I think this simple little 3-panel comic strip (and the accompanying news post) is going to wind up being one of the important pieces of “software writing” from 2008. There’s nothing terribly insightful about it, but it was the right thing to say at the right time.
Braid is turning into a notable success, which is crazy because it’s brainy, arty, very slow-paced, and on a platform which eschews all these values.
The ever-inflating costs of mainstream videogame development — coupled with the financial bonanza that Popcap is wallowing in — are pushing a lot of creatives toward “indie development.” But I’ve been skeptical that the gamers will follow them. I guess this is because I haven’t met a single person who is at all interested in the scene.
We’ll never know how many copies would have been “sold” had this strip not been published. There’s no telling whether the legions who bought Braid based on Tycho’s review will buy other eccentric indie titles without the go-ahead from on high. I sure hope so.
