Shortly after the release of Valve’s® video game “Portal 2,” a deeply revealing documentary application titled, “The Final Hours of Portal 2”, was released. This behind-the-scenes look at game is written in rich prose and improved by supplementary interactive media that makes the experience feel even more intimate. The design of the application is as much a piece of art as the story it tells is a piece of history.

This fascinating story begins at the origins of the company Valve® (and the people who eventually come to comprise it) and goes on to tell the story of how their game went from impetus, endured a flurry of revisions and frustrations, and finally hitting the shelves with much acclaim. Being a fan of the “Portal” franchise, it gave me a greater appreciation for the already beautifully mind-bending experience the games offered.

And the story is quite compelling. It seems to have all played out like a Cinderella story where dreams were crushed, dashed and eventually reborn out of the mess that is collaborative thinking. The gathering of creative forces from a variety of backgrounds that made this game possible is described and, if there’s a reference that one might not understand there is material readily available to help the reader. This makes one feel like they’re “in the loop”, so to speak. This is important because, far too often articles will make a reference as a simple aside while this format allows the reference to become a tangent in of itself which can be explored as a break from the article or after reading the article, at the reader’s discretion.

The story also illustrates how Valve® operates - hopefully, a lesson to other players in the industry to be more adaptive and open-minded to ideas - although they may go through rough patches, the desire to bring new and interactive experiences should be the aspiration of creative companies; profit is sure to follow with a great product that markets itself.

This application is only on the iPad and costs $2 but it’s definitely worth the cost if you are interested in a deeply engrossing narrative, in how a game is made and/or in excellent journalism; this application provides all three as well as a new way to experience them. I’m hoping this design serves as a template for interactive journalism and that people push this model further because it feels fresh, new and undoubtedly enhances the experience.

For those of you unfamiliar with “Portal,” this short video will fill you in.