Portal is now on the Required Reading list for freshmen at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana this year. File under "Awesome" or "Totally Awesome"?

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I pitched the idea to my colleagues on the committee (decidedly not a collection of gamers), and they agreed to try Portal and read selections from Goffman's book. After plowing through some installation issues ("What does this Steam do? Will it expose me to viruses?"), we enjoyed the first meaningful discussion about a video game I've ever had with a group of colleagues across disciplines. They got it. They made the connections, and they enjoyed the game. Most importantly, they saw how Portal could provoke thoughtful reflection and vigorous conversation on questions germane to the course.

And so we're playing Portal at Wabash College.

Hat tip to Jeep Barnett's Google Buzz feed!

Schooled: Portal On The Wabash Reading List [RockPaperShotgun]

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More of the same stuff we've seen, just now we have a clear video with the new Wheatley voice actor, and another video of the GLaDOS powerup scene.

We get our first look at a trailer for how Portal 2 Coop will work here! Hat tip to Looongcat over at F7Lans.

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Portal 2 Video Game, Exclusive Co-Op Trailer [GameTrailers.com]

Valve revealed to Game Informer that Portal 2's release date will be February 9, 2011. Only 6 months away!

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After our huge cover story and online blowout for Portal 2, we were as bummed as anyone to learn of Portal 2's delay into 2011. Luckily, at Gamescom, we've discovered that we won't need to wait too long into 2011 for Valve's much-anticipated sequel.

Valve has revealed to us that Portal 2 will be released on February 9, 2011. In addition, they told us that the kindly British robot Wheatley, who has been featured in trailers for the game, will be voiced by Stephen Merchant. You may know him best as a writer for both the British and U.S. versions of The Office (as well as an actor in the former).

Portal 2 Has A Release Date And A New Voice Actor [Game Informer]

I set out on this journey of moving our site to a newer forum software with pretty much one goal in mind - Under no circumstances will I discard the files in the old Download Database. And after many hours of hard work in converting all of the files from a very old and frankly very bad piece of download software to a much better and more robust one, the Download Database 2.0 has finally arrived!

New files automatically generate a new thread in the Release Forum! Instead of having to post a Release thread and link your file there and having a separate set of comments about the download, the new Download Database is fully integrated with the forums. When you upload a new file, it automagically makes a new thread in the Community Release forum, allowing you to centralize feedback. Your thread is linked to on the Download page, and your Download page is linked to on your thread!

Upload Versioning - All versions of files are kept! You only need to keep track of one Download page for each version of your maps. Whenever you upload a new version, the old version is automatically kept in storage. People can download previous versions in case there is compatibility issues, or if you need to roll back to a previous iteration of the map! You also have full control over this versioning, and you can delete any and all previous versions in case you don't want older versions of your works floating around.

Increased upload limit! I have increased the file upload limit from 50mb to 200mb. There are quite a few larger projects out there that could not be uploaded previously, and now they too can find a home at our new Download Database.

These are obviously just a small few additions to the new and improved Download Database. The important thing, at least to me, is that all of the files in the 3 year ThinkingWithPortals.com history have been fully preserved and nothing is going to waste.

So, mappers! What are you waiting for? Upload your maps today!