They're still figuring out whether it'll be digital only.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
The Witness - Release Date Trailer, coming 26th January 2016
- Thread starter Kenzodielocke
- Start date
D
Deleted member 22576
Unconfirmed Member
Damn. More excited for this than anything else on the Horizon. Can't believe how beautiful it looks.
Maybe the game I'm looking forward to most right now. What I loved about Braid was that the puzzles were just the right kind of challenging. I remember thinking of Portal as being the much more creative game with more potential, but it spent a majority of time essentially tutorializing mechanics. Braid sustained a great quality of creative puzzles through the whole game.
The only concerning thing here is the prevalence of sticking a flat board with a puzzle on it in front of the player. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but it seems incongruous with the whole first person, luscious open world theme. You have to assume the reason it has taken 6 years is at least in part because achieving that kind of graphical fidelity was exceedingly difficult. Essentially, failing to integrate a lot of the game's puzzles into the world would be glaring. I know early on the talk was that this type of puzzle was most often shown because he(they) wanted to keep most of the game a complete mystery. This new trailer sends a different message.
The only concerning thing here is the prevalence of sticking a flat board with a puzzle on it in front of the player. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but it seems incongruous with the whole first person, luscious open world theme. You have to assume the reason it has taken 6 years is at least in part because achieving that kind of graphical fidelity was exceedingly difficult. Essentially, failing to integrate a lot of the game's puzzles into the world would be glaring. I know early on the talk was that this type of puzzle was most often shown because he(they) wanted to keep most of the game a complete mystery. This new trailer sends a different message.
BiGBoSSMk23
A company being excited for their new game is a huge slap in the face to all the fans that liked their old games.
This looks incredible.
The music started carrying me into the world as the picturesque landscapes started appearing.
I'm gonna love this game , I can tell.
The music started carrying me into the world as the picturesque landscapes started appearing.
I'm gonna love this game , I can tell.
I think the clever aspect of Blow's design is not this idea of "don't bother trying anything in this lavish island we built", rather he has segmented off what is a story element from what is a gameplay element, categorizing aspects of the experience to let the player know what to focus on and when.
The island is the story. Things that happen to the island is the story evolving. There are tons of details throughout the island, small and large, which ostensibly are for atmosphere for really it's for conveying the narrative. Players know as they observe the island and what's on it, they are taking part in that story. When players engage the panels, however, they know they are in pure gameplay mode, a skill set they have been given that clearly distinguishes this as a abstract set of rules meant to be applied to the game's puzzle side.
Whether or not this approach is the right one we shall see, but I do think it is deliberate design. And I don't think it's quite right to say it is encouraging you to 'not try anything'. Rather, we must know that observation is in fact something.
Remembrance
Member
Based on the answer I got on the last page, I'm starting to get the impression that there will be about as much of a narrative as Braid did. It will be an implied narrative that you get by putting together a bunch of thematic things, which hint at a story rather than tell it.
Which is perfectly fine, just as long as people know what they're getting into.
Which is perfectly fine, just as long as people know what they're getting into.
D
Deleted member 286591
Unconfirmed Member
Oh my lord, looks so good. And that music doe.
More_Badass
Member
Miles Quaritch
Member
Did the map get smaller?
I vaguely recall it starting small, getting quite a bit bigger and now it seems a little smaller than the last time we saw it.
Maybe it's just the angle.
I vaguely recall it starting small, getting quite a bit bigger and now it seems a little smaller than the last time we saw it.
Maybe it's just the angle.
Misterinenja
Member
I've dreamt of this game. Day one.
Jonathan Blow commented on 2015 on the PS blog.
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2015...nches-on-ps4-january-26-2016/#comment-1113126
Triggerhappytel
Member
This looks really gorgeous. I love the use of colour.
Interested in this, even if it's just to explore the gorgeous environment. Definitely on my radar, even though 2016 is already crazy-busy.
Interested in this, even if it's just to explore the gorgeous environment. Definitely on my radar, even though 2016 is already crazy-busy.
It's similarly baffling that Mario is only about jumping.
AusRoachman
Member
I hope we can freely explore this amazing world and not be lead on rails from puzzle to puzzle .
And I hope there are some real mind bending puzzles to keep you going.
And I hope there are some real mind bending puzzles to keep you going.
John Blow said in one of the interviews that you are free to explore the world at your own pace. If you get stuck, you can go somewhere else.
It's definitely not linear
More_Badass
Member
It's completely open world. Stuck on a puzzle, go somewhere else
hey_it's_that_dog
benevolent sexism
[spoilars] The island is the witness, maaaan [/spioolrlr]
One of the preview articles I read stated that it's actually very linear in a sense because you can't progress past some puzzles without solving others to learn the solution.
http://www.wired.com/2015/09/jonathan-blow-the-witness/
So still open, just not completely, which is probably the best way to be.
More_Badass
Member
dano1
A Sheep
The Witness is reminiscent of classic puzzle games like Myst, as you explore a mysterious island filled with puzzles.
These puzzles involve tracing paths on panels; it may seem simple, but solving puzzles may require you to understand the layout of an area or use knowledge found throughout the world.
You'll complete puzzles to activate bridges and open doors, among other mechanisms, as you travel on foot and by boat to uncover the island's secrets.
