Engagement proposal as an elaborate Portal 2 level

Gary Hudston wanted to propose to his girlfriend, so (naturally) he contracted with a skilled level-developer to make a custom Portal 2 level that led to a wedding chapel in which GLaDOS (the AI villain of the series) popped the question. And naturally, once Valve (the company that makes Portal) got wind of the project, they authorized the production of custom audio from Ellen McLain, the voice actor who does GLaDOS in the game. And naturally, the developer made the level available so that you could play it too (but that doesn't mean you're getting married to Gary). Ah, romance!

Proposal by Portals! (youtube.com) (via Waxy)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: awesomesauce • Games • Happy Mutants • maker • romance • video • youtube

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Lobster

That’s so sweet. You monster.
http://twitter.com/wheezer256 wheezer256

Fifty years from now, this will be the digital version of the unicorn tattoo. It was a good idea at the time, but really?
- http://inchoate.myopenid.com/ Inchoate
  
  This is all kinds of awesome, and I’d be willing to bet that fifty years from now it will still be awesome, and a great story to tell your great-grandkids.
  
  I fail to see how a romantic proposal such as this could become an embarrassing regret in the future. (Well, except for the obvious way, but let’s think positively for the happy couple.)
  
  And really, was the unicorn tattoo ever a good idea?
  - http://twitter.com/wheezer256 wheezer256
    
    Ok, so 50 years then.
    
    In 50 years time, you will need to explain to your great-grandkids the following, in order:
    
    - What personal computers were. It’s anyone’s guess what computing will be 50 years from now, but I dare say that it won’t be the same mouse/keyboard/screen paradigm as today.
    - How people used personal computers to interact with each other, specifically to play video games.
    - How video games worked 50 years ago. Surely something other than FPS will be what kids will be doing then. Look at what the world was (supposedly) like in 1960.
    - Then, you will need to explain the concept behind the Portal videogame. It would seem unlikely that the franchise will persist for another 50 years.
    
    Once you have finished with all that stuff, you can start talking about the actual proposal level. Assuming that your great grandchild is 15 or younger, I doubt that they will still be paying attention at all at this point.
    
    But, here’s another fun experiment you can try: get a copy of Wired magazine from 1993 ago. Go through the content and grade it by ‘coolness’. Good luck!
beemoh

I hope one engagement ring is blue, and the other orange.
- xenphilos
  
  Like these?
- mccrum
  
  It is a lot more personal than the Jumbotron. There’s a lot of work and thought that went into this, it sounds like it was appreciated.
Paool

Just read this on RPS and love it. Little miffed though that the conversation took a turn for the worse with a bunch of people complaining that it is unfair for the lady to do something so intricate in case she says no. I’m sorry, but he probably wouldn’t of gone through all this if he wasn’t at least 100% or at least they had talked about the idea and were on the same track.
- Guest
  
  Yeah, I’m sure he was just 100% positive she’d say yes- or feel really, really put on the spot and be afraid to say no. Ugh.
  
  Well, at least it doesn’t sound like it was a public proposal.
  - http://ampetc.tumblr.com/ Esca Beloved
    
    Excellent point. I highly recommend Melissa McEwan’s explorations on this topic (public proposals and ‘romanticism’)
    found here: http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2011/08/obligation-of-happily-ever-after.html
    and here:
    http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2010/07/feminism-101-your-underdog-lovelorn.html
  - Gulliver
    
    Well, at least it doesn’t sound like it was a public proposal.
    
    It kinda was, since it stood to reason that this would not stay under wraps.
http://www.flyingmolehill.com/ ronj

Sometimes, the cake is not a lie.
http://twitter.com/MadelineAshby Madeline Ashby

Portal engagement rings, to complete the theme: http://yuumei.deviantart.com/art/Portal-Engagement-Rings-253002387
jon_anon

I see from the Reddit thread there’s a donation site to send the 18-yr old designer (who did the job for free because it was a good cause) from the US to the UK to attend the wedding. Very sweet.
- Paool
  
  18 and designed this? Impressive. I know of many 18 year olds that design/work on games (mostly as a hobby) but have never really run across that do this talented of work. Kudos!
querent

/sigh
BBNinja

I wanna know how long it took her.
elix

Oh, wow. I’m glad she said yes, because ladies, when your man does something as intricate as THIS, and Valve actually authorizes custom GLaDOS dialogue to be recorded (and presumably paid for on their expense), YOU DO NOT LET GO. (To be fair, the designer did the crazy level work, so all kudos to him for building such an awesome level, but this is far more involved than just going to a park and having a picnic to pop the question.)

That was amazing.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5UPVBC2O4WNNWAGXBW4EUSWXHM Crowe

If you were Valve wouldn’t you maybe think about trying to hire the kid? I mean, if this is what he can produce at 18, using your engine….
Doug Nelson

That was sweet. I got a little choked-up.
Gulliver

The bar for geek marriage proposals has been raised virtually out of reach!