Poll: Did you really feel sorry for the Companion Cube?

[Magnalian]

Not a single one of my manly tears left my tear ducts. I've seen sadder things in games, movies etc. Though I do like the humour around the whole thing.

 

[Xannieros]

I still haven't beaten portal... I can't part with my companion cube D:

 

[CheesusCrust]

I didn't really care, I thought of it more as just the next step of the puzzle. That door wont open till the cube burns

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Sorry, no love or tears here.

Nobody here seems to get the point...

The whole point of the companion cube was it showed Glados's lack of understanding about humanity, yet at the same time her vindictive and cruel nature.

She attempts to manipulate your emotions through her limited understanding of human bonding and emotion by using an inanimate object with a love heart on it.

That's why it was funny, you weren't meant to feel attached to the metal cube even though Glados thought you would be.

It's amazing how many people don't get this. It seemed obvious to me.

^- Was about to write pretty much this.

It's (in my opinion) meant to be a twisted joke about how human empathy is seen through the eyes of something which has no sense of it, to show how arbitrary the whole thing is.

There are some people who won't realise that and worry whether or not they felt bad for the destruction of the companion cube. There are some people who will see through that and get the dark joke directed at an aspect of our psyche we're quite proud of as a species, to show how flawed it can be and how others may interpret it.

Then again, Portal jokes are usually of the 'in joke' sort which just get funnier as more people miss the point. It's one of the things that makes the game so critically acclaimed.

I'm glad at least one person understands the context of it.

What I wonder is for the people who don't get that context, what the hell do they find funny about the sequence?

It's like 'The Cake is a Lie'. Anyone who explores the Portal canon enough will know that actually, it wasn't a lie at all. Whoever scrawled the 'Cake is a lie' message... was lying (or mistaken).

 

[Lemon Of Life]

I thought it was great, the way Glados talks about it really brings it to life, and is dead funny. It's just a comedy character, with the added effect of being a game mechanic. I think it's Glados trying to understand your emotions, to see how humans react by giving you something to love in your sterile lab world.

Why you guys are being all serious about this, I don't know.

 

[WakeTheDead1]

I heard there was puppies inside the cube, cute ones

 

[MiracleOfSound]

No.It's just a stupid meme like everything else in that "game"

Don't blame Erik Wolpaw (the game's head writer) for the memetic mutation! Wolpaw violated his own First Law of Game Design (the "time to crate law") intentionally...and that should've been the first clue that an extremely genre-savvy fellow was at the helm of that game's design.

What, prey tell, is the 'Time to crate law?' I'm curious and google failed me.

 

[Lenny Magic]

I have said it before, but compared to companion sphere, cube is the best friend you could have in Portal!

I'm kind of unsure if companion cube would really have the same effect if it is brought back in the sequel though... :/

 

[The Hairminator]

I didn't feel sad for destroying it, although I kinda wish I didn't afterwards.

 

[Charli]

I say yes and dramatize the thing just for fun.

Do I really feel sorry for a technically non-existent cube with a pink heart spray painted on it?

No... No I do not, but it makes for really really funny jokes.

 

[GamingAwesome1]

I didn't particularly want to throw it in the fire but it's not like I liked it enough to stop me from doing so.

 

[Ekonk]

I have to say that I did. The way GLaDOS introduced and described it was just a cute little thing and allround awesome. And then she told you to incinerate it. It was quite shocking.

 

[wildpeaks]

I didn't until the final fight when GlaDOS said it was the player's only friend

 

[Ari Ace]

Hey, I would have thrown a baby into that hole if it meant that I would get out off that place.

 

[wildpeaks]

I... I havent played through Portal...

But.. but... *brain explodes*
Now look at what you've done x.x

More seriously, that's too bad; however, even spoiled, it would be fun to play imho, even if just for the puzzles (including the "Portal: Prelude" mod if you're looking for a challenge).

 

[wildpeaks]

Hey, I would have thrown a baby into that hole if it meant that I would get out off that place.

Babies are noisy poop machines while cubes give you nothing but quiet love (and stab you in the back when you're not looking),
therefore cube > baby.

 

[ilikepie59]

No. None at all. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that 99% of people who says yes honestly is just saying it to be "funny" or "clever"

 

[Mariakitten]

Yes I did, he was my only friend in that evil place...he didn't do anything too me =[

 

[joshuaayt]

It was a cube with love hearts on it. I was not swayed.
My heart went out to all of those turrets, though. I tried to hurt them as little as possible.