Braid, Anniversary Edition Podcast

Casey and Jon continue their discussion of the origins of Braid: its final mechanics, the ending, structural pattern breaks, and the "biggest mistake" in the game! Why are there puzzle pieces in the game? Where did the idea of the slow-down ring come from? How did Paula Abdul inspire the game? Braid, Anniversary Edition has launched! You can pick it up on Steam [https://store.steampowered.com/app/499180/Braid_Anniversary_Edition/], PlayStation [https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/braid-anniversary-edition/], Nintendo Switch [https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/braid-anniversary-edition-switch/], Xbox [https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/braid-anniversary-edition/bxr1fqzpcdmv], or play it via Netflix on mobile [https://apps.apple.com/ph/app/braid-anniversary-edition/id6450126747] devices [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.netflix.NGP.BraidAnniversaryEdition]—maybe the one you're using now! Host: Jonathan Blow Guest: Casey Muratori Producer: Jason Brisson Editor: Will Torbett Intro Song: "Downstream" by Shira Kammen (based on "O son do ar" by Bieito Romero and "Borrela d'Aragon" by Eric Montbel)

This week's guest interviewer is Marc ten Bosch [https://marctenbosch.com/], an independent developer known for Miegakure [https://miegakure.com/], a 4D puzzle-platforming game. Jon and Marc have presented together at IndieCade and NYU Game Center and are working together on Thekla's next puzzle game. Here, the two discuss the puzzle design philosophy of Braid: minimalism, pattern breaks, literary influences, and more. Next: the ramifications of the game's rewind mechanic—both as a way to correct difficulty in execution but also providing advanced puzzle-solving techniques. Braid, Anniversary Edition is out now! Buy it on platforms of your choice: Steam [https://store.steampowered.com/app/499180/Braid_Anniversary_Edition/], PlayStation 4 and 5 [https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/braid-anniversary-edition/], Nintendo Switch, [https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/braid-anniversary-edition-switch/] Xbox One and Xbox Series [https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/braid-anniversary-edition/bxr1fqzpcdmv], iOS (for Netflix subscribers) [https://apps.apple.com/ph/app/braid-anniversary-edition/id6450126747], Android (for Netflix subscribers). [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.netflix.NGP.BraidAnniversaryEdition] Host: Jonathan Blow Guest: Marc ten Bosch Producer: Jason Brisson Editor: Will Torbett Intro Song: "Downstream" by Shira Kammen (based on "O son do ar" by Bieito Romero and "Borrela d'Aragon" by Eric Montbel)

Jon and Casey continue their discussion about the early design of Braid: specifically how Jon arrived at the design identity of Braid, and how developer design perspectives affect the player experience. Braid, Anniversary Edition has launched! You can pick it up on Steam [https://store.steampowered.com/app/499180/Braid_Anniversary_Edition/], PlayStation [https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/braid-anniversary-edition/], Nintendo Switch [https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/braid-anniversary-edition-switch/], Xbox [https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/braid-anniversary-edition/bxr1fqzpcdmv], or play it via Netflix [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.netflix.NGP.BraidAnniversaryEdition&pli=1] on mobile devices—maybe the one you're using now! Host: Jonathan Blow Guest: Casey Muratori Producer: Jason Brisson Editor: Will Torbett Intro Song: "Downstream" by Shira Kammen (based on "O son do ar" by Bieito Romero and "Borrela d'Aragon" by Eric Montbel)

Braid's lead visual artist David Hellman [https://davidhellman.tumblr.com/] is interviewed by Frank Cifaldi of the Video Game History Foundation [https://gamehistory.org/] about getting started on Braid: David's background and artistic process. We start by discussing David's webcomic "A Lesson Is Learned But the Damage Is Irreversible [https://www.alessonislearned.com/]," which inspired Braid in more ways than one. Braid, Anniversary Edition releases on May 14, 2024. Pre-order it now on Steam [https://store.steampowered.com/app/499180/Braid_Anniversary_Edition/], or stay tuned to play it via Netflix on mobile devices—maybe the one you're using now! Host: Frank Cifaldi Guest: David Hellman Producer: Jason Brisson Editor: Will Torbett Intro Song: "Downstream" by Shira Kammen (based on "O son do ar" by Bieito Romero and "Borrela d'Aragon" by Eric Montbel)

Casey and Jon continue their conversation about the early days of designing and programming Braid. We talk about scrapped gameplay ideas, technical challenges, and artistic inspirations, including the 1986 text adventure game "Trinity." Host: Jonathan Blow Guest: Casey Muratori Producer: Jason Brisson Editor: Will Torbett Intro Song: "Downstream" by Shira Kammen (based on "O son do ar" by Bieito Romero and "Borrela d'Aragon" by Eric Montbel)