Where a lot of developers focus on hitting all of the major bullet points in terms of “must-have” game features, I feel as if Valve almost always focuses on making the most out of what’s given; the studio recognizes when it’s appropriate to trim the fat. One such example of this isPortal 2.
Writer Erik Wolpaw talked with 1UP about the game’s now-removed competitive multiplayer. “The best way to describe it is sort of speedball meetsPortal. You know, a sports analog. And it quickly became apparent that while it’s fun for about two seconds to drop portals under people and things like that, it quickly just devolves into pure chaos.”
Continuing, he says “It lost a lot of the stuff that was really entertaining aboutPortal, which was puzzle-solving. Cooperative puzzle-solving was just a much more rewarding path.” Afteryesterday’s fairy story, and now this, I look forward to seeing what the future will bring.
