Do You Dare the Elevator?

Meet David S.! He’s working with instructor Jeremiah as part of Game-U’s New York Accelerate program. David’s great with puzzles and brain teasers, so Jeremiah introduced him to the lore and test chambers of the mind-bending Portal 2 game. David’s not only beating Portal 2 in single-player mode, but he’s also creating his own test chambers for the wider Portal 2 gaming community!

Portal 2 sends players through a maze of “test chambers” in an massive, ruined laboratory, where players must solve puzzles – usually involving portals, of course – in order to proceed. (Think of the game as a maze of escape rooms, with enemies and particle beams complicating matters.) Using the Community Test Chambers editor associated with Portal 2, gamers like David can build their own test chambers-cum-escape rooms using the tools and mechanics found in the game. David, with a little instruction from Jeremiah, put the editor to work creating an elevator-based challenge, where the elevator is a tractor beam that can be redirected with one of the player’s tools, the Portal Gun. Players use the beam to scale the level, take out enemy turrets, and manipulate companion cubes to ultimately unlock the chamber door that allows them escape. It’s a robust puzzle challenge now available to all Portal 2 gamers, since David, when he finished the project, published it in Steam’s Online Community. Gamers should take the stairs unless they’re up for a mental workout, however, because David’s elevator isn’t the easy option!

Thanks for sharing your test chamber with us, David! Jeremiah’s impressed by your aptitude not only for solving puzzles – even ones Portal 2 didn’t intend for you to solve! – but also for crafting them, and so are we. Keep challenging us! We’re excited to watch you develop your talent.