When No Choice == More Choice

It appears upon first analysis that Braid and Problem-Attic give their players drastically different freedom of choice in the way they are experienced, with the former given more than the latter. In Braid, we are given the option to simply run through most levels in a sprint to the end, completing only trivial puzzles along the way. After World 2, a player could get 90% of the written narrative by simply entering and exciting the other four world's over-worlds. In contrast, after the first handful of levels Problem-Attic pushes the player a long a linear series of rooms. It is designed to be experienced in a specific order.

From a proceduralist perspective Braid gives the player more choice than Problem-Attic as whether to put in the greater effort and pursue the puzzle pieces is left as an option to the player. However, the puzzle pieces are explicitly necessary to gain access to the attic and gain access to the "true" or "complete" story. Though poised as a choice, collection of the pieces in practice is more compulsive than optional, especially in light of the completionism group's presentation which explored the common compulsion among gamers to collect and complete. I found myself putting in an extra three hours to finish braid, not because I really wanted to, but because I felt compelled by the roped off attic.

There is also a meta-component to consider when contemplating the choice presented by Braid. Braid is a commercial product that costs $15, making the decision to quit after only experiencing some of the narrative a financially unwise one. Problem-Attic is a free flash game that invites the player to experience it without having to risk any money. In this way, continuing to play Braid to completion becomes non-negotiable in a capitalist society where a purchase of a product suggests that we must obtain a certain threshold of utility from it.

The no-barriers nature of Problem-Attic combined with its repeated commands "to go fuck yourself" or stop playing appears to me to be a meta-proceduralist way of conveying an aspect of Ryerson's experience, her suicidal ideation. To play the game is to persist despite the headache inducing and disquieting graphics, controls, sound effects, etc. It is to remain in a world which does not want or accept you when the choice to exit it is far easier. In some small way this may allow the player to empathize with the experience of transsexuals in our country. Problem-Attics non-choice choice is ultimately more profound to the player than Braid's conventional choices.