GamesRadar - Braid - Xbox Live Arcade

Indie Games Discussed in New York Times (News)

Nov 16, 2009

Indie games received some nice coverage last Friday courtesy of a New York Times article that discusses how indie game developers have managed to make a mainstream splash.

Braid's Next Game To Use Project Natal? (News)

Oct 27, 2009

Jonathan Blow, the well known master mind who made Braid is making a brand new game. A game that will be using Project Natal for the Xbox 360.

An incomplete history of time-travel games (Feature)

Oct 21, 2009

“We find ourselves in a bewildering world. We want to make sense of what we see around us and to ask: What is the nature of the universe? What is our place in it and where did it and we come from? Why is it the way it is? When will we get to the cowboy level?”

– Professor Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time

Time travel and videogames are a perfect fit. ...

How indie games took on the world (and won) (Feature)

Jul 13, 2009

What happened to gaming? The past two years haven’t been about blockbuster games. The most exciting, most innovative, most playable games aren’t from the usual suspects. Instead, they’re being made by coffee-shop artists who are absolutely outclassing the establishment. Who are these heroes? Where did they come from? How did they do it? And, anyway, what the hell is indie gaming? ...

Braid Now Available For Mac (News)

May 20, 2009

Mac users don't always get all the games that come to the PC but today they've received a damn good one. Time manipulator platformer Braid is now available through digital distribution platform Greenhouse and will hit other services soon.

Exclusive info about Braid 2 (News)

May 8, 2009

OXM UK writes: "The Braid development blog has posted up 'exclusive info' about Braid II.

And... it's not genuine. Obviously. If the GameInfarcer header for the magazine cover doesn't give it away, then surely the fact that Tim is now ripped, packing a rocket launcher and has his tie around his forehead as a bandana is a give away?

Still, it's good for a chuckle. We do wonder what Braid II would be like if it went down this path though. Hmmm..."

The Path Dev: Braid Is Not a Game (News)

May 7, 2009

Michaël Samyn of Tale of Tales, the developer of The Path, an art game that some people said isn't a game, is taking that same observation and making it about his indie peers. Games like Braid and Everyday Shooter, he wonders, maybe aren't games at all.

Microsoft Refunds Overcharged Braid Purchases (News)

Apr 25, 2009

TGS writes: "If you were one of the many who purchased Braid on Xbox Live during the "Deal of the Week" promotion you may have been wrongfully billed an extra 400 Microsoft Points."

Braid Soundtrack revealed, now available (News)

Apr 22, 2009

A soundtrack for the indie platformer Braid has appeared on Magnatune and is now available for purchase and download.

Braid level editor released (News)

Apr 15, 2009

Braid creator Jonathan Blow has released a level editor for the PC version of his quirky puzzle-platformer Braid.

Replying to chatter on the Steam forums, Blow explained on his blog, "I know that people are starting level creation threads in some places like the Steam forums, but I thought I would post some initial editor information in a very public place like this... people can ask questions here and I will answer them."

The shortest game names of all time (Feature)

Apr 14, 2009

Earlier this year we deduced that Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder II – The Legend of Darkmoon is the longest game name out there. Reader comments quickly proved there were a few names out there just as long or even longer, but will you be able to find a name that’s shorter than those on this list?

Collected here are the simplest, monosyllabic game names we could dig up ...

Braid gaining map editor, photoshop tool (News)

Apr 14, 2009

Braid creator Jonathon Blow has revealed that a map editor and image tool will be added to the popular puzzle game.

UGO GDC 2009: Braid Dev Calls Out Large Dev Teams (News)

Mar 28, 2009

UGO writes: "Jonathan Blow, the man behind the XBLA hit Braid, took the contrarians stance in a GDC session titled "Braving the Stormy Waters of XBLA and PSN." The panel, which featured Vlad Ceraldi of Hothead Games, Mike Mika of Other Ocean and Kraig Kujawa of Capcom, seemed perfectly intent bemoaning the troubles with downloadable game development, but Blow refused to play along."

