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Braid coming to PS3 next week, November 12

by Andrew Yoon { Nov 4th 2009 at 12:32PM }

It only took 15 months, but Braid has finally found its way to the PlayStation Network. Jonathan Blow's critically acclaimed puzzle-platformer may be late, but its time-shifting gameplay mechanics certainly make the old adage "better late than never" all the more apropos.

The Hothead-developed port will be available on the North American PlayStation Store on November 12th, "with a European version to be announced shortly thereafter." The PSN version of Braid will cost $14.99, the same price as its XBLA equivalent.

Gallery: Braid (PS3)

Jonathan Blow hiring 'full-body motion tracking' programmer

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 26th 2009 at 3:20PM }

It's been a while since we've heard anything regarding Braid developer Jonathan Blow's next project, The Witness -- however, if a recent post on Blow's blog is any indication, the "philosophical, and quiet" game might be moving in an unexpected direction. According to the post, Blow is "hiring another programmer into the new company, to do very interesting work with full-body motion tracking."

We contacted Blow to see if this new hire would be working on The Witness, and whether the motion tracking technology mentioned is Project Natal. He responded by saying he "can't talk about this right now," and added, "it may not even actually happen (depending on whether I can find someone qualified to do it!)."

So, there you have it. If you've got experience with body movin' (body, body movin'), it sounds like Blow could use a hand. And an arm! And a torso. And a ... yeah, you got it.

Steam weekend deal brings Braid down to $5

by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 12th 2009 at 2:00AM }

Good prices come to those who dawdle, as Steam cuts two-thirds off the price of Braid, making the indie classic a steal at $5. Put it this way: The puzzles and gameplay are easily worth $5, with the academic self-pleasuring, overly-pretentious narrative being gravy that others had to pay an extra $10 for.

Braid was one of our top games of 2008, and with its price reversed so far, we really don't know what else we can say to convince you it's totally worth it.

Steam offers 75% discount on indie games this weekend

by Andrew Yoon { Aug 8th 2009 at 2:00AM }

Steam is offering the "who's who" of independent video games in an incredible sale you'd be silly to miss. For $30, you can get 10 indie games via the service:

There's a lower-budget $20 option as well, which only includes half the games above. Either way, you'll be feeding starving independent developers without having to break the bank. Oh, and most of these games are pretty fun, too. It's a win-win for everyone, so make sure you rush to Steam before the sale ends on Monday, August 10.

Blow points finger at next game's name: The Witness

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 4th 2009 at 11:03AM }

Jonathan Blow has revealed The Witness will be the name of his next game, and there's even a teaser site to go with the announcement. "Teaser site" is a bit generous of a term, it's a website with some prose that reads like a lost page from Braid's between-level books. Clicking on the text will reveal another page, stating that the "exploration-puzzle game on an uninhabited island" will release in late 2011 on multiple platforms.

Blow had previously mentioned some details about his next title, calling it a "philosophical, and quiet" puzzle-exploration title. As long as The Witness comes with an actual ending that wasn't designed to give academics something to write books about (that nobody will ever read), and leave everyone else scratching their heads, we'll be fine.

Update: Added information about clicking on text.

[Thanks, Fahd]

Braid set to perplex PlayStation Network users

by Griffin McElroy { Aug 3rd 2009 at 5:30PM }

There's only one reason for you to have not played Jonathan Blow's time-twisting puzzle-platformer Braid, and that's if you don't have an Xbox 360, PC or Mac. Considering you're reading this right now, we can assume that you can't use this as an excuse. Still, on the off-chance that you can, we've got good news -- IGN is reporting that Hothead Games has confirmed that the well-received indie title is coming to the PSN. You at least have a PS3, don't you? What, are you a Colecovision fanboy?

Though IGN confirmed the rumored port's existence, no release date or possible PS3-exclusive features were mentioned. We've contacted Hothead to hopefully divine these vital details.

Germany's USK: Braid jumping, running to PS3

by Randy Nelson { Jul 31st 2009 at 5:15PM }

Jonathan Blow's time-manipulating puzzle-platformer, Braid, is probably best associated with Xbox 360. According to a listing on Germany's USK ratings board website (discovered by NeoGAF user Fortinbras), though, the game -- which falls under the organization's fancifully named "Jump 'n Run" category -- is finally headed to PlayStation 3.

Blow talked about the possibility of a PS3 version almost a year ago, saying that it could happen after a "limited exclusive" with Microsoft had ended. There's no indication when our #5 game of 2008 will hit PSN, though it seems it will come via its PC publisher, Hothead Games. We've contacted Blow for more info; hopefully his answer comes running 'n jumping back to us soon.

Blow confirms a few details about next project

by Griffin McElroy { Jul 18th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Following the pseudo-reveal of Jonathan Blow's next "philosophical, and quiet" puzzle-exploration title, we contacted the cerebral developer to see what details we could discern about the project. He responded, and explained that he got the idea for the game a few months before the launch of Braid, but developed some trepidation about tackling "a more-expensive, harder-to-make 3D game." During those doubt-filled days, he worked on the prototype projects (such as the 2D RPG) we heard about.

