First draft of my AP Psychology paper, analyzing the techniques Valve implemented in Portal.

THINKING WITH PORTALS:
CLASSIC PSYCHOLOGY IN MODERN ENTERTAINMENT, AND THE POSSIBILITIES WITHIN

Barely thirty years old, video games are a strange, relatively new medium. As the theatre drew upon the traditions of storytelling, and cinematography drew upon the heritage of the stage, modern video games draw upon nearly every aspect of human culture- visual, aural, the written word- while utilizing the latest technology available, in a perfect union of the arts and sciences. One of the more interesting parts of this new medium has largely been ignored is the psychology of games- that is, the effects of a particular game on a player. Certainly, there have been many studies attempting to prove a link between violent games and violent behavior (with varying degrees of success and credibility), but this is only one facet of a personality. If we want to better understand this strange new medium, and the potential it holds, we must examine all of it. In this paper, I will analyze the computer game Portal, and the psychology it uses to aid the player and make their experience more enjoyable. Of particular note is the frequent use of conditioning, also known as Pavlovian psychology.

Many are already familiar with Ivan Pavlov, or at least his experiments. By ringing a bell every time he fed his dogs, he created an association between the bell and the dog food. This allowed Pavlov to ‘teach’ his dogs to drool every time he rang the bell, as they associated it with their food. This simple concept of association is used constantly in games, an entertainment medium that began with entirely abstract imagery and concepts. Any gamer worth his or her salt will be able to tell you that a mushroom will make Mario bigger, or that collecting a hundred coins will give him an extra life. These connections make little sense in the real world, but they are readily accepted and, more importantly, easily learned. If a game can teach a young player an association as seemingly irrational as these, why shouldn’t we also be able to teach real-world concepts?

I use Portal as an example for many reasons. For one, it’s an educational game. Granted, it teaches a concept that could not possibly work in the real world, but it is educational nonetheless. Although a lot of the techniques I will be describing can be seen in other games, Portal takes these concepts and boils them down to their purest form. Indeed, a lot of the game’s design thrives on minimalism, which only serves to benefit the player, as I will describe in detail shortly. But first, I will provide a brief synopsis of the game itself.



Portal was released by Valve Software in October of 2007, and became an overnight smash hit. The game takes place in the eerie test chambers of the fictional Aperture Science Laboratories, where the player is told by a mysterious voice that they have been selected for a series of experiments. These experiments revolve around using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, an odd-looking tool that creates the titular portals. The player has two colored portals, an orange and a blue one, that they can place on nearly any surface in the game’s environment. The portals are always connected to one another, so stepping into one will allow the player to come out the other, making it possible for a player to walk through one placed on a wall and pop out on the ceiling. As the game progresses, the player encounters more complex situations and puzzles to solve, all the while learning more about the dubious history of Aperture Science.

One of the most important things that I must stress throughout the article is this: You need to play Portal. Although I will do my best to illustrate the various teaching tools the game presents, there is no real substitute for experiencing the game yourself. Not only that, but it’s a fun and clever game in its own right. That being said, I will also be discussing in detail many of the puzzles encountered in Portal, as well as some of the key plot developments, so be warned that there are spoilers involved.

As the game begins, the player character wakes up in a cramped living quarters. Not only does this
area help to immediately establish the location of the game, but it also gives less experienced players a chance to get used to basic movement controls. A helpful square in the bottom right-hand corner reminds them that moving is performed by the W, A, S, and D keys (used in the same fashion as a keyboard’s directional arrow keys), while looking is relegated to the mouse. This control scheme was popularized in the 1990s by titles such as Quake and Unreal Tournament, and quickly became the industry standard. Even so, it is important to note that Valve begins each of their games with a small, safe area for players to become accustomed to this method of moving. This strategy, of slowly introducing new mechanics as the player grows accustomed to them, is key to Portal’s success as a teaching device.