Braid cost 200k to produce, Blow reveals (News)

Mar 25, 2009

At the GDC panel discussion "Braving the stormy waters of XBLA and PSN: Smaller is NOT Easier." Jonathan Blow revealed it cost him $200,000 to produce his hit puzzle game Braid.

Beloved games we hate (Feature)

Mar 25, 2009

Gamers are a diverse and extremely opinionated bunch. If you love something with all your heart and soul, we guarantee you that someone else hates it with an equal amount of passion. Chances are good, in fact, that the person who despises your precious favorite is a person you know, like or even trust. Your favorite GamesRadar editor, for example… ...

Braid has been "very profitable" for creator (News)

Mar 18, 2009

NowGamer: Indie dev Jonathan Blow has said that his hit platformer Braid has proved surprisingly profitable, but that his next game will be "different in almost every way"

Win Wine And Braid On PC. Be Pretentious. (News)

Mar 15, 2009

Negative Gamer write:

"... post a comment below. Your comment can be text, a video or a link to an image or some other creation of yours. Whatever you submit has to be your own work and must argue either for or against the statement "Braid is Art". Whoever submits the most pretentious comment wins."

Braid price cut to 800MP for a week, more cuts coming (News)

Feb 23, 2009

DarkZero: During his latest weekly podcast, Major Nelson has confirmed that Microsoft will be kicking of a new 'Deal of the Week' promotion starting tomorrow (Feb 23rd). The deal will see many downloadable items from the Xbox Live Marketplace get their price cut for a week.

These sales will only be available to Xbox Live Gold members. Feel free to bitch now if that annoys you.

Braid PC coming to three different online distributers in March (News)

Feb 18, 2009

Gamezine: Braid will release on March 31st for PCs.

Jonathan Blow's Xbox Live Arcade game Braid will make its way to PCs next month on the 31st, sufficiently avoiding the stuffed holiday channel.

Publisher Stardock will be releasing the title over its digital games service Impulse with pre-orders already being accepted.

Although we're unsure of the UK's price, the game will retail for $19.95 in the States, a little more than the Xbox 360 version. As for system requirements, if you have a PC as powerful as a desktop GeForce 6800 you should be fine.

So what if you don't want to use Stardock's Impulse service? Well the game should be coming to the more popular Steam, with Blow making it clear that he hasn't signed an exclusivity deal with Stardock.

Confusing game endings explained (Feature)

Feb 17, 2009

Astrophysics are a touch bewildering. And love is a bit of a noodle-scratcher. But a convoluted, multi-layered plot about a genetically engineered pensioner; now that’s really complicated.

The following game endings are all either vague, slightly ambiguous or just downright indecipherable without advanced degrees in picking up on minuscule - but vastly important – plot details. In an effort to make things a little easier, ...

The art lover's guide to downloadable games (Feature)

Feb 10, 2009

Whether you think games are art -- a nebulous, easily dead-ended debate -- or not, there's no denying that a helluva lot of art goes into making games, at the very least. But with so many governing channels to go through in the creative process, many bigger-budget games become more researched and focus-tested in their appeal, shorn of any greater risks they might have once taken -- aesthetic or otherwise -- along the way. ...

LittleBigPlanet, Braid, Left 4 Dead lead game developers choice award finalists (News)

Feb 9, 2009

Gamasutra writes:

"Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet leads the nominees for the ninth annual Game Developers Choice Awards with seven nominations, organizers have revealed.

Number None's Braid follows closely with five nominations. Among the nominations for LittleBigPlanet is the coveted Game of the Year award.

Other nominees for that category include Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead, each of which received a total of four award nominations; Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto IV, which earned a total of three nominations, and Lionhead Studios' Fable 2. Winners will be honored at an awards show taking place during the 2009 Game Developers Conference."

Jonathan Blow: About the WGA's Video Game Writing Awards (News)

Jan 26, 2009

Now gamers know why "Braid" wasn't nominate for one of the Writers Guild videogame awards.

