I've always been interested in those 'arty' games, enjoying online games like One Step Back, The Company of Myself, and Loved. Theres a lack of this good games under this genre out there though so searching for more often proved rather unsatisfying. Yet I always remember that every time I google to try to find something, people in forums will keep repeating the same thing: if you like these games, you just have to try out Braid.
And Braid is an award winning indie puzzle game which shook the gaming industry when it was released in 2009. It the champion of games that put forward the notion that video games can be an art form, challenging contemporary views that video games are merely, well, games.
Being the self spolier I am, I obviously already know the entire plot of Braid heh but I had to experience it for myself still and also immerse myself into its world of unique time travelling mechanics, so what better time than the steam summer sales? Purchased the game online for USD$4.99 (there were complains that the game was too short for its price during its initial release, but it's price has fallen in the past few years and the sales just further cut the price by 50% so thats just fantastic =p), and oh boy having just completed two worlds, I can say that some of the puzzles are real tough.
I'm looking forward to continuing with this when I get back home over the weekend. There are significant similarities in this game to Super Mario Land but it subverts it, and I'm interested to see where this will go. Since I kinda know how the game ends, I do have a good idea heh, it is a subversion of the norm indeed.
Video games as art? Having played Portal and Portal 2 I'll say yea, definitely. The days were video games were all pacman and donkey kong, where it is all about mindless pleasure and mere recreation are gone. This generation sees the potential in games and have developed gaming both as art and as sports. I'm interested to see how popular opinion towards gaming will change in the next decade as people come to realise that with all these developements, games are no longer just a waste of time. I look forward to the day games will be properly recognised as a platform of media, recognised for its merits alongside film and novels.
P.S. I have no idea why, but all our laptops need to be returned tmr apparently =(. I hope it's only temporary.
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