The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Braid | Be kind, rewind (coming to PSN on Nov. 12 in NA)
Lunker
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
If we've learned from a mistake and become better for it, shouldn't we be rewarded for the learning, rather than punished for the mistake?
What if our world worked differently? Suppose we could tell her: "I didn't mean what I just said," and she would say: "It's okay, I understand," and she would not turn away, and life would really proceed as though we had never said that thing? We could remove the damage but still be wiser for the experience.
Braid, the time-shifting 2-D puzzle-platformer that won accolades at the 2006 Independent Games Festival and is being touted as "this year's Portal," is out this week on Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 MS Points ($15). A PC release will be coming, though a date is unannounced.
The game is really hard to describe in words; in a nutshell, the game is about time and space. You're collecting puzzle pieces to unlock future worlds and you can rewind time a la Prince of Persia: Sands of Time as much as you want with few restrictions, but in each of the game's worlds time reacts differently. In the first world, time flows normally; in another world, time flows normally but certain objects aren't affected by your rewind power; in a different world, time flows normally when you move to the right but flows in reverse when you move to the left.
This is a platformer in the same sense that Portal is a first-person shooter. It uses a lot of the same perspectives and tropes but the emphasis has changed significantly. You can rewind as much as you like, whenever you like, so you can never fully "die." You won't really be challenged by pinpoint jump precision or hanging onto ledges. This isn't New Super Mario Bros. It's actually more like Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: a puzzle game where you happen to be able to jump and move left and right.
Paired with challenging puzzles, you've also got a very somber, bittersweet aesthetic, narrative and soundtrack. You are Tim, faced with rescuing the Princess from a terrible monster, and all you know is that, as the game tells you, "This happened because Tim made a mistake." Braid is, in essence, one of those "game as art statement" games that hasn't lost sight of actually playing as an enjoyable traditional game.
This developer walkthrough gives more context to the game's themes. It's about 11 minutes long but it shows kind of what the game is pushing for.
2007 developer walkthrough: Braid
Some interview questions that also give context to where Braid's designer, Jonathan Blow, is coming from: (Source also has more gameplay videos.)
While playing through the first few worlds of Braid, I can't help but notice the references to other 2d platformers, such as the huge "The Princess is in another castle," an homage to the first Super Mario Bros. What other things have influenced the development of Braid, along with your general philosophies on game development?
Too many to mention. Definitely Italo Calvino's book "Invisible Cities" was a core influence, as was Alan Lightman's follow-up book "Einstein's Dreams". Gameplay-wise, Braid came from just thinking about the nature of the laws of our universe (what time is and where it comes from, why the rules of quantum mechanics don't seem to mesh with the macroscopic workings of the universe). With regard to rewind, there was a definite influence from other games (seeing rewind used in games like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, and Blinx: The Time Sweeper, but not really liking the way it was done, and wanting to do it very differently).
...
What was your philosophy behind the gameplay itself? Time shifting and puzzle mechanics have been tried before, but very few seem to pull it off as well as Braid does.
Keep in mind that all these puzzles were made by the end of 2005 (and I was showing them at places like the Experimental Gameplay Workshop at the GDC), so a lot of the smaller flash games that have been doing time puzzles did it later -- they just have much shorter development cycles!
But there is a core philosophy to Braid's gameplay, which is focus. That means two things. One, that the puzzles you encounter in various worlds are about the specific behavior of time in that world -- there is no puzzle in World 3 that could have been done in World 2, for example. They are in World 3 because that is where they had to be. Two, that there are a minimal number of extraneous objects in the levels. The levels are about presenting the puzzles to you in as simple and clear a manner as possible. It is easy to make any puzzle harder by making it more complicated; it is much more interesting to make a puzzle difficult (or just interesting) by stripping it down to its bare essentials, to distill it down into almost an abstract expression of what the player has to learn from its particular situation.
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
Reviews: Eurogamer: 10/10
Judged purely as a game, it's cunning, ingenious and endlessly surprising. The puzzles are varied, the level design is revelatory and the whole thing clicks together like clockwork. For those only interested in gameplay, it's simply an excellent puzzler-cum-platformer. But there's so much more here, a desire to create a game experience that is more than mere technical craft. That it succeeds in creating an abstract emotional experience, one where each player can find their own level of meaning and personal context, all within the confines of the 2D platformer, is perhaps the most astonishing achievement of all.
