If you didn’t already know, Valve was once working on a Portal spin-off that didn’t contain the evil GLaDOS or protagonist Chell. While this was revealed in Geoff Keighley’s behind-the-scenes look at Portal 2 many years ago, we didn’t know many of the project’s details – until now.
The game, or rather its central mechanic, was named F-Stop and was also known as Aperture Camera. While the project never saw the light of day, another developer, Lunch House, has obtained the game’s original code and is documenting the project in a new video series (via Rock, Paper, Shotgun). The “archaeological journal” shows the F-Stop camera in action, allowing players to move and scale objects around them in the game world.
Lunch House says it has obtained the game’s code with Valve’s blessing; we’ve reached out to Valve for more information. The first episode in the video journal, which is dubbed Exposure, is live now, and you can watch it below.
F-Stop / Aperture Camera never made it to store shelves, of course, but Portal 2 did.
The series has also appeared in the form of Bridge Constructor Portal and as a section of Lego Dimensions, but so far there’s no sign of the Portal 3 we all desperately want. Come on Valve, you know what to do.