Portal (interactive novel)
Encyclopedia
Portal is a mix between a computer novel and an interactive game. It was published for the Amiga
in 1986
by Activision
, written by Rob Swigart, produced by Brad Fregger
and programmed by Nexa Corporation. Versions for the Macintosh, Commodore 64
, Apple II
, and the IBM PC
were later released. A unique game for its time, Portal was one part text-driven adventure (à la Zork
or Planetfall
) but with a graphical interface.
protagonist
, returns from a failed 100 year voyage to 61 Cygni
to find the Earth devoid of humans. Cars are rusted and covered with moss, the streets are completely barren and everything appears as though the entire human race had just vanished suddenly. The player happens upon a barely functioning computer terminal that is tied into a storytelling mainframe
, Homer. Through this interface, the player, assisted by Homer who attempts to weave the information into a coherent narrative, discovers information in order to piece together the occurrences leading to the disappearance of the human race. For instance, spending some time in the Medical Records section may unlock a piece of data in the Science section, and through these links the player can finish the game.
described the story as "interesting and well-written", but felt the interface was tedious. The Amiga version, using a mouse, was considered superior to that of the C64, and only bothered the reviewer by way of slowing down the reading of the story.
in 1988. It takes the form of a series of notes on different subjects, in an order that the player would encounter them through Homer. A softcover edition was released by Backinprint.com in 2001.
Now an ebook version has been released "under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND Unported license 3.0"
It has been authorized to be uploaded here by the author himself.
http://67.205.70.12/forums/showthread.php?t=37197
This internet edition is no longer online. However, the Internet Archive
has a saved copy.
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
in 1986
1986 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....
by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
, written by Rob Swigart, produced by Brad Fregger
Brad Fregger
Brad Fregger is an American entrepreneur, author and former game producer publisher, and book publisher.Fregger was involved in the computer and video game industry at its inception...
and programmed by Nexa Corporation. Versions for the Macintosh, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, and the IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
were later released. A unique game for its time, Portal was one part text-driven adventure (à la Zork
Zork
Zork was one of the first interactive fiction computer games and an early descendant of Colossal Cave Adventure. The first version of Zork was written in 1977–1979 on a DEC PDP-10 computer by Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling, and implemented in the MDL programming language...
or Planetfall
Planetfall
Planetfall is a science fiction interactive fiction computer game written by Steve Meretzky, and the eighth title published by Infocom in 1983. Like most Infocom games, thanks to the portable Z-machine, it was released for several platforms simultaneously. The original release included versions...
) but with a graphical interface.
Setting
The player, taking on the role of the unnamed astronautAstronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, returns from a failed 100 year voyage to 61 Cygni
61 Cygni
61 Cygni,Not to be confused with 16 Cygni, a more distant system containing two G-type stars harboring the gas giant planet 16 Cygni Bb. sometimes called Bessel's Star or Piazzi's Flying Star, is a binary star system in the constellation Cygnus...
to find the Earth devoid of humans. Cars are rusted and covered with moss, the streets are completely barren and everything appears as though the entire human race had just vanished suddenly. The player happens upon a barely functioning computer terminal that is tied into a storytelling mainframe
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
, Homer. Through this interface, the player, assisted by Homer who attempts to weave the information into a coherent narrative, discovers information in order to piece together the occurrences leading to the disappearance of the human race. For instance, spending some time in the Medical Records section may unlock a piece of data in the Science section, and through these links the player can finish the game.
Reception
A review in Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
described the story as "interesting and well-written", but felt the interface was tedious. The Amiga version, using a mouse, was considered superior to that of the C64, and only bothered the reviewer by way of slowing down the reading of the story.
Novel
A hardcover novel, titled Portal: A Dataspace Retrieval and composed mostly of the text from the interactive novel with some new additions, was written by the same author, Rob Swigart and first published by St. Martin's PressSt. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
in 1988. It takes the form of a series of notes on different subjects, in an order that the player would encounter them through Homer. A softcover edition was released by Backinprint.com in 2001.
Now an ebook version has been released "under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND Unported license 3.0"
It has been authorized to be uploaded here by the author himself.
http://67.205.70.12/forums/showthread.php?t=37197
External links
This internet edition is no longer online. However, the Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
has a saved copy.
- Online Amiga game database entry for Portal
- Portal at Home of the UnderdogsHome of the UnderdogsHome of the Underdogs was an abandonware archive founded by Thai Sarinee Achavanuntakul , aka: Underdogs or Fringer on her own blog, in September 1998, and grew to be one of the most significant abandonware websites on the Internet, despite losing its domains to cybersquatters and then briefly...