View source for Software:Portal Stories: Mel

{{short description|Single-player mod of Portal 2}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Portal Stories: Mel
| image = Portal Stories Mel Cover.jpg
| developer = Prism Studios
| publisher = Prism Studios
| composer = Harry Callaghan{{efn|An additional song for the game, titled "Time and Time Again", was written by Ian Wiese.<ref name="credits"/>}}
| engine = [[Software:Source (game engine)|Source]]
| released = 25 June 2015
| genre = Puzzle-platform
| modes = [[Software:Single-player video game|Single-player]]
| platforms = {{cslist|[[Software:Microsoft Windows|Windows]]|[[Software:MacOS|macOS]]|[[Software:Linux|Linux]]}}
}}

'''''Portal Stories: Mel''''' is a 2015 single-player [[Software:Mod (video gaming)|modification]] for ''[[Software:Portal 2|Portal 2]]'', developed by Prism Studios. Like the official ''Portal'' games, it is a puzzle-platform game that involves placing interconnected "portals" to solve puzzles. Set in the ''Portal'' universe, players control the test subject Mel, who has to escape an underground facility after she spends decades in artificial hibernation. 

The mod was released on 25 June 2015 for [[Software:Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Software:MacOS|macOS]] and [[Software:Linux|Linux]] systems, available freely to users who own ''Portal 2'' on [[Software:Steam (service)|Steam]]. Reviewers largely praised the mod's visual design and ambition, though they criticised its difficulty; later updates added a "story mode" that made the puzzles easier.

==Gameplay==
{{also|Portal 2#Gameplay|l1=Gameplay of Portal 2}}
[[File:Portal physics-2.svg|thumb|left|Like ''Portal 2'', ''Portal Stories: Mel'' allows the player to solve various puzzles with portals.]]
Like ''Portal 2'', ''Portal Stories: Mel'' is a [[Software:Platform game#Puzzle platformers|puzzle-platform]] game played from the first-person perspective as the player character Mel.<ref name="gameinformer"/> Featuring the same mechanics as the original game, the player solves puzzles with a prototype "portal gun", which allows them to create a connected opening on two different flat planes. Portals can only be placed on certain surfaces, and portal shooting can be blocked via electric barriers.<ref name="wapost"/><ref name="overclockers"/> 

Additionally, the player can use a variety of other puzzle mechanics, including "light bridges" that allow traversal over gaps, "gels" that affect the player's movement, and cubes that can be placed on buttons.<ref name="wapost"/><ref name="overclockers"/>

There are 22 levels in the game; the developers expect players to take 6 to 10 hours to complete it.<ref name="ign"/>

==Plot==
[[File:Portal Stories Mel Overgrown 4.png |thumb|right|''Portal Stories: Mel'' is set in the dilapidated underground complex of Aperture Science.|alt=An overgrown testing chamber, with two platforms on the left and right.]]

In 1952, when Aperture Science is still a fledgling company,<ref name="pcgamer"/><ref name="steam"/> Mel, a German olympian who has been recruited as a test subject, arrives by tram at the Aperture Science Innovators headquarters in Michigan, and makes her way through Aperture's [[Company:Company town|company town]] and into a massive underground complex. Aperture's CEO, Cave Johnson, speaks to Mel through pre-recorded messages via intercom, informing her that she will take part in a test of the ''Aperture Innovators Short Term Relaxation Vault''. The test goes wrong, and Mel is put in indefinite stasis.   

Awakening in the distant future, Mel follows what seems to be the voice of Cave Johnson and obtains a portal gun. The voice reveals that he is not actually Cave Johnson but a maintenance core named Virgil, who offers to help Mel escape. Virgil guides Mel through the remnants of the old facility, explaining that the destruction of GLaDOS, the main overseer of Aperture's facility, caused most of the control systems in the facility to falter.{{efn|As depicted in ''[[Software:Portal (video game)|Portal]]''.}} 

Continuing upwards, they learn that the reserve power has caused a prototype security system, AEGIS, to become active. With GLaDOS absent, AEGIS attempts to track them through the facility to eliminate them, deeming them potential threats to Aperture's (long-dead) scientists. Virgil realises the only way for Mel to escape is to disable AEGIS. 

Going through overgrown test chambers, they eventually arrive at AEGIS's central core and successfully disable it. Mel enters the code to shut down AEGIS, but while doing so, she and Virgil learn that it was flooding the facility in an attempt to destroy GLaDOS's remains. Mel surrenders her portal gun and exits the facility in an elevator, bidding Virgil goodbye. At the top of the elevator, she finds the town where she entered Aperture in ruins. 

