Portal happened right around when HL2 begins [SPOILERS]

[PortalStormzzzz]

How do I know this? Because the Portal website makes mention that it was "Bring your daughter to work day" and it just so happens you're the daughter of this "cjohnson" figure. Therefore, it is likely GLaDOS saved all the little kiddies for testing when they got older. Being much like a kid herself, perhaps having children as friends would help her to learn or something. THerefor you can assume the main character is as old as Alyx.

Side Note: the ending scene looks kind of like a "Dry Dock" mentioned by ELi.

 

[Rapstah]

You're not the daughter of C Johnson, he's gone through the test himself.

 

[PortalStormzzzz]

You're not the daughter of C Johnson, he's gone through the test himself.

Then maybe he was a surviver of the neuron toxin, and GLaDOS had some "fun" with him.

 

[theotherguy]

Of course it happened right around when hl2 begins, but not for the reasons you mentioned.

They are competing firms with Black Mesa. This was obviously before the Black Mesa incident, so it could be before or during Half-life, but not after. Judging by the technology Aperture Science has, I'm going to assume its not too long before the Black Mesa incident.

 

[Shamrock]

Of course it happened right around when hl2 begins, but not for the reasons you mentioned.

They are competing firms with Black Mesa. This was obviously before the Black Mesa incident, so it could be before or during Half-life, but not after. Judging by the technology Aperture Science has, I'm going to assume its not too long before the Black Mesa incident.

How can you say its before Black Mesa? The warehouse is abandoned which means something huge had to happen for every scientist/worker at Aperture Science to up and leave in a hurry meaning they didn't have time to take data with them, change data, unlock every test subject, etc.

 

[spunge]

The ending song's line "maybe black mesa" etc. implies that it still exists

And to shamrock, they abandoned 'cos of GLaDOS

 

[Nitre]

The ending song's line "maybe black mesa" etc. implies that it still exists

And to shamrock, they abandoned 'cos of GLaDOS

the line goes "maybe black mesa...that was a joke, HAHA, FAT CHANCE"

 

[theholygod]

I always assumed the "fat chance" bit to mean "black mesa screwed up, you would do better off without them"

 

[Nitre]

I thought it was because the place had been effectively annihilated. Could be the fact that the people at aperture science thought that the guys at black mesa sucked i guess.

 

[Deleted member 56031]

I always thought it was because aperture was their rivals and thought they sucked

 

[Kaotix]

Come on guys... It makes more sense that Portal takes place at the same time as Episode 2.
First of all, they were released together! (not strong evidence but it makes sense.)
Second, Aperture Science is totally abandoned. Something big happened and it wasn't all GLaDOS's fault. If she had killed EVERYONE then where are all the bodies?
Third, GLaDOS says something like... I don't know what's going on up there... but I'm the only one between us and THEM.
The "them" probably refers to the Combine.
Fourth, doesn't the story make more sense if Portal takes place at the same time as episode 2? Valve now has tons of material to make Episode 3. I'm guessing they are going to tie together Portal and Half-Life in Episode 3.
It's a lot easier to tie together the stories if they happened at the same time.
If Portal had happened before HL or HL2, then why didn't anyone notice a freaky-legged chick running around with a PORTAL GUN?

 

[tehsolace]

It is not a coincidence that GLaDOS mentioned "bring your daughter to work day to have them tested" AND she was activated on the first bring your daughter to work day AND Chell is a girl.

It all fits together.

She is the daughter of an AS employee, kept in stasis for maybe about 20 years, grown up into a woman and released from stasis. 1986 is about the time HL1 started, and HL2 is suspected to be 15-20 years later. Same timeline.

 

[Deleted member 56031]

HL1 was in the year 200X but I think the timeline still seems to roughly fit.

 

[MJ12]

She is the daughter of an AS employee, kept in stasis for maybe about 20 years, grown up into a woman and released from stasis. 1986 is about the time HL1 started, and HL2 is suspected to be 15-20 years later. Same timeline.

nooooo, black mesa takes place like between 1998-2002. Then another 17 years after that is the events of HL2

 

[Yorick]

Portal takes place at the same time as Episode 2.
First of all, they were released together! (not strong evidence but it makes sense.)

That's the stupidest reasoning I've ever heard.

If she had killed EVERYONE then where are all the bodies?

