This was a triumph! I’m making a note here: huge success! It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction!

Portal, little more than a Valve prototype game, quickly became a runaway success, not to mention the origin of numerous internet catchphrases and memes (the cake is a lie!). GlaDOS, the game’s antagonist, has been named the villain of the decade and even best game villain of all time by various publications. With Portal 2’s launch right around the corner, I decided to revisit the original game and play it straight though.

Next on our list of assigned games is a little art game called “Today I Die”. Visually, it is made up of sprite-based graphics reminiscent of early VGA adventure games. Gameplay consists of mouse dragging items or characters across the screen and placing them on or near other items. Other mechanics include holding items for a certain time and waiting as they change, and dragging items around to avoid contact with other, pursuing objects.

Recently I’ve been downloading many Android apps as to study as I am hoping to develop some games for the platform. There are several kinds of Android/mobile games; some, like Gameloft’s library of games, attempt to reproduce the home console experience on tiny smartphone devices. But another kind of game caters specifically to the mobile format and the usually very short game times associated with it. This short playtime means that they resemble older arcade games in many ways; like those early games, they are designed for a quick turnaround.

The next game on the “required playing” list for this Notebook is simply titled VVVVVV and is an interesting contrast to Spelunky. Like Spelunky, VVVVVV is an unforgiving platformer; unlike Spelunky, VVVVVV’s uniqueness comes not from randomness, but from a single mechanic. Aside from moving left and right, there is a single action the player can take: reversing gravity.

So, the Gameplay Notebook returns. This time, ten of the games I’m going to be looking at will come from a list of assigned titles. Frankly, I’m glad to try them; these aren’t games I’d usually play, and I definitely welcome new gameplay experiences.

First up on the resurgent GN is Spelunky.