Go Play: Braid (XBOX Live Arcade)

What will it take to convince you to take a chance (and fork over $15 after trial) on Braid, the recently launched XBOX Live Arcade game by Jonathan Blow that blends experimental and intuitive game design, challenging puzzles, and a beautiful impressionist aesthetic?  It’s the kind of experience that unsuspectingly approaches under the guise of a familiar platform, and then immediately wraps itself around you and proves to be much, much more.

This began as a research project for me, and I certainly did not expect to become such a fan of an independent game without the bells, whistles and bombshells of a AAA title.  If I could go back in time, however — as Braid’s gameplay often demands — I would have been eagerly anticipating this all along.  Lesson learned.

Hoping to spare you the same mistake, here’s 4 reasons to give it a chance:

1. According to Metacritic, Braid is now the 8th-highest rated XBOX360 game of all time — quite a feat for a self-financed and unconventional arcade title;
   
   
2. Each world within the game exemplifies a unique concept of time in a way that readers of Einstein’s Dreams will surely appreciate.  The rules are not explained, making the engine itself a part of the puzzling challenge.
   
   
3. As an independent distributing through XBOX Live, most of the revenue (60-70%) is going directly to reward the developers and finance their next, fresh concept.  Not to mention, the price tag for 5-10 hours of enjoyment makes Braid the most cost-effective quality entertainment on the market this weekend.
   
   
4. You cannot die.  No, there is no FAIL in the world of Braid — if you make an error, you learn from it and simply reverse time to your original position… and if you think that sounds easy and overly-gracious, get ready for a surprise. 

I could make any number of points about the merits of direct distribution for entertainment, video games as an emerging art form, my nostalgia of Super Mario Bros., the attention economy, time paradoxes, or innovation as the ultimate weapon against an oligopoly of risk adverse publishers/studios — but I won’t.  Go take the time and play it for yourself.

Netflix + XBOX Live = Social Entertainment

After much speculation, Microsoft and Netflix used the podium at this year’s E3 Media & Business Summit to unveil an exclusive partnership that will bring Netflix’s catalog (currently including more than 10,000 movies and TV episodes) to XBOX Live members later this fall.

“[It’s] perfect combination, the leading online movie rental service and the leading games and entertainment system joining forces to create an all-in-one entertainment experience with content for everyone.”
— Reed Hastings, chairman and CEO of Netflix.

Most interesting, however, is that the service aims to make entertainment social again by integrating with Microsoft’s other announcement: a new, avatar-based dashboard called Live party, which Engadget reports will allow up to 8 friends to simultaneously watch the same film.  That alone may be worth the price of admission (which I already pay separately, anyway), but I’m most intrigued by where this will lead the experience and consumption of entertainment.

In a world where audiences can instantly satisfy the demand created by recommendations (both social and algorithmic) and marketing, the game will change considerably.  It will surely become more personal, more granular, more cost-effective, and more challenging.