Music of Portal 2
Encyclopedia
Portal 2
is a physics-based puzzle-platformer game created by the Valve Corporation
and released on Microsoft Windows
, Mac OS X
, PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
in April 2011. The game, set in the desolate, labyrinthine Aperture Science facility, challenges the player to navigate test chambers created by the artificial intelligence GLaDOS
, using a portal gun, a device able to create portals that link two points in space like a wormhole
. The game expands on the original Portal by adding new puzzle elements, such as paint that imparts properties to surfaces, plates that can launch the player and objects over distances, and traction beams and light bridges.
The game's music includes original scores composed by Valve's Mike Morasky
, and two original songs provided by Jonathan Coulton
and the band The National
. The bulk of the music was released as a freely-available download across three volumes, entitled Songs to Test By.
's song "Still Alive
" was a large part of Portal's success, so Valve included more music in Portal 2, including further involvement from Coulton. Coulton wrote a new song for the game's ending credits, "Want You Gone", also written from GLaDOS's viewpoint. Coulton had discussed with Wolpaw about whether an ending song would be necessary, and how they could create "an emotional moment" comparable to "Still Alive", back in 2009 when Portal 2s ending was not yet determined. Other options were considered, such as several "joke songs" and false endings for the game. Ultimately the game's finale, where GLaDOS effectively "breaks up" with Chell, was set by the last quarter of 2010, and Coulton played the game as it had been developed to that point to generate ideas. Elements of the ending, such as Chell being told to leave Aperture with the door slamming behind her, led to the development of main chorus line "I used to want you dead, but now I only want you gone." Coulton wrote the lyrics and composed the song over the course of several days, with John Flansburgh
assisting on electronic drums, and traveled to Valve's headquarters in January 2011 to record it with Ellen McLain
, the voice actress for GLaDOS.
In addition to be included in the Portal 2 soundtrack, "Want You Gone" and "Still Alive" appear on Coulton's album Artificial Heart
.
provided another original song, "Exile Vilify"; its lyrics were composed by the group and reviewed by Valve to ensure they fit with the tone of one of the Rat Man's dens, where it appears in-game. The National had expressed an interest in doing music for Valve to Bug Music, their publishing label, which the label forwarded on to Valve in discussing other music opportunities for the game. Valve and Bug Music identified that The National would fit well into Portal 2, as their "raw and emotive music evokes the same visceral reactions from its listeners that Portal does from its players" according to Bug Music's spokesperson Julia Betley. The song is considered by Paste
to be a "haunted, piano-lead ballad" similar to the band's song "Think You Can Wait" used in the film Win Win
. "Exile Vilify" is not included in the freely downloadable Portal 2 soundtrack, but instead was released as a digital single by the band.
After the game's release, Valve and The National ran a contest encouraging users to create their own music video for "Exile Vilify", offering as prizes Valve merchandise and a guitar signed by members of the band. Of 320 videos submitted, Valve ultimately awarded two videos first prize. One video featured a sock puppet
that "had nothing to do with Portal" but "managed to beautifully capture the spirit of the song", while the other provided an animated retelling of the Lab Rat comic.
was the lead composer for the game's backing music. In keeping with the theme from Portal, Morasky wanted to create music that kept an "old future through a new lens" approach, such as by using minimalist electronic piano or mangled chiptune
s. He also wanted to create music that would sound like it would have been composed by a computer, citing the use of "stiff arpeggios, math-like voice leading, odd rhythm patterns and whole tone scales" as a means to achieve this. Morasky also incorporated the briefly-seen singing turrets—all voiced by McLain— in the piece "Cara Mia Addio!" after recalling that she was a former opera singer, and used snippets of her singing to create something that still sounded synthetic. Except for McLain's vocals, all the music is based on synthesized or sampled sounds, and even with McLain, her voice was resampled to make it sound like a computer.
Morasky created procedurally generated
music, which is generated in real time based on the player's actions. This type of music system was based on the previous success of incidental music used in the Left 4 Dead
series, and was developed to create a generalized platform for reuse in future Valve productions. Such music is generated by the player's interaction with various puzzle objects in the test chambers, such as launching from an Aerial Faith Plate. Morasky designed the procedure to build out the music more as the player completed more of each puzzle. Morasky also saw this as a means to provide experimentation to the player, exploring both space and timing of events to alter the composition of the music. Morasky claims that one piece of music "only repeats itself every 76,911 years, 125 days, 7 hours, 56 minutes and 30.3 seconds". Morasky designed this dynamic music as a reward for successfully completing puzzles.
used the soundtrack of Portal 2, amongst a few other soundtracks, as an example how a game can use both source music
(i.e. music that is part of the game environment) and underscoring
(music that is only for the player) to create atmosphere in games; Dillon also mentions that he "especially" liked the game's soundtrack. Alyssa Grimley of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
praised Morasky's composing of the soundtrack and called it an "understated genius". She also praised Jonathan Coulton's song "Want You Gone" for the way in which it reflects the changed spirit of GLaDOS when compared to "Still Alive" from the first game.
