Thursday, October 11, 2007

This post is for those of us still alive


I am going to say that as short as it was, Portal may have been one of the best games I've ever played.
If you've never heard of it or barely care about video games, at least look at the game's trailer and just see how genius this game is.

The real reason this game is such a gem is how it decides to portray it's narrative. And, for those of us who have beat the game, can we all agree that on a somewhat serious tone, the end song was so beautiful? For those of you who want to relive the ending again, here is the MP3.

I absolutely love the path some games are taking lately. Games like this play out like very impressive short films. There are so many small details in this game that are littered all over. If you go out of your way to search for them, you can see just how endearing this short game is. The sort of effort put into it's presentation was great. The game almost played out like a Twilight Zone episode with a touch of Pixar sweetness near the end.

Because of technology, games can really fulfill the designers' dreams of creating very unique and lasting experiences for gamers. I think Portal stands as a good example of how a little stroke of (borrowed) genius and some well thought out story mechanics can really present a truly remarkable experience for anyone. Not just hard core gamers.

No comments: