Braid (XBLA) - get this game already!

The Red Scare · Post by **The Red Scare** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 2:37 pm

I played this briefly at a friend's house. It's an awesome puzzle/platformer game for Xbox 360 released a few days ago (a PC version is due out soon). I think it costs about $15 on XBLA.

It got a 95% on Gamespot, an A+ on 1up, a 10/10 on Eurogamer, and a 92% average rating on Metacritic: http://www.metacritic.com/games/platfor ... id?q=braid

frank b · Post by **frank b** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 4:48 pm

It's great, but I'm finding that it's really hard. I just can't seem to make myself think in the ways it wants me to.

I'm hoping that the remaining 3 games in the "super summer" thing they're doing live up to the first 2.

Balzac · Post by **Balzac** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 6:08 pm

related article i read on digg today:

XBLA restrictions may have hurt Braid

By Andrew Webster | Published: August 08, 2008 - 02:04PM CT

The recently released Xbox Live Arcade title Braid has been receiving a lot of praise since its release, but the game's designer has said that the XBLA certification process may have actually prevented the game from being even better.

"I put in a tremendous amount of work meeting all these requirements, when I could have put that work into the actual game, and made it even a little more polished, little bit better," designer Jonathan Blow told Gamasutra. "But I feel like it actually decreases the quality of games, because people spend so much of their energy on these things that users don't even really care about."

Though he didn't go into specifics, Blow said that the restrictions put in place during the certification process seem geared towards bigger games, which can cause problems for an independent designer like himself.

Blow also mentioned the recently revised XBLA business deal, under which he says he most likely wouldn't be able to make money from a game like Braid, even at its $15 price point. "What would keep me from putting another game on Arcade again is just that they've changed the business dealגat least as I've heard," he explained. "If it's as I've heard that it is, I couldn't even necessarily break even."

Services like XBLA have the potential to be the perfect venue for independent creators like Blow, so its disheartening to see that the restrictions put in place are actually discouraging developers from putting out games. As it is, it looks like we won't be seeing any more XBLA games from Blow in the near future, which is a shame.

slimebucato · Post by **slimebucato** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:08 am

It's a pretty fantastic game. Probably the most compelling game I've played since Bioshock or Mario Galaxy as far as emotional punch. The writing is a bit pretentious, but still solid and it grew on me after I went through it again and tried to understand it a bit better. The theme(s) of the game are could have been laid out better and more fluidly. They don't always hit, but when they hit, they hit hard. The concept of the final level blew me away. Gaming needs more mature thematic elements, and even if this game doesn't completely knock it out of the park it is still really great stuff all around and a hell of an effort.

Puzzle wise, it is nearly flawless. The puzzles (with possibly a few exceptions) are completely logical and will make you facepalm when you figure em out. Some require you to think "outside the box" but it never feels unfair and you always have the tools at your disposal to do them. They will baffle you at the onset but then once you learn the rules of each individual gameworld and sit down and think about them everything will click and you will feel amazing. Conceptually some of them are brilliant too. Excellently designed. I haven't felt so rewarded for solving something in game in a while. Really just a grade A game that I'd recommend to anyone, except possibly some who has a particular aversion to solving puzzles. Because this games puzzles are tough. The frustration is kept to a bare minimum though due to the rewind feature.

For anyone playing through it now and are thinking about using a walkthrough, I promise you that you can figure them out on your own. The puzzles never really require great logical leaps and are very solveable, and you rob will rob yourself of the feeling of accomplishment afterwards. This game is actually a great argument for the advantages video games have over other mediums as far as evoking a more personal emotional response. You can't get such feeling of achievement or conquest in a book or movie. The attachment as far as everything else is also so much greater because you are the one doing everything. I'd say it's a pretty important game as far as benchmarks go. It isn't perfect, some of the lofty themes are half baked and as I said before the writing comes off a bit pretentious, but it is still a must play if not just to play something that you've never played before.