For the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, both "Want You Gone" and "Exile Vilify" were nominated for "Best Song in a Game", while the soundtrack was nominated for "Best Original Score".
Portal 2
Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The sequel to the 2007 video game Portal, it was announced on March 5, 2010, following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game...
is a physics-based puzzle-platformer game created by the Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
and released on Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
in April 2011. The game, set in the desolate, labyrinthine Aperture Science facility, challenges the player to navigate test chambers created by the artificial intelligence GLaDOS
GLaDOS
GLaDOS, short for Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, is a fictional artificially intelligent computer system in Valve Software's Half-Life video game series and the main antagonist in the video games Portal and Portal 2. She was created by Erik Wolpaw and Kim Swift and is voiced by Ellen...
, using a portal gun, a device able to create portals that link two points in space like a wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
. The game expands on the original Portal by adding new puzzle elements, such as paint that imparts properties to surfaces, plates that can launch the player and objects over distances, and traction beams and light bridges.
The game's music includes original scores composed by Valve's Mike Morasky
Mike Morasky
Mike Morasky is an American video game and film composer working at Valve Corporation. He is best known for composing the music for Portal, Team Fortress 2, the Left 4 Dead series and Portal 2.-Biography:...
, and two original songs provided by Jonathan Coulton
Jonathan Coulton
Jonathan Coulton is an American singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans...
and the band The National
The National (band)
The National is an indie rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1999 and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The band's lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger, a baritone...
. The bulk of the music was released as a freely-available download across three volumes, entitled Songs to Test By.
"Want You Gone"
Jonathan CoultonJonathan Coulton
Jonathan Coulton is an American singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans...
's song "Still Alive
Still Alive
Still Alive may refer to:* Still Alive , the closing credits song from the Portal video game* Still Alive – the Remixes, the theme song from the video game Mirror's Edge...
" was a large part of Portal's success, so Valve included more music in Portal 2, including further involvement from Coulton. Coulton wrote a new song for the game's ending credits, "Want You Gone", also written from GLaDOS's viewpoint. Coulton had discussed with Wolpaw about whether an ending song would be necessary, and how they could create "an emotional moment" comparable to "Still Alive", back in 2009 when Portal 2s ending was not yet determined. Other options were considered, such as several "joke songs" and false endings for the game. Ultimately the game's finale, where GLaDOS effectively "breaks up" with Chell, was set by the last quarter of 2010, and Coulton played the game as it had been developed to that point to generate ideas. Elements of the ending, such as Chell being told to leave Aperture with the door slamming behind her, led to the development of main chorus line "I used to want you dead, but now I only want you gone." Coulton wrote the lyrics and composed the song over the course of several days, with John Flansburgh
John Flansburgh
John Conant Flansburgh is an American musician. He is half of the longstanding Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, for which he writes, sings and plays rhythm guitar...
assisting on electronic drums, and traveled to Valve's headquarters in January 2011 to record it with Ellen McLain
Ellen McLain
Ellen McLain is an opera singer and voice actress from Nashville, Tennessee, USA. McLain provides voices for many characters in several video games from Valve...
, the voice actress for GLaDOS.
In addition to be included in the Portal 2 soundtrack, "Want You Gone" and "Still Alive" appear on Coulton's album Artificial Heart
Artificial Heart (album)
Artificial Heart is the eighth studio album by rock musician Jonathan Coulton. After taking a long hiatus from songwriting after his successful 2006 Thing a Week project , Coulton started production on Artificial Heart after encouragement from John Flansburgh , also the...
.
