Braid - This Game Wounds Time

[Minzoku]

Actually, I think it's about a lot of different things. Playing through again with the abovementioned spoiler in mind, it doesn't really make sense. Part suggests that theory, but to say it's the only subject of the game is a bit odd. There are several stories presented in the Epilogue, and both sides of each are revealed when you find the alternate text.

I think Braid is more about the consequences of projecting your own ideas onto others. The Epilogue shows the disarray left in the wake of Tim's tampering with time, and for all his efforts, the Princess still doesn't like him.

I've almost gotten a good full game speed run down--only three minutes over! Down from my prior run of 70+

[szycag]

The Earthbound thing actually made sense though. You can clearly see the fetus in the boss BG pattern, and it's been quoted that Itoi got the dialogue for Giygas from some rape scene he walked in on as a kid. The abortion thing wasn't so farfetched to me... I didn't look into it too much, but it would be foolish to shut it out. Erinu already covered Braid... it's even got J. Robert you know who's name in it but you have to read something a certain way in the epilogue, hide Tim behind something I think.

Speaking of Braid if u like to drink or if you like to get high dey got this game called braid main.

so u see they ain't no point to the game cuz he neva run outa that goin back in time potion

[Erinu]

Speaking of Braid if u like to drink or if you like to get high dey got this game called braid main.

so u see they ain't no point to the game cuz he neva run outa that goin back in time potion

My frothing disregard for black people increases..

Im sure there are other interpretations of it but that one seems to be the one that makes the most amount of sense in context. Although if you play through once not knowing this theory and then a second time while knowing this theory it feels like a totally different story. Pretty ingenious.

Read the Plot Analysis faq on that site that has faqs about games.... I think it's called faqsgame or something...

Anyway, it's pretty in-depth. Explains what the game is about and gives plenty of proof. In a nutshell, Tim's a physicist, the Princess is really the A-Bomb, Tim spends his time trying to make the bomb, and then when he finally does, he realizes he's made a mistake. The game itself is a metaphor of his journey. The difference between the game and reality (Tim's reality, he doesn't represent any of the real life scientists who worked on the bomb) is that the game is in a time loop, forever going forward and back and looping around on itself.

As far as the whole atom bomb concept, this is how I saw it. Tim is a nuclear physicist, whether this be that Morrison guy, I don't know. But throughout the entire game, Tim is searching for world peace, otherwise known as the princess. But at the end of the game, Tim realizes that this entire journey has not brought him closer to world peace but farther and farther away. He then realizes that him, his bomb and the Manhattan Project were never the heroes of the world trying to reach this peace but the enemies and the ones putting this idea in jeopardy. And that this goal will, in fact, never be reached. In other words, the princess is always in another castle. But that's just my two cents. I could go all day with this stuff. Amazing game.

[Taylor]

Funny, the overly pretentious tl;dr storyline is one of the few things I didn’t like about Braid. It didn’t fit into the game at all, and every line was purposely obfuscated.

The actual game itself, however, was top-notch and I would do business again (A+++++).

[szycag]

He does a special thanks to David Lynch in the credits, which kinda made everything click. This is a lot like if David Lynch made a video game. Actually it's more like the Barton Fink of games. It starts out with this promising dude who got a decent review for a play but then Steve Buscemi's coming out of some weird door in the floor, just like you start wondering what all these pictures mean and the mood's getting more somber and you start feeling for those bushygoombas, then next thing you know your friendly neighbor John Goodman is actually the devil and all you've got is your little picture on the wall and you learned to love the bomb teh end.

[Rob]

My frothing disregard for black people increases..

wow

[szycag]

yeah I was gonna say something but there's not much to say

[Ed Oscuro]

I was confused,
I thought Erinu was being racist

[JoshF]

But there's something more alarming here: F17 KNOWS HOW TO TRANSFER TEXT FILES THROUGH RADIO WAVES INTO OUR BRAINS.

OGODadfk;z'dsg;ewriuopwenkdsaas;kljk;JIHLIBEHPUBIO

My frothing disregard for black people increases..
My frothing disregard for black people increases..
My frothing disregard for black people increases..
My frothi

[Zebra Airforce]

THE BLACK_MAN.TXT PROPHECY COMES TO FRUITION

[Elixir]

My frothing disregard for black people increases..

Hold on here, you're the guy that people mistook me for? Never in my life would I make such harsh generalizations. So because a black guy acts retarded about something, you're going to disregard an entire race. That's great logic.

The only frothing seen here is your wankery of a supposedly intellectual story. The only disregard is the story itself by 90% of Braid owners. I actually agree with Etrian here, Braid's fun but the "SO DEEP" story was not. I'm not one for walls of text, personally. I had fun with the puzzles and overall feel of the game, though.

[Erinu]

My frothing disregard for black people increases..

Hold on here, you're the guy that people mistook me for? Never in my life would I make such harsh generalizations. So because a black guy acts retarded about something, you're going to disregard an entire race. That's great logic.

The only frothing seen here is your wankery of a supposedly intellectual story. The only disregard is the story itself by 90% of Braid owners. I actually agree with Etrian here, Braid's fun but the "SO DEEP" story was not. I'm not one for walls of text, personally. I had fun with the puzzles and overall feel of the game, though.

If those black guys wish to fall into the "gangsta nigga" stereotype.. they choose to do that by themselves. It's not racist to disregard those types of people and their poor understanding of a video game. I bet that guy hasn't played anything over Halo and would call Rez "that game you play when you smoke to get high or drink to get drunk" if he saw it. Fucking disgraceful.

Braid has a great story and you're just too dumb to read between the lines. The writing is EXCELLENT, which should be respected. If you don't "get" it, guess what.. it's your money wasted, not mine~

[Zebra Airforce]

I bet that guy hasn't played anything over Halo and would call Rez "that game you play when you smoke to get high or drink to get drunk" if he saw it.

Rez sucks, so why else would you play it?

[Taylor]

A sweeping generalisation is racist. The solution here is to act contritely, not cover up.

The story is abstract, forced and purposely esoteric to feign something meaningful. If it was written in simpler language it would be feeble, if it was removed the game would remain structurally sound.

[Elixir]

It's not racist to disregard those types of people and their poor understanding of a video game.

You said you disregarded black people, not that you disregard a certain kind of black person.

Braid has a great story and you're just too dumb to read between the lines. The writing is EXCELLENT, which should be respected. If you don't "get" it, guess what.. it's your money wasted, not mine~

k, I don't care, just shut up. Johnathan Blow's writing isn't excellent at all, in fact it's so vague that people discovered the atomic bomb concept online.

[JoshF]

Vague is deep. Audacity of hope.

[Daedalus]

The story is abstract, forced and purposely esoteric to feign something meaningful. If it was written in simpler language it would be feeble, if it was removed the game would remain structurally sound.

You pretty much nailed it on the head.


I think in a way, the intentionally obtuse story fits Braid since it's a pretty surreal game overall. I wouldn't hold any pretenses of high art though.

[JoshF]

Being profound and seeming profound. -- Those who know that they are profound strive for clarity. Those who would like to seem profound to the crowd strive for obscurity. For the crowd believes that if it cannot see to the bottom of something it must be profound. It is so timid and dislikes going into the water.

--Nietzsche