I haven't tried most of the speed runs yet, but I thought the Jumpman speedrun level was a blast. Not only was that a pretty fun level, but in order to beat the posted time, you have to play it in a very different manner than the way I beat it the first time.
I hunkered down and played the extent of the game yesterday. After getting all the puzzle pieces and getting the ending, oh man, I was just ecstatic with the whole experience. I checked out the Speed Run levels and decided screw that, I'm done with the game for now ;[
The main game speed run is pretty challenging, but it's not that bad. IMO, it's the perfect target time. You need to be proficient with each stage and know exactly what to do at each stage, but you don't have to feel panicked and execute some ridiculous strategy perfectly. If you can't beat the target time, it's probably because you don't have the right strategies.
After a bit of trying the stages without the timer, I got 43:xx my first try. And it was a great experience.
Fortunately, time STOPS when you're assembling the puzzle pieces. You don't have to worry about finding an optimal solution for that.
And agreeing with other people in this thread, I thought there was not a single unfair puzzle piece, and all the mechanics were very obvious (or could be found out with 30 seconds of experimentation). However, each stage was a unique way of applying them that made everything so fresh and rewarding. You were never told what to do, but each solution was fair and reasonable. I've seen the hardest piece in Elevator Action solved multiple ways, and each way makes good sense in the game context.
This is one of the most memorable experiences I've had in a game for a long time.
XenoScholar on
Check out my demonstration of the Street Fighter 4 hard trial combos, showing hands on the joystick, on my Youtube channel!
Current characters done: Ryu, Dan, C. Viper
Xbox Live: Infilament
Okay, I can somehow see a tenuous logical connection there that if a game is an homage to Mario, then it ***must*** have used ripped sprites because there is no other way to do it!!!!, and now I am trying to figure out "MS kept declining his app for XBL."
When you make a game, you tend to prototype it using stand-in art. Looking at the game, looks obvious that the very first engine tests and prototyping were probably done with SMB sprites. (Nothing wrong with this, developers use stand-in graphics all the time.)
When you make an XBL game, you have to submit your game to Microsoft. If MS doesn't like the game for any reason, it can be rejected for XBL. When that happens, you have to fix the game and submit it again. You see, the developer for Braid was having problems, getting Microsoft's OK for XBL. I'm wondering if MS was rejecting Braid because, even though the art was changed, it still held too much of a resemblance to the original prototype sprites.
I was wondering if anyone else thinks that too.
I also wonder what it would be like to play with the original prototype sprites. That would be fun.
When you make a game, you tend to prototype it using stand-in art. Looking at the game, looks obvious that the very first engine tests and prototyping were probably done with SMB sprites. (Nothing wrong with this, developers use stand-in graphics all the time.)
When you make an XBL game, you have to submit your game to Microsoft. If MS doesn't like the game for any reason, it can be rejected for XBL. When that happens, you have to fix the game and submit it again. You see, the developer for Braid was having problems, getting Microsoft's OK for XBL. I'm wondering if MS was rejecting Braid because, even though the art was changed, it still held too much of a resemblance to the original prototype sprites.
I was wondering if anyone else thinks that too.
I also wonder what it would be like to play with the original prototype sprites. That would be fun.
I've actually seen the original sprites. I think they were in a 1UP video review. They just look like shitty programmer art.
When you make a game, you tend to prototype it using stand-in art. Looking at the game, looks obvious that the very first engine tests and prototyping were probably done with SMB sprites. (Nothing wrong with this, developers use stand-in graphics all the time.)
When you make an XBL game, you have to submit your game to Microsoft. If MS doesn't like the game for any reason, it can be rejected for XBL. When that happens, you have to fix the game and submit it again. You see, the developer for Braid was having problems, getting Microsoft's OK for XBL. I'm wondering if MS was rejecting Braid because, even though the art was changed, it still held too much of a resemblance to the original prototype sprites.
I was wondering if anyone else thinks that too.
I also wonder what it would be like to play with the original prototype sprites. That would be fun.
This is really quite hilarious, considering who you're explaining it to.
Okay, I can somehow see a tenuous logical connection there that if a game is an homage to Mario, then it ***must*** have used ripped sprites because there is no other way to do it!!!!, and now I am trying to figure out "MS kept declining his app for XBL."
When you make a game, you tend to prototype it using stand-in art. Looking at the game, looks obvious that the very first engine tests and prototyping were probably done with SMB sprites. (Nothing wrong with this, developers use stand-in graphics all the time.)
