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Engadget: Braid creator Jonathan Blow sacrifices his fortune to build The Witness

H

hydruxo

Member
One of the indie world's first superstar developers made millions from one game. He's spent it all to make his next.

Jonathan Blow's beautiful, distinct 2008 platformer Braid is largely regarded as the original indie game -- The Notorious OIG, if you will. Blow spent roughly $200,000 to create Braid and it made him a millionaire. Blow said in 2012 that he was funneling all of the money from Braid into his next project, a Myst-inspired puzzle game called The Witness that he's been working on since 2009. He wasn't kidding when he said all.

"Braid still sells well on platforms that are thriving, but two of Braid's big platforms were the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, both of which are sunsetting at this point," Blow tells me in an email interview.

Braid was pivotal on Xbox 360. It launched as an exclusive on the digital storefront Xbox Live Arcade and ushered in a wave of successful independent games for the console.

"Not so many people are buying digital games there," Blow says. "So the Braid income is not nearly enough anymore to fund the team. I have borrowed a bunch of money to finish The Witness. So I hope when it's done, some people buy the game."

The current console generation kicked off in late 2013 with the launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and these systems now dominate the market. Previous-generation games do sometimes make their way to new consoles; so far, Braid isn't one of them. It's still available for PC, Mac and Linux on digital distribution service Steam, where it's now six years old.
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Clearly, there's not a case of any developer "stealing" ideas from another, as Blow has been building The Witness for six years. That's a long time to tease fans, and Blow knows it.

"If there is such a thing as taking 'too long,' we have probably already done that," he says. "20 years from now, I am not going to care about whether we took an extra six months or a year in development; I am going to care about the quality of the game people got to play. It'd be a shame to sacrifice some of that quality just to squeak the game out a little sooner. Though I do sympathize with people who have been waiting a long time to play."
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Hopefully it sells well, seems like he's invested a ton into this game.

More at the link: http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/06/the-witness-money/
 
T

toythatkills

Member
The Witness is looking fucking brilliant and I'm buying it for sure, but it'll sell a hell of a lot less than Braid did, I would think.

Puzzles such as it features generally have very, very limited appeal to people who play videogames. Braid had a lot more crossover appeal.

John Kowalski said:
yikes
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It's not that "out there" a claim. Obviously it wasn't the first indie game ever, but it was one of the first to usher in this new age of indie gaming, where production values are much higher than they had been.
 
Bboy AJ

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
I've been looking forward to The Witness for awhile. Good on Blow for nothing being a panhandling dev who puts his hands out on Kickstarter like a beggar. I appreciate that a ton.
 
A

Any Questions

Member
Braid did my funking head in after a while. Those Bastard rabbits. However this game has me interested indeed. Loved myst. Hoping this is good and sounds like a labour of love. Gotta respect that. Just lay off the rabbits!
 
M

Marcel

Member
Spending a fortune to make a Myst-like game. Hm.

Uru also tried that many years ago. It bombed spectacularly. Let's hope it sells, for his sake.
 
W

Wreav

Banned
Calling Braid the first indie is totally fair if we're considering last gen forward. It was a title that proved the viability of the indie scene and launched an amazing movement in gamedev.
 
R

repeater

Member
Looking forward to the Witness. If Jonathan Blow needs more money to fund it, he should consider porting Braid to the Vita. You're welcome.
 
S

spineduke

Unconfirmed Member
Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this releasing on PS4 first, and then other platforms? Wondering when this will turn up on PC. :/
 
M

Marcel

Member
Wreav said:
Calling Braid the first indie is totally fair if we're considering last gen forward. It was a title that proved the viability of the indie scene and launched an amazing movement in gamedev.
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As a commodity for publishers? I suppose. Otherwise, not really. I consider Cave Story, a game from 2004, to be more historically important. Same with Yume Nikki.
 
H

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
Has Blow ever mentioned the pricepoint he's shooting for?

