STRAYLIFE

So there I was, all prepared to write about “Convergence” (wonderful buzz word that it is), and how often it is misinterpreted. I figured I’d let the ideas settle over the weekend, then distill my thoughts into a great blog entry.

But – and there’s always a but – that’s not quite what happened.

During the weekend, I bought the Orange Box from Valve. The prospect of two episodes of Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 was too good an offer to turn up. And here comes another but… I didn’t play any of them! Instead, I gave my time to Portal, the ‘freebie’ in the set, and it’s the best gaming experience I’ve had in a long time.

Sure, I could go on about the games physics, its humour (and more humour) or even the fairy tale story of the development team that were picked out of College by one of the top developers / publishers in the business. There are people who have already told those stories far better though (warning: ‘strong’ language).

What I found myself thinking of though, was our company’s new vision – ””Meaningful Play””:http://www.meaningfulplay.com – the idea that game playing should be about more than just filling in time, or “seriously” gaming to learn how to repair a 747 engine.

So what has this got to do with Portal? Valve have made a top rate game, there’s no doubt of that. But mixed subtly into the game play are questions of ethics and morality. They don’t preach, they don’t even demand that you pay attention to them. But it’s hard to play the game and not think of the computer as a real person, with motivations and feelings. And don’t get me started on the gun turrets. It’s the Turing Test made real for a new generation.

Amidst the fun and challenge of Portal, Valve has snuck in a story that makes you ponder important, long term issues, without ever feeling preached to. Thank you Valve, for bringing meaning into my play without removing any of the fun.