Braid - PC, Mac, Xbox Live - Review by ZeitgeistReview
Hey everyone, I just finished my review of Braid. Check it out and subscribe to my channel! Don't forget to leave questions and comments!
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Haha, probably because I didn't understand the ending. Everyone keeps saying that but I still have no clue what you guys are talking about. Send me a PM and fill me in. Frankly, I just didn't get the story at all. Hence my questioned look.
Braid is about the mistake of developing the nuclear bomb.
http://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?showtopic=190136%C2%A0
These secrets remind me of some things in final fantasy 8, 9, 10 & 12, super secrets that only super super hardcore people who literally try every combination of non-related tasks to find.... there are crazy things you gotta do, some secrets are designed in a way that forces the user to save before doing it, and then reset the game if the outcome is not the desired one because you only get 1 chance. Basically something people used to do to "cheat", except its intentional
Of course you can play the game and not know about the stars, which im sure 99% of players do including myself and see that its still a very clever and fun puzzle game
And on the note about story, I personally didnt have much idea on what the books were on about but then again I never was much interested in reading stories. It was definitely not the reason I wanted to "advance" to the next levels.
I didn't play it for the story anyways. I played it for the puzzles/challenge. Which is a good thing because I like the overall package a little less for the "story"...
Great platformer, though.
The core idea behind braid is: All people have dreams and wishes they try and fulfill, but by taking the dreams and wishes to the level of obsession, even if they are fulfilled, only disaster can result.
The "princess" is simply a symbol for that lofty goal, "saving her" and indeed the gameplay itself is a metaphor for the process of the pursuit of that goal, often having to take obscure routes, or counter intuitive steps to get the "keys" to unlock a new route or "level" of understanding bringing you closer to that goal.
if you happen to have NOT finished the game events from the end sequence are hidden here.
We instinctively play games the same way humans pursue obsessions. We play with single minded purpose toward a goal which at times is vaguely defined, but we know our efforts to be "good" simply because we progress through the game to greater challenges, and within the context of your average game progress is the only indicator of performance. Games are not Bad in this regard, but it is a conditioned method of approach which braid exploits to twist its point back onto the player. I remember when I first got to the end of the game my jaw dropped and I said "Oh no way."
The development of the atomic bomb is particularly poignant as it illustrates the great destructive potential which can accompany otherwise beneficent pursuits. Atomic energy and the secrets of the structure of matter can provide great benefit to human kind. Long lasting, relatively clean power, medical advances, pacemakers, innumerable benign and helpful things have come, however indirectly, from the efforts of the Manhattan project. However, one development overshadows them all, and with it has tainted the very ideas of the words Atomic and Nuclear to forever bear the stain of great destruction and death.
Thats always been my take on it anyway.
Great post man, that was my take on it too, though I've never explained it quite so eloquently. I'ma have to remember your post to refer people to when they ask. Not to mention it'll save me the time of trying to explain for the hundredth time why braid is awesome, and why it's an important game to be noted from a game developement perspective.
*goes back to killing stuff that moves*
Sounds like any value system anywhere, actually. sounds like life. folks rarely take an objective look at their values..
*cough cough digital art*
(is this bad posting form?)
Edit: Tulk. Thanks.
Its like what I feel the real beauty of RPG's is, specifically the extended DnD universe/system. The setting and context and setting create a safe area to believe and behave in whatever way you choose to explore philosophically /emotionally/mentally while not having to suffer "real world" repercussions. That gives the player the option to better know and understand other ways of thinking, and or know themselves better. (assuming that the whole troupe is on the same wavelength, and playing the game for similar purposes)
Of course most often the system and setting become about ale and whores and hackin' 'n' slashin' anything even moderately aggressive. :shrug: just why I wind up not playing. I never did like level grinding, paper or electronic.
John: I like how "objectively looking at their values" makes a nice pun when applied to digital art and color theory.
har har har
Thank you, that's exactly how I felt as well. I posted my video on Gametrailers and Wooo! Lots of Haters and Fanbois all over that site. People trying to rip me apart because I left the story out. "Ha, sorry, I didn't care about the story. Thanks for watching my review anyway. Hope it helped people who haven't played the game, instead of people who have played it, trying to rip apart reviewers ;-)" (What I feel about GameTrailers posters)
After doing some research, it seems the majority of the internet agrees with what you've just written here. But who really would have known all of this without looking it up first on the internet. A few clever people took the time to delve into what was really happening and wrote it up on the internet, and others then played the game and, like me, were like, WTF was that story even about. So they googled it, and read something like what you just wrote. Then they act high and mighty like, duh you fking idiot, you didn't understand the story? No, I didn't, and fuck you kindly. (Not you, the generic internet asshole)
I feel the same. I usually care about the story, but the interesting puzzles is what drove me on, in Braid.