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Portal 2 in orphan insult row

Adoptive parent "shocked at insensitivity".

A US news station has accused Valve of insensitivity over orphan jokes in Portal 2's script.

The WBTV report claims scenes in which GLaDOS and Wheatley rib the player "make fun of adoption" and interviews a parent who took offense while playing the game with his adopted 10-year-old daughter.

"It literally pokes fun for not having parents," said father Neil Stapel.

"It throws the most ultimate question that child is ever going to have for you... right into the living room."

One of the clips from the game featured out of context in the report sees the Wheatley character say, "Alright, fatty. Adopted fatty. Fatty, fatty no parents."

"If you're not an adoptive parent it's probably not a big deal for you," explained Stapel, "but if you are an adoptive parent it was literally the worst thing I could have heard."

Valve was apparently contacted for comment but hadn't responded by the time the report was broadcast. We've been in touch too and will update if we hear back.

Have a read of our recent interview with Valve writer Erik Wolpaw for some insight into Portal 2's script.

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Portal 2

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Fred Dutton

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Fred Dutton was Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

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