Portal (was Re: A videogame that will make William happy)

[Max Battcher]

Jim Sharkey wrote:
> Martin Lewis wrote:
>> There is a Flash adaption:
>> http://portal.wecreatestuff.com/
> 
> My understanding is that Portal was originally a Flash game and the 
> Valve guys liked it so much they hired them people who created it
> to make a game with their engine.

Portal was based on Narbacular Drop, which was a student design project 
at Digipen.  It used a custom built 3D engine, not Flash.  Valve hired 
all of the members of that project directly out of school, it is said.

You can find Narbacular Drop on the web, hosted by the school, and try 
it, but it obviously has nowhere near the polish that Valve was able to 
give it, particularly with the addition of the writing skills of Old Man 
Murray alum and Psychonauts collaborator Eric Wolpaw.  It's absolutely 
the writing that turned it from interesting tech demo to endearing game.

--
--Max Battcher--
http://www.worldmaker.net/