/dev/etc 04 Aug 2008 05:29 pm
I want I want I want me me me (Part One)
I want Time Travel to be a major part of my life. Maybe not like For Reals time travel, which by all accounts is probably impossible — at least if you want to go backwards — but I think that Capital Tee Time Travel is one of the most interesting mechanics in stories or video games. Unfortunately for traditional One Dimensional media (books, movies, music, anything that has a beginning and an end without direct interaction from the viewer), if the creator doesn’t control the time travel well with nonsense rules (see Harry Potter 3!) the viewer could end up experiencing a broken world where death and fear and loss are not real things. A world without death or fear or loss can be interesting! But usually that fades away pretty quickly, and we, the viewer, will be left with nothing to grab onto. The characters in a world of uncontrolled Time Travel can solve any problem with Superman-like inefficiency; Bill and Ted, for instance, can break themselves out of jail, because when they wish for a key all they have to do is put it there once they’ve escaped. By around the second time we see the trick we’re tired of it.
But games (yes, even board games!), especially video game platformers, are different. Failure failure failure success is the general pattern of video game playback. Games are Two Dimensional media, as the axis of player control can drastically change the output displayed on the screen. Perhaps the programmer decided that it will take 10 minutes to get from Point A to Point B when in execution each player could experience a different scenario. Simplistic platformers (think Super Mario Bros. 1) have nearly infinite solutions to the route from Point A to Point B. While this sort of jumping around (pun completely intentional) is possible in books, movies, or whatever by skipping around, it is generally not considered to be a valid way of experiencing the media in question. I will conveniently ignore that possibility! Time to refocus on video games!
Imagine Super Mario Bros. where you can travel back in time, effectively removing the threat of pits and enemies. How would you make this game challenging? This is the basic premise behind Braid. Since the user can’t kill their character, no matter how hard they try, the game designers had to completely rethink the basic concept of Point A to Point B. And it comes out this week. At a mere $15 you are practically breaking into Jonathan Blow’s house, tracking mud on the carpet, leaving the seat up, and using a giant magnet to steal all of his magnetized valuables. While the story can feel kind of… wimpy at times, just pay attention to the number of mechanics introduced here that WILL appear in countless games of the future.
With Braid, Time Travel can become a major part of your life.
on 04 Aug 2008 at 8:26 pm 1.Colin C. said …
Yeah, that game was chock full of freaking fantastic. I really hope it helps pave a new path through platforming.
There have been a good number of NEW game mechanics that have come out within the last few years. I feel like that’s more than normal, but I could be wrong.
on 04 Aug 2008 at 11:12 pm 2.Ben said …
I’ve noticed this as well! Also worthy of noting here is that almost all new game mechanics for the past few years have been introduced in games that cost less than $20.