Creator Jonathan Blow puts a good old fashioned beatdown on the WGA videogame awards on his blog, calling them "a membership drive masquerading as an award ceremony."

His reason is that, to be eligible, the credited writers of games have to join the WGA's videogame writers caucus. It only costs $75, but as a matter of principle, Blow, who notes he's not at pro- or anti-union (after all he is self-employed) thinks this is not the way to recognize the best game writing.

Braid Creator Now Working on 2D RPG? (News)

Jan 25, 2009

Kotaku: "That's one nugget in a four-page interview Jonathan Blow gave to Gamasutra. But he's not sure if he'll end up finishing it:

"My newest game I started is looking very promising. I'm very excited to do it. But if the patterns of history continue, then I may not be working on it a month from now, so I don't want to start telling people about it," he said. While he said it's a 2D role-playing game, it sounds like his project schedule can get turned on its head at any time, and he'd ending building "a Pac-Man clone or something." Yes, but it would certainly be the most critically acclaimed Pac-Man clone or something, that's for sure.

TGR's Daily News Roundup: January 12, 2009 (News)

Jan 13, 2009

Violence, murder, and Queen-referencing RPGs - it's been an interesting day. TGR reads off the news so you don't have to.

Braid Developer Is Giving Away Free Copies of His Game (News)

Jan 12, 2009

As a celebration for the debut of the Braid dashboard theme, Jonathan Blow has decided to give XBOX 360 players a chance to win free copies of his critically acclaimed game.

Braid is a mind bending 2D platform puzzle game where the main gameplay mechanic is time manipulation.

Braid dev: "Microsoft doesn't like giving things out for free" (News)

Jan 11, 2009

Console Monster writes: "A Braid Premium Theme was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on Thursday at the standard 250 Microsoft Points price tag though the Braid team are not happy with it. Despite the money they will earn from the theme, a blog post on the Braid Blog states they wanted "to make it free."

"Unfortunately, we had to charge the standard Premium Theme price of 250 Microsoft Points (which is about $3.10 in American money). We want to make it free, but Microsoft doesn't like giving things out for free." The blog post continued: "But if you do buy it, you can be secure in the knowledge that you own one of the few Premium Themes that is not an advertisement - there is no text in the Braid theme anywhere..."

Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 10-1 (News)

Dec 30, 2008

Here we are then, the final installment in our Top 50 Games of 2008. It's worth reiterating once again that the list is not intended as a definitive rundown of the 50 best games of the year, but instead reflects votes cast by our staff and contributors based on the games they have played and enjoyed.

Braid PS3 Depends on Sony Interest (News)

Dec 23, 2008

Braid: An Xbox 360 big hitter that's on its way to the PC next year, could also meet the PlayStation 3. If Sony approves that is.

Braid coming to PC Spring 2009 (News)

Dec 22, 2008

Braid creator Jonathan Blow shares that Braid will be coming to PC hopefully February or March 2009. He also is looking into making a Mac version of the game and possibly a PS3 version.

The Top 7... prettiest games of 2008 (Feature)

Dec 8, 2008

Ever since the Xbox 360 arrived three years ago, the so-called next-gen era of gaming has been depressingly devoid of beautiful games. We’re not talking graphics, mind, we’re talking colors. ...

GameSpot's Best of 2008: Preliminaries (News)

Dec 3, 2008

In a year when most businesses tried to figure out how to stay alive, the video game industry thrived thanks to two things: great games, and you. So give yourself a pat on the back; your thirst for single-handedly saving the world with magic, guns, and fast thumbs has kept the gaming industry going strong when all else seems to be going wrong.

Schappert: Xbox LIVE is a Great Way to Market Smaller Budget Games (News)

Oct 26, 2008

Ripten: "In a new interview with, Xbox LIVE boss, John Schappert, tells us that Xbox LIVE offers a way to get games out in front of consumers that would have a difficult time doing so via the traditional retail channels."

