The title of this post is a reference to Portal. I recently completed it, and while i was disappointed that it was over, I definitely loved the game. I look forward to going back and finishing the bonus levels that were unlocked after completion, but I probably won’t have much time for that in the near future. I just read an interview with one of the game’s writers, Erik Wolpaw. While I like the idea of writing, I never really refer to myself as a writer since my ramblings are sporadic at best. I’ve always had an appreciation for good writing, be it in a book, film, or even a game. A quote from the interview stood out to me:

If you think reading a book is hard, you should try writing one. Because it’s even harder. It’s still not as hard as writing a game, though. If you discount the purely visual pop-up parts, a book is made almost entirely of words. As a novelist, you just need to think of a few decent strings of words and then fill the other 98% of the book with more or less random descriptions of things and exclamation points. In a game, the 98% garbage section is filled with the actual game. Even worse for game writers, the 98% garbage part of a game isn’t even usually garbage because instead of reading something boring about the history of Belgium, the “reader” probably gets to jump a Camaro over a dinosaur. That means the pressure’s on to make the two percent wordy part that you’re responsible for really, really spectacular. It’s a tough job.

Source: RPS Interview: Valve’s Erik Wolpaw

Anyway, I found the interview insightful, and it was neat to read something concerning not one but two of my favorite hobbies, gaming and writing. For anyone who completes Portal, you’ll be treated to a great song by Jonathon Coulton, whom I’ve mentioned before. For the lazy, check it out on YouTube.

Michelle continues to wait, patiently, or perhaps not so patiently from time to time. The doctors say she is getting close, I’ll spare the details but suffice it to say her body is getting ready. We continue to wait. Eliana, we’re ready for you. Or at least as ready as we’ll ever be.