In a [[Engineering:Post-credits scene|post-credits scene]], AEGIS has enough power left to initiate one final fail-safe: waking up the test subject Chell by draining the reserve power so she can escape.{{efn|Which sets up the events of ''[[Software:Portal 2|Portal 2]]''.}}

==Development and release==
''Portal Stories: Mel'' was developed over the course of four years by a small independent team of ''Portal'' fans under the name '''Prism Studios'''.<ref name="wapost"/> Development for the mod started in May 2011, with it originally being intended to launch in early 2012.<ref name="update early"/> After several delays, on 21 March 2013, it was announced that several maps had to be rebuilt to meet satisfactory quality, with several members of the team changing.<ref name="update quality"/> 

The first closed beta was announced on 4 August 2013, leading to several maps being re-worked and updated to higher quality standards.<ref name="update beta"/><ref name="update rework"/> The team also saw the addition of a new modeler and an extra level designer. On 20 June 2014, the development team announced that they were aiming for a release in the first quarter of 2015, with support for Windows, and OS X systems.<ref name="update release"/> 

On 1 August 2014, the mod advanced through the [[Software:Steam (service)|Steam]] Greenlight program.<ref name="update greenlight"/> After being successfully green-lit, the developers started a new closed beta, which expanded every month with new players to gather more feedback. In a February 2015 developer update, Prism announced that they had to once again postpone the release.<ref name="update delay"/> During the whole process, the team consulted [[Company:Valve Corporation|Valve]] for development advice.<ref name="wapost"/>

On 25 June 2015, the mod was released on Steam as a free download for owners of ''[[Software:Portal 2|Portal 2]]'', alongside some developer commentary videos on [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]].<ref name="gameinformer"/><ref name="steam"/><ref name="devcom"/> In response to complaints about the high difficulty level of the mod, the developers released a "Story Mode" campaign on 31 August 2015, with certain puzzles tweaked to reduce their difficulty. The "Story Mode" puzzles became the new default, and the original puzzles were repurposed as an alternative, higher-difficulty setting known as "Advanced Mode".<ref name="sma"/><ref name="storymode"/>

On 16 May 2016, nearly one year after the release of ''Portal Stories: Mel'', Prism Studios released ''Portal Stories: VR'', a [[Virtual reality|virtual reality]] game using assets from ''Portal 2'' and ''Portal Stories: Mel''; the game features a small campaign designed for room-scale VR.<ref name="about">{{cite web|title=About|url=http://prismstudios.org/about.php|website=Prism Studios|access-date=5 September 2017|archive-date=5 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905100220/https://prismstudios.org/about.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> Afterwards, the studio switched from being a mod team to being a standalone game development company in August 2016,<ref>{{cite tweet |user=PrismStudiosUK |number=761603847865368576 |title=We're very excited to announce that we're no longer a mod team, but an actual games company! |date=5 August 2016 |access-date=27 September 2017}}</ref> releasing ''The Captives: Plot of the Demiurge'' in 2018,<ref name=games>{{cite web|title=Games|url=http://prismstudios.org/games.php|website=Prism Studios|access-date=25 February 2018|archive-date=4 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304055124/https://prismstudios.org/games.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> but shut down around December 2020.<ref name="closed">{{Cite web|title=Index {{!}} Prism Studios|url=http://www.prismstudios.org/index.php|access-date=3 January 2021|website=PrismStudios.org|archive-date=3 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103212343/http://www.prismstudios.org/index.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Reception==
Many media outlets praised the mod's ambition and polish, though they often criticised its challenging levels.<ref name="eurogamer"/><ref name="wapost"/><ref name="pcgamer"/><ref name="overclockers"/><ref name="pcgames"/> ''PC Games'' editor Felix Schütz described it as "incredulous" that it was made by a team of fans, stating that it could easily be "a small add-on", and writer Ian Higton of ''Eurogamer'' called it an "experience on par with anything Valve has created".<ref name="pcgames"/><ref name="eurogamer"/>