If she killed anyone where are the bodies? Bodies don't completely decompose that quickly. Especially in those surroundings. There must be some kind of automated cleaning program going on. It would also explain why the test chambers are still in relatively good condition despite the fact that the entire series of bowels of the facility are completely rusted out.

My guess is Portal happens around the same time as HL2. I thought Glados's remarks about Black Mesa were directly related to you not actually being a scientist. They'd never give you a job there.

 

[Grand Architect]

the line goes "maybe black mesa...that was a joke, HAHA, FAT CHANCE"

The context is, who will you look to for help? This line led me to believe that black mesa can't help you.

IMHO Chell is a subject for bring you daughter to work day, so she would have been 6-18 years old that day. GLaDOS taking over may have happened before, around or after the events of Half-Life. Ether way Chell had 14-2 or more years to sit in that glass room (I think that timer in the room had more then just a minute on it, and chell was aware of it). This places it between HL1 and HL2 in my eyes.

 

[theotherguy]

yes. black mesa incident was after 1998.

Why would the power still be on if the black mesa incident had already occurred? Why would the outside of Aperture Science be so serene? Why would there be a projector with stuff about Black Mesa on it?

Black Mesa is in direct competition with Aperture Science during Portal. The place is abandoned simply because they didn't want to deal with NPCs entering into portals. Aperture Science website says that GlaDOS was constructed "several years after 1996".

If Black Mesa incident happened a little while after 1998, it is reasonable to assume that GlaDOS could not have been built after the black Mesa incident.

The borealis is an Aperature Science research vessel. It was lost during the seven hour war. The seven hour war happened at the same time as the Black Mesa incident. It's reasonable to assume that if a remote research vessel could be lost during the seven hour war, a huge research complex in a populated area would be quickly taken over by the Combine. I find it extremely difficult to believe that the events of Portal take place after the Black Mesa incident, where there is no evidence of the Combine anywhere, and plenty of evidence that Black Mesa was currentley in operation at the time of Portal.

the "HAHA fat chance", is reference to Aperature Science's direct competition with Black Mesa, not the destruction of Black Mesa.

 

[Sulkdodds]

Why would the power still be on if the black mesa incident had already occurred?

Like inGen labs and, probably, Black Mesa itself, Aperture Science was likely entirely self-sufficiant and, being run by an AI, could probably last a long time with its power plant still running.

Why would the outside of Aperture Science be so serene?

There are pockets of calm and beauty even in the most profound chaos. Try going to Chernobyl. That the tiny portion of the world we see at Portal's end is calm means very little. Anyway, why would GLaDOS talk about the outside world being in trouble if the Incident hadn't yet happened?

Why would there be a projector with stuff about Black Mesa on it?

Simple: the facility was abandoned before the Incident and everything has been lying right where it was ever since.

GLaDOS was undoubtedly built and 'turned on' before the Black Mesa incident, but it's almost certain that the game takes place after it. Gordon set off interdimensional war somewhere between the birth of GLaDOS and Chell's escape.

I'm pretty sure there was some space between Black Mesa and the Seven Hour War, during which the world was ravaged by portal storms but not yet by the Combine.

Since Aperture was recieving government funds, it's clear that it couldn't have been abandoned before Black Mesa; the military wouldn't just leave the facility alone with so much money invested in it.

On the other hand, the Combine might not even know about the place, or be able to get inside, since it's a secretive bunker hidden deep below the earth. It's plausible that they might not even know about it, or that they might know about it but not know where it is.

My bet is that Portal takes place during the portal storms (hence GLaDOS' reference to the outside world) but not after the Combine invasion (hence GLaDOS being very vague about "them"). I see the Portal Storms as a time of chaos and Combine rule as a time of relative, albeit oppressive, calm. On the other hand there's some compelling reasons to believe that Chell is a daughter brung to work who has been kept in stasis, and that the whole thing takes place shortly before Episode 2.

I don't think GLaDOS knows that Black Mesa is gone. She's a relic, trapped in a bubble of stopped time, who still thinks the most important thing in the world is continuing the research she was programmed to administrate.

 

[Grand Architect]

Sulkdodds: I agree with much of what you said but...

I don't think GLaDOS knows that Black Mesa is gone. She's a relic, trapped in a bubble of stopped time, who still thinks the most important thing in the world is continuing the research she was programmed to administrate.

