I have seen a lot of discussion with respect to CUUSOO, in particular in terms of licenced themes, but generally about feasability of the entire program. Everyone obvioulsy has their own opinions, but personally I think the program is brilliant. We have to keep in mind that this is all in Beta right now and obvioulsy the kinks will be worked out over time. I think the true success of CUUSOO will be through highly thought out projects that are designed with the program in mind…just throwing any given LEGO model on there won’t work in most cases.
Now with all that being said, Team Jigsaw, made up of Five X Five, Brickthing, Lego Junkie, and Arkov have just published a new project based on the hugely popular Portal video game series. I have to be honest, I have never played the games, but I am familiar with the design and aesthetic of it, and one thing is very clear with this project…these guys put a tonne of thought and effort into all aspects of the design!
The thing that really stands out with this for me, is that they have really designed it with different types of possible sets in mind. This wouldn’t be restricted to just a simple building set. One of my favourites is the LEGO boardgame version.
Be sure to check out all the details and ideas. If nothing else, these guys deserve a pat on the back for their planning and development. I think they have set the bar rather high for the design effort of future projects. This had previously been denied by the CUUSOO team, but their perseverance got it reconsidered and approved for voting.
Well done guys!! I really do think that this is a project that could be a huge success!
I really like the Portal games. I’m currently learning to map with Hammer, almost immediately finding the PTI editor too limiting. It’s like LEGO building, but in a limitless world that you design, and you can take on the role of the Minifig (Chell) and go wherever you want. Cmon, you can’t tell me you’ve never wished you’re a Minifig, can you? Haven’t you always wanted to be small enough to fit in your creations? I can’t possibly be the only one? O_o
It’s cool that you’re giving this project so much support, but I’d like to point out that there’s already a Portal 2 CUUSOO project since January that had more than 700 supporters before this one came up:
http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/8313
It uses just existing LEGO bricks and so would be much easier for LEGO to produce. Also, as far as I understand, LEGO searches ideas for single sets rather than whole new product lines.
So it would be nice to get some support for this one, too :-)
^ As much as I like the interesting mix of ideas in this new project, I do think your project is more in the general spirit of LEGO CUUSOO ideas (a single kit, not a theme).
Personally, I’m done publicly supporting CUUSOO projects that would require a license. TLG has demonstrated over and over that they tend to cut those off as soon as they hit 10K, and getting excited about it (as I would be about LEGO Portal) just isn’t worth it. :-\
Admit it guys, you just want teal back from the dead.
@t-brick
I hadn’t seen your thing. It also looks good, and would probably be more likely to be made by LEGO. I actually doubt that the posted project would be accepted, given it is more like a theme (and all the new parts), but there’s always a chance!
@Marin
I’m more of a TECHNIC and MindStorms guy than brick-building, but I do think that a teal-some-other-color scheme would look cool ;-)
So, I saw this post this morning and it pushed me over the edge…I couldn’t keep my new animation a secret any longer. I just released this set of teaser posters for my upcoming Portal 2 animation, and I hope to use the publicity to bring more attention to the Lego Portal Cuusoo project, as well as my own endeavors.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kooberzstudios/sets/72157630349120102/