It's been two days since the Portal update was released, and the eager cryptologists on SomethingAwful and the Steam forums have mostly decoded the meaning behind the ARG. At least, they think they have. It's impossible to tell with ARGs, thanks to just how strange they are. There have been a number of theories, some of them incredibly out there (Gunman Chronicles sequel? Seriously?), but as in any cryptic scenario, the most plausible theories end up at the forefront.

Clues in the Portal 2 ARG suggests that an announcement for Portal 2 and Episode 3 is right around the corner. Specifically, ASCII art of new environments relating to the Borealis and Aperture Science have been discovered on the old-school BBS that digging uncovered. The BBS bears the version number 3.11, which is the date that Gabe Newell is accepting the annual Industry Pioneer Award at GDC. All the signs point to a big announcement either at or around the award acceptance, so GDC is definitely something to watch this year if you are a lover of Valve games. You can check out the clues and art in our ARG gallery.

Update: There's been another small update to Portal today. Officially the update, according to Steam's web page, is: "Added valuable asset retrieval." The Steam messages boards report that there are some new files added to the game and there are now reports that the game's ending has been changed. We won't spoil that part of it but the Steam page clue may give you an idea on what the new ending is like.