Still Alive (song)
Encyclopedia
"Still Alive" is a song featured in the 2007 video game Portal. It was written by Jonathan Coulton
and was performed by Ellen McLain
while portraying the Portal character GLaDOS
. The song originated in a meeting between two Valve developers and Coulton about him writing a song for the company, which Coulton accepted as he was a fan of the Half-Life series
. It is the end credits song, and plays after GLaDOS is defeated by Chell
(the game's protagonist and player character), with the lyrics suggesting that she (GLaDOS) is "still alive". The song received significant praise for its humour and the quality of its performance. It has been featured in multiple venues, including at the 2009 Press Start -Symphony of Games-
, a yearly Japanese concert event to showcase the musical works of video games. It was also featured as a free downloadable song for the Rock Band
series, originally released on the 1 April 2008. A rerecorded version, with Sara Quin on lead vocals, appears on Coulton's 2011 album Artificial Heart
. The sequel to Portal, Portal 2
, also ended with a song written by Coulton and sung by McLain called "Want You Gone".
and performed by Ellen McLain
for the Portal video game. McLain also provides the voice for GLaDOS
, an artificial intelligence
for the fictional Aperture Science Enrichment Center and the game's antagonist. "Still Alive" is sung from the perspective of GLaDOS and used as the song that runs over the game's credits. By the end of the game, Chell, the game's protagonist who has been misled and placed in life-threatening situations within the Aperture Science Enrichment Center, the setting of the game, by GLaDOS, will have finally encountered and defeated GLaDOS. However, the song and portions of post-credit scenes suggests that GLaDOS is still functional, and despite having been apparently destroyed by Chell, is "not even angry" at that prospect, having considered the monitoring of Chell's performance through the test chambers as a "huge success", regardless of the destruction caused by Chell and the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device being released into the outside world, for those that are "still alive". The Combine invasion of Earth from the Half-Life series
was also hinted in the song by GLaDOS ("Go ahead and leave me, I think I'd prefer to stay inside. Maybe you'll find someone else to help you. Maybe Black Mesa. That was a joke. Ha Ha. Fat Chance."). The song itself is also present as a samba
instrumental version through in-game radios at certain points within the game.
Coulton got involved with Valve after two developers approached him following a concert in Seattle, Washington
. They asked him if he would like to write music for the company, and because he was a fan of Half-Life, he immediately accepted. After discussing what they should do, he and the developers settled on working on Portal. By this point, a few months before the release of The Orange Box, Valve's writers had created a large amount of backstory for GLaDOS and other aspects of Portal, which Coulton was able to use to write the lyrics. The overall process to complete the song took about six weeks. Coulton stated that GLaDOS's passive-aggressive nature, which he shared, made it difficult to get her voice out of his head. When asked why more video games don't end in song, Coulton stated that while movies have been well used to convey story, "we're still learning how to do it in games". However, as the player has grown accustomed to GLaDOS by the end of the game, her singing is something that "feels almost natural". The song's title suggests that GLaDOS is "still alive" after the events of Portal. Kim Swift explained that they chose to play this song during the ending so that players would leave the game happy.
at the Penny Arcade Expo
, because he "knew it was one of those things that would just make people’s heads explode". The song was given the "Best Original Vocal - Pop Song" award by the Game Audio Network Guild during their 2008 awards. The song was also performed at the 2009 Press Start -Symphony of Games-
, a yearly Japanese concert event to showcase the musical works of video games. Still Alive is the first Western song to be performed at the show, which included a Japanese translation by Kazushige Nojima
, a writer of several Final Fantasy
games, and arrangement for the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
. Masahiro Sakurai
, director of Super Smash Bros. Brawl
, demonstrated the game to the audience prior to the performance, given the minimal exposure of Portal in Japan. Coulton experienced a surge in popularity after the release of Portal due to the song's release. In the book "The Art of Videogames", author Grant Tavinor stated that while he was in hysterics by the song, he got the sense of artistic completion upon hearing it. 1UP.com
's Alice Liang called the ending to Portal "catchy, charming, surprising, and humorously bittersweet". On the eve of Portal 2s release, Forbes
editor David Ewart called the song "surprising, funny, catchy, and unforgettable", and considered its opening line "This was a triumph" as a "modern shibboleth
".
, which can be selected to play on a jukebox
in three different campaigns; another Jonathan Coulton song, "Re: Your Brains," is also present in the jukebox. The song is a popular cover and remix for user-generated content, such as on YouTube
. In the Portal game mod "Portal Prelude", a remix of "Still Alive" can be heard on several radios throughout the game, however, they are not performed by GLaDOS. The Valve-owned web site, www.aperturescience.com, features a Christmas
-themed remix of "Still Alive", showing a moving image of the Weighted Companion Cube with a Santa Claus
hat and ended with a message reading "HAPPY [HOLIDAY NAME HERE]". A special Microsoft Windows
port of the Xbox Live Arcade
title, Chime
, includes "Still Alive" as an additional music stage for the game.
A modified version sung by a fan was featured as the opening song on RoosterTeeth's podcast "The Drunktank".
