Notes on *Portal* and *Mirror's Edge*

I just had a little epiphany about *Portal* and why its story worked so well.  Warning, spoilers not only of *Portal* but also of *Mirror's Edge* and *Bioshock.*

Compare and contrast with *Mirror's Edge*, the game I've been playing lately, which is great, and I highly recommend it to people who like the Tomb Raiderish genre of "realistic" platforming.  

Still, the story is not on the same level as *Portal*.  Of course, few stories are, but let's talk about the main element of *Portal* - GladOS, the voice in your ear.  The voice in your ear has become a total cliche in videogames and more than half the time I find myself wanting to kill that annoying voice more than I want to kill the enemies he or she is warning me about.  *Mirror's Edge* has one of those annoying voices-in-ear, and when that character died I felt absolutely no sympathy whatsoever.

Now, in *Bioshock* and *Portal* - you actually do get to kill the voice-in-your-ear!  In fact, it's the climax of both games.  It's like the writers recognize that fundamental urge in the gamer, the desire to wipe out that "helpful" unstoppable voice.  And, from a writer's point of view, it's so simple - you've merged two characters, the advisor and the enemy, into one.  And you get a plot twist.  Win, win, win.

And here's the interesting bit - in *Bioshock* and *Portal*, I never hated the voice in my ear the way I hate Merc from Mirror's Edge.  Why?  Is it because Merc or Merc's writers want us to like him?  They're asking us to like him?  So we'll feel the right emotion when his character is killed?  And so we feel coerced, manipulated, annoyed.  

Whereas nobody expects you to like GladOS and yet, for some unexplicable reason, I do.  I should hate her - she's like the earnest cloying grandmother who gives you a big hug that you just want to get away from.  But there's such depth and breadth to her.  She loves you and hates you at the same time.  And she's funny.  One of the real tragedies, when *Portal* ends, is, in fact, that you don't get to spend any more time with GladOS.  And that's because you killed her.  I'm not saying it creates *Shadow of the Colossus* levels of melancholy, but it's there, it works, and I wasn't even aware of why until now.

Now, as for how to create a character like that, well, that I have no idea.  You have to be some kind of genius.

Comments

[TimeDoctor]

Proving yet again that old man murray was right.

[Mike Darga]

Very insightful!

[tpettit]

This is an insight into portal that I have not considered before. I found that Portal as a game was engaging and pretty much completely immersive. You are right there is this attachment to GladOS, which entertains you and yet makes you want to destroy her. Being the only character you interact with (besides the companion cube), you start to feel a bond with her.
I will admit that I never thought of GladOS as a unique concept, but now that I think about it, I can see where you are coming from. Being the antagonist and the entity who leads you through the game she becomes something more.

[Sean]

Interesting, I'd never grown conscious of the voice-in-your-ear as such an overused device. In retrospect, it has been in most of the games I've played. Now that you've exposed its ubiquity, it's probably going to drive me nuts in future games... thanks! ;)

I should point out that I don't always feel hatred or even ambivalence towards the voice-in-your-ear. The original *Halo* did a great job of creating a bond to the AI/personal-guide Cortana. Perhaps the bond came from a similar move to the one you mentioned where they make you miss GladOS: in *Halo*, you are separated from Cortana for several levels while you are guided around by a malicious and undeniably (and unfortunately invincible) voice-in-your-ear (I think it was named 343 Guilty Spark).

Interesting article; got me thinking. Thanks!

[Juan barbosa]

I wonder if its true genius or a stroke of luck since the character is such a huge hit.

[_Jon]

The first ViE I remember isn't from a game. It is from a TV show. One with a big movie coming out tonight. Who would have thought that Gene's wife's voice would be so famous...

[Sveikinimai]

Nice post, thank you

[Josh]

"Hey, hey, listen!"