Braid is beautiful, entertaining and inspiring. It stretches both intellect and emotion, and these elements dovetail beautifully rather than chaffing against each other. Still wondering if games can be art? Here's your answer.
EDGE: 9/10. Text not online, but summary from a subscriber:
Plays upon conventions of Mario, but closer to Portal
Designed just as well as Portal (!!!)
Each level has a new mechanic: act 3's is brilliant - steps to the right advances time, steps to the left reverses it.
Fails somewhat with it's storytelling - "trite in it's self-conscious obscurity"
Story's themes aren't reflected well in-game until the final level.
One of the finest original titles on Xbox Live Arcade.
IGN: 8.8/10
Xbox Live Arcade needs more games like Braid. Heck, gaming on all platforms needs more titles like this. Imaginative, innovative, and engrossing, Braid is a spectacular achievement. If only the experience lasted a little longer and there weren't as many puzzles with singular solutions. Despite its short length and robust pricing ($15), Braid is definitely worth downloading.
Preview snippets from Braid's homepage:
"Braid is an ingenious and startlingly creative puzzle game, built with an understanding of good game design that even some of the industry's most revered figures could learn from."
-PC Gamer Magazine (UK)
"It's the most original and fresh platform game I've played in at least ten years, and almost every single puzzle in it will make you grin with happiness and clap with appreciation at the cleverness of it."
-Graham Goring, The Arsecast
"Braid has the potential to change the way you think about reality. It will certainly change the way you think about video games."
-Jason Roher, Arthouse Games
"Beyond Braid's enchanting hand-painted visual style, beyond its often haunting score, and beyond its musings on love and personal growth... Braid is one of the most progressive platform/puzzle games we've played in years."
-Cam Shea, IGN Australia
"Braid's artistic design is as imaginative as its puzzles. The whimsical world looks like a painting come to life."
-Hilary Goldstein, IGN
"Braid is a risky experiment climaxing in glorious success. Ask yourself when last you felt a sense of reward and achievement playing a game; not Achievement with a capital 'A' and ten Microsoft points, but an actual sense of pride... And when did a game really make you look at the world differently?"
-Xbox World 360 Magazine
"I love this game.... I feel like I'm using parts of my brain that have never been used before, like parts that haven't evolved yet."
-Frank Lantz
"One of the most interesting, satisfying, beautiful game experiences I've ever had."
-Reverend Anthony, Destructoid
"We're not used to being able to manipulate time in the ways that Braid allows you to... You can sit staring at it for hours, feeling entirely clueless as to how the next jigsaw piece could even be possible to reach. But with a bit of patience, everything just clicks, and you can't help but smile to yourself at how elegantly simple the whole thing is. It was never difficult at all - you just weren't thinking in the right way. That's videogaming Zen.
-Sean Bell, DarkZero
"Braid remains a beautiful and brilliantly demanding game that barely contains its dense population of ideas, taking its place alongside Geometry Wars and Pac-Man Championship Edition as one of the finest original titles available on Live Arcade."
-Edge
"The end level is fucking ingenious."
-Gamer Hate
SOUNDTRACK
A number of people have fallen in love with the game's haunting soundtrack. Jonathan Blow posted a list of the game's soundtrack songs here, which can be streamed for free and also bought for offline use:
Here's a list of the tracks in Braid and links to the Magnatune pages where you can find them. (These songs are also listed in the credits to Braid).
"Maenam," by Jami Sieber, from the album Hidden Sky.
"Undercurrent" and "The Darkening Ground," by Jami Sieber, from the album Lush Mechanique.
"Tell It By Heart" and "Long Past Gone," by Jami Sieber, from the album Second Sight.
"Downstream," by Shira Kammen, from the album Music of Waters.
"Lullaby Set," by Shira Kammen and Swan, from the album Wild Wood.
"Romanesca," by Cheryl Ann Fulton, from the album The Once and Future Harp.
