No time to sleep… I can figure this out!

Every once in a while a game will come along and grab your brain in that special way. Call it inspiration, fascination, infatuation, autism, or what-have-you but it’s just not easy to shake. This weekend an unsuspecting Xbox Arcade download called Braid grabbed my brain…and wouldn’t let go.

At first glance Braid looks a like platform game. You have a guy, he can jump, and there are side-scrolling jump puzzles. Holding on to that Mario paradigm won’t get you very far in Braid. In addition to a jump button you have second button that you can press to manipulate time. The effect subtly changes from world to world, but essentially you can reverse time at will…but not all things are affected by your time manipulation…but most things are. So it’s not just a matter of where you jump but when you jump…but you can control the when to jump….now and sometimes in the past…. You just kind of have to play it. Sufficed to say that Braid is more of a puzzle game than a platform game, it’s a puzzle game in platform’s clothing if you will.

Much to my surprise, my brain really digs it. How do I know…because I can’t stop thinking about it! Oh trust me, I’ve tried, but when the distractions of the day melt away and I lie there trying to fall asleep my brain flips back to working on time manipulation puzzles. It thinks, perhaps I could fold time in this way to let the past me open that door for the present me. If I slow down time there and reverse time over there then maybe I can get the key over there. Arghgh…..Please stop thinking about time. So my brain does… kind of… instead of thinking about the game it presents me with a list of telltale signs that a person can manipulate time.

According to half-a-sleep Bill brain the number one sign of a time manipulator is someone who never has regrets. At first we thought it was someone who was always right…but then we considered what if they purposely did something that looked wrong to people in the present, but would be correct in the long term, that would eventually be right…. Having no regrets for a “wrong” decision would be a surer indicator. Isn’t having no regrets also an indicator of a psychopath? Kind of makes you wonder.

Speaking of psychopaths, the neighbor’s Big Wheels are continuing to creep me out…plus they are multiplying. A third one appeared.