number-none
Latest
Sit back and take a gander at these idyllic The Witness screens
It's unfair of Braid designer Jon Blow and his indie team Number None to show these The Witness screens now, not only because we have to wait until "mid-2014" to play the game, but because they look much warmer than the bitterly cold winter that surrounds us. Brrr. The area in these screens of the PS4, PC, and iOS exploratory puzzler is apparently "the marsh," and if the marsh in this game is that colorful and vivid, then surely the rest of this game is just an endless field of double rainbows. But what does this mean? [Images: Number None]
Braid creator working with Valve to bring The Witness to VR systems [update]
Puzzle fans eager to be stumped by The Witness' island might have noticed a coy post in November from game designer Jonathan Blow, which featured double-vision screenshots of the game's environment. Blow followed that tease in December by announcing The Witness' 3D TV and Oculus Rift support, but an update from this week revealed that the initial post had more to do with Valve than the Oculus Rift. "Last year I was pessimistic about VR systems in the near future, since the ones I had tried didn't seem to offer much," Blow wrote, noting the bulkiness of headsets and the nausea associated with some forms of virtual reality. "But I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek at Valve's virtual reality system. It is so much better than anything else I had used that I was instantly very excited by it." It's worth pointing out that while Valve worked with Oculus Rift on the Crystal Cove prototype shown at CES, Valve also showed its own VR hardware at Steam Dev Days. Valve has announced no plans to bring the latter to retail. We've reached out to Blow concerning whether fans can expect to play the game using VR at launch and will update if we hear back. The Witness is planned for release on PC, iOS and PS4 sometime in 2014. Update: In response to our question about potential day-one VR support, Blow replied, "We will see what happens ... The interesting part of the situation to me is the working-with-VR itself. If we do any kind of business thing to launch with something or whatever, I don't know, maybe that will happen and maybe it won't."
Go see Hecker, Neuse and Blow speak at UC Santa Cruz next week
Between Jonathan Blow, Chris Hecker and Alex Neuse, the University of California Santa Cruz panel being held next week should be chock full of interesting, honest discussion from the trio of all-star indie developers. The group is being gathered to speak for UCSC's "Foundations of Interactive Game Design" class on May 26, though the panel is open to the public. The discussion is being moderated by associate professor Noah Wardrip-Fruin. As for what's being discussed, your guess is as good as ours. Hecker describes it as "an open panel discussion" and notes that his game SpyParty unfortunately won't be on-hand for attendees. Blow separately confirmed to us that he doesn't plan on having his studio's next game, The Witness, at the event either. Bit.Trip series co-developer Alex Neuse didn't get back to us before this post was run, but it stands to reason that his next game, Laserlife, won't make an appearance either. That isn't to say you should miss the talk, which will assuredly be thought provoking. And hey, if you're that worried about getting a chance to play SpyParty, why not sign up for the beta? That worked out pretty well with you and Minecraft, right?
Indie Fund created to help fund indies
A group of well-known independent studio vets has formed a new fund for other independent developers. Members of 2D Boy, Number None, thatgamecompany, Capy, Flashbang Studios and AppAbove Games have banded together to create the appropriately named Indie Fund, which they hope will become "a serious alternative to the traditional publisher funding model." The fund will ideally help independent studios "get financially independent and stay financially independent." The Indie Fund is already backing some unnamed projects, and the group plans to reveal more details about the fund at GDC next week. Specifically, 2D Boy's Ron Carmel will host a panel at the conference entitled "Indies and Publishers: Fixing a System That Never Worked." The panel will focus on the "adversarial" and "unhealthy" nature of the relationship between developers and publisher and, naturally, what could be done to improve it. Expect the panel to be included in Joystiq's GDC 2010 coverage, which begins next week. [Via GamePolitics]
Braid PC getting boxed retail release through MumboJumbo
Casual PC game retailer MumboJumbo games recently announced a partnership with Number None to distribute puzzle-platformer Braid to retailers. No specific date has been given for the game's arrival at retail, but we do know it'll have a $19.99 MSRP and will be available at "Walmart, Target, Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon.com, Fry's, and a number of regional retailers as well." A representative from MumboJumbo also told us that the game has shipped and should be on retailer shelves "by February 1." We're not exactly sure how a $20 release of Braid with a cardboard box is going to compete with the (at very least) less tactile and often cheaper digital equivalent, but we suppose it can't help to get the game into more markets. Now Target and Walmart game shoppers can be just as confused by its story! Oh we're just joshin' -- we kid because we love, ya know. %Gallery-5074% [Via CasualGaming.biz]
Germany's USK: Braid jumping, running to PS3
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.
