Astor Place Cube becomes a Companion Cube
It’s something of a tradition for New York City’s Astor Place Cube, aka Alamo — the giant cube sculpture balanced on one corner that’s been seen in numerous movies and music videos — to get pranked, as it’s in close proximity to New York University. Today it was transformed into a Portal Companion Cube by the Caltech Prank Club.
The Caltech pranksters crafted massive fabric pieces and covered the Cube with it to turn it into the fan-favorite character from Portal and Portal 2. They took credit for their work with a cheeky letter left at the Cube written in the style of Aperture Science itself, which even includes instructions on how to disassemble the Cube using its “Aperture Science brand Hook and Loop fasteners.”
I can’t help wondering just how many New Yorkers recognized the Companion Cube. Portal‘s a popular game, but it’s not as penetrated into the mass consciousness as something like Pac-Man. Would you have recognized the Companion Cube if you passed it on the street?
According to Twitter user @mylestanzer, the Companion Cube’s fabric pieces were removed from the Astor Place Cube by the New York Parks Department early this afternoon.
Astor Place Cube becomes a Companion Cube
I’d have recognized it, but only because I found a gremlin or something worshiping one in a dungeon in Fable 3 and looked it up. I got a copy of Portal for free, but haven’t had time to play it yet.