TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 00:25 - Being A Database Programmer Before Being A Writer 01:00 - Procrastination/Psychonauts 03:10 - Coming Up With Names Is Easy/Keeping Up Energy Is Hard/Jokes Being Cut 04:50 - Erik Doesn’t Like Writing 05:55 - Erik’s Ideology In Terms Of Writing For A Game 07:50 - Time Between Portal & Portal 2/Don’t Write Yourself Into A Corner 08:25 - Erik Wants To Work On A Portal 3/Valve’s Corporate Structure 10:01 - Portal 3 Might Not Happen/Why Valve Doesn’t Release Many Games 11:45 - Valve’s High Quality Bar/Development Cycle 12:20 - Portal 2 Almost Didn’t Happen/Portal 2 Project Cycle 15:45 - Games Are Terrible Until Near The End 17:04 - Struggling With Ideas For Portal 2 Until Wheatley Idea Came About 19:14 - Working With Stephen Merchant On Wheatley/Writing To An Actors Strengths 23:30 - People Involved In Directing An Actor In The Studio 25:00 - Working With Rhys Darby On Russell/Meeting Rhys Darby In L.A. 27:45 - The Original Writing For Half Life:Alyx Didn’t Work/Writing Half Life:Alyx 31:47 - Original Ending Of Half Life:Alyx And Tweaking It 34:15 - Connecting Half Life:Alyx Ending To Half Life 2 38:10 - Gabe’s Involvement/Erik’s Relationship With Gabe 39:45 - Writing With Jay Pinkerton 41:22 - Erik’s Easiest Character To Write Is The Institution Voice In Portal 2 42:36 - Writing Something And Thinking Its Horrible When Said Aloud 43:40 - Nate Bargatze Struggled With The Word Turret On Aperture Desk Job 44:08 - Convoluted Lines Of Portal 2 45:00 - Erik Appreciates The Work It Takes To Write Something Good/God Of War Caused Erik Stress 46:00 - Erik Is Always Stressed/Erik Hates Letting People Down 47:45 - Comedic Obsessions With Writing/Erik Wants To Improve On His Writing 49:40 - Re-Purposing Dialogue 50:10 - Erik Respects The Valve Artists/Picturing An Image Well Writing 53:00 - Jay Pinkerton Is A Good Designer/Comics 54:09 - Erik Wants To See A Sunset Overdrive 2/The Game Industry Is Quite Small 55:50 - Why Erik Left Valve & Became A Contractor Instead 56:50 - Erik’s Son Being Born During The End Of Portal 2’s Development 1:00:15 - Where To Follow Erik Wolpaw 1:02:09 - Petition To Gabe Newell To Start Portal 3
I burst out laughing when Erik brings up the comedic obsessions, because as soon as he says each one you can think of occurances of them in various Valve games, they genuinely pop up all over the place
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this interview. Very specific answers, so valuable for any writer. Please check back with Erik sometime in the future. Would love to hear more from him!
Another amazing interview! The writing and acting performances are some of my favorite parts of Portal 2 as a whole, really cool to hear from one of the main writers. These are some of the best developer interviews I've seen on youtube, it really feels like a window into the trenches of making some of our favorite games. It's always inspiring to hear the stories of people who have made some of my favorite games, and hearing the sheer humanity and imperfection of the process helps reduce it from something that is impossible to reproduce in terms of quality to something that simultaneously feels attainable and yet even more demanding of respect due to the blood, sweat, and tears that went in to making it as good as it was. This channel has been a gem to find. Totally agree that we should try to make Portal 3 happen, none of the original team members are getting any younger! Now is as good a time as ever for it :)
@@roiking2740 alyx's writers were not talented? wolpaw was as a contractor but i still dont see a problem bringing him back in if needed, especially that he has stated many times that he would like to work more on half life/ portal
i want Portal 3 just not with Chell because that story was basically wrapped up. There's so many other stories they can tell about Aperture Labs at any point in time. Erik is also such a great guy
I was just there reading old reviews and it's perfect late 90's. Also an awful lot of inside jokes. I don't even know what a current OMM would look like.
Kinda want Half Life 3 instead but, Portal 3 is better than nothing I suppose. Thanks Wolpaw after Portal 3 next is Half Life 3! or even Left 4 Dead 3 if possible the game B4B becomes another Evolve Failure.
bro why Dota 2 writing sucks now? how come velve nearly ruined HF2 with HF:alyx? also why does HF:Alyx ending does not make sense? why is the quality of writing in valve dropped downhill sense portal 2?
It's been a long time since then, that's probably why :D they didn't really *need* to make good writing for dota, artifact, csgo.. lol. Didn't ton of writers leave? I know Marc Laidlaw did, so there's that.
@@gachigasm3210 good writing can make an average game excellent, while bad writing can make a great game alot worse. its what is happening with dota. i can not play anymore because of the damn bad writing.