This strategy can be seen in the game’s very first puzzle. The player is led into a small room, with a locked door. A large, red, button-style switch (the “Aperture Science Super-Collider Super-Button”) lies on the floor, and an equally large crate (the “Aperture Science Weighted Storage Cube”) lies in the corner. A shrewd player will quickly notice a colored line drawn on the floor, visually connecting the button with the door. The player may even step on the button; doing so will cause the door to open with a noticeable whoosh, and the colored line changing hues. However, if the player steps off the button, the door whooshes closed again, and the line reverts back to its original color. At this point, another helpful reminder pops up: “PRESS E TO PICKUP OBJECTS”. Depending on how sharp the player is, they may try to approach the crate and press the E button on their keyboard. Surprise! The crate suddenly lifts off the ground, presumably being held by your invisible hands. At this point, the solution is painfully obvious: Set the crate on top of the button to open the door. Easy, right?



Even if it is incredibly simple, the first puzzle does its job: it establishes a relationship. Before the player is even introduced to the portal device, they are taught that buttons open doors, crates can hold down buttons, and that the player can pick up crates. These are the building blocks that the rest of the game’s puzzles are built on, and are essential for completion of the game. So much emphasis is placed on reinforcing these concepts that the player actually does not receive the portal gun until the fifth test chamber. Even then, the player can only create a blue portal, and must use the orange portals already laid out in the level to learn the relationship between portals. By the time the player receives the full-blown portal device, they are already halfway through the game; surprisingly, this does not feel strained at all. Every single puzzle the player encounters leading up to the eighth chamber introduces a new concept- and only one concept, to avoid confusion- and creates a steady learning path, ensuring that by the time the player is in full control of the portals, they are no longer stumbling through the levels blindly.

While the player learns the rules of the portal device, they are aided along by an unseen force: the level’s design. Color, shape, and texture are all extremely important factors in Portal’s environments. The test chambers all have a very clean look to them- only the objects needed to complete the area’s puzzle are included, and almost nothing else. Early on, the game establishes where you can place a portal and where you can’t, demonstrated by the texture of the wall. While the simple slabs of concrete are up for grabs, the dark, uneven square patterns are off-limits. What’s more, the interactive objects are highlighted with bright colors, making sure that the player doesn’t miss them. Buttons in particular are colored bright red- the most attention-grabbing color there is.

Another important concept Valve uses is emphasizing reward over punishment. In the early days of gaming, players fought against arcade units in a futile struggle; no matter how skilled the players became, they would eventually encounter a screen reading GAME OVER, YOU LOSE, INSERT CREDIT TO CONTINUE. This practice, while still found in some modern games, has largely been abandoned in favor of making the experience more enjoyable.

In many of its recent games, Valve has implemented a system of rewards called Achievements. These
Achievements are rewarded for various goals the player accomplishes during the game. A small portion of these are devoted to things that every player is guaranteed to accomplish on their first play-through (such as completing so many test chambers), while the rest are awarded for goals that are further ‘off the beaten path’, so to speak. For instance, one of the Achievements in Portal is to knock down all of the security cameras in the test chambers. The act itself is fairly simple; all you have to do is shoot a portal behind the camera to dislodge it. The real trick in the Achievement is that there are almost a hundred of the cameras, sprinkled liberally throughout the game, and not all are easily accessible.

This system sets up a classic Pavlovian response. The player is first exposed to Achievements as they are earned for completing so much of the game. The small, instantaneous reward makes the player feel more confident, and encourages them to try and earn more of the Achievements. When these awards are well-placed, the player will be more likely to try more aspects of the game or tactics they hadn’t thought of, all to earn more of them. The Achievements themselves are essentially worthless; they have no real value, except for perhaps bragging rights. Instead, it works much like a gold sticker on a test: A tiny reward that reinforces good behavior strongly. This system has actually become increasingly popular; both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 offer their own Achievement systems, for every single game released for their respective console.