Tracing paths for for ALL the puzzles? Just give me another portal please!!
These puzzles involve tracing paths on panels; it may seem simple, but solving puzzles may require you to understand the layout of an area or use knowledge found throughout the world.
You'll complete puzzles to activate bridges and open doors, among other mechanisms, as you travel on foot and by boat to uncover the island's secrets.
Tracing paths for for ALL the puzzles? Just give me another portal please!!
More_Badass
Member
Hey, I know where you copied that from
(I'm the writer)
But yeah, Blow has said he wanted to take that simple concept and see how far he could explore it and stretch it
That was me! I've been commenting in this thread w/ other thoughts on the game, as well.
Size vs Density.
This man gets it (and I say that as a big fan of DAI which is borderline criminal in its oversized and underused landmass. Same for W3 imo).
Danlord
Member
Jonathan Blow just responded back to me on Twitter to confirm that The Witness is 'targeting'* 60FPS on the PS4.
* Now bear in mind, that developers due to some legality have to say they're targeting 60FPS because no dev can promise 60FPS and could be in trouble for false advertising if there's drops in FPS or something, but suffice to say it will be beautiful and smooth
And as I say in my follow up tweet it instill confidence that I believe there'll be a PlayStation VR mode.
* Now bear in mind, that developers due to some legality have to say they're targeting 60FPS because no dev can promise 60FPS and could be in trouble for false advertising if there's drops in FPS or something, but suffice to say it will be beautiful and smooth
And as I say in my follow up tweet it instill confidence that I believe there'll be a PlayStation VR mode.
Without being too spoilery, can you tell us if there's an introductory cutscene for the game? Perhaps something brief to give some thematic context or a general goal? Or are you just dropped into the tutorial area?
TheExhaustedWalrus
Member
Reading the Polygon interview with Blow really ignited in me how the game is supposed to work. I think it will be a very complex game, not just through the puzzles, but also through the narrative. Sounds like he wants to instill a very deep understanding of the game's mechanics by the time the player finishes it, which I love. I cannot wait to explore the island and see what the hell it's all really about.
More_Badass
Member
What did you expect The Witness be? The game has been described as Myst-inspired for years.
Seems like the puzzle design is more like Portal than a game like Talos, in that it centers around a single, seemingly simple puzzle mechanic that is explored in myriad ways.
Rather than giving the player a lot of tools to play around with in contained puzzle areas
One of the screenshots in our preview shows the very first scene: a dimly lit tunnel that you can't get through without solving the game's first puzzle. From there, you walk through/past other puzzles, which hint to the point of the game without saying it outright. The game originally had a spoken explainer of an intro, which has since been removed.
Thanks! Is there a title screen, or is it cold open?
Cold open in the alpha build, which could change.
Remembrance
Member
GameSpot's article hasn't been linked yet: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/i-spent-20-hours-playing-the-witness-then-spoke-to/1100-6430670/
"Over 667" puzzles is oddly specific, and solving 310 puzzles in 20 hours might be the fastest progress rate we've heard about so far. (What statistics does the game track for you? I assume number of panels solved and nothing else, based on these impressions.)
Assuming a fast player can finish everything in 80 hours, that's 20 hours to solve the first half and 60 hours to solve the second half of the puzzles? (Probably oversimplifying, since there should be a lot of very simple panels to start.)
"Over 667" puzzles is oddly specific, and solving 310 puzzles in 20 hours might be the fastest progress rate we've heard about so far. (What statistics does the game track for you? I assume number of panels solved and nothing else, based on these impressions.)
Assuming a fast player can finish everything in 80 hours, that's 20 hours to solve the first half and 60 hours to solve the second half of the puzzles? (Probably oversimplifying, since there should be a lot of very simple panels to start.)
Doesn't sound too outlandish. I imagine many of the later panels are challenging to find, let alone solve.
Icyflamez96
Member
Why didn't he just say over 666 puzzles
RoadHazard
Gold Member
Well, that got delayed to hell and back (I know that it never had a date, but still), but I'm happy to know it's coming. Will be picking up day 1.
visiblemode
Member
If this game lives up to its potential...this could be something extremely special.
3+ years on, still hyped.
3+ years on, still hyped.
That trailer looks absolutely phenomenal and this excites me more than anything else on the way. I'm thinking of doing some Witness warm-up in the coming months. Something like:
Oct: Replay of Myst/Real Myst
Nov: Experience Riven for the first time
Dec: Replaying The Talos Principle
Jan: Braid revisited
And then, finally, The Witness. Life is good
Oct: Replay of Myst/Real Myst
Nov: Experience Riven for the first time
Dec: Replaying The Talos Principle
Jan: Braid revisited
And then, finally, The Witness. Life is good
toythatkills
Member
That trailer looks absolutely phenomenal and this excites me more than anything else on the way. I'm thinking of doing some Witness warm-up in the coming months. Something like:
Oct: Replay of Myst/Real Myst
Nov: Experience Riven for the first time
Dec: Replaying The Talos Principle
Jan: Braid revisited
And then, finally, The Witness. Life is good
Oct: Start Myst
Jan: Solve a third puzzle in Myst
More_Badass
Member
I played Myst for the first time this year and this is accurate
Lol.
I'm very persistent and have played Myst back when it originally came out, so hopefully I'll manage