Valve lead writer Erik Wolpaw lent his clever pen to sci-fi shooter Portal 2. If you've played the game (this post has spoilers!), you might have your favorite character. Wolpaw does.
According to Wolpaw, his favorite character (co-writer Jay Pinkerton's, too) is Rick the Adventure Sphere, the jabbering AI sphere with a Texas twang.
"The problem with the adventure sphere, from a under-appreciation perspective, is that you kinda miss his best stuff unless you play the final battle a few times and leave yourself a bunch of time with him," Wolpaw told blog New World Notes.
Wolpaw said "pretty much" all of his dialogue was written before hand, but voice actor Nolan North improvised some stuff in the recording studio.
"As for inspiration, we just thought it's be funny to have this totally impotent charming rogue sphere," said Wolpaw. "All man, loves the ladies, but can't do anything about any of it because he's a slightly malfunctioning metal ball." Regardless, added Wolpaw, they wanted Rick to be confident and upbeat. "Nothing gets him down."
New World Gaming: Valve Writer Erik Wolpaw on Rick, Under-Appreciated Star of Portal 2 [New World Notes]