Positive A · Post by **Positive A** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:35 pm

Hmmmmmm...interesting posts. Think I'll cop this later today...

slimebucato · Post by **slimebucato** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 3:35 pm

Also to anyone interested the designer responded to that article that Balzac posted:

Hmm, this makes me seem extremely negative toward Microsoft, when that's really not how it is. Yes, there were some negative interactions during development, but they were also cool about a lot of things.

They didn't try to dictate the game design, as many publishers might -- they were very hands-off there, and what is in the final game is exactly what I wanted to put there. They also bent a lot of XBLA rules, in order to help me make the game the way I wanted, which was pretty cool of them. (For example, the way in which you can launch Braid and be directly in the game -- that is technically illegal if you go by the book, but they saw what I was trying to do and went with it.)

So I just want to add some balance here. For the most part working with Microsoft has been great. There have been occasional problems, including one that I was very upset about -- but there are people at Microsoft who really got the game and worked very hard to help bring it to completion, and it would just be wrong to slight their contribution with some kind of blanket "Microsoft = Bad" attitude.

Also I guess Sony turned the game down for PSN initially. It's kind of funny, I was browsing a thread on Penny Arcade on this game and the designer, Jonathan Blow, actually read through the thread and was responding to questions and concerns and stuff. Sort of like Sage or Slug casually responding in a thread here about a new album of theirs. Helps break down that 4th wall and realize these games are just coming from regular dudes who are living their dreams.

Combo7 · Post by **Combo7** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:05 pm

Sounds interesting, I think I'm gonna cop. Need some good 2D shit to hold me over until Bionic Commando Rearmed gets released.

slimebucato · Post by **slimebucato** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:24 pm

I've been reading up on some more stuff about this game as far as the thematic elements in it, and some of it is absolutely brilliant. I think this is probably one of the more "important" games to come out in a long time as far as showing how thematically mature a video game can be. Some of it really is genius stuff. I just wish that they had laid out all these themes more fluidly in the game, because it will go over 90 percent of anyone who plays it's head (it went over mine completely until I read someone's analysis on the Penny Arcade board). I'll wait until some of you guys on here play through the game to cross-post it because I don't want to spoil any of it for you.

frank b, what parts are you having trouble on? maybe I can give you a hint or two. I got pretty stuck at points at myself. p.s. fuck your 76 million geometry wars 2 score

Positive A · Post by **Positive A** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 6:46 pm

Downloaded not to long ago...game is great thus far.

frank b · Post by **frank b** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:22 pm

slimebucato wrote:frank b, what parts are you having trouble on? maybe I can give you a hint or two. I got pretty stuck at points at myself. p.s. fuck your 76 million geometry wars 2 score

I'm not ready to ask for help just yet. I'm having a lot of fun figuring this shit out. You'll be the one I go to when/if I give up, though.

Everyone else: don't miss out on this shit.

HomeSkillet · Post by **HomeSkillet** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:31 pm

def getting this thanks for the heads up guys

Andvil · Post by **Andvil** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:51 am

I haven't got to play it much, but I completed the world 2 puzzle and I'm really really loving it so far. I played world 3 a little bit but had to stop. I'll be playing this all day long tomorrow, I'm sure. The look of this game is absolutely amazing

Guun · Post by **Guun** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:25 am

Andvil wrote:I haven't got to play it much, but I completed the world 2 puzzle and I'm really really loving it so far. I played world 3 a little bit but had to stop. I'll be playing this all day long tomorrow, I'm sure. The look of this game is absolutely amazing

same here.. got to play it for about 30 minutes to 45 last night.. some of the puzzles really pissed me off but now i think i know the kind of shit to look for.. looking forward to knockin some levels out tonight..

might pickup geometry wars 2 and bionic commando for xbla as well..

Combo7 · Post by **Combo7** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:09 am

This completely dominated my night last night. Great recommendation.

I played all the way through World 4 and got all the pieces (except for the last one in World 4, was too tired at that point to figure it out). The difficultly is great, I got stuck a few times but was always able to solve it after a little while. Graphics are good too.