I think GLaDOS could have monitored TV News Networks for info on the outside world till the networks went down in the 7-hours war/portal storms. So she could know about the events at Black Mesa and even a little about the combine, if News Networks talked about.

 

[theotherguy]

What references does GlaDOS make to the outside world?

I don't know. I was under the impression that the facility was fully staffed, and you were just one of many subjects being tested at the time, and that they didn't include NPCs for the obvious reason of having problems with people portaling them elsewhere.

 

[ríomhaire]

Is GLaDOS really keeping the Combine out though? If that's true then killing her lets them in, and gives them access to Apeture's teleportation technology.

 

[cabbs]

After you defeat GLaDOS and land outside, the sky seems pretty clear/blue. And there are birds singing.

I cant remember what the story canon has stated about how the combine neutralised America, but I would assume that the combine would damage the environment there at least as much as europe. It can't be set more than a few months/years after the 7 hour war.

 

[Chabo]

It is not a coincidence that GLaDOS mentioned "bring your daughter to work day to have them tested" AND she was activated on the first bring your daughter to work day AND Chell is a girl.

It all fits together.

She is the daughter of an AS employee, kept in stasis for maybe about 20 years, grown up into a woman and released from stasis. 1986 is about the time HL1 started, and HL2 is suspected to be 15-20 years later. Same timeline.

Other than the "1986" part, I agree with this post.

The time between HL and HL2 is enough for Alyx to go from being a baby/toddler to being someone that Eli thinks you should hook up with. :naughty:

Therefore, if Portal takes place about the same time as HL2 or one of the episodes, and Chell is about the same age as Alyx (or even a little older), then she would've been a young kid on Bring Your Daughter To Work Day, which probably was about the same time as the Black Mesa incident. (maybe the same day?)

 

[cyk]

The references can be found in portal english.gcf, and are "escape_02_spheredestroy_4-02" to "escape_02_spheredestroy_4-04":

"Are you trying to escape? *high pitched laughter* Things have changed since the last time you left the building. What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here."

"I have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I'm not sure what's going on outside."

"All I know is that I'm the only thing standing between us... and them... Well, I was."

If there's any more, let me know. It the things have changed part makes me think it's post seven-hour war, or should probably would have said "Things are changing" or something similar.

 

[Sulkdodds]

I think GLaDOS could have monitored TV News Networks for info on the outside world till the networks went down in the 7-hours war/portal storms. So she could know about the events at Black Mesa and even a little about the combine, if News Networks talked about.

Possibly, but that's assuming she has some kind of data access to the outside world.

She was an AI designed specifically to administer to the testing of the portal gun and perhaps other projects; that her powers are almost entirely confined to the test chambers is made clear by the fact that she can't see or hear you when you're in the maintenance areas ("Hello? Hello? Are you still there?"). What reason would Aperture have for connecting her to the internet or giving her TV? We know they were worried about her becoming self-aware, so would they willingly give her a vast source of information about humans? And didn't she rebel in testing stage, when they would have had the minimum amount of systems connecting to her?

The question is then how she knows what's going on out there. I'd guess she has some kind of monitoring equipment, if crude, or that she's simply inferring things from what she knows (ie. the facility is abandoned, food shipments are no longer coming in, nobody visits any more...).

She knows something is going on outside but claims she doesn't know exactly what. I'm not sure; when she says "even I don't know what's happening out there", it has a ring of truth about it - partly because she dwells on it so much, and it relates to other games we've played.

Although almost everything else she says is a lie, her falsehoods and attempts at trickery are completely pathetic, completely laughable; maybe she's not smart enough to intentionally hold back information about the nature of the threat outside so as to intimidate us, nor smart enough to know that fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all.

Then again, those lines have a real sense of her holding something back - of her being tricksy. Which is bizarre. There's smugness too, as if she's finally found something she knows is true to threaten you with.

Dunno. D:

What references does GlaDOS make to the outside world?

"Are you trying to escape? Ha ha ha ha ha! Things have changed since the last time you left the building. What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here. I have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I'm not sure what's going on outside. All I know is I'm the only thing standing between us and them. Well...I was."

I don't know. I was under the impression that the facility was fully staffed, and you were just one of many subjects being tested at the time, and that they didn't include NPCs for the obvious reason of having problems with people portaling them elsewhere.

