jdodson: One thing you can do with games is make statements. I am glad you spoiled the game here so I could find out what the reveal in Braid is, thanks for that. Does the reveal for Tim's character make sense with the style of Braid? Perhaps not.

I found the gravity of a nuclear assault on life and the landscape to be fairly poignant in Fallout. Just existing in an environment can clue you in to what a designer is trying to say.

That said, starting with a known concept like a Princess and then flipping that over to have the Princess be undoing something they believe is evil is interesting.

Did he start the player out with some regret and baggage or did the reveal just kind of come out of nowhere?

Will_Owens: The block text kind of hints at regret, but personifies the Princess in a way that makes it almost explicit that it's an actual person. I may have been assuming too much, but it really just came out of nowhere. I think Fallout works as a commentary on nuclear war because it takes concepts we are all familiar with such as anger, violence, and other base emotions and pasts them on a recognizable backdrop. Braid uses a fantasy inspired theme (although there are hints in the artwork) that doesn't really support that kind of left turn at all. I don't usually like to say stuff like this, but it felt like it totally M. Night Shyamalan'ed at the end.

Travis: Seems you either love or hate that story reveal. I was torn. It was interesting, compelling, and poignant, yet considering the game it was a part of, it didn't quite work. I think had it been done a little differently or on a different kind of game or with a different setting, it would have been awesome.

jdodson: That makes sense.

@Will do you mean a later M. Night film, because I felt the reveals in his first couple up including Lady in the Water were pretty awesome. (my taste)

Will_Owens: I haven't seen any of his movies since Signs to be honest.

jdodson: No problem, but I get what you mean, total switcheroo but wasn't stylistically earned.

jdodson: Have you tried Cave Story... I just checked your game list, you have played Cave Story. So +1 to looking before writing! lol

Travis: I wouldn't say I have played it... I played a bit of the original one, but not the re-release with some financial backing. I still need to get to it. It was on one of the big Humble Indie Bundles.

Tungsten: What about limbo? That was another good artful platformer.

jdodson: I got the demo on the PS3. I liked it. I didn't get attached to it enough to nab it.

Tungsten: Its worth $5 on sale some time. Its fun, smart, and pretty

jdodson: Cool, ill check it out.

Will_Owens: I'm playing this one for my blog and hope to have a lot of meaty stuff to get into. Is there anything you would recommend knowing before I start the game? It seems pretty straightforward, but there are some mechanics that are a little opaque. I hope I will have a lot to write about for this game. (And it has a lower time investment requirement!)

Travis: It really is quite straightforward. I can't think of anything I could recommend, as learning the mechanics is, to sound a bit cliche, an organic process.

Will_Owens: Do I have to wait for the end for a payoff? I have some material to write about... but I'm in World 6 and I haven't seen that mindblowing thing people are talking about besides the clever mechanics and permutations thereof.

Travis: I'm not sure what mindblowing thing people were talking about, but I can say that there is a pretty big payoff at the end.

Will_Owens: I think I'm on the last world now (1). It's pretty good mechanically but I thought there was more to the story rather than some elliptical creative writing... maybe I'm tipping my hand here.