X3F Insight: Why should we care about Braid?
Posted Aug 9th 2008 2:00PM by Richard Mitchell
Filed under: Fan stuff
Braid has had quite the mixed reaction thus far. Critics universally adore the game. Gamers, on the other hand, are more divided. Some have taken the 1200 Microsoft Point plunge and never looked back. Others see the price as an impenetrable wall or, in some cases, as permission to let Microsoft charge more on future
XBLA titles. We decided to take it upon ourselves to make a case for
Braid, as it's really one of the best gaming experiences we've had in a while.
Read on to see why we should care about Braid.
Tags: arcade, braid, live-arcade, number-none, xbla, xbox-live-arcade
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Reader Comments (Page 5 of 6)
8-10-2008 @ 12:39AM
JMonkeYJ said...
just for the record, dylan is incorrect. i have played thru level 5 so far and never had to wait 2 hours doing nothing for a puzzle to complete. perhaps he found a way to solve a puzzle using that method, but it is certainly not the only way.
8-10-2008 @ 6:24AM
dylan said...
It is for one of the secret stars, level 2-2, the only way, look it up.
8-09-2008 @ 9:44PM
DVSDevise said...
Loved the demo and stirred over whether I should buy it or not for a day. I did and dont regret the purchase. I think 800 points would of made this game more accessible to more people. There's 5 great XBLA games coming out and most of them will be 800 points.
The thing is it's only one developer. And it probably took this guy forever to get it on the service, so I could see why pricing was a concern for him. A lot of blood, sweet and beers would of went into it.
The simple fact is that I BELEIVE the game would of sold much better at 800 points and would have generated more revenue at that price point. More gamers get to experience the game and the developer makes more money. Win Win.
The game is still selling well. The leadboard had 20,000 people on it yesterday and I'm sure that will probably double in the next week as articles like this and podcasts start promoting it based off their playthroughs.
But still, there is a massive group of people that will refuse to buy this because of price. It's too late for the developer to change the price now. Personally I think the game is worth the money, but I can completely understand why people are complaining about the price.
If you enjoyed/loved the demo, just buy it. Just shake your fist in anger as you see those 1200 points disappear. Everything after that is bliss.
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8-09-2008 @ 9:51PM
Flakundenga said...
ok man we get it you love Braid. ENOUGH ALREADY!!!
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8-09-2008 @ 9:54PM
Jace Bartet said...
Devs don't set their own prices on XBLA. At least, this one didn't.
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8-09-2008 @ 11:01PM
Etchasketchist said...
A few points:
-GeoWars2 is the game I've been playing more often because of its endless replayability and my leaderboard rivalries. It is exactly as awesome as crack cocaine.
-Braid is the game I've been enjoying more. It makes me feel smart and it's very soothing. It puts me in a nice contemplative place where my mind is extremely active and creative but I'm not stressed out and under a lot of pressure. The puzzles are great and puzzles are a lost art. Maybe the whiners are all just young kids who grew up before Sierra adventure games and just can't comprehend the pleasure of staring at the screen having no idea what to do and thinking the game is impossible until you finally have an "aha!" moment.
This game has about 60 "aha" moments in it that range from "I got it!" to "I am a transcendent genius of the highest order!"
These moments are easily worth 25cents a piece.
-$15 is a movie and half a bucket of popcorn where I live. And movies last 2 hours and make you dumb.
-Finally, get off Castle Crasher's dick. I'm sure it'll be awesome, but seriously. Some of you people are bizarrely obsessed.
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8-09-2008 @ 11:37PM
Preston Crawford said...
Best post of the thread. I agree 100%. Especially regarding the mania over Castle Crashers. Here you have a game that's out right now, that's unique and interesting and is all the things that XBox usually isn't (i.e. not like Gears of War, Halo, GTA, etc.) and people can't pay $15 for it? That's why you get Madden 20 and Tony Hawk 12. Because you'll pay $60 for those, but won't pay $15 for a gem like this.
8-09-2008 @ 11:53PM
Dark Caboose said...
Pishaw who plays Tony Hawk any more Skate is where its at. Also you guys are right but at the same time some people have to manage there money diffrently for many of reasons. I am a RB fanboy so i manage so i can get all the songs that are good for RB and RB2 is coming out soon and im also looking at geting the ION drum kit. I plan on getting Braid but not now bult later when things die down.
8-11-2008 @ 11:59PM
Saria the Cat said...
@Etchasketchist: First of all, those old adventure games? Yeah, they lasted longer than Braid. Way longer. Had clever puzzles and riddles, clever dialogue...and were dirt cheap.