OFFICIAL WALKTHROUGH AND LIST OF CHEATS
Found here on the developer's website.
PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH JONATHAN BLOW
SavyGamer's (from our own LewieP) inaugural podcast has a lengthy interview with Braid's developer, Jonathan Blow. Grab it here! Content includes the challenges of being an independent developer and building such a unique game.
Tweet my Face: @heyitslunker | Save money at CheapAssGamer (not an affiliate link)
Lunker on
0
Posts
Also, I love this game. I wrote it off before but due to a 10 from Euro and some of you guys raving about it I gave the trial a spin and wow. It is soo good. As soon as I have some money, points ahoy for me.
The price point is gonna be a little hard to get over, but, I don't think it should prove that difficult.
Steam: abunchofdaftpunk | PSN: noautomobilesgo | Lastfm: sjchszeppelin | Backloggery: colincummings | 3DS FC: 1392-6019-0219 |
I was kind of ambivalent to the game until a few weeks ago, when more previews and such came in. I'm going to be upfront and say that I typically don't care for Games-As-Art games, since they almost always put the Art part so far above the Game part that they're not all that fun to play. By almost all impressions so far, Braid hits the sweet spot of actually wedding the two factions together; you can play it as merely a good puzzle-platformer, but you can also view it as a statement.
My reactions from the other thread:
I went through World 2 this morning and stopped right before diving into World 3, since I had to get ready for work. While I haven't reached the sensation of emotional orgasm that reviewers seem to have gotten, I also know I'm poised right at the brink of the game's true form. It's very impressive so far, and I can't wait to tear into it wholesale tonight.
Taking the game out of its artistic context, the game it most reminds me of is Mario Vs. Donkey Kong; it looks like a platformer, but it's really a puzzle game that happens to let you move pieces by jumping around and walking left and right. There's a modicum of jumping and timing skills involved, but really it's about studying the level and planning your strategy far more than reacting to enemies and using hand-eye coordination.
So far, my favorite part is how the worlds are introduced. I love the fact that the text hints at the rules of time you'll be using without explicitly saying "You can rewind time if you die from a bad jump" or "Here some objects won't be affected by time reversal." And Jesus lord, the music is beautiful. I love the somber strings in the beginning, and even though I'd read the text beforehand I felt my heartstrings being tugged before even walking into the first stage.
Ending spoilers:
I know it's only just come out, but I would be very appreciative if someone smarter than I could do some sort of story analysis and break down just what the heck is going on in the game.
More story spoilers:
Anyways, story aside, I absolutely loved the gameplay, the beautiful visuals, and the melancholy soundtrack. I only wish it was a bit longer (the game can be beaten in just a few hours, making the comparisons to Portal even more fitting). Heck, I wish there were some sort of level creator kit - I could seriously go to town with something like that.
Battle.net: Fireflash#1425
Steam Friend code: 45386507
I agree; it's got that Nintendo-like quality to the art where it doesn't capture well in stills but just sings when in motion in front of you. A lot of people like the screenshots already, though, so they're going to pee themselves when they finally get to play it.
Steam: abunchofdaftpunk | PSN: noautomobilesgo | Lastfm: sjchszeppelin | Backloggery: colincummings | 3DS FC: 1392-6019-0219 |
steam
Despite all that I know I'm going to go home tonight and download the full version of this and start playing it. I think there's something wrong with me.
I have no idea what to do, but I'm wondering if I'm supposed to move on and get new abilities or something later that would allow me to come back.
Nope—this isn't a Metroid setup where you gain abilities or anything that carries over. Everything is solvable within the confines of each world's rules.
Which pieces? Are you talking about the last two in the Cloud Bridge in particular? They're very doable; you just have to think for a while. Hint:
I think you may need to get the Hunt one first, actually. For Hunt:
For Cloud Bridge:
And once you figure out how to get the puzzle piece that's on the platform above you, you should get a sense of how to get the piece that's right above the door.
I had been trying to do that for 20-30 minutes; my mistake was
I'll probably get the full when I have the money next week.
Technically, 5 worlds. Where's world 1?
