effervescent refractions

I mentioned it in my last post but Portal’s first trailer was released last night. I’m glad I told you to look out for this one because it just looks freaking amazing. The concept from Narbacular Drop appears simply translated to a new engine, but this Source-ified version just radiates flair. Both the lead developer’s site and Nuclear Monkey’s (the studio originally composed of DigiPen students) seem to have exploded, but as soon as they’re back up some congratulatory comments will be due.

Many have already made comparisons with the game Prey (which I haven’t played) and the similarity is striking but considering Narbacular Drop was conceived more than three years ago, I’m not sure we can say who copied whom. In addition, Prey does not allow you to create your own portals which severely limits the gameplay possibilities. In any event, the scope seems different and I’m glad to see a breath of creativity in the seemingly stagnant FPS genre. Portal already seems destined for single-player only, but I wonder if a multi-player could be imagined. The puzzle-solving aspect seems perfect for two or three person co-op, but there’s no denying that an eruptive space-time gravity gun deathmatch rampage sounds enticing.