Thoughts on Braid

On its face, it’s mechanically just a platformer: think the original 3 side-scrolling Mario Brothers games where you callously jumped on turtles and went down pipes in pursuit of a princess. Braid manages to graft novelty onto the oldest of video game forms by simply adding a rewind button. So instead of falling into a bottomless oblivion and starting over at the left-most pane of your environment, you simply hit the rewind button and do it again. In between worlds, you get vignettes of your protagonist’s story: he’s trying to find a woman he lost. Maybe it was his fault, maybe it wasn’t, but he’s consumed. He’s slowly becoming aware of what he can do with time, and there’s talk of how he did/would/will use his chrono-ambiguities to make things right with her. The text is brief, but coupled with loping string arrangements and surrealist pastel art direction, it rings heavier than a 2-dimensional narrative should. Gaps in the story are filled in by joining puzzle pieces you find along the way, but these images provide more questions than answers.

Nothing special so far. Except, then you start to encounter door keys and items that are impervious to your time slipping. You rewind and they don’t, or vice-versa. You’re trying to solve puzzles and navigate ladders in the negative, in backwards order, so that when you rewind, you complete the puzzle correctly. You’re trying to execute jumps and bounces of off enemies while manipulating time with the slimmest room for error. If you’re getting lost, that’s alright. You should be. There were times the game got so difficult, it did begin to wear on me and I started to disengage from Tim’s pursuit and story. I started to get angry. But here’s the rub: more so than the obtuse retelling of a princess chase, the story is about you: in your role as the gamer. At least that’s what I read somewhere, but it makes sense to me.

Maybe you have to be a staunch gamer to slug through these puzzles. That type of loner-persistence is a trait you developed in your own early 8-bit days, that’s what’s being tapped into here. Tim’s loneliness, his Ahab-ian chase for closure is your own chase. Instead of video games, some people get this way with books or films. The notch you put on your belt when you put the game up on the shelf can be as good as the game itself. Sweet, albeit fleeting, satisfaction.

The difficulty of the game itself is almost itself a narrative device. This game is really hard. The jumping combinations and puzzle-solving skills you’ve honed from years of controller-wielding are your vocabulary that let you access this tale. As a result, the story and the experience is kind of inaccessible for non-gamers. Which makes it kind of a bummer. You want to share this with other people, but the novelty doesn’t penetrate.

It’s like when I watch Olympic gymnastics. I know what I’m seeing is difficult, but I can’t comprehend why one routine is worth more than the next. I lack the visual lexicon and I don’t have the hours of experience in the bank to draw from. I’m impressed as a dog would be with a really complex dinner. I know it smells good, but don’t expect my frontal lobe to access how or why.

So with Braid, if you haven’t lost yourself in the mindless repetition of a video game at some point, does the rewinding reflect anything more than a do-over? I don’t think it can. You aren’t taken back to when you yourself were lost in time, engrossed in pixels that moved with you or even moved you, that caused you grief and frustration and elation.

Mechanically, the story on the screen is linear. You can only pass the worlds one way, by figuring out what the developer wants you to do. Some research on the game has revealed that there may be alternate endings or vignettes, depending on how you complete the worlds, but the end-game I believe is the same. The character that varies is the gamer himself. If you’re the type who throws controllers, if you’re a grinder, if you’re a cheater, if you’re a hobbyist… the story plays out differently to each of you in your response. At least I think it does.

In any case, for $10, it deserves a spin in what is likely only second to Portal in the most innovative game I’ve played in the last 5 years.

Epilogue: Just to make things that much more complex, after googling for some explanations about the ending, the predominant interpretation is that the story is an allegory for man’s discovery and eventual use of the atomic bomb. Damn.

Quick Update

Just wanted to remind myself that I wasn't dead; I'm just really busy in the end-of-the-year school crunch. Here are the things I'd rather be doing this week instead of trying to memorize all of the state bar's Rules for Professional Conduct:
- Watch "Planet Earth" in HD at Amy's
- Playing either Guitar Hero II or Pokemon Diamond
- Getting back into the gym.
Every semester I have an internal fight with myself, where I have to hold back the armies of apathy. It's so much easier for me to not care what happens in my finals, take Cs and call it a semester. In high school it's called "senioritis." In law school, I guess it's called being burned out. I need a vacation.

Checking In

Haven't been able to post as regularly as I'd like to between work, school, and my generally nomadic lifestyle. Currently working on a preview of the 2007 Dodgers, digestible for baseball aficionodos and dummies alike, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, this little video takes me back to a happier time, when I was nine. I think more people would watch sports if this is what happened when someone got injured.

Archival Footage

From A Very Special Velasco Christmas, circa 1996.

File This One Under Where Do You Even Find the Time

I should know better than to throw stones. My house is filled with nintendo products.

