IGN’s Unfiltered sat down with Chris Remo and Robin Walker, both lead Game Designers at Valve. With the recent release of Half-Life: Alyx, fans want to know if the Portal franchise will ever be brought into VR. The biggest known complaint was the potential for motion sickness while playing Portal in VR. However, Robin Walker explains that it’s a little more than players not having their VR legs. “Building technology is an incredibly hard thing to do,” Robin Walker elaborated. “…Having the wrong technology for the game you’re trying to build can be catastrophic.”
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The technology for Portal was of paramount importance. It’s one of the reasons why Alyx is still only available on Steam and not on PSVR. When considering what games should be ported into VR, Valve a close look at what could realistically work with the technology.
Puzzle-solving in Portal requires players to be launched, thrust, or projected, and in testing the game this just wasn’t possible. Taking these elements out of the game was an option, but taking these away would strip the game of its individuality.
In a game where players can not simply climb up walls, but rather have to be flung through a series of disorienting task, the technology just didn’t translate to virtual reality. Valve has built technology to create great VR games. Yet Portal, unfortunately, was a game that just didn’t fit in with the technology built.
It seems clear that Portal may never make its way into a VR headset. However, players can still enjoy Alyx which was officially released on Steam on March 23.
MORE: Half-Life: Alyx Gets High Score in First Review
Source: IGN
