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Braid (XBLA/PC/PSN/Mac) |OT|
- Thread starter Shard
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RadarScope1
Member
conman said:
I did play Braid, and there's a lot going on there, for sure.
But you said specifically that "games (like SMB) have always been art and have always had a deep role in many people's understanding of human experience."
I totally agree that art tells us something about the human experience. Which is why I think 99.99 percent of games are not art. Braid is getting there, but SMB? We might have an emotional connection to that game, but the game itself doesn't say anything.
Hey, I'm mainly just razzing you for fun here, but this is a notable distinction IMO.
But that's exactly what makes Braid so thematically amazing (even if I still don't think its gameplay is quite up to the level of its ideas). It shows us that a game like SMB does have that effect.RadarScope1 said:
You can say that SMB "doesn't say anything," but it doesn't have to say anything to be meaningful or emotionally resonant (otherwise Braid would be meaningless). I hate drawing on Joseph Campbell for, well, anything really, but if you think of SMB as some ur-myth in the power of video game storytelling, it is (and forever will be) one of the most meaningful and emotionally resonant games ever made. Not simply the story of "rescuing the princess," but also the history of each of our relationships to how Mario has developed over time. Not in his many other game appearances, but in our constant returning again and again to that particular game. We, like Tim, may return to it as a way to make sense of an emotional jumble of pain and loss. Or we might experience echoes of it over the history of post-SMB game developement. Whatever.
I won't attempt to say what SMB "means" to me, since like all art it means many things to many people. And it doesn't have to obviously "say anything" to be art. That's partly why I find Braid slightly underwhelming as "art," but more promising as a case for the possibility of other games (like SMB) being more artful. Braid does try to say something. Good art shouldn't have to try to say something. It simply is. Does the Mona Lisa say anything? Does Pollock's One: Number 31, 1950 say anything? Art is practically defined by the fact that it says nothing.
No problem. It's a worthwhile discussion.Hey, I'm mainly just razzing you for fun here, but this is a notable distinction IMO.
So I FINALLY got to play Braid yesterday by a friend because said friend didn't get to send off my 360 right away to MS when I left for vacation...
Played the demo on his 360, and ended up getting all of the puzzle pieces for the first world, plus the few pieces for the first two levels in World 2 and in World 3... the game is just brilliant.
A few times I was even wondering if you had to come back later, or earn some kind of powerup to get some of the pieces in the first level, but I kept pressing on and thinking on how to get them, and when I did, I was like "a-ha!"...
Yeah, whenever the 360 comes in sometime this week, it's getting bought...
Oh, and did I mention that the game looks absolutely gorgeous, and I love the rewind/fast forwarding effects? Thumbs-up for the music as well too!
Played the demo on his 360, and ended up getting all of the puzzle pieces for the first world, plus the few pieces for the first two levels in World 2 and in World 3... the game is just brilliant.
A few times I was even wondering if you had to come back later, or earn some kind of powerup to get some of the pieces in the first level, but I kept pressing on and thinking on how to get them, and when I did, I was like "a-ha!"...
Yeah, whenever the 360 comes in sometime this week, it's getting bought...
Oh, and did I mention that the game looks absolutely gorgeous, and I love the rewind/fast forwarding effects? Thumbs-up for the music as well too!
it surely does, save for the ugly character design... Tim and the enemies are terrible IMHO, plus they don't feel visually coherent with the amazing watercolored backgrounds.Skilotonn said:
But the game is so fucking ace anyway... Best Live Arcade ever, and there are some insanely awesome games there!
Do I need to complete all the puzzles to complete the game? I have so far done all but world three, because I really don't like the 'shadow' mechanic in world 3...
Why the hell do the rabbits make cat noises? I suppose this is part of the genius emotional vision, hm?
The characters are revolting, especially the 'you have to burn the rope' boss character.Mdk7 said:
Why the hell do the rabbits make cat noises? I suppose this is part of the genius emotional vision, hm?
Beat it last night. The last level was fantastic!
I did run into the bug where the puzzle in world 2 was all jumbled up and one piece was way out of place but the game thought it was complete so I couldn't adjust it, but the ladder piece still wasn't there. I didn't realize it until I had completed world 6 and had to start the the game over. My plan was to do worlds 2-5 last night and finish the rest today but I ended up blasting through the whole game.
It was easy for the most part re-doing everything but there were still a couple puzzles I couldn't remember and had to figure out again.