My Mii Video

One of the features on the Nintendo Wii is the "Mii Channel," in which you can make caricatures that can later participate in the games. For example, if I wanted to put together a boxing match of myself vs. Justice Scalia, it would only take a few clicks of the wii-mote and voila: I'm beating up on a 71 yr old man. In my modest opinion, I've been pretty successful at creating these little guys, so I've made a little video of them for sharing. Some are originals, some are lovingly plagiarized, albeit with some tweaks. I'm not one who sweats copyright lawyers.

Comments and criticisms are welcome. There's 50+ there and it goes pretty fast, so buckle up.

Wii-View Part Two: The Wii-Mote

This is part two of my four part review of the new Nintendo Wii ("We"). It's the first video game console I've owned since my mom bought my brother and I a Nintendo 64 in 1996. Gameboys have served as a bridge, but this is my official return to the Nintendo console galaxy. These are my thoughts.

After posting the picture of the Wii remote (Wii-mote) below, I realized that this could probably use its own review, considering its ingenuity. The remote looks like a small television remote, save for the trigger on the back. It rumbles lightly when necssary as well as has a small speaker on it that emotes when called upon.



























On the bottom of the remote, there is a port which allows other peripherals to be plugged in. The remote is pictured above with the nunchuck attachment. Nintendo has announced a light-gun attachment, as well as a Classic Controller which closely resembles the old SNES controller for playing classic games on the Virtual Console.

The key aspect of the remote is its motion sensing ability. The sensor bar above or below the television picks up on the wii-mote's movements, sensing a baseball swing in Wii sports, a sword slash in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, or the delicate movements of a scalpel in Trauma Center Under the Knife: Second Opinion. The Wii is clearly not trying to keep up with the PS3 or Xbox360 in the graphics department, so they tried to innovate in a different direction. This feature is what elevates what is basically a souped up Gamecube into a next-generation gaming system. The two questions that will determine whether the Wii is a winner: Does it work? Is it fun?

Does it work?
It does work, but with some caveats. First, it takes some experimenting with the sensitivity on the sensor bar to get the Wii-mote to work with your playing space. The ideal playing space is for you to hold the Wii-mote between 3'-8' from the television. The closer you are to the TV, the less sensitive the bar should be set to. Imagine holding a laser pointer in your hand and pointing it at the wall. It doesn't take a very big swing for the red dot to fly from one side of a room to another. If the Wii-mote is too sensitive, you'll see this kind of action reflected on the screen. Once you figure out which settings work properly for your space, the Wii-mote responds actively and accurately. It's amazing how it can accurate reflect the slightest movement, such as tilting the remote from side to side. This can take some getting used to, if you're accustomed to scratching your nose mid-game with the controller in hand. Doing so now can have sudden repurcussions for your game, especially if your character is teetering in a precarious position.

Is it fun?
The answer again is yes, with "buts." It's fun to use, but it certainly has a learning curve. Even video game button-mashing veterans will have to learn a new way to play, which is kind of refreshing. Two people can pick up a wii-mote and be on a level playing field in a game of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. This was a little frustrating at first. Having played video games on conventional controllers for years, complicated button-sequences are nothing new to me. Trying to figure out how to scoop a fish with a virtual fish net in my hand: that's going to take some getting used to.

The final answer to whether it's fun is going to be left up to the game developers. The motion-sensing capabilities of the wii-mote opens up the gameplay ideas for game developers to re-write the way we've known to interact with games. I've played some mini-games that have flopped with the remote, such as Boxing on wii-sports or some of the mini-games on Monkey Ball. On the other hand, when playing a game like Zelda where the right hand's swipes control the sword while the left hand controls the shield, you quickly forget how you ever could have substituted this virtual fantasy with button-pushing as a poor substitute.

My verdict would be so far so good, with reserved enthusiasm about what lies ahead.

Wii-View Part One: The Looks

This is part one of my four part review of the new Nintendo Wii ("We"). It's the first video game console I've owned since my mom bought my brother and I a Nintendo 64 in 1996. Gameboys have served as a bridge, but this is my official return to the Nintendo console galaxy. These are my thoughts.

The Wii's design is simple, small, and clean. Size-wise, it's been compared to the size of about 3 DVD cases stacked on top of one another. It can be positioned either sitting flat, like an external DVD drive would next to your computer, or positioned vertically on the included stand. It comes in white, but I've read that they will be releasing them in other colors later on.

It has a single open slot for loading either Wii discs or the smaller Gamecube discs. The slot illuminates a bright blue glow when loading discs and if there is a message waiting for you on your Wii while on standby, but can be turned off if it bothers you. If positioned vertically, the "top" of the Wii has two discreet covers that hide the Gamecube controller ports and the expansion slots for Gamecube memory cards. Right above the disc slot is a small cover which hides the SD card slot.

The Wii is very quiet in its operations. It has some ventilation on the the back and on the underside, but even when the fans kick up, it's works very silently and is easily forgotten once the game has begun.