I was always expecting a 20-30 dollar game, but given the dev time and how much he has personally invested, could it be released at $60?

Marcel said:
As a commodity for publishers? I suppose. Otherwise, not really. I consider Cave Story, a game from 2004, to be more historically important. Same with Yume Nikki.
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Being the most historically important indie game isn't really a subjective thing. Maybe Braid isn't it, but surely it has to depend on more than one's opinion.

Also, I've been playing games for at least 25 years and I've never heard of Yume Nikki. Maybe that doesn't mean anything, but I feel like I should have heard of it if it's among the most historically important games.
 
F

funkystudent

Member
silver.tongue said:
Wasn't The Witness supposed to come out early 2014? What's going on?
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I dont think it ever got a date. They have just been hammering away at it for ages.

Reminds me of FEZ's development which similarly took a real long time from announcement to release. I guess thats the thing with puzzle games. They take time.
 
W

War Machine

Member
No matter how much success Braid had, calling it the "Original Indie Game" is a slap in the face to the many indie games that came out in the many years before Braid was released.
 
F

Fox_Mulder

Rockefellers. Skull and Bones. Microsoft. Al Qaeda. A Cabal of Bankers. The melting point of steel. What do these things have in common? Wake up sheeple, the landfill wasn't even REAL!
I hope it will be successful
 
vpance

vpance

Member
Maybe he can strike a deal with Sony and get it bundled with Morpheus. Seems like it would be the perfect game to ease people into VR.
 
S

samn

Member
Can we not turn this thread into a debate about whether the writer was correct to use that phrase in their article's intro? Some of us want to talk about The Witness.
 
S

Stimpack

Member
War Machine said:
No matter how much success Braid had, calling it the "Original Indie Game" is a slap in the face to the many indie games that came out in the many years before Braid was released.
Click to expand...
I agree. Very excited for the witness, though. I hope it's a great game and he finds great success.
 
M

Marcel

Member
hey_it's_that_dog said:
Also, I've been playing games for at least 25 years and I've never heard of Yume Nikki. Maybe that doesn't mean anything, but I feel like I should have heard of it if it's among the most historically important games.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry your personal choices preclude you from enjoying an important Japanese freeware indie that predates Braid so you can make a juvenile zinger on GAF about how not important it is.

Ridiculous.
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
"Though I do sympathize with people who have been waiting a long time to play."
Click to expand...
I'm wondering if there are actually people who were only anticipating The Witness and nothing else. They haven't played any games since 2009, just waiting for The Witness.

Wish we knew how much the budget for The Witness actually is. Guessing around $4 million.
 
B

biglittleps

Member
hey_it's_that_dog said:
Has Blow ever mentioned the pricepoint he's shooting for?

I was always expecting a 20-30 dollar game, but given the dev time and how much he has personally invested, could it be released at $60?



Being the most historically important indie game isn't really a subjective thing. Maybe Braid isn't it, but surely it has to depend on more than one's opinion.

Also, I've been playing games for at least 25 years and I've never heard of Yume Nikki. Maybe that doesn't mean anything, but I feel like I should have heard of it if it's among the most historically important games.
Click to expand...

If it has 10+ hours of content then it can retail at $40 at max.
 
I

injurai

Banned
Fuck the haters, Blow is great.

He might be too dissenting at times towards things that people love, but he is right about the gulf in what games are versus what they could be.

He is also a great coder. Really look up to him in that line.
 
W

whatsinaname

Member
So basically, Entrepreneur invests income from previously successful project into next project.

"Sacrifices his fortune" is an interesting choice of words.
 
V

viveks86

Member
Hope the game does well. Hope engadget doesn't editorialize such articles again with hyperbole and distract the conversation.
 
R

RealityPales

Member
Played it at PSX and it was wonderful.

Some great puzzles that really make you think outside the box, literally and figuratively speaking.

Probably my #2 most anticipated game for PS4 after Bloodborne
 
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