Portal was the award winning game of last year by Valve Studios. The same company makes the Half-Life series. Set in the same universe, Portal is a unique take on not only the first person shooter, but also video games in general. The team created a game where you have to puzzle your way through several levels using a unique device called the portal gun. Instead of bullets it shoots portals, an orange and a blue one. They connect to each other; in effect changing the dynamics of how you can move around. It is one of the most innovative titles to come out in a very long time. This connects us to the debate of innovation in games. How should game designers innovate? What is the next evolutionary step? It was easy to see about 12 years ago. Simply move from 2d to 3d. Now it is not as simple. There is a lot of repetition in the game of recent years, with only incremental improvements at best. Several people have looked to Portal to lead the way into new design space to be explored. I think otherwise.
Yes it was one of the most innovative games of the year, probably the decade, but for all its innovation it is a dead end. The ability to shuttle from one location to the other instantaneously like in the game is a feat of massive proportions technologically, but it opens a door into a very small room. Conceivably the portal concept would only work in an enclosed space. The coding would be near impossible to create in an open environment. For example, if the player were to shoot a portal under a tree, how would the environment react and what would happen when you moved the portal elsewhere. It is also a question of challenge, because you could skip an entire level by just portaling to the other side. Other problems pop up when you consider what would it be useful for? What would be the point in game? What type of game could make use of the idea? Only an action/adventure title could really use it for any real benefit. But with an idea as unique as the portal gun it would only end up hindering any attempts other than how it was used in Portal. It is a device to solve puzzles with. It has no other viable application.
The portal itself has no alternative application, but the thinking behind it may lead to other areas of innovation. The developers played with the concept of space. Like how when consoles moved onto the N64 and Playstation they added a dimension, developers now can play with that dimension like they never had before. It may even be possible to add another dimension as a game mechanic. Prince of Persia did this sort of thing with its rewind mechanic, but it may be possible to take it a step further. Innovation is about taking the old idea a step further. Games have so many concepts put together that finding the next thing is really about finding the right combination of changes.
Woah woah woah, Portal is friggin amazing for one. Secondly, impossible to make an entire open environment, you can import the half life 2 levels into portal and it works fine (not the best but then again it wasn’t made for hl2). Also it could only be for enclosed environments but some people have amazing ideas that could change that, hell they made portal
Next up, only an action/adventure title?? What are you talking about, it was a puzzle, and could be made into any other genre (fighting games for example already use them basically [teleporting behind enemies]). Also, remember portal is an fps, which doesn’t allow much flexibility in terms of changing genre. There are a whole bunch of other things that you said that were untrue/unjust, etc. that i could argue but im too lazy 
all in all, Portals one of the best games ever made (you know it), and we have to remember, this is the first ever attempt with a portal gun, that means it can be imported into other games, have sequels, be completely ripoffed by some crap game, but in the end, be greatly enhanced and perfected, and thus is the process of a great game becoming greater.
This was not an attack on Portal, a game I thought was great and delivered a sublime experience. The point I was making was about the design space of Portal. Portal is an end in the design space of spacial change, just like Fracture was, but unlike Portal tried to put the mechanic into the normal shooter expirince rather than build the new mechanic properly.
Portal itself ha to limit the use of the gun so not to make the game too cheep. Certain level design choices because cleaver players were able to circumvent the puzzles with short cuts. You can hear more of this in the designer’s commentary in the game.
I have to disagree that the gun can be imported into other games. It is such a unique item that had to have the enitre game built around it to be as great as it was. As for sequals, where would they go with it. Wasn’t the institute destroyed and we know about Glados, where could they really go with it. Portal is a great game and I believe it can stand on its own.
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