Interview With Valve’s Kim Swift About New Mini Game Portal

Valve Studios created a new buzz about a new mini game that will be bundled up with Half Life 2: Episode 2 (coming out on Xbox 360 and PS3). In an email interview with IGN, Valve’s Kim Swift discussed the details about the new puzzle game called Portal.

Swift is one of the students at DigiPen Institute of Technology who created the winning entry game, Narbacular Drop, during their senior years. After watching their demo of the game, Gabe Newell hired them on the spot as new employees of Valve Studios. The game was demoed at the EA‘s Studio Showcase last July where Valve presented a first-person game concept that will be shipped independently on PC and as part of a package on Xbox 360 and PS3 next year.

In the game, players control a test participant in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center where they must finish a series of tests. Swift best described it as, “It feels a lot like you’re a rat in a maze, actually.” Players can create portals in any flat surface such as walls, floor and ceilings. The portal tool also acts like a weaker version of Half Life 2‘s gravity gun in which players can pick up objects and toss them through the portal. Unfortunately, the initial release is to be single-player only, but Swift said that they have lots of ideas for multiplayer mode in Portal for future projects.

For a more detailed information about the interview, you can check the full interview by clicking the link below.

Valve Studios created a new buzz about a new mini game that will be bundled up with Half Life 2: Episode 2 (coming out on Xbox 360 and PS3). In an email interview with IGN, Valve’s Kim Swift discussed the details about the new puzzle game called Portal.

Swift is one of the students at DigiPen Institute of Technology who created the winning entry game, Narbacular Drop, during their senior years. After watching their demo of the game, Gabe Newell hired them on the spot as new employees of Valve Studios. The game was demoed at the EA‘s Studio Showcase last July where Valve presented a first-person game concept that will be shipped independently on PC and as part of a package on Xbox 360 and PS3 next year.

In the game, players control a test participant in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center where they must finish a series of tests. Swift best described it as, “It feels a lot like you’re a rat in a maze, actually.” Players can create portals in any flat surface such as walls, floor and ceilings. The portal tool also acts like a weaker version of Half Life 2‘s gravity gun in which players can pick up objects and toss them through the portal. Unfortunately, the initial release is to be single-player only, but Swift said that they have lots of ideas for multiplayer mode in Portal for future projects.

For a more detailed information about the interview, you can check the full interview by clicking the link below.