Lastly, 60 "aha!" moments?! Within 3 hours? Hmm so you basically had 20 moments per hour...so every 3 minutes you jumped out of your seat? You sound easily impressed. Most of the puzzles were clever indeed but I didn't piss my pants over every single solution.
8-12-2008 @ 12:27PM
Etchasketchist said...
Well, shit, look at you. Got the math all figured out. Congratulations, you've logically proven that Braid is an over-priced turd. Congratulations. You've won a pair of grumpypants.
8-12-2008 @ 2:59PM
Saria the Cat said...
Man, I was BORN with grumpypants! ;)
8-09-2008 @ 11:54PM
Dark Caboose said...
sorry for the horrorable grammer and syntax and spelling
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8-10-2008 @ 1:10AM
Kevin said...
Braid is so worth it. The demo has nothing on the full version. The ending is awsome.. what a twist! Makes you go "oh my god!" at the end.
This game won't come down in price. It is well worth it. 10$ for this is a ripoff to the developers.
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8-10-2008 @ 1:43AM
JohnHeist said...
I finally played the demo and it was awesome.
At first it's neat, but then when you're messing with time to solve the puzzles, it's pretty freaking awesome
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8-10-2008 @ 1:50AM
Jace Bartet said...
I think anyone who would say something like (whomever they were responding to): "ok man we get it you love Braid. ENOUGH ALREADY!!!" in fact does not really get it at all. This is about more than who on the internet can voice their opinion the most aggressively. To me this whole discussion is about whether or not the video gaming public as a whole is prepared to take small-scale, independent development seriously. I think that if it isn't willing to take that step now (or very soon) by supporting good independent games and treating them like "real" games, then I think we're looking at a potentially bleak future for game design.
Hell, genuinely not liking the game mechanics, visuals, and plot of Braid might make sense if you've never been into puzzle/platform games before. But not giving it a chance because the price doesn't seem fair is childish (and just remember, Microsoft sets the prices, not the developers). I'm giving up on this discussion in this thread because despite what half the people here are expressing overall, the Braid blog indicates that the game is selling extremely well. I wouldn't be such a "fanboy" if I didn't truly believe in my heart that Braid is a watershed moment in gaming that indicates great things to come, and I'm glad to know that I'm not alone.
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8-10-2008 @ 4:55AM
Sadistic Freek said...
Indeed, on my first play through I wanted more of this game. More of the art, more of the puzzles, more of the story books... more of the music. I hope to see more games like this in the near future.
Personally, I don't get what people's problems are. I've played some of the "hit" arcade games that so many people downloaded, and they weren't even worth an hour of my time, let alone any money, thankfully I played them on my cousin's account. This game though, it was my first arcade purchase ever, and I was greatly satisfied.
8-10-2008 @ 2:10AM
Sentox6 said...
I have no issue with an XBLA game being priced at 1200, per se. My problem is with a game with absolutely no real replay value being priced at 1200. I haven't seen anything to indicate Braid has a greater breadth of content than any given XBLA title on average, so combining that with no real reason to revisit it... it's overpriced for me.
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8-11-2008 @ 3:53PM
Etchasketchist said...
You should rethink your economics. These arbitrary rules you've come up with are limiting your gaming habits and boxing you into one type of game. Replay value is a great thing, but it's not the only thing. It's like, a certain game might be compared to the park down the street from you. It's a good park, you can walk to it any time you like, shoot some hoop, walk the dog, whatever. A good thing that's always there. Then there's this other game and it's like Hawaii. You can't go there every day, maybe you only go once in a life time. But it's frickin' Hawaii. They've got volcanoes and awesome surfing and chicks in bikinis and luaus and all that amazing stuff. Snorkeling and shit. But it's far away and expensive and it's really rare that you get to go there.
In your world, the park down the street > Hawaii. Your friends are like, "Save up and let's take a trip to Hawaii" and you're all, "naw man, I'd rather go shoot some hoop at the park down the street...again."
8-11-2008 @ 11:45PM
Saria the Cat said...
@Etchasketchist: You're seriously comparing Braid to a trip to Hawaii? First of all, Hawaii can be a relatively cheap vacation destination compared to others. Braid is not inexpensive compared to other XBLA games. Second of all, you can't compare experiencing a REAL whole different place with REAL people and REAL food and REAL physical activities to a virtual world with a virtual protagonist and a fictitious story.
8-10-2008 @ 8:28AM
Midlife Crysis said...
Thanks X3F for championing this game. It deserves the support.
I don't mind paying more for games that are worth it. IMHO this one definitely is.
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