A few weeks ago, he began "working on the game in earnest," and is now hiring 3D artists to help realize his vision. He assumes it will be another downloadable title, but isn't sure -- it's not set to drop for two years if his team stays on schedule, and who knows what platforms will be around then? Blow said we should hear more concrete details about the title as his team begins to produce some concept art and in-game visuals. We'd suggest keeping an eye on his blog 'til then.

Blow's next project to be quiet, philosophical 'puzzle-exploration game'

by Griffin McElroy { Jul 17th 2009 at 2:54PM }

With stories claiming Braid creator Jonathan Blow was working on a handful of small titles from a variety of different genres (including a 2D RPG!), we can't help but feel a bit disappointed that his next project has been confirmed to be a "puzzle-exploration game that is philosophical, and quiet, and is being made for reasons other than crass profit motive." Way to think outside of the box, Jon. (Oh, who are we kidding. It's going to be amazing.)

This story comes to us by way of a pair of now hiring ads (for 3D artists, if you're interested) Blow posted on his on blog, looking for help on the aforementioned project, which he later confirmed to gaming news blog EndSights to be his next release. From what we can glean from the ads, the game will have a two-year development cycle, will place "a heavy emphasis on the way things look," and will feature a plot which will make non-philosophy majors feel very, very confused.

We've contacted Blow to see if we can get any more details about the project.

[Thanks, Art.]

Super Meat Boy character select screen reveals playable Alien Hominid [update]

by Ben Gilbert { Jul 5th 2009 at 7:00PM }

Things are on the up and up for Super Meat Boy developer Edmund McMillen. After releasing This is a Cry for Help last year and subsequently announcing SMB for WiiWare, he put his indie cred on display for the world in adding Braid's Tim to his upcoming game. And now, during a live video interview with Bytejacker, McMillen ~~revealed~~ The Behemoth's Alien Hominid as another playable character!

Quickly panning to his computer screen during the interview and teasing it, one of our wonderful readers snagged a screen grab so we could share it with the world. Now the real question: Castle Crashers characters playable as well? Hmmmm, McMillen? Hmmm?

(We love you. Please?)

Update: It was pointed out by a few astute Game Informer readers in the comments section that Alien Hominid was actually revealed as a playable character in a recent issue. Sorry, folks!

(Thanks, Zack!)

Survey: Developers still worship Miyamoto, Blow too

by Jason Dobson { Jun 15th 2009 at 11:15AM }

Luminary Shigeru Miyamoto hasn't lost his shimmer in the eyes of game developers, with a recent industry poll finding the Nintendo icon to be without equal. The survey, commissioned by organizers of next month's Develop Conference, asked 9,000 devs to name their game development hero, with nearly a third of respondents pointing to Miyamoto as the man with the plan.

The popularity contest also named id Software's John Carmack as the next most idealized developer, followed by Maxis and now Stupid Fun Club brainpan Will Wright. The top ten list of industry highlights was rounded out by Braid dev Jonathan Blow, who's likely too busy rewinding time (to see if he can somehow land higher on the ballot) to care.

Mac users: It's time to play Braid

by JC Fletcher { May 20th 2009 at 2:00PM }

Mac owners can now travel back in time to August of 2008, thanks to Hothead Games. The developer's Mac port of the time-bending platformer, Braid, is now available, allowing Mac users to experience the authentic feeling of playing one of 2008's most unique games for the first time. (That is, if you didn't already play it on a Windows partition or something.)

The press release says that this is "the first in a unique collaboration between Hothead and other top-notch independent developers to bring their award-winning titles to new gaming platforms," although the company's PC release of The Maw predates this by several months. Braid is now available for immediate download via Penny Arcade's Greenhouse store for $14.95.

Braid II totally rips time a new one

by David Hinkle { May 7th 2009 at 11:00AM }

Sorry, your high-res photo is in another castle

Oh, April Fools, how funny you can sometimes be. This year's April issue of Game Informer had one of the more comical tricks in Braid II, the magazine's featured cover story. It would appear that Tim has spent his time between the first game and its sequel in the gym, totally getting ripped. With his delts and pecs in order, he can now finally set out to do what he always wanted to do: make time his bitch.

Braid's Tim makes time for Super Meat Boy

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 29th 2009 at 9:00PM }

Meat Boy isn't the only fleshbag to make an appearance in Super Meat Boy for WiiWare. Turns out that Braid's Tim will also be an unlockable character. How did these two indie darlings collide and not produce so much heat as to create an insta medium-rare hamburger? Turns out that Super Meat Boy's Edmund McMillen also did the character design for Tim -- so, you know, it's only natural he'd make an appearance in this game ...

Much like Tim, Super Meat Boy still has plenty of time to release details and potentially offensive ads before its launch later this year.

[Via ThatVideogameBlog]

Braid soundtrack now available (with remixes!)

by Justin McElroy { Apr 22nd 2009 at 5:03PM }

We love how just a scrap of music can put you in the mood to play a game. Who can listen to the Oblivion or Halo themes and not get the itch to pick up a controller? We don't know, but they're stronger than us by far.

After 15 minutes of listening to the recently compiled Braid soundtrack, we're dying to take the game for another run, maybe even track down all those stars that we've been neglecting. Oh, and don't miss the two new remixed tunes, which take advantage of the game's time-twisting theme with hypnotic results.

[Via Braid blog]