I did run into the bug where the puzzle in world 2 was all jumbled up and one piece was way out of place but the game thought it was complete so I couldn't adjust it, but the ladder piece still wasn't there. I didn't realize it until I had completed world 6 and had to start the the game over. My plan was to do worlds 2-5 last night and finish the rest today but I ended up blasting through the whole game.
It was easy for the most part re-doing everything but there were still a couple puzzles I couldn't remember and had to figure out again.
teh_J0kerer
Member
I got all the puzzle pieces, and now I'm walking around trying to find any sign of these stars I've read are in the game.
I'm trying not to read any spoilers about them, but damn, if I didn't read it on the net I'd have no clue any of them exist.. I can't find anything.. wtf.
I'm trying not to read any spoilers about them, but damn, if I didn't read it on the net I'd have no clue any of them exist.. I can't find anything.. wtf.
teh_J0kerer said:
All of the stars, except 1, are outside of the boundries of the levels. This means you have to truly master the level to a degree where you think you'd be breaking the game to jump out of the normal level bounds. Know that for one star, if you have completed the World 3 puzzle you cant get it, until you restart and keep all the puzzle pieces seperate.
prodystopian
Member
Does anyone know about the PC release date for this? I don't have a 360, but I am dying to play this.
http://www.davidhellman.net/braidbrief.htm
Nice collection of icons, avatars and wallpapers from the game.
Nice collection of icons, avatars and wallpapers from the game.
Finally played the demo last night, and bought the full game a few minutes later. I'm only a small way in (all pieces in world 1, most in world 2) but I absolutely love the art design and music. Yeah, the characters look a bit off, but who cares when the world looks and sounds so beautiful.
It's the sort of game that I can imagine me hating at some point. I'm not a puzzle game kind of guy and if it gets too difficult with the puzzles then I may give up. I like atmosphere and things to think about in games, but I don't like to think too hard about how to get to places. But really, I've already seen enough in the game to make the money I spent on it worth it. It's gorgeous.
It's the sort of game that I can imagine me hating at some point. I'm not a puzzle game kind of guy and if it gets too difficult with the puzzles then I may give up. I like atmosphere and things to think about in games, but I don't like to think too hard about how to get to places. But really, I've already seen enough in the game to make the money I spent on it worth it. It's gorgeous.
Mar_ said:
A handfull of the puzzles do get pretty tricky. Most of the time it is fairly apparent what you are supposed to do pretty quickly though. The ones that gave me the biggest fits were the ones that involved platforming though :lol
Great game, keep playing through, the ending is so completely worth any headaches.
RiskyChris
Banned
Zeliard said:
Braid is like chicken soup for the teenage soul.
Yeah I am late, but I fired up my 360 to purchase the reduced priced 'bring down the sky' pack for Mass Effect.
Might as well try out the Braid demo. So downloaded it first and tried it out. What an overrated piece of shit. No, wait. The exact opposite of that. Loved it on every level. Enjoyed the trial as much as I did Portal. I've purchased the full game and look forward to enjoying it.
Might as well try out the Braid demo. So downloaded it first and tried it out. What an overrated piece of shit. No, wait. The exact opposite of that. Loved it on every level. Enjoyed the trial as much as I did Portal. I've purchased the full game and look forward to enjoying it.
SapientWolf
Trucker Sexologist
I really enjoyed my Braid playthrough. The last few levels were particularly brilliant. Just when you think that it's impossible you see the trick and you're like, "Jonathan Blow, you clever bastard." $15 for Braid was a steal, as far as I'm concerned.
I finally got around to picking this up after finishing up a few retail games I had purchased recently. It's weird to wait this long to get the game I'd rather play but I didn't want to leave those games unfinished..
anyways I love the art and mood in this game. There is also a really good feeling when you finally figure out a puzzle which is the sign of any good puzzle game.
My only complaint is that once and a while the actual gameplay feels a bit.. i dunno.. sloppy? I'm not sure how to describe it but it's a very minor gripe in comparison to all the fantastic ideas in this game.
anyways I love the art and mood in this game. There is also a really good feeling when you finally figure out a puzzle which is the sign of any good puzzle game.
My only complaint is that once and a while the actual gameplay feels a bit.. i dunno.. sloppy? I'm not sure how to describe it but it's a very minor gripe in comparison to all the fantastic ideas in this game.
