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THE WITNESS
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Sailerius
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So I picked up The Witness on its launch date and have clocked about 6 hours in it so far. For those who haven't heard of it, it's a puzzle/adventure game designed by Jonathan Blow, creator of Braid.
I've been really impressed by the elegance and cleverness of the design so far. It has a fantastic learning curve and the best tutorial system I've ever seen in a game; it's gentle without holding your hand, and instructive without being condescending. Despite superficial similarities to Myst, I would say the game closest to it in gameplay that I've played is Portal.
It's been making the rounds on Twitter as a must-play for game designers because of the masterful elegance of the mechanics, perfect pacing, and constant progression of concepts without being over-complicated or having any filler.
Has anyone else played it yet? Have it given you ideas on how to implement progression in your games? Please be sure to mark spoilers!
Jeroen_Sol
Nothing reveals Humanity so well as the games it plays. A game of betrayal, where the most suspicious person is brutally murdered? How savage.
3885
I saw this picture, thought it looked cool, read you compared it to Portal, looked it up on Steam, checked out a few of the promo videos, and am currently downloading it.
A bit pricey, but I do love me a good puzzle game. I'll get back to you when I've put a few hours in.
A bit pricey, but I do love me a good puzzle game. I'll get back to you when I've put a few hours in.
author=Jeroen_Sol
A bit pricey, but I do love me a good puzzle game. I'll get back to you when I've put a few hours in.
It is pricey for an indie game, but it reportedly takes 30-40 hours for an average player to complete it, so the wealth of quality content and the high production values more than justify it, I think. I'm happy to encourage indies to price their games fairly.
author=kentonaIt's a puzzle game. If you like games like Portal, you'll probably enjoy it. It's hard to talk about what specifically you do in enough detail to convey the concept without ruining the experience. I guess the simplest way to put it is that it's designed to provoke the joy of discovery as you learn about the mechanics and the way the world works, so any attempt to summarize it for you would spoil it.
so... what do you do in the game?
author=Saileriusauthor=kentonaIt's a puzzle game. If you like games like Portal, you'll probably enjoy it. It's hard to talk about what specifically you do in enough detail to convey the concept without ruining the experience. I guess the simplest way to put it is that it's designed to provoke the joy of discovery as you learn about the mechanics and the way the world works, so any attempt to summarize it for you would spoil it.
so... what do you do in the game?
So it's one of those games?
I'm down for it!
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
author=SnowOwl
Feels like a mobile puzzle game in a 3D package.
Yeah, this was my impression watching a LP of it; there doesn't seem to be much to it beyond "wander around, find puzzle, solve puzzle, wander around some more" with pretty graphics.
The puzzles seem very well done and it's amazingly good at communicating what you need to do without words, but AFAICT it's completely lacking in any kind of premise or connective tissue.
Also Blow's apparently gone on record saying he'd rather not have it be known as his game, since other developers also worked on it.
author=SoozYou really can't experience what makes the game so great from an LP. The mechanical and conceptual progression takes place entirely in your mind, so watching an LP of it is a bit like listening to someone describe the taste of pizza without ever trying it yourself. It's natural that you wouldn't think there's anything connecting the gameplay if you haven't personally experienced it.
Yeah, this was my impression watching a LP of it; there doesn't seem to be much to it beyond "wander around, find puzzle, solve puzzle, wander around some more" with pretty graphics.
The puzzles seem very well done and it's amazingly good at communicating what you need to do without words, but AFAICT it's completely lacking in any kind of premise or connective tissue.
An LP just ruins The Witness because there's nothing to watch. Other games have story or spectacle or humor or something to make them entertaining even if you're not playing, but The Witness only serves the player.
That said, if you don't really enjoy puzzle games, you probably wouldn't like it, but I would strongly urge you not to try to tell people what the game is like if you haven't personally played it.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
I'm not gonna say you're wrong, but I've bought games with a similar issue based on LPs, because I can generally tell whether I'm going to get into the gameplay, and Witness just doesn't really grab me the way those games did.
I'm a narrative-focused gal at heart, so while I'm definitely impressed by the gameplay, it's not appealing enough for me to drop forty bucks for the prospect that I might find something in there. That's a trip to the grocery store, or food for my pets, or a cabinet from the thrift store, and I need all those more than I need a puzzle game, much as I enjoy them.
I'm a narrative-focused gal at heart, so while I'm definitely impressed by the gameplay, it's not appealing enough for me to drop forty bucks for the prospect that I might find something in there. That's a trip to the grocery store, or food for my pets, or a cabinet from the thrift store, and I need all those more than I need a puzzle game, much as I enjoy them.
Jeroen_Sol
Nothing reveals Humanity so well as the games it plays. A game of betrayal, where the most suspicious person is brutally murdered? How savage.
3885
I've played about 3 hours of the game so far, and I'm enjoying the heck out of it. I love how complex puzzles that start out with the concept of drawing a line can become, and the joy of something clicking in your head, learning a new symbol or just generally finding something while exploring is something I haven't felt in a while. It's the sort of feeling I felt while playing Portal and Layton, and I'm glad to have another game to make me feel that.
I'm usually very narrative-focused as well, but the lack of it really helps with the atmosphere of the game, I find. You're all alone and free to explore and do whatever you want. I like it. Definitely happy I bought the game, pricey as it may be.
I'm usually very narrative-focused as well, but the lack of it really helps with the atmosphere of the game, I find. You're all alone and free to explore and do whatever you want. I like it. Definitely happy I bought the game, pricey as it may be.
author=SaileriusI haven't played Portal... or Myst.author=kentonaIt's a puzzle game. If you like games like Portal, you'll probably enjoy it. It's hard to talk about what specifically you do in enough detail to convey the concept without ruining the experience. I guess the simplest way to put it is that it's designed to provoke the joy of discovery as you learn about the mechanics and the way the world works, so any attempt to summarize it for you would spoil it.
so... what do you do in the game?
author=kentonaThat's surprising considering how they practically give the first portal for free every once in a while. Does the premise not interest you? I can understand about myst though, i haven't played that either.
I haven't played Portal... or Myst.
author=Mirakauthor=kentonaThat's surprising considering how they practically give the first portal for free every once in a while. Does the premise not interest you? I can understand about myst though, i haven't played that either.
I haven't played Portal... or Myst.
Oh I own it. I got it for free when I signed up for Steam years ago. It was just the case of it being released after 2007 thus I haven't played it.
I've never looked at Portal because I was under the impression that it was a Half-Life kind of alien shooter.
It's actually a puzzle-styled game? I might have to check it out come Steam's summer sale.
It's actually a puzzle-styled game? I might have to check it out come Steam's summer sale.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
author=Aetherrevival
I've never looked at Portal because I was under the impression that it was a Half-Life kind of alien shooter.
It's actually a puzzle-styled game? I might have to check it out come Steam's summer sale.
Yeah, it's mostly "figure out where to put thing so you don't die."
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