Portal : Critical Play, CS247G

The Portal Series by Valve is an absolute masterpiece, and a game that left one of the strongest impression in my mind.

A Novel Mechanic

Portal started from a senior project made by a few students in the DigiPen Institute of Technology. The mechanic they brought to the world was incredibly novel at the time — while the concept of portals did exist in 3D games, and were even often used as a component for puzzles, they were never the core mechanic of solving a puzzle itself. Especially, since portals were often seen as a part of environment design (fixed in place by the developer), the idea that the player could place portals anywhere at their will was revolutionary. Consequently, Gabe Newell took interest in the idea and hired the entire team who worked on the original game.

How It All Ties Together

While the core mechanic itself was refreshingly novel at the time, what made Portal a masterpiece is that the game’s setting, puzzles, story fit together so flawlessly. This is because every other element of the game was designed around the mechanic itself.

For example, the game is set in a lab environment. This was necessary because in order to be able to place portals anywhere (and render the portal with ease), the level should be comprised of as much flat surfaces as possible. Therefore, by taking place entirely in an artificial indoor element, the game is able to satisfy this constraint of the core mechanic.

This setting and the mechanic works together to put together a highly integrated storyline. The portal is shot from a gun, which is made in the aforementioned lab. Every enemy and puzzle element is contextually placed and are all products manufactured in this lab.