<!-- Puzzle design and difficulty -->
For the ''Washington Post'', writer Michael Thomson commented on the mod's difficulty, stating that he "found the game unusually difficult, almost physically fatiguing", but that he was "hesitant to say those qualities are negatives". In contrast to ''Portal 2''{{'}}s puzzles that guided the player to discover solutions on their own, ''Mel''{{'}}s difficulty was a "reminder that games are just as beautiful when they expect the inconceivable from us".<ref name="wapost"/> Higton described it as the ''[[Software:Dark Souls|Dark Souls]]'' of ''Portal'' games, stating that "if you've not up to speed with everything, their test chambers can be really punishing", but nevertheless stated that it "nails what it means to be a Valve game".<ref name="eurogamer"/> Although he rated the mod 7.5 overall, Ruslan Gubajdulllin of ''Overclockers.ru'' criticised the game's pacing, stating that the developers "practically do not give you time to rest" from solving puzzles.<ref name="overclockers"/>

<!-- Visuals -->
Higton also praised the mod's visual design, which he thought gave the mod "its own flavour".<ref name="eurogamer"/>  Gubajdulllin stated that while the developers had a "good sense of taste", a discerning player's "inner perfectionist will be horrified" by the mixed quality of the assets.<ref name="overclockers"/> Schütz stated that the visuals "unfortunately had nothing new to offer" but this was compensated for by the high quality of many environments.<ref name="pcgames"/>

<!-- Story -->
''PC Gamer'' reviewer Christopher Livingston stated that he "didn't find the humor particularly effective", though it was written "with a lot of enthusiasm and an obvious fondness for the ''Portal'' series".<ref name="pcgamer"/> Schütz stated that the writing was not as good as that of ''Portal 2'', but the character Virgil still enhanced the game's atmosphere.<ref name="pcgames"/>

===Accolades===
* ''Portal Stories: Mel'' won the award for "Best Fan Creation" at The Game Awards 2015.<ref name="gameawards"/>
* In 2015, the mod was nominated for Mod DB's "Mod of the Year" award in the Player's Choice category and was awarded the "Best Singleplayer" award in the Editors' Choice category.<ref name="moty ec"/><ref name="moty pc"/>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|40em|refs=
<ref name="credits">{{cite video game |title=Portal Stories: Mel | developer=Prism Studios | date=25 June 2015 |scene=Credits}}</ref>

<ref name="update early">{{Cite web|title = Portal Stories: Mel : Coming soon! news|url = http://www.moddb.com/mods/portalstories/news/portal-stories-mel-coming-soon|website = Mod DB| date=25 June 2015 |access-date = 2015-11-28}}</ref>
<ref name="update quality">{{Cite web|title = Progress! news - Portal Stories : Mel mod for Portal 2|url = http://www.moddb.com/mods/portalstories/news/progress167|website = Mod DB| date=25 June 2015 |access-date = 2015-11-28}}</ref>
<ref name="update beta">{{Cite web|title = Portal Stories closed beta 1.0 news|url = http://www.moddb.com/mods/portalstories/news/portal-stories-closed-beta-10|website = Mod DB| date=25 June 2015 |access-date = 2015-11-28}}</ref>
.<ref name="update rework">{{Cite web|title = Assuring quality news - Portal Stories : Mel mod for Portal 2|url = http://www.moddb.com/mods/portalstories/news/assuring-quality|website = Mod DB| date=25 June 2015 |access-date = 2015-11-28}}</ref>
<ref name="update release">{{Cite web|title = Portal Stories: Mel Releasing Q1 2015! news - Portal Stories : Mel mod for Portal 2|url = https://www.moddb.com/mods/portalstories/news/portal-stories-mel-releasing-q1-2015|website = Mod DB| date=25 June 2015 |access-date = 2021-10-06}}</ref>
<ref name="update greenlight">{{Cite web|title = Steam Community :: Group Announcements ::|url = http://steamcommunity.com/games/765/announcements/detail/151187372146727475|website = steamcommunity.com|date = August 2014|access-date = 2015-11-28}}</ref>

<ref name="update delay">{{Cite web|title = Steam Community :: Discussions|url = http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/updates/286098917/1425081689|website = steamcommunity.com|access-date = 2015-11-28}}</ref>

