So, I just downloaded and breezed through the demo on Steam. With the exception of two puzzle pieces in the first world that stumped me for a minute or two, I didn't find any of it particularly difficult. I hope it gets much more difficult beyond the demo portion.
Regardless, I'm absolutely sold on it and I'll be buying it as soon as I finish up with some other games.
Sometimes I feel as though I'm the only one who finds Braid's puzzles to be hard.
Braid is one of the types of games I am naturally very good at, I completed it in pretty much one session. I did get stuck at one point, and actually managed to brute force around one of the puzzles I did get stuck on...
Edit: Give me a racing sim and I will fall apart, however.
I find that my favorite thing about Braid was not solving the puzzles the first time, but rather the "Eureka!" moment that often comes during a full game speed run when you realize a much, much more elegant solution to a puzzle that you had solved in a way that suddenly seems very silly.
Are you supposed to be able to get all the puzzle pieces in one level, as in, no backtracking?
There's no need to backtrack. You have everything you need to collect each puzzle piece the first time you encounter it.
Not quite
You need to backtrack in the first world, but not at any other point.
Ah, right. I forgot about that puzzle.
Alright, you never have to travel to another world in order to acquire an ability to get a puzzle piece in a previous world. Braid doesn't fit in the Metroidvania mold.
Sometimes I feel as though I'm the only one who finds Braid's puzzles to be hard.
I love puzzles and have a lot of experience doing them, and my background is one where I spend a lot of time problem solving. So if you spend a lot of time doing puzzles, Braid and other puzzle games become a lot easier simply because you've seen similar puzzles before. I was also just talking about the demo, which only has the first world and a small part of the second.
The puzzle game that really pisses me off? Lit. I hate that I can't see all the information in the puzzle. It's a great concept, but ultimately it just frustrates me.
It's about how childish the wish is to be able to undo your mistakes. It forces you to go back and rethink about what you could have done. Tim has become so obsessed with looking back, time flows in reverse for him, and rewinding is actually moving forward in time. His going back in his memory becomes mixed with the present. The books before each world are all written in the present and in order, but are about Tim going back in time in his head to think about the events in reverse order.
The last level (in world 1, so the beginning of Tim looking back in time), where the princess seems to help you at first, in reverse (reality) she is actually running away from you and blocking your path towards her.
The epilogue is world 6: the origin/childhood of Tim. I'm not exactly sure how it fits in, but it characterizes the psychology of Tim that helped him to be obsessed with looking back, being spoiled, stubborn, scientific, inquisitive and destructive. Tim doesn't learn this, he's out view/blind to the interpretation of the princess (in that era his mother). In the space that isn't defined by his real memories, from before he was born, Tim builds a castle of his interpretations of his memories and he seems happy about that place, but wants to build even more on it. This and the cyclic nature of the game suggests that Tim isn't yet absolved from his past and is doomed to repeat it. He can't find the princess in his past, the part of the game that's closest to the present is the only place we meet her.
Oh and a major brainfuck is this: because we are looking backwards in time and reverse any mistakes we make, how can we say we are learning anything? The player learns, sure, but from Tim's perspective he's piecing together a world in which he never made mistakes. His achievements are made up of doing things perfectly, he jumps perfectly, he never dies, he gets all the puzzle pieces. To have such a view of your past can't be sane, and it's no miracle that his biggest mistake, scorning the princess set him off into an insane quest of self-justification.
That's a pretty good explanation.
Mine is pretty simple and more of just a basic framework.
Tim is looking back on his life and pondering all the mistakes he's made.
Each world is a different thought experiment inspired by an event in his life. What if the world worked this way?
What if I really could retry everything until I got it right? Would I have lost her?
What if I some things were immune to manipulation? Would we have ruined our relationship?
What if I could revisit any time in my life just by walking there? Would things make more sense?
What if I could live two lives at once? Would I be happy in both of them?
What if a ring would slow down time around it? Would it be similar to what people think of me when they see my wedding ring?
What if I lived life backwards from everyone else? How would I look to them and would I still feel as alienated?
Then the Epilogue takes four different possible stories to emphasize the point that differing perspectives results in different conclusions.
This bit was giving me a real headache to do quickly, but I finally got it:
You first have to get the plants to roughly chomp simultaneously by using the ring under them. Then you do a time freeze (shift + up once) as the plants are all down. Then when you have 3 or 4 of the guys on the left, you can easily bounce up off of two of them.
This bit was giving me a real headache to do quickly, but I finally got it:
You first have to get the plants to roughly chomp simultaneously by using the ring under them. Then you do a time freeze (shift + up once) as the plants are all down. Then when you have 3 or 4 of the guys on the left, you can easily bounce up off of two of them.
This bit was giving me a real headache to do quickly, but I finally got it:
You first have to get the plants to roughly chomp simultaneously by using the ring under them. Then you do a time freeze (shift + up once) as the plants are all down. Then when you have 3 or 4 of the guys on the left, you can easily bounce up off of two of them.
Yup, that's the fast way to do it.
