Portal is done: next streaming? Next writing? · 6:02pm Jan 16th, 2020
Well, the writing first. Those of you who are on my Patreon know I'm well behind my personal daily writing goal, but I've begun work on the next Changeling Space Program chapter plus work on a contest entry and another project I've hinted at before. All of those will continue, at least until I get around the writer block I have on Haycartes.
As for gaming: quick review of Portal- I'm glad I got it for like $2.50, because $20 would have been too much. The puzzles are nice and interesting, but the fun ends when I begin shouting at the controls. I'm no longer a fan of platform games, even less so first-person platforming.
I completed the main storyline in just over five hours of game play, and if I were inclined to speed run I could probably get it under four hours. (But not the current record of about eight minutes, because my reflexes are demonstrably not that good.) The bonus material is just rehashes of existing levels made arbitrarily more difficult, i. e. uninteresting and ultimately frustrating.
I keep reminding myself that Portal was filler while people waited for Half-Life 2, because as fascinating as it is in points, what's delivered is definitely not a stand-alone game.
Anyway: having no luck getting my streaming software to see the original Master of Orion. I'll experiment with X-Wing tonight, and if it works that'll be the Monday 7 PM (http://twitch.tv/redneckgaijin) stream. If not, then it'll be XCOM Long War.
I'm so knee-deep in my own writing right now that I can't imagine what to suggest, but given how solid your work is I think anything you tackle will end up being good. I mostly wanted to pop in to let you know I still appreciate what you put out.
How the hell did someone beat Portal in 8 minutes?
5187359 There's at least one claim of a sub-7-minute playthrough. Without watching, I'm going to guess that the game speed was hacked way up to allow running, since there wasn't a run/dash function in the version I have. Apparently the majority of the run time of the record-holder video was the inside of the elevator between test chambers.
5187359
The Portal game engine has corners that can be abused, especially with the portal gun. No hacks as such, but clipping in and out of stuff etc
Mmmm, the original Portal. Fun game, but yeah, it was always meant to just be this fun little side-project, using mostly recycled resources from Half-Life 2. But the fact it was as polished as it was upon release is a testament to the sort of quality Valve put into their games at the time.
You should try Portal 2 at some point if you haven't already. Much more of a full-length game and more refined in concept and technical production, and overall a more polished product, while still managing to fully preserve the original's iconic gaming elements. So I'd imagine it probably better tackles some of the issues you had in the original.
It's funny you call it a platformer, though--never really thought of either Portal game as a platformer. Puzzle game, yes, but platformer? Only in passing, really.
5187964 If you've solved the puzzles, all that's left to Portal is platforming.
And Portal 2 is on my list, but not just yet- because I want some time to relax from its predecessor.