He goes on to explain the recent success of XBLA in this area.

"Mature" games that are actually mature (Feature)

Oct 14, 2008

Real world definition of "mature": Showing the mental, emotional, or physical characteristics associated with a fully developed person; involving serious thought. Videogame definition of "mature": Shits, tits and gibs. ...

Summer Of Arcade Massive Success (News)

Sep 26, 2008

Kotaku reports: So Microsoft's Xbox 360 Summer of Arcade promotion has come and gone, a five-week blitz of the best that Xbox Live Arcade has to offer, all part of a commitment made by the company at E3 to shift their focus more towards quality rather than quantity. According to a media alert issued today by Microsoft, the push was a massive success, with a 58% increase in Xbox Live members purchasing games over the course of the month, shattering the monthly revenue high for XBLA by 67%.

Out of the games released, Castle Crashers is being heralded as a stand-out title for all of XBLA, while Braid wound up as the highest-rating XBLA title of all time, with Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 and Bionic Commando: Rearmed also making the top 10. That leaves poor Galaga Legions. There there, little retro redux. We still love you...just not as much. Hit the jump for the full text of the press alert!

One-Liner: Insomniac Dev On 'Braid' Price (News)

Aug 25, 2008

MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo writes:

"Lead "Rachet & Clank: Quest for Booty" designer Brian Allgeier tells me his reaction to complaints from some gamers about the $15 price of Xbox Live Arcade game "Braid," complaints he saw a couple of weeks before "Booty" was released on the PlayStation Network for that same price."

Time Out of Mind (News)

Aug 16, 2008

WSJ writes: "While videogame budgets at big studios can be millions of dollars, Mr. Blow estimates that he spent more than $180,000 of his own money during the past three years to develop Braid. He also took time off from his job as a videogame-industry consultant to focus on his project. "I have no idea how well Braid will sell," he says. "Realistically though, I could lose all of that [money]." Microsoft picked up the game in 2007 and decided to publish it for Xbox Live Arcade. It will sell for $15, a higher price than most downloadable games on the platform."

Ron Gilbert Slams Games Colleges (News)

Aug 15, 2008

From gameplayer's Quotes of the Week column: "I don't think they are really teaching anyone anything; they are just taking your money."

Also includes the dirty lifestyle secrets of Sam Houser, some cop-outs from Jonathan Blow, and a disturbing glimpse inside the mind of Will Wright.

Blow considers rewinding time, removing Braid bugs (News)

Aug 14, 2008

Jonathan Blow, the guy who created the game, has revealed there are still 2 minor bugs left in the game. The bugs are a bit too specific to fully explain, suffice it to say that if they hit you it's going to mean a fair amount of backtracking. They don't seem to be especially common, but they're serious for those who've been afflicted. The good news? While Jonathan Blow is spilling the beans, he's also working with Microsoft on solutions.

Braid Creator May Never Use The XBLA Service Again (News)

Aug 12, 2008

Jonathan Blow, the designer of the breakout XBLA hit Braid, has said that he may never use the service again due to the restrictions placed upon small developers.

For all the people complaining about Braid's price (News)

Aug 12, 2008

Jonathan Blow writes: "When all those people on forums complain about the price of XBLA game, what they don't realize is that almost everyone is losing money on these games. (It's just economy of scale; if only 60,000 people buy a game, and it costs $10, not enough money ends up in the developer's hands to justify anything but making shovelware.)

For me to truly break even (i.e. not be financially punished for choosing to make this game), I would have to earn back:

(1) The testing, localization and ratings board submission advance that was put forth by Microsoft. (This is a significant chunk of money.)
(2) All the money I paid other people to work on the art, sound, and extra programming. (This is A LOT).
(3) Replace the savings I spent for cost-of-living, buying software and hardware, and stuff like that, during the years spent developing Braid.
(4) Pay back other misc debts that accrued during this time due to me being broke and / or focusing money on finishing the game (e.g. the taxes I did not pay last year.. that's sizable).
(5) If I hadn't been working on Braid, I would have had a job for those years, so… years worth of income at a reasonable-to-high-end job. (Realistically speaking, this part is just not going to happen - I used to do game technology consulting and bill at a very high hourly rate. So rather than expecting to make that, my attitude is just, to make *something* reasonable)..."