Positive A · Post by **Positive A** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:26 am

Combo7 wrote:This completely dominated my night last night. Great recommendation.

I played all the way through World 4 and got all the pieces (except for the last one in World 4, was too tired at that point to figure it out). The difficultly is great, I got stuck a few times but was always able to solve it after a little while. Graphics are good too.

Yeah, brilliant game.

Combo: are you referring to the level where the key doesn't stay with you the whole time? Because that shit pissed me off...Will crack at it later.

Going to grab Madden now.

Combo7 · Post by **Combo7** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:33 am

^^ Yeah, that's the one. There are two on that board, after I got the first one I was too mentally drained to continue.

Andvil · Post by **Andvil** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 3:09 pm

hmmm.....well, it was good while it lasted

slimebucato · Post by **slimebucato** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:09 pm

sorta spoiler about stuff you can do after the game:

there are still stars you can get which can give you an alternate ending

also the epilogue has really important easter eggs that help tie the story together if you care enough

plus speed runs, i'm not too interested in doing those myself though. not sure if you get anything for completing them.

Andvil · Post by **Andvil** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:36 pm

you get an achievement if you do a speed run fast enough

I got the easter eggs, assuming they are the things where you leave the red books open and then go stand in the spots that reveal hidden text

but what are the "stars" and how do you get those?

edit: nevermind

slimebucato · Post by **slimebucato** » Wed Aug 13, 2008 12:32 am

Here's the thing I was talking about before, don't read if you plan on getting the stars, or if anyone else is reading this don't read if you haven't completed the game . I think it's pretty spot on. worth reading if you are interested in the different theories about the game's theme. not sure how to fix it breaking the horizontal scroll, sorry if it's annoying to read.

Erm, I've made a few observations. I'm not sure how much of it has already been said, but what the hell.

Disclaimer: Braid is a game that involves you climbing ladders and picking up keys. However, it also has a plot, and you could quite easily complete the game without ever really coming across half of it.

This is that half.

(All of this is the work of both myself and a guy called Raze.)

Braid is a story that focuses on the development and deployment of the atomic bomb, and the irreversible impact it had on all human conflicts thereafter. At the very same time, it deals with the very human story of a relationship breaking down due to one personגs obsessive need to control this power. Finally, at certain points, the perspective of the bomb creator as a child comes through.

No, seriously.

The main source for all of this comes straight from the passages of the texts found in the epilogue screens, all of which are laid out openly below. Each screen has an alternative passage laid out, which only appears once Tim is located behind an object in the foreground. The italicised text is the alternative.

----------

The boy called for the girl to follow him, and he took her hand. He would protect her; they would make their way through this oppressive castle, fighting off the creatures made of smoke and doubt, escaping to a life of freedom,

The boy wanted to protect the girl. He held her hand, or put his arm around her shoulders in a walking embrace, to help her feel supported and close to him amid the impersonal throngs of Manhattan. They turned and made their way toward the Canal St. subway station, and he picked a path through the jostling crowd.

His arm weighed upon her shoulders, felt constrictive around her neck. גYouגre burdening me with your ridiculous need,ג she said. Or, she said: גYouגre going the wrong way and youגre pulling me with you.ג In another time, another place, she said: גStop yanking on my arm; youגre hurting me!ג
-----

Iגm coming back to this one in a second. For now, take note of the location (Manhattan), and the somewhat schizophrenic splitting of events hinted in the alt text. Three women are shown speaking; the first being the spurned partner, the second being that of the bomb, the third being that of the mother of a persistent child.

----

He worked his ruler and his compass. He inferred. He deduced. He scrutinized the fall of an apple, the twisting of metal orbs hanging from a thread. He was searching for the Princess, and he would not stop until he found her, for he was hungry. He cut rats into pieces to examine their brains, implanted tungsten posts into the skulls of water-starved monkeys.

Ghostly, she stood in front of him and looked into his eyes. גI am here,ג she said. גI am here. I want to touch you.ג She pleaded: גLook at me! But he would not see her; he only knew hot to look at the outside of things.
Again; I want to come back after the big reveal. But the search for the גPrincessג is important, and the description of a man obsessed with observing, with deducing but never really knowing.

