Time And Forgiveness

Hey Stephen, Tyler. I thought I'd send this email to both of you because you like games and have giant brains. ;)

If you get the chance, try a game on Xbox Live Arcade called Braid. It's like Super Mario Bros. These are the instructions:

A Button: Jump. (Jump on monsters' heads to jump higher.)

B Button: Do stuff.

That's it. When you "die" (fall into spikes, run into a monster) you press the X button to reverse time (like Prince of Persia). You can reverse time all the way back to the beginning of a level. There are no limits to your time manipulation. But (and this is the kicker) certain objects can exist outside of time.

For example, you come across a locked door and there's a hole in the ground that contains a key. You jump in the hole, but there's no way out. So you grab the key (which exists outside of time), then you reverse time. The key comes with you as the game rewinds itself like an instant replay, and you're out of the hole but now you have the key. Jump over the hole, open the door and you beat the level. It's simple, but maddening at the same time.

The other strange feature is the use of jigsaw puzzles. In the background to a level (like the clouds in Mario) are picture frames, and scattered throughout the levels are jigsaw pieces. The pieces you pick up and place in the frames become the background to the level, and can be manipulated. So you could come across an impossible jump, but then find a piece that has a drawing of a bridge. Go back, slide the piece into the background:

Presto.

It's too bad neither of you are here, because I think you'd both love it. Stop by sometime and you can try it out.

-d-