Mac users: It's time to play Braid
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.
XBLA darling Braid lands on PC March 31st [update]
Earlier this afternoon, PC game publisher Stardock revealed plans for the March 31st release of the acclaimed puzzle-platformer, Braid, on its Impulse digital distribution platform. Pre-orders start today and come with a 33% price increase, bringing the game to a (not so) nice and round $20. Last summer, the 1200 XBLA release of Braid drew criticism from thrifty gamers the world over for its notably high price point at the time (how far we've come!). At the height of the criticism, developer Jonathan Blow explained the reasoning behind the controversial price as a means to assure that he broke even, writing on his blog, "I had to guard against the Space Giraffe problem," referring to Jeff Minter's critically acclaimed XBLA title that released for 400 and sold "only 19k copies." He further expounded on his point to 1UP last year, stating, "If those are the only people who like the game [a niche group], then I'd basically be bankrupt."However, considering the enormous success of Braid (both critically and commercially) on XBLA over the last eight months, we're left wondering why the price tag has been upped and if the game's outspoken creator has something to say about it. We've asked Mr. Blow for comment.Update: The price has now been lowered to $14.95.
Braid creator rips on WoW, talks artificial rewards and social gaming
In an interview with Gamasutra, game designer Jon Blow (who created the critically acclaimed Xbox Live Arcade game Braid) had a few things to say about World of Warcraft. His criticisms could be just as easily leveled against any Diku-based, WoW-like MMO.He began by saying that WoW employs "artificial rewards" as opposed to "natural rewards." In other words, players play WoW for achievements like leveling up that have little real meaning, and they'll sit through a lot of boredom to reach those goals. That's not an unfair analysis; leveling up is a very empty and artificial kind of catharsis. Perhaps the most controversial statements he made were related to the social aspect of the game. One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
Braid is highest rated XBLA game ever, around 28.5K units sold
After only a few days on the market, the time bending platform puzzler Braid has been tearing up the critical charts. According to the official Braid blog, the game is now the highest rated Xbox Live Arcade game yet released. It currently holds a 92 average on Metacritic and 93 on Game Rankings. According to Metacritic, Braid is in fact the tenth highest rated Xbox 360 game. The game edges out Mass Effect and is currently tied with Guitar Hero II and Rock Band. With one more percentage point Braid would become the eight highest rated 360 title.Additionally, the official Braid blog reports that the VGChartz estimate that the game has sold about 28.5 thousand units "seems to be in the right neighborhood" but adds that "a lot more" will be needed before the game becomes profitable. What's the big deal about Braid? Find out in our X3F Insight feature: Why should we care about Braid?
X3F Insight: Why should we care about Braid?
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/Why_should_we_care_about_Braid'; Braid has had quite the mixed reaction thus far. Critics universally adore the game. Gamers, on the other hand, are more divided. Some have taken the 1200 Microsoft Point plunge and never looked back. Others see the price as an impenetrable wall or, in some cases, as permission to let Microsoft charge more on future XBLA titles. We decided to take it upon ourselves to make a case for Braid, as it's really one of the best gaming experiences we've had in a while.Read on to see why we should care about Braid.