---

He scrutinized the fall of an apple, the twisting of metal orbs hanging from a thread. Through these clues he would find the Princess, see her face. After an especially fervent night of tinkering, he kneeled behind a bunker in the desert; he held a piece of welderגs glass up to his eyes and waited.
The desert unarguably being that of New Mexico; the bunker, the safe observation point for one of the single most important landmarks in the pursuit of scientific knowledge.

On that moment hung eternity. Time stood still. Space contracted to a pinpoint. It was as though the earth had opened and the skies split. One felt as though he had been privileged to witness the Birth of the Worldג¦[1]
The above paragraph is a direct quotation (hence the footnote) from Robert Jay Liftonגs The Broken Connection, of which you can read some of right here: http://books.google.com/books?id=WPiLtm ... #PPA371,M1

He describes in painful detail the explosion of the nuclear bomb, the first cry of a newborn world. Robert Jay Lifton himself was a psychologist, notable for his work around the effects on war and genocide on the human condition.

Someone near him said: גIt worked.ג

Someone else said: גNow we are all sons of bitches.ג
The famous words of Kenneth Tompkins Bainbridge, uttered directly after the successful detonation of the first nuclear bomb, the גTrinity Test.ג

She stood tall and majestic. She radiated fury. She shouted: גWho has disturbed me?ג But then, anger expelled, she felt the sadness beneath; she let her breath fall softly, like a sigh, like ashes floating gently on the wind.

She couldnגt understand why he chose to flirt so closely with the death of the world.
The alternative text, written from the viewpoint of the bomb itself. The direct aftermath of the explosion, the fallout, and a failure to understand why anyone would want to bring such a thing into the world.

The candy store. Everything he wanted was on the opposite side of that pane of glass. The store was decorated in bright colours, and the scents wafting out drove him crazy. He tried to rush for the door, or just get closer to the glass, but he couldnגt. She held him back with great strength. Why would she hold him back? How might he break free of her grasp? He considered violence.

They had been here before on their daily walks. She didnגt mind his screams and his shrieks, or the way he yanked painfully on her braid to make her stop. He was too little to know better.

She picked him up and hugged him: גNo, babyג, she said. He was shaking. She followed his gaze toward the treats sitting on pillows behind the glass: the chocolate bar and the magnetic monopole, the It-From-Bit and the Ethical Calculus; and so many other things, deeper inside. גMaybe when youגre older, baby,ג she whispered, setting him back on his feet and leading him home, גMaybe when youגre older.ג

Every day thereafter, as before, she always walked him on a route that passed in front of a candy store.
John Wheelerגs It-From-Bit theory describes that "... every it--every particle, every field of force, even the spacetime continuum itself- derives its function, its meaning, its very existence entirely--even if in some contexts indirectly--from the apparatus-elicited answers to yes-or-no questions, binary choices, _bits_."

(If we were being really analytical, Quantum theory also has things to say around (at a base level) multiple worlds existing at the same time, in alternative states.)

The Ethical Calculus גrefers to any method of determining a course of action in a circumstance that is not explicitly evaluated in one's ethical code.ג Not too much of a leap to state that the deployment of nuclear technology at the end of World War II was one of the biggest ethical dilemmas encountered by mankind.

The Princess is the bomb, and we are being told the story of a man so focused on the development and harnessing of an immensely destructive power that it inevitably falls out of his hands, and into the wider world. One of the pre-word books reads;

"This improvement, day by day, takes him ever-closer to finding the Princess. if she exists - she must! - she will transform him, and everyone."

It is, simultaneously, the story of a relationship so burdened by a manגs obsessive, inquisitive nature that the search for his גPrincessג, his power is the one thing that drives them apart. More;

"Through all the nights that followed, she still loved him as though he had stayed, to comfort her and protect her, Princess be damned."

The hub, the city burst into flame at the title sequence as the brightest of lights burns in the background, could easily be seen to be Manhattan.

