A&A Portal Map

For Mac users:


1. Download the map here

2. Locate the following directory:
/Users/your_admin_name/Library/ApplicationSupport/Steam/SteamApps/Steam_user_name/portal/portal/maps

Once you’ve located your Portal maps folder, drag the map (the .bsp file) in there.

3. In Portal

Now, fire up Portal on your Mac, and follow these steps. Screenshots are available below (click to enlarge them).

 a) at the main screen, hit Options;

 b) select Keyboard -> Advanced;

 c) tick “Enable developer console”;

 d) hit OK and Apply; 

e) type in “map”, hit space, and then type the name of one of your newly-downloaded map (suggestions will appear, so you won’t have to memorize the whole name of the map). I used a map called "portal_gaming9", so I typed "map portal_gaming9";

f) hit Return (Enter), and your all set to play!

 For Windows users: 

1. Download the map with the link above

2. place it in your C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\{steam name}\portal\portal\maps\

3. Follow same as above.

Paper: Making a map has been a hard process. But I think I've explored some reasons why I wanted to do it in the first place.



When reading Warks book, I suddenly realized that much of what Wark said made sense, particularly about gamespace. We play games to escape the harsh reality. So how much would more compelling would a game be if it was the exact replica of your memories, specifically, a certain place or setting. There is some validity in this because not only do we seek fantasy worlds, but we seek to manipulate our own world. Prime examples of this are grand theft auto, the matrix, inception. In Grand Theft Auto, you are put in cities that mimic real world metropolises. You know there is law, but you have the option to break it, something that everyone wants to do. In the matrix you have the ability to bend the laws of physics and gravity because the you aren't in the real world. It's the same with Inception, that freedom to break these known laws. All deal with reality and the rules that govern reality being manipulated or broken. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to make a map of the art building. I'm finishing school so it will not only be my own gamespace, but a way to revist and activate memories when I can't revisit the actual reality. I think that the desire for something believable outweighs the desire for fantasy. We know (well we'd like to think we know) the limits of physicals and general relativity (to an extent), so we know what is possible and what is not. We seek gamespace because we seek to break the rules, break the harsh confines of our universe. Of course these gamespaces get boring after a while because they obviously have their limits. Limits of technology, limits of coding, limits of time, etc. Even though these limitations exist, we seek them. We more accurately seek limits that are setup to be broken. Designed limits. That is what games are. The effect that these small victories have on us is that they keep us coming back.  For me, building the map was a struggle and victory itself. Learning how to create certain elements was a tedious but rewarding task. It was especially rewarding getting to play in the level after spending so long creating it. The struggle to create was it's own gamespace. Wark's theory of gamespace applies to everything, not just games. We can't escape it. The only unknown is death.  The map itself is an alternate reality in which I make choices that would otherwise kill me in real life. This pseudo-freedom entertains us. Our brains take this information and play with it just like a child with a ball. It's like exercise. We must get some sort of exercise or we become lethargic and atrophied. We must play games to live, to entertain ourselves. Making this map was a choice to create something but also play something.

Another interesting thought about replicating the real-world to the virtual is the idea of the parallel to the earliest cave drawings. We are replicating our environment, our cultures, our societies. Their pigments and oils are our computers, games, and technology. The expression has evolved, just as humanity has, but it stems from the same idea, the same gamespace. We long as humans to play, create, express, recreate, replicate and so did the nomads 10,000 years ago. What will it look like in another 10,000 years?