, and Rock Band Unplugged
. It was included for free on the Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
to thank players for supporting the series. After complaints about Rock Band Unpluggeds version not being free, this was rectified and anyone who paid for it had their money refunded. After a content pack for Rock Band was hacked, a list of songs purported to be included was released which included "Still Alive". Jonathan Coulton and three others performed this song on Rock Band, announcing its presence in the title as a downloadable song.
Jonathan Coulton
Jonathan Coulton is an American singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans...
and was performed by Ellen McLain
Ellen McLain
Ellen McLain is an opera singer and voice actress from Nashville, Tennessee, USA. McLain provides voices for many characters in several video games from Valve...
while portraying the Portal character GLaDOS
GLaDOS
GLaDOS, short for Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, is a fictional artificially intelligent computer system in Valve Software's Half-Life video game series and the main antagonist in the video games Portal and Portal 2. She was created by Erik Wolpaw and Kim Swift and is voiced by Ellen...
. The song originated in a meeting between two Valve developers and Coulton about him writing a song for the company, which Coulton accepted as he was a fan of the Half-Life series
Half-Life (series)
The Half-Life series of video games share a science fiction alternate history. Nearly all of the games are first-person shooters on the GoldSource or Source engines, and most are linear, narrative, single-player titles....
. It is the end credits song, and plays after GLaDOS is defeated by Chell
Chell (Portal)
Chell is the protagonist and player character of the Portal series. Chell first appears in Portal, where she is taking part in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center's test under supervision by GLaDOS. GLaDOS tries to kill her as Chell then tries to escape the Enrichment Center, attempting to kill...
(the game's protagonist and player character), with the lyrics suggesting that she (GLaDOS) is "still alive". The song received significant praise for its humour and the quality of its performance. It has been featured in multiple venues, including at the 2009 Press Start -Symphony of Games-
Press Start -Symphony of Games-
Press Start -Symphony of Games- is a series of Japanese video game music concerts introduced in 2006. It was initiated by several industry professionals and is sponsored by the Japanese publishing company Enterbrain.-Development:...
, a yearly Japanese concert event to showcase the musical works of video games. It was also featured as a free downloadable song for the Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
series, originally released on the 1 April 2008. A rerecorded version, with Sara Quin on lead vocals, appears on Coulton's 2011 album Artificial Heart
Artificial Heart (album)
Artificial Heart is the eighth studio album by rock musician Jonathan Coulton. After taking a long hiatus from songwriting after his successful 2006 Thing a Week project , Coulton started production on Artificial Heart after encouragement from John Flansburgh , also the...
. The sequel to Portal, Portal 2
Portal 2
Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The sequel to the 2007 video game Portal, it was announced on March 5, 2010, following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game...
, also ended with a song written by Coulton and sung by McLain called "Want You Gone".
History and recording
The song "Still Alive" was written by Jonathan CoultonJonathan Coulton
Jonathan Coulton is an American singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans...
and performed by Ellen McLain
Ellen McLain
Ellen McLain is an opera singer and voice actress from Nashville, Tennessee, USA. McLain provides voices for many characters in several video games from Valve...
for the Portal video game. McLain also provides the voice for GLaDOS
GLaDOS
GLaDOS, short for Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, is a fictional artificially intelligent computer system in Valve Software's Half-Life video game series and the main antagonist in the video games Portal and Portal 2. She was created by Erik Wolpaw and Kim Swift and is voiced by Ellen...
, an artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
for the fictional Aperture Science Enrichment Center and the game's antagonist. "Still Alive" is sung from the perspective of GLaDOS and used as the song that runs over the game's credits. By the end of the game, Chell, the game's protagonist who has been misled and placed in life-threatening situations within the Aperture Science Enrichment Center, the setting of the game, by GLaDOS, will have finally encountered and defeated GLaDOS. However, the song and portions of post-credit scenes suggests that GLaDOS is still functional, and despite having been apparently destroyed by Chell, is "not even angry" at that prospect, having considered the monitoring of Chell's performance through the test chambers as a "huge success", regardless of the destruction caused by Chell and the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device being released into the outside world, for those that are "still alive". The Combine invasion of Earth from the Half-Life series
Half-Life (series)
The Half-Life series of video games share a science fiction alternate history. Nearly all of the games are first-person shooters on the GoldSource or Source engines, and most are linear, narrative, single-player titles....
was also hinted in the song by GLaDOS ("Go ahead and leave me, I think I'd prefer to stay inside. Maybe you'll find someone else to help you. Maybe Black Mesa. That was a joke. Ha Ha. Fat Chance."). The song itself is also present as a samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
instrumental version through in-game radios at certain points within the game.
Coulton got involved with Valve after two developers approached him following a concert in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. They asked him if he would like to write music for the company, and because he was a fan of Half-Life, he immediately accepted. After discussing what they should do, he and the developers settled on working on Portal. By this point, a few months before the release of The Orange Box, Valve's writers had created a large amount of backstory for GLaDOS and other aspects of Portal, which Coulton was able to use to write the lyrics. The overall process to complete the song took about six weeks. Coulton stated that GLaDOS's passive-aggressive nature, which he shared, made it difficult to get her voice out of his head. When asked why more video games don't end in song, Coulton stated that while movies have been well used to convey story, "we're still learning how to do it in games". However, as the player has grown accustomed to GLaDOS by the end of the game, her singing is something that "feels almost natural". The song's title suggests that GLaDOS is "still alive" after the events of Portal. Kim Swift explained that they chose to play this song during the ending so that players would leave the game happy.
