Blow points finger at next game's name: The Witness

Wait, really?

Yeah. I'm hoping that it'll help my chances of getting into the Digital Media graduate program at GA Tech's School of Literature, Communication and Culture.

Interested in reading it when you're done..

Pay more attention to what the gameplay mechanics in each world mean for the story. They're all significant, just not as apparent as the book room is.

I loved braid just for the simple fact that he told a story by using the mediums (video games) strengths, instead of resorting to a cutscene or a ton of text. (it had plenty of text, but the bulk of the "message" was related to the actual gameplay mechanics).

I don't accept that. The time mechanics are a metaphor for Tim wanting to undo his mistakes, and I suppose the last levels could show foreshadow Tim's unravelling mental state, but are you really trying to tell me that a circle that slows down time and purple things that repeat actions after being rewound are part of the story?

It didn't really convince me, I just wanted Tim to get a grip. Talking of grip, the similarly dark tale of lost love in Shadow of the Colossus, while similarly sparsely told, I think works better. I get behind that relationship because of Wanda's staggering determination and sacrifice, while I see Tim as getting in his own way, probably a good character, but not a good protagonist, from quite early on I didn't really want to help Tim in his 'quest.'

But one of the many brilliant things about games is how there's no set way to tell a story, and while I wouldn't compare anything directly I think it's as exciting as it must have been being a theatre buff in Chekov's time or watching one of Bunuel's new films.

Games like Braid, Flower, and Scribblenauts are not perfect, but I am completely enamored of them because they try to offer a different experience from what I can get out of 98% of the software titles out there. They make the medium more rich and diverse. I am always shocked by how many people here will viciously attack these games, and eagerly anticipate Gears of Duty 6 or whatever.

"I loved braid just for the simple fact that he told a story by using the mediums (video games) strengths, instead of resorting to a cutscene or a ton of text."

You nailed it perfectly, Nadril. The text was certainly the weak spot of Braid, because it became too unfocused. But using the gameplay to tell the story and reinforce the core concepts was the great accomplishment of this title. The best parts were:

* Introducing the time-rewind mechanic through Tim's desperate wish that he could undo mistakes in his relationship.

* Using the art, gameplay, and music to evoke the whole 'Deconstructing Mario' vibe of the game. It feels like you are playing through the fevered dream of someone imagining his life in the context of Donkey Kong and Super Mario Brothers.

* Revealing the true nature of the relationship between Tim and the Princess not through cutscenes, but by playing it seamlessly through the gameplay mechanic.

Yes, the text had lost me even before he went to the nuclear bomb card. But he did so many things right that I gladly lost myself in the mood of the game. At the end of 2008, I put this one as #2 on my GOTY list, but when I look at which games I am still remembering fondly 8 months later, this one moves up to #1.

"I loved braid just for the simple fact that he told a story by using the mediums (video games) strengths, instead of resorting to a cutscene or a ton of text."

Um, the game I played contained a BUNCH of text.

No way. Blow is too brainy and he doesn't use "fuck" as every other word.

Plus Jaffe's games are just a purer, more visceral sort of fun than Blow could ever hope to achieve. Not that he would want to. Comparing Jaffe and Blow's approaches to video game production is like comparing apples and oranges.

Apples and oranges are actually pretty similar...they both belong to the fruit family, they both grow on tree's, they are both about the same size, they are both sweet, you can get juice out of both of them...I could go on. How about iPhones and donuts?

Alright, it's like chalk and cheese then.

@ethan: so they are both tasty?

Or the next Denis Dyack

Braid? Try flOwer. That is over-rated. At least Braid had some gameplay to speak of, not like snake 1.2. Braid also didn't completely ruin its own experience with ham fisted, pointless cinematics every time you completed 10% of a level.

Agreed. fl0wer is way overrated.

Maybe you need to read it again, I'm pretty sure there's a bit in there about not being an asshole.

And I'll bet The Witness is by, for, and about you pretentious, pseudo-intellectual twerps.