Player created content. The land where the developer’s concepts are hopped up on a unique internet blend of creativity inspired by Red Bull, Jack Daniels and Ritalin. Whether in the form of Half-Life 2 mods, storylines in WWE 12 or levels in Little Big Planet 2, giving players a customizable aspect to their game has become a proven asset to developers to extend the life of their game. Portal 2 was lauded as having some of the most creative and inventive puzzles of 2011, taking game physics and concepts to the next level. Allowing for this kind of creative freedom to fans of the series is the logical next step.
Announced last October, the puzzle editor will be a part of the free DLC pack releasing to PCs and Macs on May 8th known as the Perpetual Testing Initiative. Using the Steam platform, players will be able to create, upload, download and rate creations from the player community. What could this mean? It means that you are giving PC gamers, the most “hardcore” gaming audience, free reign inside the most complicated but approachable world in gaming today.
While Portal focused mostly on creativity using gravity puzzles, Portal 2 took things to a whole new level using light bridges, propulsion gel and launching platforms. Now, players will be able to assemble their own Test Labs using these.
Currently, there has been no comment from Valve regarding the Perpetual Testing Initiative coming to XBox 360 or PlayStation 3. This isn’t a huge shock for the XBox 360 as it does not support the Steam marketplace or have connectivity to it like the PlayStation 3. The silence surrounding whether or not the PS3 will be getting access to these levels through their Steam connectivity is more surprising.
Keep your eyes on Steam come May 8th for the Perpetual Testing Initiative for Portal 2 on PC and Mac.
