The Witness - Jonathan Blow's Tracy Island Mashup - The Bear and Badger

JonB

Tempy wrote:

Also I had to literally cut out shapes and hold them against my monitor last night. Is that cheating? I dunno, but it's how I did it.

I got through quite a few post-it notes playing this. Making notes and sketches is absolutely part of it.

acemuzzy

Had meant that

Spoiler:

Tempy

Am a good boy
Plus I think you're free to tackle them in either order?

Bollockoff

There was one in the swamp for a side gate down to a beach that completely did me over for an hour on account of me overcomplicating the rules. I thought you had to encapsulate + make each shape with zero spare squares but the solution took nay heed of that.

tin_robot

Tempy wrote:

I think that it's an interesting game, in that it is trying to universally teach people its rules, despite the fact that people learn differently. Sometimes I can see the logic, and it's amazing, but because I am not very mechanically or logically minded (I failed A level electronics) I think some of the leaps are beyond my personal level of skill, and they aren't as seamlessly explained to me as maybe they are to others. I also disliked in one area how the panels that taught you the rules then became locked off, and the game made me do a few other panels, and then the exit required me to remember how to do something I hadn't done in like 8 panels and I absolutely couldn't remember it. That's partly because I am an idiot, but also why did the bridge move? Also I had to literally cut out shapes and hold them against my monitor last night. Is that cheating? I dunno, but it's how I did it.

"Why did the bridge move?" kept me confused for ages - but was ultimately solved by asking myself another, related question:

Spoiler:

Also writing stuff down isn't cheating, it's pretty much essential. As I've said before, at one point my house was so full of Post-It notes and weird cryptic symbols that a random visitor would have been forgiven for thinking that I was some sort of deranged killer.

As for teaching rules - yeah, it's a tricky one, though for the most part the more you're exposed to certain bits the more you start to understand. I thought it was a bit like picking up a new language, initially nothing makes sense at all, but gradually you build up a repertoire - which is fortunate as by the end you need to be ridiculously fluent.

Tempy

I never figured out how to move it back, ha!

At the minute I am wandering around the Monastery, and I honestly have no idea what I am supposed to be learning. I looked up the trellis fence solution online and I can't understand what led them to draw the lines just so I haven't put it in and I've gone off elsewhere to do something else.

acemuzzy

Which Bridge? The one (s) in the Marsh?

Tempy

One of them yeah

Also my only real pet peeve with this whole game (can't call me struggling with puzzles a poor design choice) is puzzles that turn off if you fail it. Fuck you Jonathon Blow, for making me waste time redrawing a line I clearly already know how to do.

acemuzzy

We talked about that earlier in the thread. Rationale being it's to avoid you using trial and error on select puzzles.

Tempy

I guess but unless i'm being really thick

Spoiler:

OK Got it, but that's a bit obtuse

THE WITNESS: A BIT OBTUSE

Tempy

307+28 so far. Running out of me things to explore so back at the bloody monastery. Still don't get the trellis fence

ShabbyMcCrabby

Trellis fence?

I'll also echo the drawing sentiments. I could show you the workbook I started that just ended up with lines and grids and cut out shapes that then got mixed in with all my Fez notes. It's good that the game pushes you to go that far with it. I think some of the puzzles would have been impossible if I hadn't drawn/cut/etc.

acemuzzy

Lol that trellis took me ages too. I can offer a discrete hint if needed.

AJ

I'm going to offer one anyway, because I thought of a good one. I think.

Spoiler:

Tempy

I thought so - assuming it's to do with the shutters, but can't figure out how to open that side. I did the Quarry - much fun, and finished the Keep. Liked the final puzzle facing the hedges, not so much a fan of the one that faced the life sized puzzles, basically solved it with no reference to them which seems a bit boring considering.

Environmental puzzles are my new favourite thing, especially when you know there is one, but you can't quite figure out how to do it at this moment in time.

mistercrayon

I think the witness island is basically the most clock like world in games. It feels like the whole thing is perfectly tuned and each part links with so many others.

Tempy

It's ultra artificial, and I know that bugged people when it came out. But it's a videogame, they're always artificial. Better to embrace it than to rebel against it. I also like the fact that you can stand somewhere and have the screen be 99% still at any one time, it's very calming.

AJ

Tempy wrote:

finished the Keep. Liked the final puzzle facing the hedges, not so much a fan of the one that faced the life sized puzzles, basically solved it with no reference to them which seems a bit boring considering.

This is because

Spoiler:

That's actually a spoiler for you, too, Temps, so you might not want to read it, dunno.

Tempy

Oh shit right, I think I get you -

Spoiler:

acemuzzy

Are you chatting about the two in the middle? I thought

Spoiler:

Was there more going on then??

Tempy

Yeah the two on the tower

Spoiler:

acemuzzy

Ah yeah maybe it was so different one way vs the other. Hmm... Can't quite remember.

mistercrayon

Tempy wrote:

It's ultra artificial, and I know that bugged people when it came out. But it's a videogame, they're always artificial. Better to embrace it than to rebel against it. I also like the fact that you can stand somewhere and have the screen be 99% still at any one time, it's very calming.

Yeah I agree. It's interesting though that when you see really successfully open spaces (GTA, deus ex) they sort of take real things but ensure a fun playground while something like watchdogs which is accurate is kind of boring (although perhaps interesting especially if you live there)

I think artificiality of the island is kind of a dork criticism in a game where hundreds of iPads are dotted around with the same puzzle. "Oh this bit is artificial...but I'll accept the general ideas of the game"

Tempy

I think the panels are quite interesting because they stand out against the artificial nature of the island. What I mean by that is, regardless of the island being this strange static space, they feel like they've been placed as if it were a real place: in that they're clearly deliberately placed to feel natural within this artificial space. A lot of them are observing something about the world, either literally: the trees or transparent puzzles, or figuratively: the deletion puzzles being in the quarry. It's this weird jarring sensation and I can imagine lots of really interesting writing being done on the philosophy of why Blow and his team chose to make it like it is by people far smarter than me.

n0face

I'd really like somebody to mod loads of kids games into the witness, multiplayer tracking, akky 123, stuck in the mud.

AJ

Tempy wrote:

or figuratively: the deletion puzzles being in the quarry.

Ooh, hadn't noticed those things. Very cool.

ShabbyMcCrabby

Tempy wrote:

I think the panels are quite interesting because they stand out against the artificial nature of the island. What I mean by that is, regardless of the island being this strange static space, they feel like they've been placed as if it were a real place: in that they're clearly deliberately placed to feel natural within this artificial space. A lot of them are observing something about the world, either literally: the trees or transparent puzzles, or figuratively: the deletion puzzles being in the quarry. It's this weird jarring sensation and I can imagine lots of really interesting writing being done on the philosophy of why Blow and his team chose to make it like it is by people far smarter than me.

Gee, you should make write about and make videos discussing games or sumthin. Nice observations.

Kazuo

Finally finished (but not finished finished) this the other week after my GF really took to it. Have also finally permitted myself to click through some of the spoilers here and god damn I'm going to have to go back now, aren't I? Top stuff.

Gamermike

All I dreamt about last night was drawing lines from random everyday circular objects. I'm about 90 puzzles in and I think it's excellent, really hard to put down too.

dynamiteReady

Yes. This game is top drawer.

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