I can’t comment on the game, since I don’t think I’ll be willing to pay money to act out that relationship ever. But it occurred to me that Blow was doing the same thing that the Columbine RPG did: appropriate someone else’s game and paste a tragedy on top.

I know most people don’t have the experience of desperately locking a succession of doors against someone who doesn’t want to understand ‘no’, and so I know this response is not normal.

But it does seem in order for this to be successful, people do have to be someone entertained/unaffected by the scenario to appreciate the plot twist.

(…Looking forward to the Beyond Good and Evil sequel, and hoping they keep Jade’s voice actress.)

It even upsets me a bit at the moment, because I didn’t really want this feeling or to start thinking about relationships I’ve botched – I just wanted a distraction and some fun puzzles.

It’s worth mentioning, though, that neither the conventional ending nor the extra one actually end the game. That seems to be a key theme – even if you get what you want, it’s not over.

My take on the conflicting evidence about Braid’s subject – girl, truth or atomic bomb? – is that Tim is the same guy throughout, but the nature of the Princess changes with each chapter. At first she’s a girl. Then he gets the girl, and is pursuing his work, his scientific obsession, and she’s sat at home sadly accepting that his interest now lies elsewhere. Then he achieves the understanding he was after in his work, but wants to put it to use. Then we are all sons of bitches.

And post-nuke, even after his obsession has killed the very figure of the princess – be she innocence, safety, truth, mother earth or the love of a girl – some Tims /still/ seek a princess in even more unknowable, unreachable places, ignoring the Earth they’ve ruined for the stars.

She’s different this time, not a girl just one castle away from reunion, but a thing which even when attained and understood, remains a chained maiden in the sky, light-years from us. That could be seen as either acceptance or eternal frustration on Tim’s part, depending on what kind of Tim you are.

Braid says a lot of harsh things about the male psyche that, as a man, I find uncomfortably accurate.

I don’t know if any of you noticed, but in the house, the painting from world 4 of the guy looking in a room is the Princess’ room, Then one of the other paintings is another room in the house.