Independent games have received a lot of attention lately, especially since the wildly popular Portal was developed from student project Narbacular Drop. However, the term “independent game” is no more than a label and it reveals little about the quality of a game. Some games have been hastily created in two weeks for a school project, while others have been in development with a small team of professionals for over a year.

As a student of game design, I’m always looking for new and interesting games to play. While console experiences can be fantastic, independent and casual games often have more creative freedom. With the exception of a few titles, such as Half Life 2: The Orange Box, most publishers are more conservative. Xbox Live and the upcoming Wii Ware are beginning to change the field, but indie games can serve as a valuable inspiration for breaking out of established gameplay patterns.

Recently, I heard that Moonpod Games had been getting many positive reviews for their indie games, so I downloaded Mr. Robot. I didn’t know what to expect, but I found a polished, satisfying experience.

From the beginning, Mr. Robot is a charming game. The characters are simple in design but convey personality through clever dialogue. The main character, Asimov (or 1138), shows his eagerness to achieve his dream of becoming an important robot. His lady friend, Zelda, leaves no doubts as to her relation to Asimov when she uses terms such as “cutie” and “honey.” Before the tutorial is over, many of the main characters are revealed and their relations to your character are painlessly established. The story is well written and never wastes your time with needless dialogue.

The gameplay is solid and polished. Much of the game involves moving around in an isometric environment on board the main ship. Controls include clicking the left mouse button and dragging (so Asimov follows) or using the arrow keys. The isometric perspective can make jumping a little more complicated in some cases but it is fairly simple after getting used to it. Machines elements, such as lifts, respond quickly and feel like an organic part of the ship. There is also a decent map, which, although small, reveals important information at a glance. My only complaint regarding design is that Asimov is sometimes hard to pick out when left idle on a screen, as he blends in with many of the other robots.

There are many puzzle elements, such as moving boxes around to create a certain type of formation. At first, the puzzles can seem slightly simplistic, but the game is more fun since you can move ahead quickly. In one simple puzzle, I did get stuck (by blocking myself in) but there was a reset option readily available. This type of feature reflects the thought the developers put into the game; they kept the player in mind, since players are bound to make mistakes.

Mr. Robot is an excellent independent game experience. While it does have a few flaws, the game feels incredibly polished and is full of character. It has many references to sci-fi pop culture, from Asimov’s name and number (1138) to the supercomputer HEL-9000 (like HAL). While it may seem simple at first, elements such as the combat system allow for more complex game experiences. Mr. Robot excels most in its character and charm, distinguishing it from other games and making it a uniquely satisfying game.  

I get scared easily when I play games that involve shooting things and sneaking around. I usually avoid scary games or dystopian future games with creepy soundtracks. Fortunately, I made an exception for Portal and carved out an hour of my time to check it out. I left the computer after dying a few times at the hand of robots, but the next day I felt a pleasant feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time: a video game craving.

Finally, I had found a game that I wanted to play so badly that it began to creep into my daily life. I started to play a different game, but the simple puzzles in that game seemed so trivial compared to Portal. It is so rare that a game invents a new kind of puzzle that allows your mind to think in ways you have never thought before.

Portal is not really a spatial puzzle; it’s more a puzzle of physics. You have to use your knowledge of gravity and momentum and apply it in completely new ways. The game is realistic, and I believe most of its strength comes from the open-ended possibilities of a highly manipulative 3D space.

I had read about a Flash version of Portal, and I decided to check it out. While it utilized the same principles, the game lacked the black humor and the most fun element: utilizing the 3D environment. The real version of Portal completely immerses you in the game, as you have to constantly look around you and see your environment as a resource. While the wall spaces become more limited in later levels, there is still a lot of freedom in the placement of the portals, allowing for multiple solutions.

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of seeing yourself through a portal 20 feet away or looking down into a portal and waiting for the right moment to jump. While Portal isn’t a game that requires objectives be completed in a certain amount of time, there is a lot of timing that comes into play and makes it exciting. Even though you are completely alone in the testing facility, I was fascinated by how easily I became immersed in the game and lost track of time.

I played through the later levels in Portal, and I have to say that I am very relieved. Valve finally allowed itself the freedom for true innovation in game design, and I’m sure game designers will never think of puzzles the same way again.