Conspicuously empty observation windows. Entire offices and corridors full of chairs and computers left strangely empty. GLaDOS clearly in need of maintenance. Broken environments left alone, and not fixed. Maintenance corridors that look like they haven't been touched in years. Test subjects surviving in wall spaces for six months on cans. Her final grand reveal: "I flooded the enrichment center with a deadly neurotoxin." All of it points to two things: one, there's almost nobody else left in the facility; it's abandoned. Two, the storyline deliberately reveals bits and bobs of evidence until you realise it's just you and GLaDOS in there. That's one of its best elements, in fact - that slow reveal, that growing sense of dread.

 

[Direwolf]

Edit: Sulkdodds beat me to most of this, but I'll leave my original post intact.
Yeah, I assumed its post 7-hour war too. I thought the game made it pretty clear once you get out of the test area that you aren't actually being monitored by anyone, instead its just been GladDOS all along. Not only that, but the entire facility is suffering from not just disarray, but the effects of prolonged time without any maintenance. Rust covers every metal surface, concrete is crumbling, scaffolds have bent and collapsed, and water and mold damage is everywhere.

Even inside the test area everything looks more beat up than you'd expect. Doorways are chipped, padding in the elevator is dirty, and just a general layer of dirt seems evident in many places. And GladDOS herself has broken down, even in the first minute of the game her speech circuits are failing and she's babbling in Spanish.

Aperture science isn't just abandoned, its been abandoned for a long time. It seems to have been a competitor to Black Mesa, and its clearly the developer of some things we had thought to be Combine technology (energy spheres etc), which points to it quite possibly being in North America and a long way from City 17. We don't know much about the state of the world there after the Combine, so the ending shot doesn't really suggest anything to me.

 

[Cuthbert]

I agree with guys who think it's after Combine invasion. Glados clearly states the world has changed and it's dangerous now obvioulsy refering Combine. If it's not after invasion, it's during 7 Hour War. The green environment outside confuses me though..

 

[ríomhaire]

The neurotoxin thing wasn't the last of the Aperture employees though. Remember, they installed the ethics module in her afterwards.

 

[Sulkdodds]

True! But the facility is also clearly abandoned, probably meaning the survivors of GLaDOS' initial rebellion installed the module and then bugged out (then why did they bother?) or that they installed the module and she found some 'moral' rationalisation for killing them anyway/imprisoning them/turning them into test subjects.

Everything becomes a lot more complicated when we consider the information from aperturescience.com:

When was the last time you left the building?
Has anybody left the building lately?

I don't know why we're in lockdown. I don't know who's in charge. I did find out a few things, like these terminals don't have to tap out characters one at a time. And while we're all working on twenty year old equipment, somehow they can afford to build an 'Enrichment Centre'. Check out this security feed. Whatever the hell a 'relaxation vault' is, it doesn't have any doors.

I don't think going home is part of our job description any more.

If a supervisor walks by, press return!

 

[ríomhaire]

Oh, I had forgotten about that Sulk! Thanks. From that I'd guess that GLaDOS locked the building down and wouldn't let anyone escape. Anyone who wasn't made into a test subject probably died in other parts of laboratories. The enrichment centre would be the worst place to be near if GLaDOS took over the building, it's where she has the most control. Maybe there are rotting corpses in other parts of the centre, we just don't get to see them.

 

[theotherguy]

Wow, never noticed those references before. Completely overlooked them.

I see the possibility, but I find that very disappointing. I was hoping valve would do a prequel, and to set it after the 7 hour war seems very implausible and actually quite stupid to me.

 

[BTNHAdrien]

Maybe she threw the bodies in the thing that you throw her eye things in. Why else would she have it in the room shes in?

 

[PvtRyan]

From the song's lyrics:

When I look out there,
it makes me GLaD I'm not you.

Also, from YouTube comments (amazing, I know):

I would say that Portal is at least 2006 because in the images that flash above GLaDOS in the final room there is a cake with "2006" written on it.

No idea if that's true.

 

[Kaotix]

From the song's lyrics:

When I look out there,
it makes me GLaD I'm not you.

Also, from YouTube comments (amazing, I know):



No idea if that's true.

Ah... Interesting! I'm gonna have to check that out.

I agree with guys who think it's after Combine invasion. Glados clearly states the world has changed and it's dangerous now obvioulsy refering Combine. If it's not after invasion, it's during 7 Hour War. The green environment outside confuses me though..

