The Orange Box: Portal

Every now and then, I come across something that stimulates new thinking. Whether it is from training my fingers to move in new ways via Guitar Hero or discovering the yin and yang of life while reading the uses of ginger to compliment sushi eating experiences, I log it all here. One, to remember. Two to help others make sense of the world.

Previously, I wrote about the Orange Box, today I am going to write about one of the extra games which came with the box because it changed something inside of me. Portal takes the complex idea of warp gates and went on to implement it in the best way they can.

I have thought about the possibility of gateways before (mainly, black hole theory), but never thought beyond the physics of creating and problems in entering the gate. Portal sets the player in a reality where this is possible, forcing us to accept the reality and deal with just the consequences.

I finished the game in 3 hours wanting more. There isn’t one level in Portal where my mind wasn’t challenged, or my concept of physics got distorted. It changed me because I was forced to rewire part of my brain to understand it. Knowing myself, I welcome any chance I have to do that.