Finally completed this wonderful game. There were two puzzles that gave me a bit of trouble. I am completely satisfied with the experience and of course overcoming some of the difficulty works so well with the game on more than one level.
I am very hopeful that we'll get another title as fantastic as this one some time in the future.
I am very hopeful that we'll get another title as fantastic as this one some time in the future.
RiskyChris
Banned
I feel like beating this game again. Is the speed run the best way to do it? I don't want to erase my star completion.
I love this game. Never forget.
I love this game. Never forget.
RiskyChris
Banned
Mar_ said:
Nope.
Drunk/high Souljaboy and his drunk/high friends playin Braid :lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nebKYFxXrLY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nebKYFxXrLY
Finished the game last Saturday, to my own surprise. Not because I didn't like it. Quite the opposite. It's just puzzle games don't really gel with me. I usually find them frustrating. And with finishing it, I believe it's the first puzzle game I've finished since... Lemmings on the SNES.
Braid was a mind bender, it did fuck with my head, but on some other level it remained completely compelling. I'm not sure why entirely. Maybe it was the genius of the puzzles. The logic of them, in that they are obvious in many ways, or just need you to fuck around until you stumble on the solution (
).
Or maybe, and most likely, it's the art, mood and music. All of which are some of the best I've seen in gaming.
When friends were asking what sort of game it was. I was having trouble describing it. It's certainly not Mario like some people suggest (it's nothing like Mario for god's sake, otherwise I wouldn't be playing it). Then when I remembered the last puzzle game I completed, Lemmings, I came to the realisation that it's very much like Lemmings. Braid, to me, is like some beautiful mix of Lemmings and Ecco the Dolphin. Call me crazy, but that's the best way I can describe it.
Anyway, so yeah. I really enjoyed the journey. However I have one complaint. Or, not really a complaint because I certainly got my moneys worth. But once I finished it I was left wanting. The game just ends and it feels like there should be something more. And besides the speed run which I don't want to do (some levels took me hours, there's no way I'm speed running those bastards), there isn't really anything to do with Braid once it's finished. There's nothing there to make me come back.
Also, I heard a lot of people talk about the alternate story in the game. Some
. I didn't see anything like that.
. And is it just me or did the princess actually turn out to be
Excellent game. Revolutionary game. People who don't buy this for 15 bucks should be publicly humiliated via scrotum torture.
Edit: Oh wait, the last puzzle game I finished was Portal. Duh, how'd I forget that one...
Braid was a mind bender, it did fuck with my head, but on some other level it remained completely compelling. I'm not sure why entirely. Maybe it was the genius of the puzzles. The logic of them, in that they are obvious in many ways, or just need you to fuck around until you stumble on the solution (
for instance, who knew the monsters jump on and bounce off you, just like you do them. Not me until I jumped around randomly, reversing time randomly, while my shadow did the same and it just happened
Or maybe, and most likely, it's the art, mood and music. All of which are some of the best I've seen in gaming.
When friends were asking what sort of game it was. I was having trouble describing it. It's certainly not Mario like some people suggest (it's nothing like Mario for god's sake, otherwise I wouldn't be playing it). Then when I remembered the last puzzle game I completed, Lemmings, I came to the realisation that it's very much like Lemmings. Braid, to me, is like some beautiful mix of Lemmings and Ecco the Dolphin. Call me crazy, but that's the best way I can describe it.
Anyway, so yeah. I really enjoyed the journey. However I have one complaint. Or, not really a complaint because I certainly got my moneys worth. But once I finished it I was left wanting. The game just ends and it feels like there should be something more. And besides the speed run which I don't want to do (some levels took me hours, there's no way I'm speed running those bastards), there isn't really anything to do with Braid once it's finished. There's nothing there to make me come back.
Also, I heard a lot of people talk about the alternate story in the game. Some
atomic bomb thing or soemthing?
Stars? What stars? How do I get them?
his mother? In the hidden messages in the end screen (touching a red book, then finding the hidden audio cue with the extra story) and it's all about his mother... Is there no princess?
Excellent game. Revolutionary game. People who don't buy this for 15 bucks should be publicly humiliated via scrotum torture.
Edit: Oh wait, the last puzzle game I finished was Portal. Duh, how'd I forget that one...
Maybe because I didn't like it (braces for flames)
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Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
:lolPhatSaqs said:
Bahahahaha, :lol unbelievable.
Nose Master
Member
I regret buying this on impulse. It's fun and the puzzles are interesting, but it's kind of... boring. Meh.
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