The Princess and The Atomic Bomb – Braid
If the closing moments of Braid, Jonathan Blow’s breakout indie platformer, didn’t make it obvious, you were the bad guy all along. However, the game has these hidden stars that are difficult to collect. If you collected all of them, then the princess would “explode”. The ending constellation, only complete by the princess’ demise, would reveal a girl in chains. A quote from Kenneth Bainbridge – the man responsible for the Trinity bomb test, comprising the very first nuclear weapon ever detonated – is also included in the game, which led many to suspect that protagonist Tim represents a scientist endlessly pursuing the creation of the first nuclear bomb. Jonathan Blow never really clarified if this was the case but Braid continues to mesmerize us to this day.