@@roiking2740 you play dota because of writing? 🤔 I don't even know what you mean, is it because the last two heroes that were added don't talk at all? Or the lore about them?
@@gachigasm3210 mate the show blood dragon pulled me off from the game. its not just the writing, i am also sick of FOMO items in the game. and the lack of items you can get without paying. dragon blood and dawnbreaker pretty much just sailed the deal when it comes to me playing dota.
@@roiking2740 oh okay I did not watch the show but the hero and personas they added don't fit the game at all imo. As for FOMO items I hate those too, miss when you could just buy and sell anything at anytime
@@Lylamariam A prequel, then a sequel to a prequel, then a prequel to the prequel. Fuck outa here. It's because of normies like you modern gaming has turned to commercial manure pit - horrible contents and constantly gushing out. Thank fuck Valve doesn't listen to casuals and does their own thing.
@@Lylamariam back when i first played portal 2, i figured a prequel would be coming out with all of the information they gave about aperture like the stuff with Cave Johnson. i'm surprised they didn't do it but that would be awesome
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
00:25 - Being A Database Programmer Before Being A Writer
01:00 - Procrastination/Psychonauts
03:10 - Coming Up With Names Is Easy/Keeping Up Energy Is Hard/Jokes Being Cut
04:50 - Erik Doesn’t Like Writing
05:55 - Erik’s Ideology In Terms Of Writing For A Game
07:50 - Time Between Portal & Portal 2/Don’t Write Yourself Into A Corner
08:25 - Erik Wants To Work On A Portal 3/Valve’s Corporate Structure
10:01 - Portal 3 Might Not Happen/Why Valve Doesn’t Release Many Games
11:45 - Valve’s High Quality Bar/Development Cycle
12:20 - Portal 2 Almost Didn’t Happen/Portal 2 Project Cycle
15:45 - Games Are Terrible Until Near The End
17:04 - Struggling With Ideas For Portal 2 Until Wheatley Idea Came About
19:14 - Working With Stephen Merchant On Wheatley/Writing To An Actors Strengths
23:30 - People Involved In Directing An Actor In The Studio
25:00 - Working With Rhys Darby On Russell/Meeting Rhys Darby In L.A.
27:45 - The Original Writing For Half Life:Alyx Didn’t Work/Writing Half Life:Alyx
31:47 - Original Ending Of Half Life:Alyx And Tweaking It
34:15 - Connecting Half Life:Alyx Ending To Half Life 2
38:10 - Gabe’s Involvement/Erik’s Relationship With Gabe
39:45 - Writing With Jay Pinkerton
41:22 - Erik’s Easiest Character To Write Is The Institution Voice In Portal 2
42:36 - Writing Something And Thinking Its Horrible When Said Aloud
43:40 - Nate Bargatze Struggled With The Word Turret On Aperture Desk Job
44:08 - Convoluted Lines Of Portal 2
45:00 - Erik Appreciates The Work It Takes To Write Something Good/God Of War Caused Erik Stress
46:00 - Erik Is Always Stressed/Erik Hates Letting People Down
47:45 - Comedic Obsessions With Writing/Erik Wants To Improve On His Writing
49:40 - Re-Purposing Dialogue
50:10 - Erik Respects The Valve Artists/Picturing An Image Well Writing
53:00 - Jay Pinkerton Is A Good Designer/Comics
54:09 - Erik Wants To See A Sunset Overdrive 2/The Game Industry Is Quite Small
55:50 - Why Erik Left Valve & Became A Contractor Instead
56:50 - Erik’s Son Being Born During The End Of Portal 2’s Development
1:00:15 - Where To Follow Erik Wolpaw
1:02:09 - Petition To Gabe Newell To Start Portal 3
Super interesting!! And I'm so glad Erik still wants to do Portal 3. Guess it just needs a team.
I burst out laughing when Erik brings up the comedic obsessions, because as soon as he says each one you can think of occurances of them in various Valve games, they genuinely pop up all over the place
It's really good to see Erick happy and healthy.
did he have health problems or something prior?
@@t_41He likes big pink cookies.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this interview. Very specific answers, so valuable for any writer. Please check back with Erik sometime in the future. Would love to hear more from him!
Another amazing interview! The writing and acting performances are some of my favorite parts of Portal 2 as a whole, really cool to hear from one of the main writers.
These are some of the best developer interviews I've seen on youtube, it really feels like a window into the trenches of making some of our favorite games. It's always inspiring to hear the stories of people who have made some of my favorite games, and hearing the sheer humanity and imperfection of the process helps reduce it from something that is impossible to reproduce in terms of quality to something that simultaneously feels attainable and yet even more demanding of respect due to the blood, sweat, and tears that went in to making it as good as it was. This channel has been a gem to find.
