I’m a little late getting on this bandwagon, but let’s talk about Braid shall we? I’ll start by saying I loved the game, but I did have problems with it. I’m not sure of why really, I think it has to do with some of the creator’s (Jonathan Blow) comments. Namely, his critique of how games relate story and how integrated the story is in game play mechanics. I found Braid to be a step in the right direction, but I can’t help wondering how the game would play without the books giving snippets of story. I can’t go back and try to experience it that way, so right now it’s just kind of a feeling. The feeling is, “Could this game have been better without the story book elements?” It’s an interesting idea; the player would have to glean a story and a meaning from the game mechanics and visuals without the story books to drive the player into a certain way of thinking. What could I have read into the game by just playing and not reading? How would I have reacted when I catch the Princess? Would I notice the imagery of each level? Honestly, it’s impossible for me to answer these questions. My mind has been tainted. I took hold of a narrative. Granted it was a pretty nice narrative, but I can’t help but feel Blow copped out a bit, but who am I to judge and which of the two of us can now swim in a hot tub full of money?
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Comments
Chris,
Yes, you have a good point here. This is also one of the problems of literacy as well as communication – how do you say something through the mechanics of a platformer? Platformers are very rigid structures. They can’t communicate some things without words. In fact, you could argue that film is also about words because much of what is said is through dialogue. The difference we see is in the abstract puzzles of a platformer (hop on these monsters) with the cinematic structure of a narrative (say Karateka or Another World). Blow’s conflict is between communicating using that storytelling component and communicating by attaching meaning to the mechanics. The former we’re good at reading but games are difficult at communicating and the second game designers don’t understand very well and audiences aren’t very literate with.
On the other hand, perhaps the books and the gameplay are inseparable – they’re part of the braid. The very first book tells us what Tim is doing and why he is doing it. Most players will read this, but a good number will not read the rest. They have decided to follow one strand of the braid – the gameplay.
Also: I could probably swim in a hot tub full of money, provided that money was in pennies.