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Tim is the protagonist, antagonist and main character in Braid. The player controls Tim using the arrow keys or joystick to move and the Space Bar or confirm button to jump. Pressing Up or Down usually makes him look up or down, however pressing up also activates levers and doors if Tim is standing in front of one, and in World 6 pressing down sets down or picks up the magic ring. He is simultaneously the hero and (unknowingly) the villain.
Background[]
Tim's occupation and many details of his personal life are unrevealed during the game, but vague allusions to both are seen through the prologues to each world. What little is shown paints him as a man shaped by regret, intellectual intensity, and a lifelong fear of imperfection. His childhood home seems to have been marked by strict expectations and strained communication, instilling in him a need to avoid mistakes and a constant anxiety about disappointing others. As he grew older, he sought escape through education, relationships, and new environments, yet each brought new pressures. Instead of finding clarity, Tim became increasingly preoccupied with his missteps and the desire to undo them.
His relationship with the Princess, whether literal or symbolic, became the emotional center of his life. Tim loved her deeply, but his obsession with correcting every error prevented genuine closeness, ultimately driving them apart. Now he wanders through worlds shaped by memory and emotion, trying to reclaim what he lost and prove he has grown beyond his past. His journey is as much an attempt to reconcile with his own flaws as it is a search for the Princess, reflecting a man trapped between longing to fix the past and learning to live with it.
Appearance[]
Tim appears to be a short man of undetermined age, with straight brown-red hair and chiseled facial features. Tim's eye colour is undetermined. Throughout the game, Tim wears a navy blue/black suit jacket, white shirt, red tie (which flaps as Tim runs), grey suit trousers and black shoes. Sometimes when left to do nothing for an extended periods of time, Tim is seen straightening his tie. Tim also carries a ring (which he uses to assist in his time manipulation) but it is unknown whether he wears it. In one of the books in the prologue to World 6 (Hesitance), it is said that Tim keeps the ring in his pocket, though no pockets are seen on his jacket or in his trousers.
Abilities[]
Time Manipulation[]
Tim's main power, and the crux of the game, is his ability to manipulate time, activated by holding down Shift. Tim can reverse, forward (up to the original point at which time manipulation was activated), and freeze time. Reversing time undoes everything that has happened, until the player releases Shift. Forwarding time is useful if Tim has reversed time too much, allowing Tim to accurately pinpoint a specific point in time and henceforth continue gameplay. Green Glow elements are unaffected by time manipulation. This allows Tim to undo mistakes or miscalculations, and has further, more complex effects in later worlds of the game.
Because of his power, Tim cannot die. If any action causes Tim to die (such as hitting a spike), he will fall to the bottom of the screen, but then time will pause and an indication to press Shift will appear. Therefore, Tim has no health, lives, or other such statistics as commonly found in other games. There is also no "Game Over" screen.