Penny Arcade dev Hothead Games is teaming with other independent developers to bring indie games to new platforms. The first fruits of their labor: Braid on Mac and The Maw on PC.
No need to feel bad for Steve Jobs acolytes who enjoy their games with a healthy dose of melancholy and heady game mechanics any longer. Braid, the acclaimed time-warping puzzle-platformer, has been on Xbox Live Arcade and is coming to PC, but now it’s finally headed for Macs too.
Mac-owning gamers who like to drink and get drunk or smoke and get high can thank Hothead Games, the studio responsible for the Penny Arcade games, for this. The studio is starting a new initiative for partnering with other independent developers to bring independent titles to new platforms. Another formerly XBLA-only title, Twisted Pixel’s The Maw, will be getting the Hothead treatment as well, making the move to multiple digital distribution platforms on PC and even getting some “special features” along the way.
“We focus on finding new distribution opportunities so that [independent developers] can focus on what they do best: developing their next great game,” Hothead COO Joel DeYoung said. “These two titles represent only the tip of the iceberg. We’re committed to working with indies and helping them be successful, so look for lots more announcements to come.”
Work on the Mac version of Braid has been going on since at least January, according to creator Jonathan Blow’s last update on the topic. Last he mentioned it, he’d hired someone to port his code and that the Mac version would be out shortly after the PC version. With Braid debuting on Stardock’s Impulse digital distribution service and eventually others at the end of March, the Mac version could come some time in April. No word on pricing, but considering the uproar over the PC version costing $20 as opposed to $15 that eventually forced Blow to drop his asking price, don’t be surprised to see it ending up costing $15.
