The Witness - Release Date Trailer, coming 26th January 2016

This looks too cool.

Even though it's just line/maze puzzles. Just like how Braid was just time puzzles. Or Fez being 3D puzzles.

It's simple, mechanically, but someone still can make them deep enough for it to be REALLY hard.

I just love these type of games. Can't wait to melt my brain!
 
Hi, Sam from Ars Technica here. (My article was linked earlier, but if you missed that: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/...wandering-through-jonathan-blows-the-witness/ ... we also had a supplemental piece about the game landing on PS4 instead of XB1: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/...han-blows-the-witness-away-from-the-xbox-one/)

I didn't ask Jonathan Blow this question, but based on my time w/ the game, there is probably no way this will be a VR-supported game; I assume that because of how the game "freezes" the camera for the sake of puzzle-solving, which I believe was done for the sake of tablet/iOS compatibility. (There might be more to it, but I'm shutting up just in case I reveal too much.)

Also, that frame-freeze on the reflecting human shape... nice fucking find. Even I missed that.

Hit me here or in the Ars comments section if you have any gameplay-related questions. No promises that I can answer 'em, since I was given full-game access for the sake of a "preview." I'm about 30 hours into the game, FYI, and I have a ways to go.
 
Why move to Sony's console for the follow-up? Speaking to Ars, Jonathan Blow said it wasn't about either platform being technically superior or any big money backroom deals. For Blow, the issue seemed to be as simple as access.

"For a while, I presumed we'd do a PS3 port [of The Witness]," Blow said during the interview. After Braid finally hit the PS3 in late 2009, Blow said he was more open to launching The Witness on every platform possible. "As we went on and the game's ambition became bigger, I realized it’d be harder to shoehorn onto PS3—it’d be a debilitated version of the game."

At that point, Blow instigated an e-mail conversation with his Sony contact, former games journalist Nick Suttner, saying, "Look, we can’t do PS3, but I know there’ll be a new console at some point. Please keep us in mind for that." The result: Blow was invited to a pre-announcement PS4 summit at the company's Foster City, California headquarters. Blow said the two-day summit included a mix of independent developers and representatives from companies like id Software and revolved around the expected technical specs of the unannounced system.

Following that event, Blow reached out to a Microsoft developer contact with similar questions. Could they acknowledge a new system was coming? Could they offer specs? The reply that Blow says he got: "I have no political path to making something like that happen for an independent developer."

Ambition > process

After that, Blow joined Sony representatives at a February 2013 event in announcing The Witness' timed console exclusivity for the PlayStation 4. Months later, Sony announced its plans to avoid restrictive DRM that would otherwise hamper used gameplay. Blow admits that was probably a bigger factor in Sony's continued current-gen console sales success—"indie dev engagement wasn't the biggest thing by far, but it was one of the items."
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from the article posted above.
 
samred said:
Hi, Sam from Ars Technica here. (My article was linked earlier, but if you missed that: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/...wandering-through-jonathan-blows-the-witness/ ... we also had a supplemental piece about the game landing on PS4 instead of XB1: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/...han-blows-the-witness-away-from-the-xbox-one/)

I didn't ask Jonathan Blow this question, but based on my time w/ the game, there is probably no way this will be a VR-supported game; I assume that because of how the game "freezes" the camera for the sake of puzzle-solving, which I believe was done for the sake of tablet/iOS compatibility. (There might be more to it, but I'm shutting up just in case I reveal too much.)

Also, that frame-freeze on the reflecting human shape... nice fucking find. Even I missed that.

Hit me here or in the Ars comments section if you have any gameplay-related questions. No promises that I can answer 'em, since I was given full-game access for the sake of a "preview." I'm about 30 hours into the game, FYI, and I have a ways to go.
Click to expand...

Kenzodielocke said:
from the article posted above.
Click to expand...

Good thing the PC version has been unaffected. The Polygon interview mentions the same sort of things but also goes into a bit of depth of how Microsoft has "shown it's true colours" towards independent developers following their success with XBLA.

As for VR, I still think it is a strong possibility considering what he has posted in the past via his blog, but regardless I don't particularly care right now since getting the game itself will be awesome, and I have no intention of being involved with VR in the first generation of products
 
samred said:
Hit me here or in the Ars comments section if you have any gameplay-related questions. No promises that I can answer 'em, since I was given full-game access for the sake of a "preview." I'm about 30 hours into the game, FYI, and I have a ways to go.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting. A couple questions:

Does the game provide a way to track the puzzles you have solved, and does it give the puzzles any names or labels for identification? Could get difficult to discuss the puzzles with other people otherwise.

