If you have played Portal, included with The Orange Box, you most certainly remember the sound of the voice of the computer that taunts you throughout the game. The computer, named GLaDOS, is voiced by Ellen McLain a classically trained opera singer. Her lines were orignally sent through a text-to-speech program, she then mimiced the tone of the computer voice while recording her part. The recording was then run through a series of pitch and modulation effects to enhance the robotic sound. The video that follows describes the entire process.

One of the best features of the The Orange Box, and most Valve games since Half Life 2, is the developer commentary feature that can be turned on from inside the audio options menu. It is like the extras features on most DVD’s, with the developers of the game describing the process of creating the final product. The game has icons that look like thought bubbles placed throughout the story that can be triggered. If you haven’t tried it you should definately check it out. This video describes how the voice of GLaDOS was created by compiling togeather all of the commetary into one video. Enjoy!