Randy Pitchford, head of Gearbox Software, has praised Valve's Portal, saying it is a realisation of many of his own ideas and that the model of distribution is one he may replicate in the future.
"What I like most about Portal was that it’s a quick sample of a game," he told Eurogamer TV. "To me what that suggests is, that can be a business. That we can invest in creating these kinds of things, include them in bigger products, and there are people that will love those in their own right, even if it’s only a two-hour experience."
Pitchford, who was in London to show off his new WWII shooter Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway, said that he would love to replicate the model of The Orange Box in the future by including smaller games like Portal in with larger releases. He was clear that he wouldn't want to use standalone releases on Xbox Live or PSN however.
"Xbox Live is neat, but why not include something of that scale in with your game? That's neat added value. If it can affect the purchase decision of the customer, you can rationalise what it costs to develop...I would love to do because it's fun and a great opportunity to play with gameplay elements that might be a little bit outside the scope of your core game."
Pitchford, who used to work at 3D Realms, also saw Portal as the realisation of some of his own ideas which were to be originally showcased in Prey.
"I worked on Prey in its first incarnation," he said. "And what Valve did with Portal was part of the concept of what we originally imagined with portals, and those were the puzzles that we hoped were part of the gameplay. I didn't see a lot of that come through in the final version of Prey."
Do extra games like Portal included in a larger pack work as an enticement to buy, or do you just pirate everything anyway? Let us know in the forums.
"What I like most about Portal was that it’s a quick sample of a game," he told Eurogamer TV. "To me what that suggests is, that can be a business. That we can invest in creating these kinds of things, include them in bigger products, and there are people that will love those in their own right, even if it’s only a two-hour experience."
Pitchford, who was in London to show off his new WWII shooter Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway, said that he would love to replicate the model of The Orange Box in the future by including smaller games like Portal in with larger releases. He was clear that he wouldn't want to use standalone releases on Xbox Live or PSN however.
"Xbox Live is neat, but why not include something of that scale in with your game? That's neat added value. If it can affect the purchase decision of the customer, you can rationalise what it costs to develop...I would love to do because it's fun and a great opportunity to play with gameplay elements that might be a little bit outside the scope of your core game."
Pitchford, who used to work at 3D Realms, also saw Portal as the realisation of some of his own ideas which were to be originally showcased in Prey.
"I worked on Prey in its first incarnation," he said. "And what Valve did with Portal was part of the concept of what we originally imagined with portals, and those were the puzzles that we hoped were part of the gameplay. I didn't see a lot of that come through in the final version of Prey."
Do extra games like Portal included in a larger pack work as an enticement to buy, or do you just pirate everything anyway? Let us know in the forums.
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