When you say that the audio recordings have been changed, does that mean they're not trying to tell/hint at a backstory anymore? It sounds more like the Dear Esther approach where you might just hear something that has nothing to do with what you're seeing or doing.
 
I am very, very curious about how much this will cost. People have this mindset of downloadable indie titles being $15 - or maybe $20 - regardless of any factors around the game's development (and, to be fair, you shouldn't have to know anything about a game's development history). This game, though, strikes me as a game that should cost more than that, both because of the amount of content that is apparently in there, as well as the cost to create it.

If anyone remembers the Shovel Knight sales/budget breakdown, the very loose budget estimate is $10,000/person/month. The last time I looked at the website for The Witness (the site is down right now), there were ten people working on it, although they haven't all been there the whole time, and some of them may be part time. I don't know when the game went into full production, but for ease of calculations, let's say it's been in full production for five years. Using that budget estimate, the game will have cost $6,000,000 (although I bet it's significantly more than that).

I have no idea how many copies the game will sell. Shovel Knight (which I'm not saying is comparable, but at least it's a number) sold 180,000-ish in its first month (I'm not sure if that includes Kickstarter sales). If The Witness costs $20 and sells 200,000 copies, that would be $4,000,000 before the cut taken by Valve, Sony, and Apple (which I believe is 30%).

My ultimate point is that I wouldn't be surprised if this game costs $30 or $40, and if it's more than $20, I'm really curious about how people will react.
 
I really hope the broader puzzles up being as clever as Fez. It's looking great.
 
Remembrance said:
Thanks for posting. A couple questions:

Does the game provide a way to track the puzzles you have solved, and does it give the puzzles any names or labels for identification? Could get difficult to discuss the puzzles with other people otherwise.

When you say that the audio recordings have been changed, does that mean they're not trying to tell/hint at a backstory anymore? It sounds more like the Dear Esther approach where you might just hear something that has nothing to do with what you're seeing or doing.
Click to expand...

1) If a puzzle screen is solved, any effect from solving it is permanent.
Finding that effect, sometimes, is its own challenge, so in some cases, you'll see a prominent "you totally solved that" visual cue, while in others, it won't be so prominent.
(This is one of the many concepts that you don't see in any teaser videos, and for good reason, but acknowledging that isn't a spoiler, I don't think.)

2) Jon talks about this game being "very subtle," so the short answer is, more in line with what you're guessing, but not in the same way. Vague, I know.
 
bsp said:
Blow has stated before that the game has no music aside from maybe one or two special uses.
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(emphasis added)
Just want to make sure everyone getting hype about the music sees this.

I loved the Braid soundtrack (I bought all the tracks independently when he announced what they were in a blog post at one point), and between the Zoe Keating track and the Mediaeval Baebes track from the PS4 launch reveal, I love how he's associating excellent music with the game... but again, as said by Bo Moore over at Wired:

It’s a quiet game, literally (there isn’t any music at all) and thematically.
Click to expand...

Edit:// All that said, I am super, super excited. Can't wait, day one, etc.
 
bsp said:
Blow has stated before that the game has no music aside from maybe one or two special uses.
Click to expand...

This is absolutely excellent in my opinion, and was something I was discussing with friends recently.

Games, films and other mediums have almost "holywood-ised" music usage to the point of being somewhat detrimental. Having ambient noise take over, can allow for a far more engaging experience of the world or scene or even help in telling narrative. You can see this in older movies, such as Goldfinger and the scene of Bond cracking a safe - tension comes from the noise of the safe and advancing footsteps / chatter near by. Music can be used in rare occurrence almost as punctuation to important moments that make them much more powerful.
 
samred said:
1) If a puzzle screen is solved, any effect from solving it is permanent.
Finding that effect, sometimes, is its own challenge, so in some cases, you'll see a prominent "you totally solved that" visual cue, while in others, it won't be so prominent.
(This is one of the many concepts that you don't see in any teaser videos, and for good reason, but acknowledging that isn't a spoiler, I don't think.)
Click to expand...

In the tutorial area in the preview video it shows a puzzle where two power cables can light up - will the puzzle be frozen and locked once you find the "right" cable, or can you still power up the "wrong" cable and see whatever it connects to?
 
ANDS said:
Again, how does anyone who hasn't played the game know this? I'm not saying that it wont deliver on hours of engaging content, but finger waging people who aren't convinced after a two minute trailer doesn't seem like a legit response.



The only thing that sounds "interesting" is the last bit. The other two are basically how any other game works.

