechanics and ideas of Aperture Camera. LunchHouse has secured the original code to Aperture Camera and is moving forward with Valve’s blessing. The first video in the series, titled Exposure, reveals that the core gameplay was based around photography, with the player able to take pictures of objects and manipulate them to solve puzzles.
“The mechanics are not based on speculation or hearsay,” LunchHouse writes on the Exposure website. “Instead, Exposure uses the original, official code from Valve’s own F-STOP, or as it was properly named Aperture Camera.” LunchHouse is also reportedly working on its own game heavily inspired by the Portal series, though it has yet to reveal details or whether the Exposure series will lead to an official announcement.
These revelations about the canceled Portal prequel come at an interesting time for a Valve. The company recently surprised the entire game industry with the announcement of Half-Life: Alyx, the first new Half-Life title in over a decade. This move suggests Valve is making a big push back into software development and if so, it could mean good things for the Portal franchise as well. Half-Life: Alyx is a full VR title and given both Valve’s commitment to the technology and how well-suited the Portal series is to it, it feels like only a matter of time before Valve makes an announcement. In the meantime, check out LunchHouse’s documentary series and get your VR headset ready, as Half-Life: Alyx is only a few months away!
Half-Life: Alyx hits Microsoft Windows in March 2020.
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Source: LunchHouse Software
