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Braid 10th anniversary critical compilation
- LandR 8y agoBraid is maybe favourite game of all time. The way it plays with the time dynamics and weaves it into it's story is brilliant. I love the way it fed you story via the books and the way the levels play style were linked to the story. It also has a brilliant soundtrack, e.g.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bTZMKVTM9k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bTZMKVTM9k
- netgusto 8y agoPiggybacking on the great game OSTs topic: the one of FEZ, by Disasterpeace https://music.disasterpeace.com/album/fez-ost https://music.disasterpeace.com/album/fez-ost
- pdpi 8y ago> The way it plays with the time dynamics and weaves it into it's story is brilliant. This deserves expanding upon. Where most games interweave interactive game sections with non-interactive storytelling sections that mostly use the tools of movies to tell stories, Braid and the first Bioshock are my two go-to examples for games that effectively use the game as a narrative medium distinct from film, where the story is told in a way that actively benefits from being built as a game.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y agoBioshock is one of those "BRB, reinstalling" games along with STALKER and and Deus Ex. I wonder how many people will be starting it again this weekend thanks to your comment? I'm certainly seriously thinking about it...
- andrepd 8y agoI would add another often forgotten game: Spec Ops: the Line. My go to example when I want to convince people games are art, and furthermore that games are a medium that offers unique possibilities. It's a reimagining of Apocalypse Now, but the interactivity adds a whole new layer of meaning and opportunity for reflection. You're not on the outside, watching characters do horrible things, you are the character, and you did those horrible things. It absolutely shows, in a way understandable even to someone who hasn't ever played a game, that the medium affords completely new possibilities. Then the absolutely sublime way in which this this title -- from its marketing to its presentation to its first hours -- creates an expectation of being yet another utterly generic "modern military buddy-soldier shooter" to then shatter those expectations and deliver a deep and thought provoking story to tell... Well I could write pages about it. It just adds layers to your interpretation of the story, and more to reflect on.
- modernerd 8y agoThat first rewind moment in Braid! Few games trigger that “wow” reaction. For me it was like the bullet time moment in the Matrix; an almost hallucinatory experience that changes your perception of what a medium can be. This was something new — something different — something great. If you loved Braid and are looking for a similar feeling from more recent games, I highly recommend Inside and Limbo from Playdead: http://playdead.com/games/inside/ http://playdead.com/games/inside/ http://playdead.com/games/limbo/ http://playdead.com/games/limbo/
- ghusbands 8y agoI argue against both of those recommendations. Braid is a strong puzzle game with finely crafted puzzles that can leave you bewildered for ages. Both Inside and Limbo are obvious on-the-rails platformers with no puzzles to speak of. I've played all three to 100% and, of them, only recommend Braid. For good puzzles, look to Stephen's Sausage Roll, English Country Garden, HexCells. Also, many recommend The Witness, made by the creator of Braid.
- modernerd 8y agoI agree that Inside and Limbo are easier as puzzlers. “On-the-rails” could describe any non-open-world game. But Limbo, in particular, is not just a linear “forward forevermore” puzzler — it requires backtracking to solve some of the puzzles, which gives it a Braid-like quality. To me they both capture the feeling I got playing Braid. Those reading shouldn't discount them for being less hard. I haven't played your other recommendations — thank you for those!
- itsmenotyou 8y agoInside and Limbo do have puzzles, but they're fairly predictable, mostly just variations on things that have been seen before. They're nice diversions, and have a pleasing graphical style, but the general sentiment of your comment is pretty much correct. What made Braid so special was that it introduced an entirely new mechanic, explored the entire possible space of puzzles for that mechanic, and explored a bunch of complimentary orthogonal mechanics at the same time.
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- empath75 8y agoThe importance of Braid is primarily that it was the first game which was intended to be a piece of art, rather than a toy for children, which had any kind of mass market appeal. It was the way people engaged with it seriously, in terms of gameplay and narrative and how the two interacted that made it important. I think Amnesia and Portal were two other games that came out around the same time that were also similarly important.
