14 DAY TRIAL // Portal, the single-player first-person puzzle-platform game from Valve, can be downloaded for free on Steam until tomorrow, September 20th, 2011, thanks to an educational initiative called Learn with Portals.
When Valve released Steam for Mac, the video games developer put Portal up for grabs as a free download, in order to get as many Mac owners to hop aboard the ‘Steam’ train.
Now, the company is making the original Portal free again. But this time, it’s for science, as GLaDOS her self would put it:
“When we heard the buzz surrounding the new role video games are playing in education, we had to throw our hat in the ring. Today, innovative educators are finding ways to incorporate Portal and Portal 2 into their classrooms—helping teach physics and critical-thinking skills,” says Valve.
The developer believes that seeing how video games can be used in ways to help educate the next generation is “eye-opening”, to say the least.
“One of the biggest challenges in teaching science, technology, engineering, and math is capturing the students’ imaginations long enough for them to see all of the possibilities that lie ahead,” Valve continues.
“Using interactive tools like the Portal series to draw them in makes physics, math, logic, spatial reasoning, probability, and problem-solving interesting, cool, and fun which gets us one step closer to our goal—engaged, thoughtful kids!”, the developer concludes.
Both Mac and PC users can download Portal for free at this here link.
In addition to the levels designed by Valve for the original game, there are hundreds of other ‘maps’ out there designed and developed by some of the game’s most avid fans. Most (if not all) of them are free downloads as well.
Unfortunately, Portal 2 is not being made available for download free of charge, but something tells us those kinds will want it bad as soon as they solve all the puzzles in the original.
This ‘educational’ initiative of Valve’s will undoubteldy pay off both ways.