And what's with the bathroom?
EDIT: Comment about achievements
I'm Jacob Wilson. | facebook | thegreat2nd | [url="aim:goim?screenname=TheGreatSecond&message=Hello+from+the+Penny+Arcade+Forums!"]aim[/url]
And as I was playing this morning, I was found myself thinking, Hrmm, can't reach that peice. Must need a different ability, maybe a fast forward. I'll come back later. Thanks to what I've read, I am going back to world 2 and getting every puzzle peice. I finished up to world 4, but I was just rushing through each. I must attain this zen of play that has been described. That moment of, "Oh, I get it!"
Thank you Mr. Blow (ghost hands), truely, a great game!
World 4 is hard. Fucking hard. I had to skip 3 of the pieces till later.
And 5... Well, I skipped at least one every level. Crazy stuff.
What is seen can't be unseen.
I'm Jacob Wilson. | facebook | thegreat2nd | [url="aim:goim?screenname=TheGreatSecond&message=Hello+from+the+Penny+Arcade+Forums!"]aim[/url]
But it didn't make me think, nor did it surprise me with its philosophical insight. And I wanted it to, because that's the primary reason I bought the game. It tries too hard; it was predictable, rather clichéd, and the story wasn't incorporated into the game very well. You see several hints of there being something beneath the surface, such as the changes in mood and music that happen occasionally, but it's never taken beyond that.
As it is, I didn't feel the emotional connection, and I didn't feel that the story/writing had any significant impact on the experience. I kept thinking of the short stories in Lost Odyssey, which have a very similar presentation and feel, but I think they were handled a lot better as far as philosphical wankery goes. Still, there isn't anything on the market like Braid. Considering the fact that it's a downloadable 2D platformer, it's a very commendable effort, and I didn't feel it was disappointing overall. The Eurogamer review was perhaps a bit much, though.
Actually, my only real disappointment is with the graphics. The design is fantastic overall, but there's very little variety and there is a serious lack of significant setpieces. This is one part where I really feel they could have added a lot to the story, but as it is, world 1, the cityscape, is the most impressive and breathtaking scene in the game by far, and it never reached those heights again, I'm sad to say.
I'm glad I bought it, but after a week's worth of Pixeljunk Eden, I do think Braid was overpriced for what you get, and it wasn't as creative or mindblowing as I had hoped.
I'm Jacob Wilson. | facebook | thegreat2nd | [url="aim:goim?screenname=TheGreatSecond&message=Hello+from+the+Penny+Arcade+Forums!"]aim[/url]
Blow says it'll be this year, at least.
So I did everything in World 3, but one or two parts of the puzzle is stuck behind and at the sides of the puzzle .. Still got an achievement, but I can't find any ways of getting the remaining pieces off. It looks terrible. And I'd love to see the whole picture.
steam
I guess I can try the demo.
Looks and plays fine on my SDTV.
I'm Jacob Wilson. | facebook | thegreat2nd | [url="aim:goim?screenname=TheGreatSecond&message=Hello+from+the+Penny+Arcade+Forums!"]aim[/url]
5-4: Getting it to bounce off my shadow, very tricky. Spent a while trying everything but just never thought of that.
I think the price was reasonable - if it were 4 times as long it would be comparable to any retail 360 game.
All of the worlds have an in-world frame, too. Maybe you can rearrange them there.
Actually just done this one.
Clue:
The only puzzle piece I have left is the final one in World 6, 'In Another Castle'. I really don't want any hints or anything, as I'm going to come back to it tomorrow, I think - I'm sure there's something I'm missing. I went back to earlier worlds today after a break and some stuff that I'd dismissed as being far too hard early on was almost obvious now that I'd learned how to think.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
I'm desperate here. I already broke my jaw earlier on Geometry Wars 2. I just can't take the stress anymore.
I don't quite get world 6 yet, think it's going to take me a while to figure out.
That's a pretty big hint, man. I'm not going to spoil the experience for you.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
I've never really been one for speed runs in other sorts of puzzle-platformers—the ones in Tomb Raider Legend had me tearing my hair out—but I'd give it a shot, especially for a shorter game.