Not the only way, but the fast way.
what.
I spent like half an hour arranging the plants so that they would go up and down in a way that would let the stupid walking things through.
So maybe it's just because I just started it and the writing is awful.
Do I get more powers than just reverse/forwards over time? Do I have them at the beginning? Am I missing idiosyncratic solutions to puzzles that are just specific to the game?
I mean... I don't really see the appeal yet. Should I just power through?
I mean... I don't really see the appeal yet. Should I just power through?
Yes. Much like world of goo, the early puzzles seem somewhat uninspired, but they build off of each other really well, with every new world adding a twist.
Do I get more powers than just reverse/forwards over time? Do I have them at the beginning? Am I missing idiosyncratic solutions to puzzles that are just specific to the game?
I mean... I don't really see the appeal yet. Should I just power through?
Yes (well, you don't get more powers; they change in each world). No. Yes.
Yes.
The key to enjoying and "getting" the game (at least for me) is, if you get stuck on a puzzle and are getting frustrated, just skip it and keep moving forward and check out the later levels. As you go forward through the game and try each of the different "powers" you have in each world, you start to get the mechanics and understand how they can be used. Earlier puzzles become more clear once you have spent more time in the game.
Should I slave over puzzles I haven't solved or go through with the ones I have and explore the worlds leaving some puzzle pieces unlclaimed and go back?
I don't know... so far I can almost see why people like the game, but it seems like it's such a shitty presentation so far
My other post got bottom of the page'd, but to answer your question in shorter fashion: don't slave over puzzles at first and try to accomplish every piece linearly - move on and explore the later worlds to understand the mechanics.
Definitely skip the puzzles you're having trouble with. The mechanics start getting a lot more exciting in later Worlds.
Personally, I completed World 5 before World 4, just because I got (really badly) stuck on Fickle Companion.
Ugh, Fickle Companion...
I don't know... so far I can almost see why people don't like the game, but it seems like it's such a beautiful presentation so far
I've changed your quote to match how I feel. I think this is one of the games that clearly divides people based on how they approach it.
gjaustin on
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AJRSome guy who wrestlesNorwichRegistered Userregular
edited April 2009
Explore new worlds. Come back with a fresh mind. That’s what worked for me anyway.
I’d also agree that the writing in the game is terrible. I mean, I like almost every aspect of the game, but after a while I just stopped reading the text because it sounded like pure drivel.
It's a pity this game doesn't have achievements for anything besides completion. Beating all of World 2 without ever rewinding seems like it should be worth something, not that I've bothered to do it yet.
Edit: Or can you? Thinking about it, the Leap of Faith might lock you out of one continuous run.
It's a pity this game doesn't have achievements for anything besides completion. Beating all of World 2 without ever rewinding seems like it should be worth something, not that I've bothered to do it yet.
Edit: Or can you? Thinking about it, the Leap of Faith might lock you out of one continuous run.
Heh, I did that, it felt badass.
Edit: From memory I did it anyway. It is possible right?
I remember figuring out Elevator Action and actually chuckling to myself with sheer incredulity. I may have to fold my brain a bit in order to actually progress. It doesn't help that I'm as dead a ringer for Tim that is possible either; I remember my mother looking over my shoulder and asking me whether this was a game where you could change your avatar to your likeness.
It's a pity this game doesn't have achievements for anything besides completion. Beating all of World 2 without ever rewinding seems like it should be worth something, not that I've bothered to do it yet.
Edit: Or can you? Thinking about it, the Leap of Faith might lock you out of one continuous run.
Heh, I did that, it felt badass.
Edit: From memory I did it anyway. It is possible right?
I think I've done most of the world without rewinding. There's a certain puzzle that's ever so slightly faster if you do rewind, so I'm sure I haven't done the entire thing.
I am at the point (from speed runs) where I know exactly when to jump for Leap of Faith though.
I remember figuring out Elevator Action and actually chuckling to myself with sheer incredulity. I may have to fold my brain a bit in order to actually progress. It doesn't help that I'm as dead a ringer for Tim that is possible either; I remember my mother looking over my shoulder and asking me whether this was a game where you could change your avatar to your likeness.
Assuming Elevator Action is the one I'm thinking about (near the end of World 6), I loved that puzzle. The last one in World 6 was awesome too.
For those interested in the level design aspect, the braid blog got updated with some extra info
On an unrelated note, I love how shiploads of people at one point or another shared the thought that they couldn't complete a certain puzzle because they didn't have powers they needed to complete it yet
Edit:also since the steam update, its been running better and fullscreen on my netbook now without the launch options
There's already something you can get for doing that.
Oh, this ties into the whole extra hidden fun stuff I just found out about.
peterdevore on
0
SirUltimosDon't talk, Rusty. Just paint.Registered Userregular
edited April 2009
When I played Braid I had two friends over and we stayed up most of the night beating it and figuring it all out. My brother was there and helped us, too. Having multiple heads really helps to figure out some of the puzzles, and it mskes it really, really fun to boot.
