Intellectual production-Game Review

The game I chose to play was Portal 2, a puzzle game developed by Valve. The game itself is fantastic on a number of different levels. The writing is exceptional for a video game, as is the voice acting. One of my favourite aspects of the game, however, is the way the designers have created a fun co-operative experience for players of many ages and skill levels. Someone who does not play games could play the game's co-operative portion of the game quickly because it has been designed to teach the player skills gradually. Despite this, however, the more advanced player doesn't feel coddled through the tutorial because there is a clever narration to keep them laughing.

Something that really interested me was the way that the designers overcame the very difficult issues associated with two players trying to solve a puzzle together, usually over a distance, sometimes without being able to communicate verbally. To do this, they equipped the players with different symbols they can show to their partner. I imagine it was difficult for them to not only choose symbols that were clear, but they had to anticipate the communication needs players would have, certainly no small feat!

As a tool for learning, I think that the co-operative aspect of Portal 2 goes beyond just teaching players how to solve physics puzzles (which is of course still important). There is no way to beat the puzzles on your own, so you must always be working co-operatively, unlike many games where you are working towards being the best. Instead, players are also learning how to communicate with a partner and combine problem-solving skills.