Again, mentioned in the epilogue texts, and quite significantly, the placing of two very distinctive towers in the background of the attic screen.

One of the paintings also shows a World War II era poster on the side of a building located on a busy U.S. street, as a young man stares mournfully into flame.

The Princess, somehow harnessed and shackled, looms ominously in the sky, overshadowing everyone and everything with a threat, a power that canגt be taken back. Canגt be reversed.

Stolen from poster above; the flags at the end of each world are nautical flags.

World 2: N
World 3: U
World 4: L
World 5: X
World 6: K

N: No
U: You are (standing into/approaching) danger
L: Stop instantly
X: Stop carrying out your intentions
K: You should stop, I have something important to communicate

The warnings directed towards a man intent on bringing an indescribable power into being.

Think about the ending. A purging wall of flame chases Tim and the princess, all the way up to the point of Tim is found lurking outside a bedroom window. At this point everything reverses; Tim is now chasing her, not following. She is now trying to trap and block Tim from ever reaching her, not aid his progression. Instead of trying to escape the hands of an aggressive knight, he is now the one figure that takes her away from Timגs גridiculous needג, his obsession with control.

And the one point that rounds all this off ג in the pursuit of the eighth star, Tim finally manages to reach the upper half of the screen, and come into contact with the princess herself. What happens?

She fucking explodes.

Spoilered for very long, and pictures, and for genuine spoilers of pretty much everything.

Combo7 · Post by **Combo7** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:53 am

^^ This just blew my mind

How do you get up there to reach the Princess to make her explode? And how do I get "stars?"

Combo7 · Post by **Combo7** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:03 am

Another good interpretation post:

The atomic bomb parallels seem more obvious all the time, but I think what's being overlooked here are the obvious homages to the Mario games and their significance.

The parallels to Mario are all obvious: goombas, pirhana plants, the jumping/climbing platforming elements, the Donkey Kong bit and the ongoing "princess is in another castle" jokes. The important part of this parallel however, and the reason Mario is used, is because of the rescuing-the-princess aspect of that game series. In the Mario universe, it's always so obvious who the hero is: It's the one who is rescuing the princess. Tim, like Mario, sees himself as the obvious hero since he is seeking the princess so diligently. Not until the very end when Tim finally rescues his princess is he able to look at things in retrospect and see that he is actually the "bad-guy" and the game is completed.

This is the Tim from the game, but there's also the Tim from the story. The princess this Tim is pursuing is, as discussed, the atom bomb. This princess is being sought before determing what the consequences of her rescue/discovery might be, or rather, before man is appropriately ready to use his new discovery. Regardless, Tim, as the altruistic Mario character he sees himself as, seeks his princess outright, assuming he is in the right. Not until things are completed and his princess is reached is he able to see his folly and realize he was actually in the wrong (or at least was in too much of a rush.)

This brings us to the epilogue:

The candy store. Everything he wanted was on the opposite side of that pane of glass. The store was decorated in bright colours, and the scents wafting out drove him crazy. He tried to rush for the door, or just get closer to the glass, but he couldnגt. She held him back with great strength. Why would she hold him back? How might he break free of her grasp? He considered violence.

This is Tim's/man's view on science. Tim sees that there is something to be discovered and wants nothing more than to unearth it. Solutions aren't always obvious ("She held him back with great strength"), so Tim, in his zelousness, will use any way to discovery possible ("He considered violence.") In the parallel to the atomic bomb, the scientists of The Manhattan Project were so impatient to make their discovery slowly, via non-destructive means, that they used a violent means--a bomb--as a shortcut to discovery.

They had been here before on their daily walks. She didnגt mind his screams and his shrieks, or the way he yanked painfully on her braid to make her stop. He was too little to know better.

She picked him up and hugged him: גNo, babyג, she said. He was shaking. She followed his gaze toward the treats sitting on pillows behind the glass: the chocolate bar and the magnetic monopole, the It-From-Bit and the Ethical Calculus; and so many other things, deeper inside. גMaybe when youגre older, baby,ג she whispered, setting him back on his feet and leading him home, גMaybe when youגre older.ג

Every day thereafter, as before, she always walked him on a route that passed in front of a candy store.

