Now that you have the idea, apply the concept to multiple floor puzzles. Yes - a gun that creates instant openings through walls that transport you in the bat of an eye to another place. In Half-Life 2: Portal, a seemingly independent game that ships with the PC version of Half-Life Episode 2, and the bundle of Half-Life 2, Episode 1, 2, and Team Fortress 2 on Xbox 360 and PS3, players use a tool that creates portals on the fly. The portals are dimensional doorways into different areas of the craft, and they're graphically and conceptually well-implemented and work seamlessly.
If you've played or heard of Humanhead's Prey, then you know that game offers organic portals throughout a giant sentient alien ship. In the demonstration, Newell walked us through the concept. Then he showed us a killer list of games and innovative ideas the most powerful of which was known simply as 'portal.' Seriously, the Portal demo blew our minds. Representing Valve, the creators of Half-Life and Team Fortress, and the most radically independent software developer in the business, Newell strolled to the platform at Electronic Arts - the biggest and most ominous game publishing company in the world - and explained Valve's dedication to episodic content.