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I just fucking soaked my screen with orange juice because of that. God damn you. It's rare I can actually say lol, but lol.
XBL/PSN/Steam: APZonerunner
Regardless, I'm absolutely sold on it and I'll be buying it as soon as I finish up with some other games.
3DS FC: 0817-3759-2788
Braid is one of the types of games I am naturally very good at, I completed it in pretty much one session. I did get stuck at one point, and actually managed to brute force around one of the puzzles I did get stuck on...
Edit: Give me a racing sim and I will fall apart, however.
You're not alone. I was stumped by large stretches of worlds 5 and 6.
There's no need to backtrack. You have everything you need to collect each puzzle piece the first time you encounter it.
Not quite
Ah, right. I forgot about that puzzle.
Alright, you never have to travel to another world in order to acquire an ability to get a puzzle piece in a previous world. Braid doesn't fit in the Metroidvania mold.
I love puzzles and have a lot of experience doing them, and my background is one where I spend a lot of time problem solving. So if you spend a lot of time doing puzzles, Braid and other puzzle games become a lot easier simply because you've seen similar puzzles before. I was also just talking about the demo, which only has the first world and a small part of the second.
The puzzle game that really pisses me off? Lit. I hate that I can't see all the information in the puzzle. It's a great concept, but ultimately it just frustrates me.
3DS FC: 0817-3759-2788
That's a pretty good explanation.
Mine is pretty simple and more of just a basic framework.
Each world is a different thought experiment inspired by an event in his life. What if the world worked this way?
What if I really could retry everything until I got it right? Would I have lost her?
What if I some things were immune to manipulation? Would we have ruined our relationship?
What if I could revisit any time in my life just by walking there? Would things make more sense?
What if I could live two lives at once? Would I be happy in both of them?
What if a ring would slow down time around it? Would it be similar to what people think of me when they see my wedding ring?
What if I lived life backwards from everyone else? How would I look to them and would I still feel as alienated?
Then the Epilogue takes four different possible stories to emphasize the point that differing perspectives results in different conclusions.
Yup, that's the fast way to do it.
Not the only way, but the fast way.
http://www.audioentropy.com/
I spent like half an hour arranging the plants so that they would go up and down in a way that would let the stupid walking things through.
GT: Tanky the Tank
Black: 1377 6749 7425
Do I get more powers than just reverse/forwards over time? Do I have them at the beginning? Am I missing idiosyncratic solutions to puzzles that are just specific to the game?
I mean... I don't really see the appeal yet. Should I just power through?
Yes. Much like world of goo, the early puzzles seem somewhat uninspired, but they build off of each other really well, with every new world adding a twist.
GT: Tanky the Tank
Black: 1377 6749 7425
Yes (well, you don't get more powers; they change in each world). No. Yes.
Yes.
The key to enjoying and "getting" the game (at least for me) is, if you get stuck on a puzzle and are getting frustrated, just skip it and keep moving forward and check out the later levels. As you go forward through the game and try each of the different "powers" you have in each world, you start to get the mechanics and understand how they can be used. Earlier puzzles become more clear once you have spent more time in the game.
I don't know... so far I can almost see why people like the game, but it seems like it's such a shitty presentation so far
Personally, I completed World 5 before World 4, just because I got (really badly) stuck on Fickle Companion.
Ugh, Fickle Companion...
I've changed your quote to match how I feel. I think this is one of the games that clearly divides people based on how they approach it.
I’d also agree that the writing in the game is terrible. I mean, I like almost every aspect of the game, but after a while I just stopped reading the text because it sounded like pure drivel.
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Edit: Heh, just realized after posting that that was an accidental spoiler. Tags added just in case.
I've never been good at time puzzles. Ever. I scraped by on the Prince of Persia games and those were Prince of Persia games.
Even Majora's Mask roughed me up a little.
Now all this rewinding and speeding up and slowing down and mirror images is hitting me so hard in the gut I think I can taste my lunch.
Man this game looks so pretty but I genuinely doubt my ability to finish it.
Edit: Or can you? Thinking about it, the Leap of Faith might lock you out of one continuous run.
Heh, I did that, it felt badass.
Edit: From memory I did it anyway. It is possible right?
I think I've done most of the world without rewinding. There's a certain puzzle that's ever so slightly faster if you do rewind, so I'm sure I haven't done the entire thing.
I am at the point (from speed runs) where I know exactly when to jump for Leap of Faith though.
Assuming Elevator Action is the one I'm thinking about (near the end of World 6), I loved that puzzle. The last one in World 6 was awesome too.
WOAH! Seriously? Braid Editor? Why did no one tell me.
Yes, I do indeed wish this, thanks for noticing!
If they can figure it out and make an actualy level. Ill suck their dick.
http://www.audioentropy.com/
On an unrelated note, I love how shiploads of people at one point or another shared the thought that they couldn't complete a certain puzzle because they didn't have powers they needed to complete it yet
Edit:also since the steam update, its been running better and fullscreen on my netbook now without the launch options
Oh, this ties into the whole extra hidden fun stuff I just found out about.