Reception
McLain felt that Jonathan Coulton did a good job capturing GLaDOS with the song. IGN editor Ryan Geddes called it the best game-ending song of all time. In 2008, Coulton performed the song alongside Felicia DayFelicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day is an American actress, known for her work as "Vi" on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and for parts in movies such as Bring It On Again and June, as well as the Internet musical, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog...
at the Penny Arcade Expo
Penny Arcade Expo
The Penny Arcade Expo is a semi-annual gamer festival held in Seattle and Boston. PAX was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the authors of the Penny Arcade webcomic, because they wanted to attend a show that gave equal attention to console gamers, computer gamers, and tabletop...
, because he "knew it was one of those things that would just make people’s heads explode". The song was given the "Best Original Vocal - Pop Song" award by the Game Audio Network Guild during their 2008 awards. The song was also performed at the 2009 Press Start -Symphony of Games-
Press Start -Symphony of Games-
Press Start -Symphony of Games- is a series of Japanese video game music concerts introduced in 2006. It was initiated by several industry professionals and is sponsored by the Japanese publishing company Enterbrain.-Development:...
, a yearly Japanese concert event to showcase the musical works of video games. Still Alive is the first Western song to be performed at the show, which included a Japanese translation by Kazushige Nojima
Kazushige Nojima
is a Japanese game scenario writer and is the founder of Stellavista Ltd.. He is best known for writing parts of Square Enix's Final Fantasy video game series—namely Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2—and the Kingdom Hearts series...
, a writer of several Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
games, and arrangement for the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
The claims to be the oldest classical orchestra in Japan, having been founded in Nagoya in 1911. It moved to Tokyo in 1938 and has some 166 members as of 2005....
. Masahiro Sakurai
Masahiro Sakurai
is a Japanese video game designer, the creative force behind both the Kirby and the Super Smash Bros. series on Nintendo platforms. He is currently Director of Software Development for the video game developer's Sora Ltd. and Project Sora. He is also the author of a weekly column for Famitsu...
, director of Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
, demonstrated the game to the audience prior to the performance, given the minimal exposure of Portal in Japan. Coulton experienced a surge in popularity after the release of Portal due to the song's release. In the book "The Art of Videogames", author Grant Tavinor stated that while he was in hysterics by the song, he got the sense of artistic completion upon hearing it. 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
's Alice Liang called the ending to Portal "catchy, charming, surprising, and humorously bittersweet". On the eve of Portal 2s release, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
editor David Ewart called the song "surprising, funny, catchy, and unforgettable", and considered its opening line "This was a triumph" as a "modern shibboleth
Shibboleth
A shibboleth is a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important...
".
In other media
It was featured in "The Orange Box Original Soundtrack" released on Steam, containing both the original version and remix sung by Coulton himself. The song is also present in Valve's zombie-themed Left 4 Dead 2Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It is the sequel to Valve Corporation's award-winning Left 4 Dead. The game launched on November 17, 2009, for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in the United States and November 20 in Europe; in 2010, Left 4 Dead 2 was made available to...
, which can be selected to play on a jukebox
Jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media...
in three different campaigns; another Jonathan Coulton song, "Re: Your Brains," is also present in the jukebox. The song is a popular cover and remix for user-generated content, such as on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. In the Portal game mod "Portal Prelude", a remix of "Still Alive" can be heard on several radios throughout the game, however, they are not performed by GLaDOS. The Valve-owned web site, www.aperturescience.com, features a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
-themed remix of "Still Alive", showing a moving image of the Weighted Companion Cube with a Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
hat and ended with a message reading "HAPPY [HOLIDAY NAME HERE]". A special Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
port of the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
title, Chime
Chime (video game)
Chime is a 2010 music/puzzle video game developed by Zoë Mode, released initially on the Xbox Live Arcade service, and later for Windows. An extended version of the game, called Chime Super Deluxe, was released on the PlayStation Network in March 29, 2011...
, includes "Still Alive" as an additional music stage for the game.
A modified version sung by a fan was featured as the opening song on RoosterTeeth's podcast "The Drunktank".
In Rock Band
"Still Alive" was featured as a downloadable song in multiple games in the Rock Band series, including Rock Band, Rock Band 2Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
, and Rock Band Unplugged
Rock Band Unplugged
Rock Band Unplugged is an expansion of the Rock Band series of music video games released for the PlayStation Portable. The game is developed by Backbone Entertainment in conjunction with Harmonix Music Systems and is distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts...
. It was included for free on the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
to thank players for supporting the series. After complaints about Rock Band Unpluggeds version not being free, this was rectified and anyone who paid for it had their money refunded. After a content pack for Rock Band was hacked, a list of songs purported to be included was released which included "Still Alive". Jonathan Coulton and three others performed this song on Rock Band, announcing its presence in the title as a downloadable song.