The Portal gun, officially the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, first appeared in Valve's puzzle game Portal in 2007, wielded by the silent protagonist Chell. It fires linked blue and orange portals that let players move through walls and solve physics puzzles, and its distinctive firing sound quickly became shorthand for the game itself. As Portal clips, speedruns and fan edits spread online, creators began lifting the zap for their own transitions, keeping it in use long after the original games because the effect is instantly understood without any explanation.