"Exile Vilify"
The indie rock band The NationalThe National (band)
The National is an indie rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1999 and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The band's lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger, a baritone...
provided another original song, "Exile Vilify"; its lyrics were composed by the group and reviewed by Valve to ensure they fit with the tone of one of the Rat Man's dens, where it appears in-game. The National had expressed an interest in doing music for Valve to Bug Music, their publishing label, which the label forwarded on to Valve in discussing other music opportunities for the game. Valve and Bug Music identified that The National would fit well into Portal 2, as their "raw and emotive music evokes the same visceral reactions from its listeners that Portal does from its players" according to Bug Music's spokesperson Julia Betley. The song is considered by Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
to be a "haunted, piano-lead ballad" similar to the band's song "Think You Can Wait" used in the film Win Win
Win Win (film)
Win Win is a 2011 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Thomas McCarthy. Based on the story written by Joe Tiboni and Thomas McCarthy, it stars Paul Giamatti, Alex Shaffer and Amy Ryan.-Plot:...
. "Exile Vilify" is not included in the freely downloadable Portal 2 soundtrack, but instead was released as a digital single by the band.
After the game's release, Valve and The National ran a contest encouraging users to create their own music video for "Exile Vilify", offering as prizes Valve merchandise and a guitar signed by members of the band. Of 320 videos submitted, Valve ultimately awarded two videos first prize. One video featured a sock puppet
Sock puppet
A sock puppet is a puppet made from a sock or similar garment. When the manipulator fits a hand into the closed end of the sock, the puppet can be seemingly made to "talk". The puppet's mouth is formed by the region between the sock's heel and toe, with the puppeteer's thumb forming a jaw...
that "had nothing to do with Portal" but "managed to beautifully capture the spirit of the song", while the other provided an animated retelling of the Lab Rat comic.
Original music
Valve's Mike MoraskyMike Morasky
Mike Morasky is an American video game and film composer working at Valve Corporation. He is best known for composing the music for Portal, Team Fortress 2, the Left 4 Dead series and Portal 2.-Biography:...
was the lead composer for the game's backing music. In keeping with the theme from Portal, Morasky wanted to create music that kept an "old future through a new lens" approach, such as by using minimalist electronic piano or mangled chiptune
Chiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
s. He also wanted to create music that would sound like it would have been composed by a computer, citing the use of "stiff arpeggios, math-like voice leading, odd rhythm patterns and whole tone scales" as a means to achieve this. Morasky also incorporated the briefly-seen singing turrets—all voiced by McLain— in the piece "Cara Mia Addio!" after recalling that she was a former opera singer, and used snippets of her singing to create something that still sounded synthetic. Except for McLain's vocals, all the music is based on synthesized or sampled sounds, and even with McLain, her voice was resampled to make it sound like a computer.
Morasky created procedurally generated
Procedural generation
Procedural generation is a widely used term in the production of media; it refers to content generated algorithmically rather than manually. Often, this means creating content on the fly rather than prior to distribution...
music, which is generated in real time based on the player's actions. This type of music system was based on the previous success of incidental music used in the Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead (series)
The Left 4 Dead franchise is based on a series of cooperative first-person shooter, survival horror video games developed by the Valve Corporation...
series, and was developed to create a generalized platform for reuse in future Valve productions. Such music is generated by the player's interaction with various puzzle objects in the test chambers, such as launching from an Aerial Faith Plate. Morasky designed the procedure to build out the music more as the player completed more of each puzzle. Morasky also saw this as a means to provide experimentation to the player, exploring both space and timing of events to alter the composition of the music. Morasky claims that one piece of music "only repeats itself every 76,911 years, 125 days, 7 hours, 56 minutes and 30.3 seconds". Morasky designed this dynamic music as a reward for successfully completing puzzles.
Songs to Test By
Reception
Kym Dillon of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
used the soundtrack of Portal 2, amongst a few other soundtracks, as an example how a game can use both source music
Source music
Source music refers to music that is part of a fictional setting, such as films or video games. It is usually either played in this setting in the background or by characters of the medium...
(i.e. music that is part of the game environment) and underscoring
Underscoring
In film production, underscoring is the playing of music quietly under dialogue or a visual scene. It is usually done to establish a mood or theme. In a play, sometimes incidental music is used for this purpose....
(music that is only for the player) to create atmosphere in games; Dillon also mentions that he "especially" liked the game's soundtrack. Alyssa Grimley of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
praised Morasky's composing of the soundtrack and called it an "understated genius". She also praised Jonathan Coulton's song "Want You Gone" for the way in which it reflects the changed spirit of GLaDOS when compared to "Still Alive" from the first game.
For the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, both "Want You Gone" and "Exile Vilify" were nominated for "Best Song in a Game", while the soundtrack was nominated for "Best Original Score".