I’ll admit to being a little behind the curve on this one, but last weekend I finally got around to playing Portal, the 3D action-puzzler from Valve Studios. Much has already been written about the game, but what I’d like to briefly discuss is the work that went into usability during the game design process. In this respect, as with many others, Portal is a master-class.
Valve have a culture of play-testing from week one of production, something that has obviously had a large impact on the success of their games (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19523). The developers’ primary challenge was to introduce the new gameplay element of ‘portals’ – doorways that can be opened up by the player using a ‘portal gun’, a device that allows the player to fire two portals. The antagonist can then walk through one portal and out of the other. Simple, right? Wrong. The system opens up a whole world of perceptual confusion in novice players, who find it difficult to comprehend the rules of the new physics they are manipulating. One common mistake is to believe that you are switching between dimensions, rather than remaining essentially in the same locale. To counter these issues, Valve introduce game elements gradually, allowing the player a level of independence and experimentation, whilst guiding them subtly towards a greater understanding of the game. Obviously this hand-holding approach is common in game design, but I can’t think of any other instances where it is so transparent and effortless. It never once patronises the player.
The visual design, although completely immersive, is relatively spartan, reflecting the research facility scenario and more importantly creating a strong, consistent aesthetic to the puzzles encountered. One good example of their ethos is that all interactive elements in the game world are circular or rounded, whereas non-interactive elements have squared edges. There are many more complex aspects to the design work, but unfortunately I have work I ought to be doing…
If you’re interested, there is a developers’ commentary (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB97SyCr8Wk&feature=related) in the game that is as revealing as it is enlightening. I would certainly suggest playing through it first before taking a look at the commentary. See how many mistakes you’d have made were it not for the exhaustiveness of Valve’s design methodology.
P.S. Oh, I almost forgot (thanks for the reminder Jess): there’s a 2D flash version that gives you some idea of how the game works http://portal.wecreatestuff.com/
Tags: Game Design, Portal, QA, User Experience
I, also, have been going back and playing some “classic” great games that nail the user experience from moment one.
Call of Duty 4 is a game that sticks with me for similar reasons. It does a great job of layering on controls as you play. Moreover, the behavioral self-assessment of difficulty level is brilliant (you play a mini-mission and based on the results you are recommended which difficulty level to play on).
The one thing that I wish Portal — as a 3d puzzler — had done is do usability testing on non-FPS gamers. My wife loves 3d puzzle games, but could not play the Xbox version of Portal because of the “you need to use the right thumb in complex ways” issue that many non-current gen console gamers have.
Sure, you would have had to have a behavioral self-assessment and split the paths of entry (no experienced FPS player would want to do an intro and mastery of basic move/look/grab controls tutorial). But it would have given the game that much broader reach.
J
Hi Jason,
It’s an interesting idea – create two separate tiers of gameplay dependent on user ability. Most attempts I’ve seen at games trying to adapt to the user have been clunky at best and usually end up undermining various core mechanics (note: I haven’t played CoD4 btw, so I’m talking more about other titles like BioShock and everything Bethesda has ruined [done] in the last ten years). I imagine the method used in CoD4 is to alter the accuracy of your enemies and the balance of the damage model. I’m not sure how you could alter Portal to make it easier – some of the puzzles later on require some pretty sharp skills to complete. It’s a shame because it’s a game I’d love everyone to play and enjoy, but I guess in some respects it will remain niche for the very reasons you mention.
As a side note: I’m very much of the opinion that a keyboard and mouse is still the most intuitive way to play FPS’s as moving a mouse has a much sharper mapping to the way you would naturally look around. Maybe I’m a bit old school in this regard.
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