When you make an XBL game, you have to submit your game to Microsoft. If MS doesn't like the game for any reason, it can be rejected for XBL. When that happens, you have to fix the game and submit it again. You see, the developer for Braid was having problems, getting Microsoft's OK for XBL. I'm wondering if MS was rejecting Braid because, even though the art was changed, it still held too much of a resemblance to the original prototype sprites.
I was wondering if anyone else thinks that too.
I also wonder what it would be like to play with the original prototype sprites. That would be fun.
I've got a quick question, hopefully Ghost Hands will answer, or maybe someone else knows:
When Braid comes for PC will it be sold on Steam or some place else? Steam would be great, really. I'd buy it for $20.
Someone can correct me, but I don't think it's been announced definitively yet. That being said, I have heard Steam mentioned as a possibility, and it seems like it'd be right up Steam's alley.
I've got a quick question, hopefully Ghost Hands will answer, or maybe someone else knows:
When Braid comes for PC will it be sold on Steam or some place else? Steam would be great, really. I'd buy it for $20.
Someone can correct me, but I don't think it's been announced definitively yet. That being said, I have heard Steam mentioned as a possibility, and it seems like it'd be right up Steam's alley.
They should release the source code in the back of a magazine for free and make you type it in.
I've got a quick question, hopefully Ghost Hands will answer, or maybe someone else knows:
When Braid comes for PC will it be sold on Steam or some place else? Steam would be great, really. I'd buy it for $20.
Someone can correct me, but I don't think it's been announced definitively yet. That being said, I have heard Steam mentioned as a possibility, and it seems like it'd be right up Steam's alley.
They should release the source code in the back of a magazine for free and make you type it in.
Concerning the zeropunctuation review he reminded me of a part of the game I'm still scratching my head at. Am I missing some point to the parts where you have two locked doors and one of them will break the key, whereas the other will open or is it just a 50/50 shot? Considering how well designed most of the game is it stands out as odd to me.
Concerning the zeropunctuation review he reminded me of a part of the game I'm still scratching my head at. Am I missing some point to the parts where you have two locked doors and one of them will break the key, whereas the other will open or is it just a 50/50 shot? Considering how well designed most of the game is it stands out as odd to me.
One of the keys can't be rewound, so rewinding will close the door but the key will remain used up.
That was one thing I didn't think was all that fair about the ZP review. Reusing the basic premise of a puzzle isn't out of laziness, it's to help you get better acquainted with the new mechanic.
Concerning the zeropunctuation review he reminded me of a part of the game I'm still scratching my head at. Am I missing some point to the parts where you have two locked doors and one of them will break the key, whereas the other will open or is it just a 50/50 shot? Considering how well designed most of the game is it stands out as odd to me.
One of the keys can't be rewound, so rewinding will close the door but the key will remain used up.
That was one thing I didn't think was all that fair about the ZP review. Reusing the basic premise of a puzzle isn't out of laziness, it's to help you get better acquainted with the new mechanic.
I got to admit, relying on the momentum of your shadow to do something that you didn't tell it do can be a little counter-intuitive at first.
Concerning the zeropunctuation review he reminded me of a part of the game I'm still scratching my head at. Am I missing some point to the parts where you have two locked doors and one of them will break the key, whereas the other will open or is it just a 50/50 shot? Considering how well designed most of the game is it stands out as odd to me.
One of the keys can't be rewound, so rewinding will close the door but the key will remain used up.
That was one thing I didn't think was all that fair about the ZP review. Reusing the basic premise of a puzzle isn't out of laziness, it's to help you get better acquainted with the new mechanic.
No, that's not the one. There's one where you have two doors, and on one the key just breaks, and the door stays locked.
It was in the world where your back and forth motion advances/rewinds time, so I'm guessing it was because you had to unlock it while moving to the right, instead of the left...or something?
Honestly, I agree with him, there are a couple puzzles that are just weird, because they basically require you to discover something about how the world works in order to solve it, without explaining it or hinting at it before hand. Things like, having to hit the goomba from below to bounce it up, or that your shadow will keep moving after you jump, even if rewinding in air. These are things that really annoyed me since they're not the kind of thing that are intuitive while you're playing, at least not to me. It's one thing to have to figure out how several things work together, it's another thing to figure out a whole new thing with no clues.
I dunno. I beat all the puzzles (minus star hunting) without even talking to anyone about the game, much less look up hints or walkthroughs. Yes, some of those puzzles took me awhile. But I think that's why this game is so masterful.
Well a few things were confusing to me, and I couldn't figure it out without a walkthrough. But, then again, myst was like that too. You were just given the tools, you just had to figure out how they worked on your own. And you can't really say it's a bad thing if you think about it like that.
Concerning the zeropunctuation review he reminded me of a part of the game I'm still scratching my head at. Am I missing some point to the parts where you have two locked doors and one of them will break the key, whereas the other will open or is it just a 50/50 shot? Considering how well designed most of the game is it stands out as odd to me.