- pjc50 8y ago> the first game which was intended to be a piece of art There have to be earlier contenders than this, surely? Yes it's the ancestor of the modern wave of artistically-aspiring games but game development dates back to the 1970s.
- empath75 8y agoI dunno. I’ve been playing video games since the Atari 2600 and I don’t think I recall any mainstream games that interacted with the ‘art’ world in a serious way. There were rpgs and such with serious stories, but I don’t think they were taken seriously by art critics in the way that Braid was.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y agoGiven the primitiveness of the medium as one goes farther back in time, I think it is unfair to say that none of them really attempted to communicate artistically with the player. Notably Missile Command was made to be unbeatable as a statement about the futility of nuclear war, and Donkey Kong was designed by an artist who injected thematic elements not previously utilized in the medium. That the "art world" didn't really engage with them doesn't mean much because art, like all communication, requires shared understanding to have meaning, and very few people would have been exposed to the (still in its infancy) culture necessary to understand artistic expression in the medium.
- empath75 8y ago
- ariehkovler 8y agoI love Braid so much. First, the soundtrack, songs by Jami Sieber and Shira Kamman, were phenomenal. The gorgeous cello and violin are so atmospheric, and they also sound good backwards and sped up -- necessary for a game like Braid, and chosen for that reason. Secondly, the artwork - that naive 2D platformer style but combined with gorgeous and subtle shading and depth that really showed it was something special. We're used to games doing this now, maybe. Thirdly, the structure of the game itself as a critique of the traditional Mario-style platformer with its jumps, princesses and castles. It was like playing a postmodern game. Then there's the relationship between the level's gameplay theme and the lesson it's trying to teach. This was something I saw Elizabeth Sandifer point out. The first level is all about being able to undo the mistakes of the past. But then we learn some mistakes are too big to undo. We learn about how a ring can change things in a relationship... And then there's the two levels of twist ending and how they relate to games and gaming, especially a decade ago when it was much more a male pursuit. Honestly I could talk about Braid for hours.
- selestify 8y ago> Honestly I could talk about Braid for hours. Please do. I wouldn't mind more elaboration on any of your points!
- edpichler 8y agoBraid is a masterpiece.
- hartror 8y agoJonathon is an active HN member, though I am sure he is tired of discussing Braid in depth. https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=jblow https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=jblow
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y agoDo you think? I always got the impression he was very generous with his time and loved sharing his work with others.
- 0xcde4c3db 8y agoI think there are particular topics and arguments that he finds tiresome, like people demanding that he explain Braid's point in words, or claiming that he doesn't like Linux development because he just doesn't understand how it works (and not because he's legitimately flabbergasted that the UX can be described as a time warp to the '80s, if one is feeling generous).
- the_dege 8y agoA Great interview to Jonathan Blow for Tone control podcast, that talks about his history up to The Witness: https://www.idlethumbs.net/tonecontrol/episodes/jonathan-blow https://www.idlethumbs.net/tonecontrol/episodes/jonathan-blo...
- Unknoob 8y agoThat final level of Braid, when you start to understand what's going on. I get chills just remembering it. One of my fondest memories gaming.
- sandGorgon 8y agoare there any games like for the mobile (especially android) ? I always though the mechanics of Braid would have been better adapted for a mobile touchscreen
- myfonj 8y agoSome remarkable recommendations of "similar" games appeared in this thread. I'd like add The Company of Myself [0] and its perhaps even better prequel Fixation [1]: I think it neatly fits this "philosophical indie platformer" niche. If you haven't yet, try them while you can (yup, Flash based). [0] http://2darray.net/portfolio/the-company-of-myself/ http://2darray.net/portfolio/the-company-of-myself/ [1] http://2darray.net/portfolio/fixation/ http://2darray.net/portfolio/fixation/