I found Braid to be a lot different than I imagined (not that I’m a big gamer and had much prior knowledge to go off of). I thought the introductory sections, the little reading stones, were really interesting. It reminded me of Mario: the mission to save the princess; however, this explanation went into more detail, introducing the relationship between Tim and the princess. A relationship full of lies and hurt (mistakes) is portrayed from the tablets. I think the theme of “mistakes” and trying to correct them, or learn from them played a huge role in the make-up of the game.
The first time that I “died” during the game, I freaked out. I thought that I was going to have to go all the way back to the beginning of the world, and start over. Then, when it told me to press the “shift” button, I came to see that I essentially brought myself back from the dead. At first, I pressed the shift button only long enough to get out of the fire pit, and encounter the hedgehog that had killed me the first time; so I died again. And again. Finally, I realized that I was able to place myself wherever I preferred to make a change in my previous path; I was going back in time, and able to correct my errors, just as Tim was trying to correct his mistakes. After I came to this realization, I was able to manipulate the game, knowing where I had to go before I died, so that I could get back there. The game became one of manipulation, but also proved that if you see where your mistakes lay, it is much easier to reverse the path in order to avoid them again; as long as you learn something, take something away from your errors, things will turn out alright.