That shouldn't be confusing. The entire world isn't a big nuclear holocaust or anything... Just look at the white forest. there is still green plants and plenty of flora/fauna left in the world.
Don't get caught up on that.

 

[Ridge]

I agree with guys who think it's after Combine invasion. Glados clearly states the world has changed and it's dangerous now obvioulsy refering Combine. If it's not after invasion, it's during 7 Hour War. The green environment outside confuses me though..

This has been going through my head for a bit...we all know Valve watches these forums, and looks at our beliefs and sometimes incorporates them...

We have always believed on this forum that North America would have stood up to invasion in a big way, and would have likely fought long and hard till the death, perhaps even using nukes against the Combine...

If that is the case, civilization would have likely been nearly wiped out, and it has been known that areas nuked in the past have very dense vegetation because of the lack of human interaction with the environment, and the mutation of the local soil and flora...

So, this could be Cleveland, after the 7 Hour War, in a long since abandoned and overrun North America...

 

[Ridge]

No idea if that's true.

Just took a screenshot at random and happened to catch it!

 

[Psychanalysis05%]

That shouldn't be confusing. The entire world isn't a big nuclear holocaust or anything... Just look at the white forest. there is still green plants and plenty of flora/fauna left in the world.
Don't get caught up on that.

THANK YOU! I was beginning to think bobody here had played Episode Two at all.

The beginning of Episode 2, the sky is almost clear blue with a few wispy clouds in the sky, and the area is surrounded by absolutely breathtaking lush green vegetation, trees and whatnot.

Just because the end of Portal shows a three second blip of a cleat sky that you can only see a little bit of straight ahead of you with a few trees and a parking lot means NOTHING about the setting of this game timewise. There is plenty of evidence to back me up too, just play Episode 2 for five minutes and look around =P

 

[myucka]

just played Portal and I loved it!! Much better than I thought it would be.

Here is my take on what is going on. And some "possible" theories.

Portal itself takes place during HL2. I'm assuming that GlaDOS can tap into television and radio, so she is able to keep up with current news to a degree...hence her comment about "them."

I think that Aperture was deserted around the time of HL1. I'm basing this almost fully on the slideshow you see during the game. I'm going to assume that after the Resonance Cascade and the military intervention...government contracts were not being handed over to Black Mesa anymore. I think that around the same time that the RC happened over at BMesa, they did an evac of Aperture...some were left behind in the confusion, or GlaDos didn't let them out.

Obviously during the 7 hour war, nobody went back into Aperture as they assumed it was empty. GlaDos kept up with her testing and also was able to keep an eye on current events.

Now to theories:

A couple of things came to mind during my play of this...

1. You are in a stasis and wake up in a deserted lab. No signs of life, but there is a radio station playing. It seems to be familiar. I keep thinking of this as a parallel to when the GMan puts you in stasis...he then "Portals" out and leaves you there. stab in the dark, but meh.

2. What about those energy ball generators that start elevators and moving panels....doesn't that technology seem really familiar? i.e. Combine citadel mechanics?

I haven't been part of this board for too long, so I haven't read all of the theories, however, this is what I think, possible spoilers:

The GMan may be working for a rival entity to the combine. He aided Aperture with technology far ahead of Black Mesa at the time of the Resonance Cascade, however the Black Mesa team were still able to beat Aperture at teleportation tech. When the GMan found this out, he decided to abandon Aperture to their own devices and concentrate on Black Mesa as they had an edge. He gave the team his "pure" sample and the rest is history.

He uses Gordon and then puts him in a stasis chamber much like the one in Portal, however, being alien, Gordan's stasis causes him to age slower, or not at all.

I think Portal has little to do with current events other than to give better insight on alien technology...of course I'm speculating...flame on.

 

[viper_992000]

something i havent heard anyone talk about much yet is the Borealis which is supposedly owned by aperture science which is a rival of black mesa and is said to have some kind of technology aboard it.

i was wondering what you guys think about this

 

[Mahalis]

He aided Aperture with technology far ahead of Black Mesa at the time of the Resonance Cascade, however the Black Mesa team were still able to beat Aperture at teleportation tech. When the GMan found this out, he decided to abandon Aperture to their own devices and concentrate on Black Mesa as they had an edge. He gave the team his "pure" sample and the rest is history.

Interesting. I haven't heard this theory before; it'd explain why they have the energy-ball tech without necessarily giving them an (incredibly unlikely) direct link to the Combine. Good idea.