This is the voice of reason. Tim/Man is obviously just a child and even though he wants his discovery now, reason would show that he is unready to use his tool correctly. He still has so much growing-up to do. If only Tim were able to see this fact in the now instead of in hindsight.

But now, as an "adult," Tim has learned his lesson; lives have been lost and nothing can be done. The past is unchangeable, but by re-examining the past, Tim is able to avoid the same mistakes. By looking at the rubble and stones left behind, Tim is able to build a better life/society using the wisdom he's gained. (You'll notice that the castle at the end is literally build from the levels Tim has conquered or, given the rewind feature, from the lessons he, as the player, has learned.)

----------

It will never cease to amaze me how potent games are as an artistic medium. Neither movie, nor book, nor still would be able to communicate the concept of "learning" in the way this game has. The player literally learns lessons and improves his play skill and no longer dies; Tim learns from his time travel that his pursuit of the princess was not what he had previously viewed it as; and the story-Tim learns from his mistakes and will never commit such an atrocity again. A movie or a book would be able to communicate two of these perhaps, but the player's learning just can't be duplicated without an interactive medium.

Critics of games-as-art be damned.

Seiko Flossberg · Post by **Seiko Flossberg** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:56 pm

Looks like I'll have to cop this game.

slimebucato · Post by **slimebucato** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:31 pm

Thanks for that Combo. To your other question:

Getting the stars and reaching the princess is another brilliant touch to the game. Most of them are located above certain worlds and require ultra obsessiveness to get. For one you have to sit on top of a cloud for two hours (you may have noticed this cloud in the end of one the levels in world 2, it isn't stationary, it is just moving very slowly). Another one you have to start the game over to get if you didn't realize it the first time around (you have to connect two pieces of a star in the corners of two jigsaw pieces of painting 3, but once the painting is complete you can't take it apart again so you have to start over). This may seem like an oversight but it is very much intentional. The others are located above certain levels and require precise timing and complex trial and error. Once you get them, on the final level some of the levers will become time proof and messing around with them will allow you to ride the chandelier to the princess, where she explodes and there is a flash of light. Then you get the final star in her bedroom I think, and back on the title screen you will see the princess in chains in the sky. You can't get rid of this. This whole subquest ties into the game's theme of Tim's obsession with the bomb and what it leads to. I thought it was fantastic when I first learned about it.

Combo7 · Post by **Combo7** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:49 pm

Damn, thanks. The amount of detail and thought that went into this game is awing. Definitely a milestone in the evolution of games as art.

slimebucato · Post by **slimebucato** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:16 pm

Yeah I think so too. Probably the most "important" game for video games since Bioshock.

Hayzoos · Post by **Hayzoos** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:05 pm

I downloaded the demo and I don't get what the big deal is...

slimebucato · Post by **slimebucato** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:28 am

The demo actually does a pretty poor job showing off the game, it only gives very base puzzles

Andvil · Post by **Andvil** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:41 am

if you're interested in the game's artwork and its evolution.....

http://www.davidhellman.net/blog/the-ar ... aid-index/

very very great read

and bucato, I think you're gonna have to go back farther than Bioshock to find a game as important as Braid, it's just too amazing
I'm not saying it's GTAIII revolutionary, but I feel that there will be (or at least should be) repercussions from this

slimebucato · Post by **slimebucato** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:21 pm

I think it will probably influence alot of game developers at the very least. It's sold pretty well, so hopefully that will show the big 3 that high-concept games like this are viable and how much demand there is for stuff with more thematic depth. About Bioshock, I was talking strictly in terms of the maturity of the story. I can't think of many others I'd cite as a benchmark before it in that respect. Maybe Planescape Torment. I'm probably forgetting something too. Braid took it to a whole nother level though, you are right about that. I don't think the GTA III comparison is too far off. It took a long while but I think that games are finally growing up. I'm excited.