One of the keys can't be rewound, so rewinding will close the door but the key will remain used up.
That was one thing I didn't think was all that fair about the ZP review. Reusing the basic premise of a puzzle isn't out of laziness, it's to help you get better acquainted with the new mechanic.
No, that's not the one. There's one where you have two doors, and on one the key just breaks, and the door stays locked.
It was in the world where your back and forth motion advances/rewinds time, so I'm guessing it was because you had to unlock it while moving to the right, instead of the left...or something?
Honestly, I agree with him, there are a couple puzzles that are just weird, because they basically require you to discover something about how the world works in order to solve it, without explaining it or hinting at it before hand. Things like, having to hit the goomba from below to bounce it up, or that your shadow will keep moving after you jump, even if rewinding in air. These are things that really annoyed me since they're not the kind of thing that are intuitive while you're playing, at least not to me. It's one thing to have to figure out how several things work together, it's another thing to figure out a whole new thing with no clues.
Ah, okay, I know which one you mean now.
When you're walking left, time is flowing backwards. The key is time immune. If you grab it and walk to the right-hand door, It'll trigger the door to unlock and then become unusable. However, during this time you're necessarily standing still, so time is frozen, meaning that the door can't move. By the time you can move to the right, the key is out of the door and already used, so it never recognized being unlocked. Even if you could open it by moving to the right, it would close if you were to try and approach it.
World 4 is definitely the hardest level to wrap your head around.
Yeah, there's a lot of things that made sense after I did them, it's just that I couldn't always predict how things would act sometimes, so I had no way to know to try something.
Really though, that's just being nitpicky, it was still an awesome game, and I loved it for all of the day it took me to beat. :P
You see, the developer for Braid was having problems, getting Microsoft's OK for XBL. I'm wondering if MS was rejecting Braid because...
This is completely false. Microsoft called me because they were interested in Braid (I didn't have to call them first), and they accepted the game as soon as I sent them the early version (they talked it over at their next greenlight meeting, as they do with all games, and accepted it during that meeting). Likewise, at the end of development when the game entered certification testing, it passed the first time.
You see, the developer for Braid was having problems, getting Microsoft's OK for XBL. I'm wondering if MS was rejecting Braid because...
This is completely false. Microsoft called me because they were interested in Braid (I didn't have to call them first), and they accepted the game as soon as I sent them the early version (they talked it over at their next greenlight meeting, as they do with all games, and accepted it during that meeting). Likewise, at the end of development when the game entered certification testing, it passed the first time.
I dunno, Sage. It's one of those games you have to experiment in. I mean, the Manhattan Project subtext is an allusion to experimentation too, no? Tim is the experimenting kind of guy. Anyway, I think the game provides the bare essentials for you to solve every puzzle on your own. I mean I am not lying when I say I figured the entire game out without going to hints and I normally don't have the time to be bothered doing that but here everything clicks if you think about it long enough, if you analyze things outside of the box, and especially if you experiment. It's all about rules and manipulating the game world to make those rules work for you instead of working for the way the level wants to work. It's basically you versus the machine, but the machine provides all the answers you need.
I dunno, Sage. It's one of those games you have to experiment in. I mean, the Manhattan Project subtext is an allusion to experimentation too, no? Tim is the experimenting kind of guy. Anyway, I think the game provides the bare essentials for you to solve every puzzle on your own. I mean I am not lying when I say I figured the entire game out without going to hints and I normally don't have the time to be bothered doing that but here everything clicks if you think about it long enough, if you analyze things outside of the box, and especially if you experiment. It's all about rules and manipulating the game world to make those rules work for you instead of working for the way the level wants to work. It's basically you versus the machine, but the machine provides all the answers you need.
The problem is when for certain puzzles, the rule of the world which allows you to solve the puzzle is one that you discover by solving the puzzle.
The couple that I did look up, I don't regret it, because I would never have figured them out on my own. The way I go through the puzzles is by looking at the end result of what needs to be done, and working backwards to the starting point. I don't just try every possible action to see if something changes, because that's brute forcing and that's silly.
edit:: oh dang, there's actually a developer in the thread and I'm griping. I really did enjoy the game, I swear! Just two or three of the puzzles caused me to tear my hair out!
The epilogue book talking about the candy store might be some kind of statement on how mankind is too immature to use science correctly. It's saying that this mother-figure was trying to keep us away from all these things that we just want to eat/experiment with, and end up hurting ourselves by rotting our teeth/making atomic bombs.
