The Power of Two: Why PORTAL 3 Shouldn't Be Made
Even though the craving for another Portal game is huge, with the idea of more puzzles and comedic adventures seaming so welcome, perhaps it is better to leave the franchise alone thus leaving players cherished memories untouched.
Portal 2 had its triumphant release earlier this year, and was subsequently praised by fans and critics alike. Although the game has proved to be such a success, it is doubtful that a sequel will be granted based upon the detail that Portal 2 was published and developed by those giants of the gaming world; Valve. The Valve Corporation are known for creating some of the most exciting and innovative games in the world, always producing products and services of the highest quality. Almost everything Valve releases becomes a success. Yet despite many sequels the company has yet to release a third instalment to any of their gaming franchises. Perhaps this is a constant desire to experiment with new ideas and explore environments within different genres. In the case of the Portal series Valve chose to create a first-person 3D puzzle game that was crammed fully of comedic gold. Other projects see Valve explore other areas of the gaming world; the companies début title Half-Life with its sequel and many expansion packs, was a shooter set in an alternate sci-fi world. Left 4 Dead and its sequel explored the zombie genre, dealing expertly with co-operative play. Although all of these games sold well and were very popular, none of them have had a third instalment. Valve understand that two is enough, enough content to explore the different ideas they wish to focus upon and also they are able to leave the audience wanting more. Valve posses the notion that few in the film and gaming world do; knowing when to stop. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMGQDJX4LJs It is fitting of Stephen Merchants appearance in Portal 2, as the comedian and his writing partner Ricky Gervais fully understand the be notion that two is enough. Both The Office and Extras only aired for two seasons each, even though there was/is a massive demand for more. The pair learnt the lesson from Monty Pythons John Cleese, who knew that leaving his hotel based comedy Fawlty Towers at two series would make it more memorable. This rule is used in such memorable forms of entertainment, because it leaves the viewer wanting more. If a film, television show or game only has two installment in its saga there have always been cries for a third installment, Ghostbusters and the 28 Days/Weeks Later movies, are good examples of this within cinema. Instead of a third game/movie/TV series coming along and tying up the loose ends, and in effect ending the franchise, creating only two leaves the audience wondering what could have been, and hence making the viewers/gamers experience much more personally significant as a result. 
Perhaps it is because, as an audience, we have become accustom to the trilogy format, therefore only creating two instalments leaves us with the sense that the series is incomplete. Some of the greatest films of all time belong to part of a trilogy; The original Star Wars trilogy, The Lord of The Rings, Back to the Future and Indiana Jones to name a few with The Dark Knight Rises capping off a Batman trilogy. There are also films that should have stopped at the second; The Godfather films are a good examples of this. Even though the craving for another Portal game is huge, with the idea of more puzzles and comedic adventures seaming so welcome, perhaps it is better to leave the franchise alone thus leaving players cherished memories untouched. It really is better to have quality over quantity. How many third films can you name, that are worthy of the two that came before them?