As mentioned in Player Type and Game Choice, I chose Portal (2007) as my second game for ISLT 7384: Designing Games for Learning. This week, I started my first play through of the game. I played one session for one hour. I stopped playing at the 9th Level of potentially 19 levels (yet I’m somewhat skeptical due to the nature of the narrator).
I am somewhat familiar with Portals’ premise and story from cultural awareness (and my husband playing Portal 2 not long after we got married). Portal immediately contrasts with Zoombinis (2015). Where Zoombinis felt somewhat whimsical and fantastical, Portal exudes a foreboding atmosphere. As a first-person game, you find yourself in a cell. A peppy electronic song reminiscent of elevator music plays from a radio. It fails to cover the ominous swoosh sound pulsing in the background (Image 1).
As with Zoombini’s, you see some elements of the hero’s journey in Portal (Kapp, 2012, p. 43-44). However, it plays out in a much different way. After the inciting incident of the cell door malfunction, a (unreliable) narrator “guides” you through a maze of nondescript halls, rooms, and elevators (which remind me of Doom (1993) which seem to be in some sort of warehouse. In each room, you must prove yourself worthy to go forward through various trials and puzzles—and, you hope, freedom.
Narrative Games and Comparison
This week, we were asked to play two narrative games. I chose The Domovoi (2014) and Gods will be watching (2014) from the options. I played each game for about 35 minutes each for a total of about 70 minutes.
The Domovoi feels like sitting down with a spooky book on a cold winter’s night. A Domovoi is a Slavic protective family spirit. A Storyteller tells you tales of these spirits (Image 2). I was very intrigued by the story in this game, but I only got an inkling of what needed to happen in the gameplay.
I felt the least engaged with Gods will be watching. It starts with characters around a campfire talking about the past—including aliens (Image 3). I can get behind this premise—some of the best stories get told by the fire as we’re often more honest, open, and vulnerable. But the game felt difficult to understand even with normal difficulty level (recommended for story). It took me nearly the full session to complete the objective—only to realize it wanted me to do something more.
Each game includes audio and visual elements which complement or enhance the text of the story; however, Portal and The Domovoi felt like a more immersive story with these elements. In Portal, where you encounter bare walls and halls—and the minimalist use of blue and red convey meanings. Similarly, the Domovoi includes minimalistic images and sounds with an ascending line of concrete words and imagery resembling prose poetry. I felt more like an observer of the game with Zoombinis and Gods will be watching. They both share a more colorful palette, with Gods will be watching a more retro, pixelated style.
References
Kapp, K. M. (2012). The gamification of learning and instruction: Game-based methods and strategies for training and education. Pfeiffer.
