Braid video game launches to acclaim with Magnatune music

The video game Braid came out today for the Xbox Live Arcade to rapturous reviews, such as this one from PC Gamer Magazine (UK): "Braid is an ingenious and startlingly creative puzzle game, built with an understanding of good game design that even some of the industry's most revered figures could learn from."

The music in the game is licensed from Magnatune and the Braid Blog lists all the sources.

The music used in the game is:

* “Maenam”, by Jami Sieber, from the album Hidden Sky.

* “Undercurrent” and “The Darkening Ground”, by Jami Sieber, from the album Lush Mechanique.

* “Tell It By Heart” and “Long Past Gone”, by Jami Sieber, from the album Second Sight.

* “Downstream”, by Shira Kammen, from the album Music of Waters.

* “Lullaby Set”, by Shira Kammen and Swan, from the album Wild Wood.

* “Romanesca”, by Cheryl Ann Fulton, from the album The Once and Future Harp.

Here is a youtube video showing the game play, as well as the use of the music.

A big hearty thanks to Braid for blogging and promoting their use of our music!

Comments

[Joshua Kairl]

Braid is a very great game and it has been praised via all the gaming press please take the time to play it

[speci]

very great game with big score ... thanks to the artists ! best music ever in a video game.

[Matt]

Not sure if this kind of thing is possible with the licenses of magnatune music, but the artists would be doing themselves a favor if they made it possible to buy these particular tracks in a compilation album. There's plenty of demand for the music, but buying the six full albums for upwards of $30 might be asking a bit much of an Xbox owner trying to do the right thing and spend the money.

Can individual tracks be purchased?

[minus_273]

there should definitely be a braid sound track set :) esp to tie into the game while it is still popular. I think the artists would really benefit from that.

[scott]

itunes has it
as imixes by user
braid soundtrack
it cost
$7.92

[Joe]

iMixes and soundtrack nothin'. This music is excellent and I'm pretty damn pleased to be directed to the artists that created it. Consider me purchasing many of these albums (gradually).

[Mark]

If you want all six albums at a better value, just try the monthly download membership. It's $18 and you can download as much as you want.

[Z]

John,

I hadn't even heard about the Magnatune music in this game and was pleasantly surprised when I was playing the demo today and recognized several of the tracks from my Magnatune collection. Awesome!

I recall you mentioning a few years ago that you were hoping that some of the Magnatune music would show up in some games. This is a great thing, especially since this game is quite accessible to a large audience of Xbox players.

By the way... It's a great game, with lots of very unique and difficult puzzles, beautiful music and dazzling visuals.

[Michael H.]

John, Magnatune should offer a Braid promotional compilation (with the permission of the artists, of course). You probably have no idea how many gamers out there would actually be interested in picking up this music, and it would certainly raise the profile of Magnatune.

[John Buckman from Magnatune]

re: Braid promotional compilation

I completely agree, and I'm working with Jonathan, who did Braid, to pick a few more songs and get some Braid-related artwork together, so that we can make an official Braid Soundtrack.

We're also trying to find a way to sell the music through the video game channels.

This should come soon, it's a high priority for both of us.

-john

[d+pad]

The music is just one aspect of this amazing game.

My Braid experience: http://croutondays.d3p0.com/braid/

[ThatsGobbles]

John: That would be great to see an actual Braid soundtrack complete with artwork and all. Hopefully it pulls through!

I found Magnatune through playing Braid and doing some Googlework to see if there was an actual OST, so I'm sure an OST will be highly appreciated by the gaming community as a whole and will generate some sales.

[Halo_Four]

The Jami Sieber albums are available on eMusic as well so you can purchase the tracks individually as completely unencumbered MP3s.

[Lyricon]

Well, I just joined this site for a 3-month download membership. Had never heard about Magnatune before discovering it through Jonathan's Braid-blog, after falling in love with the games music. Awesome game too :)

[Mark]

John, any update as to the status of a soundtrack?

[tim]

Braid is what brought me to Magnatunes. Just signed as a member. Awesome game, awesome music, awesome site. I even purchased a song for our companies new TV commercial.

[Kelly]

The game exceeded most expectations. According to the official Braid blog, the game is now "the highest rated game" for XBLA, with a 92/100 from both Metacritic and GameRankings. Braid is in the 10th highest ranked game for the 360 on Metacritic, among the ranks of such amazing titles as GTA4, Bioshock, Gears of War, Oblivion, and Rock Band.

wow, the ending is epic when you rewind time.

Any word on that soundtrack?

[V]

This music is absolutely beautiful. I'm so happy Jonathan Blow put the links up, or else I wouldn't have known where the music was from. I know I could've checked the credits, but I don't really read them. I guess I should from now on, huh? Thanks magnatune for bringing amazing classical scores to the human ear. It's the most naturalistic and real music out there. Thank you so much. :)

[ThatsGobbles]

I've been wondering, is the soundtrack going to happen?

[Mark]

Thanks so much for the OST! It is absolutely fantastic, and the album art is beautiful!

[John from Magnatune]

The Braid soundtrack is now available at:

http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/braid-soundtrack/