This post requires some extra focus on the part of the reader — partially because it is several thousand words long (!) — but I assure you it is worth it.
In fact, this post may forever change the way you think about games. And it’s not because of anything I did.
For starters, I have two quotes for you all to read.
The first, referring to the later worlds of an upcoming video game: “I think that a lot of people feel like the point of life is to be happy, or comfortable, or something like that, whereas I am highly suspicious of those things. All other things being equal I like being happy, but the problem is, all other things are not equal — probably happiness comes at a cost, possibly a great cost. I think this idea is very important in the background of the fiction, most solidly around worlds 5 and 6.”
The second: “If you think a game is ‘Madden 2008,’ then hey, games probably aren’t art.”
Are you intrigued? Have you just read the thoughts of a kindred soul? Or have you just read something that makes you angry?
The quotes are from Jonathan Blow, the enterprising developer of the upcoming PC (and console?) game “Braid.” I first met him and played his game — both briefly — at Game Developer’s Conference 2006, where his game won the design innovation award.
Since that GDC I’ve wanted to play more of his time-warping side-scroller, and this weekend I did. I also wanted to talk to Blow more, and over the last 24 hours he not only let me, but showed me a generosity I’ve rarely seen in interview subjects. Via an e-mail interview — a format I generally dislike — he bared not just the history of “Braid” but, I think, a good deal of his soul as a game designer and as a person.
If the quotes above intrigued you, I strongly suggest you print the rest of this post out and give it a thorough read. While I excerpted from my exchange with him in my GameFile column at MTVNews.com (where I also explained a couple of the game’s levels), it’s really best for you to read his full, unedited thoughts on everything from his disappointment with “TimeShift” and the “unethical” design of most MMOs to his abandoned concepts for “Braid” and his fascinating vision for what games can be.
That last bit came in reference to a question I posed about his dislike of the name of the online gaming publication “The Escapist.” If you’re pressed for time, do a search and read that one. Trust me.
The interview begins after the jump.
(All images in this post are part of “Braid” screen-shots — world art by David Hellman; character by Edmund McMillen. Click them to see more of the game. And go to Jonathan’s site for more on the game.)