I'll be getting the game when it comes out simply based on BRAID and how well that game wrung gameplay out of a "simple" mechanic, but it would be nice for Blow to articulate a bit more on just how the game is going to keep the players interest for these 80+ hours.
Click to expand...

Blow articulates at quite some length in the two videos I linked above.
 
samred said:
I didn't ask Jonathan Blow this question, but based on my time w/ the game, there is probably no way this will be a VR-supported game; I assume that because of how the game "freezes" the camera for the sake of puzzle-solving, which I believe was done for the sake of tablet/iOS compatibility. (There might be more to it, but I'm shutting up just in case I reveal too much.)
Click to expand...

Sam, I highly doubt this is the case since there has been no indication that VR support has now been revoked. It was something they officially announced ages ago. I've asked Jonathan Blow to comment on it. Will share if I hear back.
 
viveks86 said:
Sam, I highly doubt this is the case since there has been no indication that VR support has now been revoked. It was something they officially announced ages ago. I've asked Jonathan Blow to comment on it. Will share if I hear back.
Click to expand...

Let me rephrase: If VR was put into the game as-is, Blow would have to add some serious tweaks to certain parts of the game.
 
This trailer was enough to move The Witness off of my "on the fence" list and onto my "will buy" list.

Visually, this game looks outstanding.

Gameplay and puzzle design...we'll see. I think The Talos Principle set a high bar in that regard. The Witness will need to bring its A game to match or top it.
 
ymgve said:
In the tutorial area in the preview video it shows a puzzle where two power cables can light up - will the puzzle be frozen and locked once you find the "right" cable, or can you still power up the "wrong" cable and see whatever it connects to?
Click to expand...

In that instance, neither cable is "wrong." The panels control everything on the island, including things that aren't puzzles in and of themselves. But if it's a puzzle-specific cable, then once it's lit up, it stays lit.
 
samred said:
Let me rephrase: If VR was put into the game as-is, Blow would have to add some serious tweaks to certain parts of the game.
Click to expand...

Here's his response to your comment, specifically referring to your inference based on the "frozen" frame :)

VEXVBey.png
 
Ah I think I get what he means when he said the line puzzles would evolve into more environmental things. (or whatever it was, i'm sure i'm butchering that phrase)

Well pretty much what I expected but it's cool to see it in action.
 
It looks mind Blowingly beautiful. Like, holy shit.

And wtf, how long is this game supposed to be? I figured maybe 10 hours tops, but it sounds like it's long as hell.
 
This is looking beautiful.

Good to have a solid release date after all this time. I feel like this and Everybody's Gone to Rapture were both hyped up indie games we've been hearing about since the PS4 was announced, glad they both made it.
 
EVerything about this looks like Myst. Even the shape of the damn island seems like the Myst island in the first game. Im not complaining though it looks great.
 
My God, I freaking love Zoe Keating's music. Excellent use of it in the trailer.

I can't believe so many years have passed since the game was announced. I can't wait to be lost in this game.
 
Nice trailer and screenshots. I'm not sure my interest will be sustained by the puzzle mechanic -- I kind of expect it'll grow old after a while, unless there is more variety than seems apparent. But I'm intrigued.
 
Anderson DL said:
Nice trailer and screenshots. I'm not sure my interest will be sustained by the puzzle mechanic -- I kind of expect it'll grow old after a while, unless there is more variety than seems apparent. But I'm intrigued.
Click to expand...
Oh it will. Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia
The puzzles within each section are based on a similar theme, with early puzzles in the sections designed to help the player identify the theme and understand how to solve the later puzzles. All puzzles are based on a mechanic of tracing a path through a maze-like route; the goal of these puzzles is not always to simply complete the maze but to find the right path of several that completes the puzzle correctly.

For example, one puzzle involves finding a path that successfully divides marked white and black areas on the panel.[1] While many puzzles will be obvious, placed on panels through the island, other puzzles may be visually incorporated into the game's architecture, such as a tree that has branches that mimics the paths, or as symbols that appear as decorative elements on walls and floors of the buildings.[1] In an early build shown at the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo one puzzle requires a player to etch the maze solution on a pane of glass, using background elements of the setting seen through the pane as walls of the maze, while another maze involved following an underground cable across the island.[3][4]
Click to expand...
 
Sweet mother 2016 is just nuts.

How much do kidneys sell for these days?

Amazing trailer. Been one of my most anticipated titles since the Ps4 unveil
 
Beautiful ass game yo.

Now I want a adventure-platformer that looks JUST like this. I wanna explore the hell outta the fall area, as well as the sunken ship area
 
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