Totally agree that we should try to make Portal 3 happen, none of the original team members are getting any younger! Now is as good a time as ever for it :)
Nice to hear that there are still people at valve that haven’t given up on portal.
Thank you for the great interview! Cool to hear behind-the-scenes of why he isn't full-time at Valve.
you've become a really solid interviewer. getting tons of quality guests that i haven't seen much from previously
It’s weird that Erik looks like a young guy with an old man beared
Surprising to hear such a fantastic creative even gets stressed with projects. Great interview!
The pink cookie motivated him :D
I just realized how much Erik has strikingly similar features and expressions to David Tennant. The eyebrows do so much talking for him lol.
so Erik Wolpaw is/was the one writing tf2 blogs? I loved those so much
As always, astonishing interview. Please keep it up, I really love watching your interviews.
We're all not getting any younger Valve. Count to 3 for fucks sake, the joke is over.
In all seriousness, it's so good to know Erik behind making Portal 3. Great interview.
If there was a portal 3 I think it may make the world better
Procrastinating in writing and music production
unless the original writers are going to make it i really do not want to see it happen with the current state of valve.
@@roiking2740 "current state of valve" the most succesful gaming company in the world? oh yeah "current state" lmao
@@ProMikus current state as in they do not have any talented writers.
@@roiking2740 alyx's writers were not talented? wolpaw was as a contractor but i still dont see a problem bringing him back in if needed, especially that he has stated many times that he would like to work more on half life/ portal
Portal more than two but less than four
That would be an awesome name, tbh lol
These podcasts are great. Please make more with Valve people.
Great interview, loved it
i want Portal 3 just not with Chell because that story was basically wrapped up. There's so many other stories they can tell about Aperture Labs at any point in time. Erik is also such a great guy
Dear Erik, please bring back oldmanmurray.
it's so exactly what the world needs right now. Or at least, I'd love some Erik/Chet contributions over on 1900 Hotdog
I was just there reading old reviews and it's perfect late 90's. Also an awful lot of inside jokes. I don't even know what a current OMM would look like.
he looks like Gorden Freeman
Eric’s one of the best writers in the business
Portal 3 would need all the good modders for portal games
I would love a sunset overdrive 2 and portal 3
Portal 3 with weapon skin gambling, that will rake in the cash...
Time to pester Gabe.
Erik, if you need a puzzle designer for Portal 3, just shout :P
Where is the million-dollar Artifact tournament?
That beard is glorious.
are there spoilers in this? still havent played alyx
Yes, id skip the half life sections by using the timestamps
Kinda want Half Life 3 instead but, Portal 3 is better than nothing I suppose. Thanks Wolpaw after Portal 3 next is Half Life 3! or even Left 4 Dead 3 if possible the game B4B becomes another Evolve Failure.
Man his beard has grown!
soup man looks so different now
Where do I sign up for the portal 3 petition?
Hold Up Wait A Minute something ain't right isn't Portal 3 not out and has never existed valve please make it
Make Portal 3
OOOh PLZ HL Portal VR :)
bro why Dota 2 writing sucks now? how come velve nearly ruined HF2 with HF:alyx? also why does HF:Alyx ending does not make sense? why is the quality of writing in valve dropped downhill sense portal 2?
It's been a long time since then, that's probably why :D they didn't really *need* to make good writing for dota, artifact, csgo.. lol. Didn't ton of writers leave? I know Marc Laidlaw did, so there's that.
@@gachigasm3210 good writing can make an average game excellent, while bad writing can make a great game alot worse. its what is happening with dota. i can not play anymore because of the damn bad writing.
@@roiking2740 you play dota because of writing? 🤔 I don't even know what you mean, is it because the last two heroes that were added don't talk at all? Or the lore about them?
@@gachigasm3210 mate the show blood dragon pulled me off from the game. its not just the writing, i am also sick of FOMO items in the game. and the lack of items you can get without paying.
dragon blood and dawnbreaker pretty much just sailed the deal when it comes to me playing dota.
@@roiking2740 oh okay I did not watch the show but the hero and personas they added don't fit the game at all imo. As for FOMO items I hate those too, miss when you could just buy and sell anything at anytime
Portal 3 would ruin an otherwise perfect game. Don't do it, Valve!
A prequel would be great!
@@Lylamariam A prequel, then a sequel to a prequel, then a prequel to the prequel. Fuck outa here.
It's because of normies like you modern gaming has turned to commercial manure pit - horrible contents and constantly gushing out.
Thank fuck Valve doesn't listen to casuals and does their own thing.
no it wouldn't that is the most daft assumption. There are many ideas open for a Portal 3 game. Portal 2 was good but it isn't powerful.
@@Lylamariam back when i first played portal 2, i figured a prequel would be coming out with all of the information they gave about aperture like the stuff with Cave Johnson. i'm surprised they didn't do it but that would be awesome
there iiiis portal stories mel