IFS: Reading, Writing, and Speaking in the Digital Age

Braid tells a duality of parables over its short, six hour length.  One of the very first downloadable indie darlings of the digital age of games, Braid presents an out of order story to the player's character, Tim.  Tim relays a tale that he has made a terrible mistake, and that he must overcome great challenges to win his princess back.  The game employs a time manipulation mechanic whereby Tim can bend time to his will, reversing it at the press of a button and controlling it with the simplest of movements.  The end of the game, embedded to the right, shows a disturbing reality in the romantic tale of love gone wrong.  The antagonist that Tim was attempting to thwart was actually the savior of his princess all along.  His control of time simply served to show how little control he had of the situation the whole time, and his insistance upon reviving the romance of the past is indeed what kills his chances for an ongoing relationship.  Tim appears to be the protagonist throughout the entire game, and serves to be an undercover villain in the end.  This is reflective of how relationships and abuse inside of those relationships are.  One can think they are entirely innocent, and still end up with monstrous actions on his or her behalf.  Braid gives the player a great deal of control in the world, only to reveal that the very persuit of control was the enemy all along.