Portal (spoiler alert)

Hey,

I know I'm around a year behind but I finally played and beat Portal. I'm really bad at sitting down and completing a game so it took me a while before I finally got around to Portal. After completing the game I fully understand why it won so many awards. They managed to merge a great story with an innovative mechanic making an excellent game. Obviously I'd heard a lot about the game before getting a chance to play it but the game still managed to surprise me.

The start of the game made it seem like the game would be short and quick and simply show off the portal mechanic and mock you as you move through each floor. The only really surprising thing I ran into was the companion cube. I knew you had to kill it and maybe that made me feel no attachment but everyone else who has played the game felt bad about it. For me as soon as I realized I had to kill the companion cube I did it.

The supposed end of the game was when the real game began for me. I had no idea that the game wasn't supposed to end and I thought I had just found a cool secret area that led nowhere. It was perfectly done and accomplished a great balance of player skill and reward. I was completely confused and didn't understand why the game kept letting me explore. I eventually realized that I was supposed to keep going and quickly realized the great depth of the game.

I loved the ending and thought it wrapped the game up great. Hearing Glados telling me not to kill her and having her voice change as each piece was destroyed was great. The song that was rolling during the credits was even better. The story was very simplistic but it had this great comedic quality to it that made the game very endearing. You somehow feel connected to the game world and feel like your actions affect what is going on.

Although the game is very short it is a very hard experience to recreate. Most games can hold the quality that Portal does for short bursts but it never encompasses the whole experience. In WoW the quests often alude to other games or are easter eggs and you get the same feeling that Portal does. Figuring out how to create this experience in a full rpg should be a goal for designers.

Cyaz