Sometimes the best hiding spot is out in the open. Jonathan Blow, the indie developer behind the hit Braid, showed off his latest project at PAX — on an unassuming, unmarked PC in the midst of the show floor. He detailed his reasoning on his blog. “At a show full of companies trying to capture your attention and sell you things, I wanted to do something that is subtle, and a surprise — if you notice it, and decide to investigate, you find something unexpected.” He also said he wanted people to play without time limitations, and announcing the game formally might have led to long lines.
He says he didn’t want to let players know who developed it, or what it was. Instead, Blow kept his distance and took the occasional glance to see how players were doing. “Happily, the game worked very well — despite the fact that the visuals are still in an early prototype stage. People tended to play for a long time, and they liked what they played.” With his social experiment behind him, Blow says all that’s left now is to “finish the game.”
It’s an interesting way to give a game a real-world test, but Blow might have a hard time doing it again. Now that word is out, the next convention he attends is sure to have eagle-eyed players looking for his brainchild.
