Braid

Again with the Braid, you say? Yes! I finished the game last week, and I have to say it was one of the best gaming experiences of my life. It twisted my mind in ways few other things have - the movie Memento would be my closest comparison, though that is a bit flawed as it's a completely different medium.

The final level is fantastic, and even that word doesn't do it justice. Never before has a video game required me to think so differently, and I can say I see the world in new and fascinating ways after playing it. I will never think about "time" in the same way again.

I read a great article at Gamers with Jobs, written by a guy who's ideas I respect probably the most at the site, and he had quite some things to say about the programmer and creator of Braid, Jonathan Blow. The comments following the article are informational, intelligent, and at times very deep - some of the best written ideas about video games that I've possibly ever read. That a game, in this case Braid, can bring on such talk of "meaning" really shows me that Blow has succeeded, regardless of what people may say about the content of the game. What does the game mean? What ideas are being presented by Braid? Does it matter what any one person believes the game means - especially the game's creator?

The man himself felt the need to chime in to say his own part as the creator of Braid in the comments of the article. I'll end with a quote from the end of his post:

"I don't particularly trust written, rational explanations as conveyors of truth or accurate meaning. That's why I make video games."