Official Braid walkthrough: Don't use a walkthrough
After finishing Braid yesterday afternoon (yeah, we like it that much) we found ourselves contemplating the game's beautiful, fragmented story. "What does it all mean?" we wondered. So, we decided to look for an FAQ that might help explain things a bit. After searching high and low, we found one in an unlikely place: the official Braid website. We eagerly clicked ahead. The first page detailed the very beginning of the game through the first puzzle piece. The second page begins thusly: "... once you get into the actual puzzles, solve them for yourself and do not use a walkthrough!"The rest of the "walkthrough" goes on to note that all of the puzzles are "reasonable" and that we should be diligent in solving them without resorting to a walkthrough. D'oh! Duped by those crafty creators! We have to admit it's pretty funny though. Also, we heartily agree. If you are having trouble solving the puzzles in Braid, just stick to it. Move on to the next puzzle and come back later. Like the walkthrough says, "you will feel cool and smart" if you do.We feel cool and smart. Now if someone could just help us understand the story, we'd be set.[Via Joystiq]
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Braid
Braid, put simply, is a gem. Not everyone will like Braid, but those that do like it will like it a lot. It's a beautiful game. Period. From it's visuals to its soundscape to its wonderfully clever puzzles, Braid is something that really should be experienced by anyone who considers him or herself to be a gamer. That said, 1200 points is a hefty price for an XBLA game. Chances are good that by the time you finish the trial version you will already have made up your mind one way or another. Frankly, we think Braid deserves all the love it can get.[iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes.[Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly (Zune Marketplace link coming soon).[RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[M4V] Download the M4V directly.
XBLA receives Braid and its time bending puzzles
Just so you are aware, Xbox Live Arcade game Braid just released to the XBLA today. And for 1200 Microsoft points, no more, and definitely no less. Featuring a distinct paint-like art style, challenging platformer puzzles, the ability to control time (Blinx style!) and a non-linear storyline, Braid may just be worth the 1200 points and a place in your XBLA library. But you'll never know unless you give it a try. Download the trial, see if Braid floats your metaphorical boat and be open minded. At the very least, you should enjoy bending time.%Gallery-7424%
1200 MS point Braid releases to the XBLA this week
Microsoft, Number None Inc. and Jonathan Blow just made the official announcement that the time bending puzzling adventures of Braid will be making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday, August 6th. Just as was expected. The most newsworthy news coming from today's press release is the fact that the rumored prices for August's XBLA titles that MS later said were incorrect have turned out to be legit! At least for Braid, because it will cost you 1200 Microsoft points as was rumored weeks ago. Hopefully it is just a coincidence, because an 1800 point Castle Crashers makes us shake in our boots.%Gallery-7424%
Braid XBLA Gameplay Video
Featured at GDC along with a host of other games, Braid is an time-bending platformer that will hit XBLA sometime this summer. The simpler aspects of the gameplay and design hearken back the to the early days of platforming history, but the inclusion of control over time adds enough depth that this could easily be called a puzzler wrapped in a platforming skin. The players ability to play with the fabric of reality is limited however, to allow for levels of difficulty and replayablity. For example, there are certain things in the world (enemies, items, etc) that will not respond to your attempt to bend them to your chronal will, and will continue in timelines of their own changing the way you must use or avoid them. The game will have many different modes and looks to our eyes to be an interesting and original experience, but hey, just watch the video and see for yourself. [Edit: The video is now working, sorry for the delay.]
Time bending platformer Braid coming to XBLA
Apparently lost in the shuffle of the announcements of Ninja Gaiden 2 and major Japanese support for Xbox Live Arcade, it seems another title is heading to our favorite download service. Called Braid, the game is a platformer that relies on time manipulation to clear the obstacles that lie in the players path. We should also mention that it won in the category of innovation at the 2006 Independent Game Festival. Upon first seeing it, we figured the game centered around the adventures of a tiny John Belushi. Man, were we wrong.%Gallery-7424%[Via Joystiq]