<ref name="gameinformer">{{cite magazine | url = http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2015/01/31/fan-made-portal-2-mod-looks-good-enough-to-be-from-valve.aspx | title = Fan Made Portal 2 Mod Looks Good Enough To Be From Valve | first =Kyle | last =Hillard | date = 2015-01-31 | access-date =  2015-05-10 | magazine = Game Informer }}</ref>
<ref name="ign">{{cite web | url = http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/07/06/portal-stories-mel-is-a-free-prologue-mod-to-portal-2 | title = Portal Stories: Mel is a Free Prologue Mod to Portal 2 | publisher = IGN | date = July 6, 2015 | access-date = July 30, 2015 | first = Cassidee | last = Moser }}</ref>
<ref name="wapost">{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/07/07/portal-stories-mel-is-a-surprisingly-difficult-but-imaginative-game-made-by-fans/ | title = 'Portal Stories: Mel' is a surprisingly difficult but imaginative game made by fans | first = Michael | last = Thomsen | date = July 7, 2015 | access-date = July 31, 2015 | newspaper = Washington Post }}</ref>
<ref name="pcgamer">{{cite web | url = http://www.pcgamer.com/portal-stories-mel-is-huge-and-challenging-and-free/ | title = Portal Stories: Mel is huge and challenging and free | first = Christopher | last = Livingstone | date = June 17, 2015 | access-date = July 20, 2015 | work = PC Gamer }}</ref>
<ref name="eurogamer">{{cite web | url = https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-06-30-video-portal-stories-mel-isnt-portal-3-but-it-could-be | title = Video: Portal Stories: Mel isn't Portal 3, but it could be | first = Ian | last = Higton | date = June 30, 2015 | access-date = October 6, 2021 | work = Eurogamer }}</ref>
<ref name="overclockers">{{cite web | url = https://overclockers.ru/lab/show/70205/portal-stories-mel-recenziya-na-mod-k-portal-2 | title = Portal Stories Mel: рецензия на мод к Portal 2 | first = Ruslan | last = Gubajdulllin | date = August 13, 2015 | access-date = October 7, 2021 | work = Overclockers.ru|lang=ru}}</ref>
<ref name="pcgames">{{cite web |last1=Schütz |first1=Felix |title=Portal Stories: Mel im Mod-Test - Schon fast ein Add-on |url=https://www.pcgames.de/Portal-2-Spiel-28233/Specials/Portal-Stories-Mel-im-Mod-Test-Schon-fast-ein-Add-on-1163680/ |website=PC Games |access-date=14 January 2024 |language=de |date=3 July 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="steam">{{cite web|url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/317400/Portal_Stories_Mel/|title=''Portal Stories: Mel''|website=[[Software:Steam (service)|Steam]]|access-date=July 17, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=May 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513191137/https://store.steampowered.com/app/317400/Portal_Stories_Mel/}}</ref>
<ref name="storymode">{{Cite web|title = Steam Community :: Group Announcements :: Portal Stories: Mel|url = http://steamcommunity.com/games/317400/announcements/detail/787356864106233495|website = steamcommunity.com|date = 31 August 2015|access-date = 2015-11-28}}</ref>
<ref name="sma">{{Cite web|title = Steam Community :: Group Announcements :: Portal Stories: Mel|url = http://steamcommunity.com/games/317400/announcements/detail/788481598265920693|website = steamcommunity.com|date = 18 August 2015|access-date = 2015-11-28}}</ref>
<ref name="devcom">{{cite web|title=Portal Stories: Mel Developer Commentary Playthrough Part 1|website = [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfNnCuyuVgU&list=PLdnAfpcm3_f0EnAWOGu2-x6NCEXKdF52t|date=9 July 2015}}</ref>
<ref name="gameawards">{{cite web | url = http://thegameawards.com/nominees/ | title = Nominees - The Game Awards 2015 | first = Geoff | last = Keighley | date = November 13, 2015 | access-date = November 15, 2015 | work = The Game Awards 2015 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151114024126/http://thegameawards.com/nominees/ | archive-date = November 14, 2015 }}</ref>
<ref name="moty ec">{{cite web | url = https://www.moddb.com/mods/portalstories/features/editors-choice-mod-of-the-year-2015 | title = Editors Choice - Mod of the Year 2015 feature | date = December 23, 2015 | access-date = October 6, 2021 | work = Mod DB}}</ref>
<ref name="moty pc">{{cite web | url = https://www.moddb.com/mods/portalstories/features/players-choice-mod-of-the-year-2015 | title = Players Choice - Mod of the Year 2015 feature | date = December 30, 2015 | access-date = October 6, 2021 | work = Mod DB}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190102121317/https://www.prismstudios.org/portalstories/ Official website] archived by the [[Wayback Machine]]

{{Source (game engine) modifications}}

[[Category:First-person shooters]]
[[Category:MacOS games]]
[[Category:Puzzle video games]]
[[Category:Science fiction video games]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:Linux games]]

{{Sourceattribution|Portal Stories: Mel}}