Action has an interview with the founder of the Experimental Gameplay Workshop at GDC and developer of Braid, which won the 2006 IGF prize for Innovation in Game Design and was a finalist for the Slamdance Guerilla Gamemaker competition. Jonathan Blow talks about starting out as an indie fairly young, the difference in what is considered “cutting-edge” in games over the years, and tips on prototyping. He talks about the development of Braid, which I found really interesting, especially the way he took the time travel aspect and applied it differently from other games such as Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.
Near the end, he talks about story in games, specifically saying that games can tell a story without resorting to the methods used in media such as books and movies. He referenced Rod Humble’s games The Marriage and A Walk with Max which featured in this past year’s Experimental Gameplay Workshop.
You can check out Jonathan Blow’s home page and see some of the prototypes he has created.