Joe Larson inadvertently took the internet by storm this past week when some of the web’s biggest gaming blogs caught wind of his one-man programming project ASCIIpOrtal. A video Joe posted to Bytejacker’s own Gamerdrome demonstrating his progress on the game went viral, garnishing over 50,000 views over the course of less than a week. Now, he takes time out of his busy schedule to tell Bytejacker about his inspirations, goals, and how old programs printed in the back of magazines eventually led him to ASCIIpOrtal.

When did you first get the idea for ASCIIpOrtal?

There were many inspiration points that led to ASCIIpOrtal being developed. First of all, there was the preview video for [Valve's] Portal itself that came out before the game and served as being the only material We Create Stuff had when making Portal: The Flash Version. I think that’s a testament to how Portal‘s unique mechanic really resonated with gamers. It’s so simple we got it in an instant, but so brilliant we couldn’t let it go.

But I didn’t think about making ASCIIpOrtal until I played Increpare’s Portile game. I’m quoting my own forum post here: “Somehow this one sparked something in me. Maybe it’s because the code was available. Probably it was its use of echoing aligned with the portals to create a sense of the disorientation effect that portals produced. Maybe it’s the fact that it was incomplete. Either way this game is what really got me started.”

What best differentiates ASCIIpOrtal from Valve’s original Portal and We Create Stuff’s Portal: The Flash Version?

I really set out to make a text game first, and a portal game second. In fact, aside from being impressed with The Flash Version I really can’t say that it provided much inspiration, though the comparison is inevitable, I guess. From Portal, I wanted to create the teleport point mechanic with the visual element that I felt really was the essence of the game. Someone made a mod for the original Doom that added a portal gun, which was merely portable teleport points. But seeing the world warp in non-euclidean ways…. That’s what Portal was to me.

I also borrowed more than a few elements from a Javascript game called Super Serif Bros. I was so impressed at how they made simple little interactions that could be combined in devious and unexpected ways. I regret that the level pit on SSB was lost because the levels people had created were really, really killer, some of them, and whether I beat them or they beat me, I had to sit back and marvel at the ingenuity. That’s part of what I wanted for ASCIIpOrtal.

What language are you writing ASCIIpOrtal in?

C/C++ is really all I know, and ASCIIpOrtal is in C/C++, that is to say, it’s a mix of the two that makes professional programmers scream in frustration. Part of the reason for that is I’m not a professional programmer, so half the time I leave what I’m doing at “if it works, don’t fiddle with it.” Through the various iterations of the development I’ve had to rewrite whole sections and successfully improved whole sections, though it’s far from proper OO design.

Sorry, got a little code-geeky there.

On the subject of code-geekery, tell me about your project site Cymon’s Games. What makes it more than just a place for people to post their free creations?

Isn’t “a place for people to post their free creations” enough?

Cymon’s Games has 2 major goals. The short term goal is to release a small to medium sized program a week with its source code, suitable for learning and having fun. The long term goal is to compile these programs with programming tutorials into a book, or perhaps series of books, taking it’s queue from type-in books in days gone by.

If you’re over 30, chances are you remember a time when you could get a program listed in the back of a magazine or book and spend a whole day typing it into your computer so you could play the game they promised. To the magazines they were nothing more than a way to distribute free games, but to those of us who actually typed them in they were a way to dip your toes into the pool of programming. Unfortunately, nothing like that exists nowadays and Cymon’s Games’ ultimate goal is to bring that back.

Unfortunately, making a book is a lot of hard work, and between designing the site, updating it weekly, and ASCIIpOrtal, I feel like I need an editor to help me out. Until then, that’s going to remain a long term goal.

Because ASCIIpOrtal is a Cymon’s Games project, is it safe to assume that it will be freeware and playable on any operating system?

Yup. I’m not trying to sell it, so aside from overprotectiveness I have no reason not to distribute the code. Expect a src directory with the game.

I’ve already had folks take the latest code and compile it for Linux and try compiling it for Mac, though they’ve had some trouble with that. But from their input I’ve tweaked things and hopefully it’ll compile natively on whatever you got. Yes, Anthony, there may be an ASCIIpOrtal for your Mac, no boot camp necessary.

HOT. How close are you to releasing the game on the unsuspecting public?

If I told you, you wouldn’t be unsuspecting, now would you?

Short answer, maybe as soon as a couple of months.

Long answer, I only managed to get ASCIIpOrtal to this point because I had about 2 weeks with a couple of long weekends where my wife and kids were out of town visiting family. Now that they’re back, development will go considerably slower, and I’ve still go the updates for Cymon’s Games as well as possibly fixing parts of the site that I haven’t had to worry about before all this attention. Fortunately, what’s left is way less than what I’ve accomplished so far and everyone’s interest is definitely pushing me to finish sooner rather than later.

Thanks for your time, Joe!

ASCIIpOrtal Update 2 – http://bytejacker.fliggo.com/video/RuZobi9H

Cymon’s Games – http://cymonsgames.retroremakes.com/

Hey, commenters – what do you think of ASCIIpOrtal? Were any of you lucky enough to get into the closed beta? Am I the only one who thinks de-makes as a genre are totally badass?! Let us know down below!