Besides the Achievements system, Valve uses an interesting concept that is unique to games as a medium: story as reward. At first, this is represented by the chatterings of an artificial intelligence named GLaDOS. As the game begins, she formally introduces you not only to the mechanics of Portal, but the world of Aperture Science Laboratories as well. Her seemingly benign instructions are laced with pitch-black humor. These short quips work in a similar fashion to gold stickers; complete the test chamber, hear GLaDOS say something funny. A reward as simple as GLaDOS promising that “cake and grief counseling will be provided at the end of the test” is enough to help spur the player on (Indeed, the game’s obsession with cake is an amusing one, and leads to a wonderfully orchestrated moment that I’ll get to in just a second). It is with this mentality that the player arrives in Test Chamber 16.

By this point, the player is extremely familiar with the basic rules of the portal gun, and is comfortable with the puzzle presented in the chamber. They are about to proceed onto the next room when they notice something odd. One of the panels in the wall has been jammed open, and a hellish glow, in stark contrast to the subdued blues and greys of the test chambers, radiates from the hole. The player enters the abandoned room cautiously. Unlike the clean and simple test chambers, this filthy room is crammed with detail. Empty boxes of food rations are scattered about, as is a blanket and a series of milk cartons; someone must have been living here. Scribbled on the walls are various messages, the most prominent of which is written over and over again:

[b]THE CAKE IS A LIE
THE CAKE IS A LIE
THE CAKE IS A LIE[/b]



Besides highlighting the game’s sense of humor, this short moment becomes a massive, unexpected reward. Cleverly, this reward fuels the player’s desire to escape from the test chambers more. This in turn sets up the final conflict between them and GLaDOS, whose role shifts from helpful to malicious. The direction of the ‘scene’ is also of note, as the subtle use of color and light draw the player towards the spot. The warm reds and yellows appeal to the human eye, especially when compared to the surrounding environment. By using the game’s environment, a game developer can influence the player, aiding them if they ever get stuck.

Now that I have shown you how Portal is an educational game, it’s time to reapply the examples. How can we use these same ideas and use to teach real-world concepts? First, let’s take a look at what has worked before.

Various stabs at ‘edutainment’ (a port-manteau of entertainment and education) have been attempted in the past, with varying degrees of success. Some, like the various typing programs available, are successful in helping kids practice their typing skills. Others, such as the fondly-remembered Oregon Trail, have a harder time striking a balance between fun and learning. Even though I played the game frequently in elementary school, the most that I learned was that sooner or later, everyone died of dysentery.

Nevertheless, there are definite benefits to using games to educate. For one, games are a primarily visual medium, and using a visual learning aid can get across a concept that may be difficult to explain any other way. Need an example? Take a look back at the beginning of this article. Which is easier to understand: the paragraph explaining the concept of portals, or the accompanying photo? As they say, a picture’s worth a thousand words.

But teachers already use visual aids. What makes games unique? Simple: They’re interactive. Many students learn better by doing; it’s why teachers try to get every child to answer at least one question, so that they can stay involved. Another obvious benefit of
a virtual environment is that it is virtual. There is no way that the child can be physically harmed, and thus it becomes a safe place for the child to explore. By providing an interactive environment, teachers can create a safe, engaging place for students to experiment in.

So what would the perfect edutainment game look like? First things first, the game would need to be easy to control. This is one lesson Portal skips over, as it assumes that the player is at least vaguely familiar with the rather complicated WASD format of control. If an edutainment title were to use this style, it would have to take extra precaution to make certain that the player understood how to move. If a developer was savvy enough, they could even include an Achievements-style system, to encourage the student to tackle a more complicated topic on their own.

By utilizing these concepts, we can develop better teaching tools. However, it’s important to note that these games are just tools; they should supplement proper education, not replace it. Even so, the possibilities for this new medium are just beginning to be realized, and only with further study can we discover them.