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Zeboyd Games Development Blog
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire, Facebook : Zeboyd Games
Zero Punctuation reviews Braid
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/203-Braid
(He loved it, he still roasted it to oblivion
After a bit of trying the stages without the timer, I got 43:xx my first try. And it was a great experience.
Fortunately, time STOPS when you're assembling the puzzle pieces. You don't have to worry about finding an optimal solution for that.
And agreeing with other people in this thread, I thought there was not a single unfair puzzle piece, and all the mechanics were very obvious (or could be found out with 30 seconds of experimentation). However, each stage was a unique way of applying them that made everything so fresh and rewarding. You were never told what to do, but each solution was fair and reasonable. I've seen the hardest piece in Elevator Action solved multiple ways, and each way makes good sense in the game context.
This is one of the most memorable experiences I've had in a game for a long time.
Current characters done: Ryu, Dan, C. Viper
Xbox Live: Infilament
Umm. What are you talking about?
I think he's talking about the initial similarities to Mario.
When you make an XBL game, you have to submit your game to Microsoft. If MS doesn't like the game for any reason, it can be rejected for XBL. When that happens, you have to fix the game and submit it again. You see, the developer for Braid was having problems, getting Microsoft's OK for XBL. I'm wondering if MS was rejecting Braid because, even though the art was changed, it still held too much of a resemblance to the original prototype sprites.
I was wondering if anyone else thinks that too.
I also wonder what it would be like to play with the original prototype sprites. That would be fun.
I've actually seen the original sprites. I think they were in a 1UP video review. They just look like shitty programmer art.
This is really quite hilarious, considering who you're explaining it to.
God yes, I just realised. That's damn funny :P
2009 is a year of Updates - one every Monday. Hopefully. xx
I guess I stand corrected.
Didn't someone say that if you rewind time in the first stage for like 10 minutes you can play with the original sprites?
When Braid comes for PC will it be sold on Steam or some place else? Steam would be great, really. I'd buy it for $20.
Someone can correct me, but I don't think it's been announced definitively yet. That being said, I have heard Steam mentioned as a possibility, and it seems like it'd be right up Steam's alley.
They should release the source code in the back of a magazine for free and make you type it in.
It would obviously be printed backwards.
I'm not gay or anything, but giving a "thank you" blowjob wouldn't be entirely out of the question.
Concerning the zeropunctuation review he reminded me of a part of the game I'm still scratching my head at. Am I missing some point to the parts where you have two locked doors and one of them will break the key, whereas the other will open or is it just a 50/50 shot? Considering how well designed most of the game is it stands out as odd to me.
SoogaGames Blog
Let me go get my knee pads.
That was one thing I didn't think was all that fair about the ZP review. Reusing the basic premise of a puzzle isn't out of laziness, it's to help you get better acquainted with the new mechanic.
http://www.audioentropy.com/
I got to admit, relying on the momentum of your shadow to do something that you didn't tell it do can be a little counter-intuitive at first.
No, that's not the one. There's one where you have two doors, and on one the key just breaks, and the door stays locked.
Honestly, I agree with him, there are a couple puzzles that are just weird, because they basically require you to discover something about how the world works in order to solve it, without explaining it or hinting at it before hand. Things like, having to hit the goomba from below to bounce it up, or that your shadow will keep moving after you jump, even if rewinding in air. These are things that really annoyed me since they're not the kind of thing that are intuitive while you're playing, at least not to me. It's one thing to have to figure out how several things work together, it's another thing to figure out a whole new thing with no clues.
Ah, okay, I know which one you mean now.
World 4 is definitely the hardest level to wrap your head around.
http://www.audioentropy.com/
SoogaGames Blog
Really though, that's just being nitpicky, it was still an awesome game, and I loved it for all of the day it took me to beat. :P
This is completely false. Microsoft called me because they were interested in Braid (I didn't have to call them first), and they accepted the game as soon as I sent them the early version (they talked it over at their next greenlight meeting, as they do with all games, and accepted it during that meeting). Likewise, at the end of development when the game entered certification testing, it passed the first time.
That's exactly what they were. It was stuff I drew in Photoshop in the minimum possible amount of time, without even any animation.
Shut up and kiss me.
The problem is when for certain puzzles, the rule of the world which allows you to solve the puzzle is one that you discover by solving the puzzle.
The couple that I did look up, I don't regret it, because I would never have figured them out on my own. The way I go through the puzzles is by looking at the end result of what needs to be done, and working backwards to the starting point. I don't just try every possible action to see if something changes, because that's brute forcing and that's silly.
edit:: oh dang, there's actually a developer in the thread and I'm griping. I really did enjoy the game, I swear! Just two or three of the puzzles caused me to tear my hair out!