Braid creator says next game influenced by Myst (News)

Aug 11, 2008

Jonathan Blow, developer of our latest addiction Braid told Game Focus in a special interview that he is considering working on a new game similar to Myst.

Braid may hit PSN but not Wii (News)

Aug 11, 2008

Jonathan Blow told GameFocus that XBLA game "Braid" might hit the PS Network later on. The Wii? Nah...

The Top 7... new games that you already played (Feature)

Aug 11, 2008

"There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt."- Audre Lorde, a poet who wasn't the first person to have this idea

The idea that there are no new ideas isn't a new idea at all. In fact, it's a pretty old one and its veracity can be seen in the games industry too. ...

Braid is the highest-rated XBLA game ever. (Also, sales data). (News)

Aug 10, 2008

"Braid is the highest-rated Xbox Live Arcade game of all time (out of about 150 games!) Geometry Wars 2, released a week prior, is the second-highest. There are some strong games coming up in the next few weeks, so we'll see if these positions hold.

But 92 is not just a good score for a Live Arcade game; it's a good score for any game. In fact, Braid is currently the 10th highest-rated Xbox 360 game of all time - including all AAA high-budget games..."

Braid - Xbox Live Arcade (Review)

Aug 8, 2008

Travel back in time and enter a parallel universe and you’ll read an Xbox World 360 brave enough to call Braid the best game ever; a land without the likes of Super Mario World, Ocarina of Time, Portal and Fallout 3 all vying for the same spot. It’s a world where the platform game never died and a world where ingenuity and ideas curry greater favour than high definition visuals and bigger, louder guns. ...

Braid - Xbox Live Arcade (Screenshots)

Aug 8, 2008

Braid up on Live (News)

Aug 6, 2008

Braid is now available for download on Live.

Braid on Wednesday for 1200 MSP (News)

Aug 4, 2008

The second week of Summer of Arcade is hitting XBLA with Braid on Wednesday.

Jonathan Blow brings you this new take on the platformer through Number None, Inc. and Microsoft games. It can be yours for 1200 Microsoft Points and is rated E 10+ for Everyone over the age of 10 by the ESRB.

XBLA: 'Braid' to Cost 1200 MS Points, 'Castle Crashers' to Cost 1,800 Points? (News)

Jul 30, 2008

Four Japanese websites are now saying that two titles in the upcoming "Summer Of Arcade", 'Castle Crashers' and 'Braid', will be costing a little more than the usual XBLA title.

Xbox Live Arcade Summer Release Calendar Announced (News)

Jul 28, 2008

Wondering when Castle Crashers, Bionic Commando Braid and Galaga Legions are hitting Xbox Live? Wonder no longer.

Castle Crashers, Galaga Legions, more on XBLA in 4-6 weeks (News)

Jul 19, 2008

During our guided demo of Microsoft's upcoming stable of XBLA games, Microsoft's Scott Austin informed us that all the games on display would be available in the next four to six weeks on Xbox Live Arcade. All of 'em. If you've been reading the impressions on Joystiq, you'll know that this a reason to be excited.

Gorgeous indie game Braid to be released for XBLA (News)

Sep 13, 2007

Braid is an odd (but completely engrossing) puzzle/action/platformer hybrid starring a guy in a business suit on a quest to save a princess in a wide variety of fantasy worlds. Most noticeable, the game sports some beautiful, hand-drawn 2D graphics that are displayed from a sorely missed and breathtaking Lode Runner-esque vantage point (translation: far away camera) that allows the player to see more of the game's lush vistas.

Full Game Speedrun FAQ (FAQ)

Oct 20, 2008