Highlight for spoilers:
Details regarding Portal 2 have emerged and they aren’t ‘leaked’ or ‘rumoured’, they come straight from Valve themselves.
The info came from a job advertisement for a voice over role in Portal 2 that has been posted on subscriber-only website for actors, Breakdown Express. The role is to play Cave Johnson, founder of Aperture Science (creators of the Portal Gun). Thing is, according to both the plot of the first game and the Aperture Science website, Mr Johnson is deceased…
This coupled with the fact that the casting call mentions he will play a pretty significant role in the second game, “going from sidekick to principle antagonist”, suggests that Portal 2 will be a prequel.
The ad also confirms that the next game will maintain that dark comedy humour of the original title as Cave “starts to lose his grip on humanity as the story progresses”.
You can view the full character description below. The site also details that the voice over work would be expected to start at the end of July. Will we see Portal 2 by the end of the year? Knowing Valve, probably not. But knowing Valve it’ll be worth the wait.
“[Cave Johnson (Eccentric Dead Billionaire)] Cave Johnson is a character for a new game in the Portal series from Valve Software. Portal is dark comedy; the role will require comic timing, with occasional dramatic moments. Age: early 60s. He is the founder and CEO of a successful applied science company , a self-made billionaire who’s learned to trust his gut and doesn’t sweat the details, He is a big picture thinker. He might not know how science works, but he knows how people work. Used to getting what he wants. Extroverted, enthusiastic and opinionated. High energy: life is an adventure he’s happy to be on. A born salesman, a leader, an evangelist. People trust him, even when his plans are clearly dangerous. Speaks with a slight Southern/Western accent (natural, not too broad). He uses a warm, homespun delivery to put people at their ease. He doesn’t accept the responsibility that comes with his power. Either he doesn’t see or chooses not to see the ramifications of his actions. Goes from sidekick to principal antagonist. Starts to lose his grip on humanity as the story progresses. As he isolates himself from the people around him, he loses touch with reality… VOICE OVER ONLY.”