Besides the aformentioned ventilation grate on the back, there are three connections on the back of the Wii. One is for the sensor bar, which rests either on top of your TV or just below it. The sensor bar is very thin, just bigger than a pencil lying on a table, and is about an inch deep. This is what receives the signals from the Wii remotes, which will be discussed in greater detail later on.

Besides the sensor bar, the A/V cables and power adapter are also plugged into the back. One negative is that the power adapter has a fairly large sized block that you have to find someplace to hide. It's not quite the size of a brick, but it's not far off. Another negative is that the Wii only comes with the standard compositet (red/white/yellow) cables, so if you want to use component cables, you'll have to buy those separately. There are also 2 USB ports on the back, although I'm not sure when they'll be updated via firmware to be operational.

The Wii remote will be discussed in further detail later on.

Overall, I think the system looks great sitting just next to or below the television. I was sort of having reservations of not waiting and maybe getting it in black, but the white is glossy, clean and at the same time inconspicuous. My favorite kind of gadget.

Pictures below courtesy of www.wiisworld.com.

The Wii Hunt: Day 5

After looking into ebay and craigslist and finding that the scalpers had Wii going for north of $400 for a $250 console, I was feeling defeated and thumped, in a spoiled child who hasn’t gotten what they wanted sort of way. Then, I stumbled across this page. I ended up ordering one off of Walmart.com (principles be damned). It’s going to be coming at a terrible time (in the middle of finals), but beggars can’t be choosers. No longer will I be sitting in front of my TV with extra wiimote in hand, thinking “insert console here.” I can now officially end my plan of hoarding Wii/Gamecube games and accessories like a mental patient until next year's harvest provides a retail-priced Wii. Thank you Walton family. Apologies to all the non-unionized workers of Walmart.

A full review will be coming, but I’m just relieved that my Wii-Hunt series of posts ended at two. Now if I wanted a PS3, that would be a whole different kind of nightmare. For now, it’s Nintendo +1, for following up with extra shipments.

The Wii Hunt: Day 3

The following is my running diary on my quest for my Christmas present to myself, the Nintendo Wii.

Friday, November 24th. 6:12 a.m.
- Following the instructions of portly, yet amiable EB Games counter jockey, I arrive about 2 hours before store's opening to get in line for an expected shipment of Wiis. Going over my mental lies to other line standers about how this is "for my brother" to make myself look less nerdy.

Friday, November 24th. 6:14 a.m.
- Apparently, there were only 9 delivered and all have been spoken for. The line disperses with many aggravated parties complaining of having been "burned." I stand in solidarity with these men and their underdeveloped facial hair.
- A few follow up calls turns up more of the same. Keep calling back and stopping by if you want one. Ebay and CraigsList have Wiis, if you'd like to pay $400 for a $250 product. Poppycock.

Saturday, November 25th. 1:45 p.m.
- Fry's, Circuit City, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, EB Games, hobo in front of wendys: all sold out of Wiis with no information on when they expect more. I am feeling grumpy and more resigned to the fact that this may have to wait until after Christmas. Good thing I bought that extra controller ahead of time.

More to come.

The Wii has Wooed Me. For Now.

So I've decided to get a Wii. Or I've decided that I hope someone buys me one for Christmas.























It's a prodigal-son like return to nintendo, but I never really left as I've been a closet gameboy nut for a few years now. I love the DS and maybe I'm letting that cloud my judgment, but here are the reasons I've convinced myself it's okay to get my first console since moving out of my parent's house six years ago.

1) The Wiimote. I like that nintendo has gone out on a limb with the motion sensor remote that sounds fun to use. They're thinking outside of the box (like with the touch-screen on the DS) and I think that type of ingenuity warrants a try.

2) The price. Unlike its competitors in the PS3 and Xbox360, the price is a cool $250, which is nowhere near as close as the $400+ figures for the others. I'm not that interested in the HD stuff since my TV is most definitely not HD. The blu-ray technology doesn't interest me since I don't have blu-ray dvds and won't be buying any in the near future. I just want something fun for games and nothing more

3) Wii exclusive games. The only games I play anymore are RPGs and sports games, with some exceptions. The new Zelda game has piqued my interest, I love Trauma Center on the DS so the sequel sounds good, and I have a not-so-secret affection for Pokemon which will not go away. The new editions of Smash Bros and Mario Party will make for excellent multi-player fun. The wii might be lacking in FPS games, but those have never been my favorite anyway.

4) Potential for DS/Wii interoperability. It's been announced, but to what extent, it's not clear.

5) Virtual console. One of the coolest things is to be able to download the old NES/SNES/N64/Sega games onto the wii and play them. I'm looking forward to this very much, especially if I can figure out a way to not have to pay for it.

In the end, I'm not expecting to get my shoes knocked off. For high-res graphics and such, I'll just get the PC version of a game. I'm willing to take the risk that it stinks for under $300.

Breaking Camp on the Console War Front Lines

In what has to be the biggest collection of virgins this side of San Diego, I think I'm going to just wait until the prices come down to below $2,800 to play my video games.