tag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:/games/5143Cheerful Ghost: Braid2024-03-28T22:14:27+00:002014-05-12T23:48:15Ztag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/8032012-12-12T03:23:04Z2014-05-12T23:48:15Z/Will_Owens/posts/803/thoughts-after-finishing-braidThoughts After Finishing Braid<img src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EfhR_jDjesY/Te8B-_eYniI/AAAAAAAAA-E/vVQPvdNabko/s1600/Screenshot-1.png' class='img-responsive' alt='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EfhR_jDjesY/Te8B-_eYniI/AAAAAAAAA-E/vVQPvdNabko/s1600/Screenshot-1.png' /> <br/>Having just completed Braid for my blog (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.backlogkiller.com">www.backlogkiller.com</a>), I thought I would transfer some of my comments over here to Cheerful Ghost. If you haven’t finished the game and don’t want to have anything ruined, I guess you should skip this post. Although, there’s really not that much to ruin since the entire game is mechanics and puzzle driven.<br><br>Braid, the brainchild of the (in)famous indie game designer Jonathan Blow, is a puzzle platformer that uses time manipulation as its primary mechanic in addition to the standard running and jumping. By pressing a single button, the player can reverse time to avert death, manipulate entities in the world, and experiment with different solutions. Although this sounds simple, the introduction of new elements such as monsters or objects immune to time control complicates things greatly. Using time reversal and properties unique to each world, the player must control the main character (Tim) to collect puzzle pieces and rescue the enigmatic princess that was lost in the past.<br><br>Throughout the game, the player is fed small bits of story through strange blocks of text that hint at the identity of the Princess Tim is looking for. This enhances the somber mood of the levels and adds enormous gravity to the metaphor the mechanics of time manipulation work to build. The concept of going back to correct your mistakes and take another path through life is universal and lies in everyone. As a way to represent the desire to recapture a lost love, career, or youth, Braid is very effective and quite touching in my opinion. Unfortunately, the game squanders this chance by making a baffling narrative choice I cannot even begin to understand.<br><br>Spoilers Below:<br><br>The ‘Princess’ in Braid is actually the secret of nuclear weapons. Tim is a scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project that brought about the age of nuclear bombs and the cold war. Even though the metaphor of time makes sense in terms of the desire to put that genie back in the bottle, it is absolutely ridiculous (in my opinion) when slapped on the game. What could have been a poignant and relatable concept is blown out of the water by the torpedo of grandiosity. I don’t understand why this was done other than to say ‘video games can be important’. Importance can take all shapes and sizes. I cannot relate to developing of a weapon of mass destruction, but I sure as heck can relate to wanting to recapture something I’ve lost in my own life.<br><br>It is easy to see why Jonathan Blow is such a controversial designer. The brilliant game design makes me very hopeful for his new project, The Witness, but it also worries me about what direction it will take. Many great stories have dealt with personal conflicts that give them an even greater impact which may have helped Braid. Despite this, I enjoyed the game and was only mildly let down by the ending since it was such a pleasure to play.<br><br>Read my full thoughts here: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.backlogkiller.com/2012/11/36-braid-game-myth-legend.html">http://www.backlogkiller.com/2012/11/36-braid-game-myth-legend.html</a>2014-05-12T23:48:15ZWill_Owenstag:cheerfulghost.com,2005:Post/132012-01-23T18:57:32Z2014-05-13T06:09:30Z/Travis/posts/13/one-of-the-first-games-i-heard-being-touted-as-proving-gamesOne of the first games I heard being touted as proving gamesTravis's post on Braid:<br/><br/>One of the first games I heard being touted as proving games can be art, and with good reason. The platforming is solid, the time manipulation mechanics work exactly as expected, the puzzles are challenging but satisfying. But the true stars of this game are the story, which is very thin but compelling at the same time, with a hell of a twist-ending, and the artwork. The game looks like nothing else, and has inspired a new sub-genre of artistic platformers. This is easy to knock out in just a few hours, so it's great for a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do.2014-05-13T06:09:30ZTravis