Jonathan Blow, creator and prime developer on 2008’s puzzle platform game Braid, recently started a development blog for his next new game The Witness, and released a few pieces of concept art from the game to clue us in a little further as to what it might all be about, in addition to some concept test renders to show off a combination of interesting lighting technology solutions.

First up, you can have a look through some of the wonderful looking concept art for The Witness, created by artist Eric Urquhart who, according to Jonathan Blow, has been working on the game for quite some time now. Have a gander:

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Braid makes an appearance on the US PlayStation Store today (but not yet for Europeans…), Star Trek D-A-C, and the usual assortment of interesting videos, Guitar Hero 5 and Rock Band content, and game add-ons.

Of special note for European PlayStation Store browsers would be the addition of the entire library of Fallout 3 downloadable content (DLC), and the Burnout Paradise Big Surf Bundle, which includes the full game and the Big Surf island DLC.

Browse through the full list of content available now on both the European and US PlayStation Stores below (now including content for the PSP and PSPgo):

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Hothead Games has announced that it will be bringing Jonathan Blow’s popular puzzle platformer Braid to the PlayStation Network. Braid will be available on the North American PlayStation Store on the 12th of November, while a European date is promised shortly.

Braid allows players to manipulate time as hero Tim, journeying through a series of different worlds, solving puzzles along the way on a quest to save the princess. Tim has the power to affect time in a different way in each world, including the ability to rewind, create parallel universes and make use of time dilation to overcome obstacles.

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Jonathon Blow, the creator of the hit, thought-provoking Xbox LIVE Arcade Game game, Braid, has put up a teaser website for his next game, The Witness.

A mysterious and teasing explanation reveals the game to be “An exploration-puzzle game on an uninhabited island,” and will be released on “multiple platforms” or “whatever makes sense in late 2011, when the game will hopefully be finished.”

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A job posting on Braid creator Jonathan Blow’s development website and subsequent email to EndSights has confirmed that he is hiring for his next project, a puzzle-exploration game.

The posting for the 3D Environment Concept Artist and Lead 3D Artist both read, “Work with a small team on a puzzle-exploration game that is philosophical, and quiet, and is being made for reasons other than crass profit motive.”

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Canada-based Hothead Games (famous for its popular RPG series, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness) has teamed up with independent developers to bring some of the latest titles to new gaming platforms.

Jonathan Blow’s Braid launched on Xbox Live Arcade in 2008 and blew gamers away with its innovative gameplay and distinctive art style. Hothead and Blow have partnered to bring Braid to the Mac.

The Maw by Twisted Pixel landed on Xbox Live Arcade last month and delighted gamers with its memorable characters and challenging puzzles. Now Hothead will be bringing The Maw to the PC, “integrating special features to make the crowd-pleaser compatible with multiple as-of-yet-unannounced digital distribution platforms and services.”

El33tonline game the thumbs-up to both titles. Check out our reviews of Braid and The Maw to see why.

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Once in a while a game comes along that just bends your mind in ways you didn’t know it could bend, changing, in some small way, the way you think forever. What Super Mario Galaxy did for gravity mechanics, Braid does for time mechanics; in the same way your mind folded in new ways when Mario jumped from planet to planet, only to soon internalise the ideas, revel in their originality and creatively solve problems with your new-found understanding, so it does when Braid approaches time in completely new ways. If only for this, I cannot recommend Braid enough, especially to jaded gamers who’ve seen it all before.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Braid.

I haven’t often seen information about sales on PSN, XBLA and Wii Ware, so any news about it is good news. According to the developers blog, the game is estimated to have sold around 55000 in its first week. That sounds like an excellent number to me assuming sales are not completely front-loaded, and the post says “the sales didn’t just die after the first few days, as they do with some games”.

You might ask why I care? Well, Braid is awesome, mindbendingly so. It’s also different, being a 2D platformer with some very unique mechanics, and one of the most interesting games on XBLA. So, I’m keen to see it succeed in the hope that more of these indie, experimental games might get produced. The post says, in this developer’s case, that “it looks like I will be able to make the next game, without needing to get a job that would interfere with that.” Great success!

Creator of Braid Jonathan Blow is “less happy” with the 1 200 price tag attached to the XBLA game. He would have been happy with a launch price of 800.

Speaking on the Braid blog, Blow explained how the increased price helped him guard against the “Space Giraffe problem” where Jeff Minter priced his non-mainstream game cheaper but barely made any money.

Blow continued “There is a significant possibility that Braid would have been the next Psychonauts or Beyond Good and Evil (critically acclaimed but nobody played it), even at $10. If that happens at $10 then I am in debt and have to get a job and can’t make games any more. If that happens at $15, maybe I can still make games. That is the difference.”

Even so Blow does not know if he would have been able to convince Microsoft to release the game at 800 Points. “So it seemed my best move was to make the agreement and keep a good relationship with them.”

He ended his discussion with this reply to a gamer concerned about the price. “All I can say is, try the demo all the way through (you can play pieces of 3 different worlds) and if it seems like it’s worth $15 to you, then, cool. If not…well, hopefully Braid will get price-reduced in the future.”

Braid is now available on Xbox Live Arcade for 1 200 Microsoft Points.

Today’s XBLA offering is Braid, a 2D puzzle-platformer that challenges players to solve puzzles by manipulating the flow of time.

Developed by Number None, Braid sees players journeying to different worlds, solving puzzles to save a princess. The challenge is that time behaves differently in each world, with each puzzle revealing something different about the world. Time behaviours are varied and include rewinding, independent time streams, time that is tied to space, parallel realities and time dilation.

Nonlinear game play means that players can proceed even if a particular puzzle stumps them, simply play on and return later to solve that puzzle. Braid is available today for 1 200 Microsoft Points.

Now is it just me, or is the line from this screenshot familiar from a certain other series?