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

hylian_elf

Picked this up after months and months away. Save was in front of a gate. I input a random path. Gate opened. Heh. No idea why it worked.

Next gate had me stumped. The grid didn't even represent the garden/bush maze that I just walked through, unlike the other 3 (seasonally coloured) bush mazes. But again entered a few random paths on grid and gate opened. Weird.

Still can't do the coloured touch sensitive tile bits in same area and trying to figure out the panel in tower that overlooks the four bush mazes. Hmmmm.

(Why does this game make me motion sick? I hate my head.)

Tempy

The grid does represent the Hedge Maze you just walked through.

You just might have to do some work.

Gamermike

Last time I played this I was pretty stuck, on the South West of the Island. Must get back to it.

hylian_elf

Tempy wrote:

The grid does represent the Hedge Maze you just walked through. You just might have to do some work.

Arggghh my head hurts.

Just did one of the sensipad ones (black and white dots). Tetrimino ones still evade me but I'm sure it'll come.

dynamiteReady

ARGH! Spoilers?

Tempy

I don't think any of that is really a spoiler, I mean the whole game is line puzzles which are basically mazes. Being told there ar black and white dots and tetromino isn't a spoiler either because it doesn't explain the mechanics of those shapes. There are also coloured dots and strange cross shapes on some of them. Some aren't even blue.

hylian_elf

Took ages but did the main panel. Now... can't remember what else I left all those months ago...maybe I'll go for a wander...

hylian_elf

Two lasers in one night, boom. I'm addicted but better go bed.

hylian_elf

So a few more panels today but no real progress, went between areas. I did something I'd like a little hint on please.

Area near desert, just below white cliffs, inside some sort of warehouse with a stream outside... You with me? Inside there's a platform with panels and ramps on each side. Right...

Spoiler:

Can anyone hint at what that might've done without giving it away? I've not missed something have I?

Tempy

Spoiler:

mistercrayon

It's also worth noting:

Spoiler:

hylian_elf

Thanks guys, not sure I get it (yet), but good to know what crayon said.

Finally found the section that teaches a particular system that's been bugging me. I'm in the... swamp? Eyes hurting, I should go bed.

dynamiteReady

Yeah. That's what I get out of the game when I do play it. It's linear, and (more than) occasionally infuriating, but it's design is above and beyond so many games... It's so clever.

You can see where the 7 years went.

This game didn't find the commercial acclaim that we commonly associate with the success of an AAA game, but I think design wise, and critically, this thing will be talked about by many people for years. Not just game critics either.

It's very much a work of art.

ShabbyMcCrabby

It is pretty much perfect yeah.

It didn't take me long to start seeing line puzzles everywhere I went in the real world too. I should go back to this and try some more stuff. I know of a few puzzles that I couldn't get and some that I know of but know that they'll take a while to finish!

Tempy

I am in the final area but the puzzles were giving me a headache. I imagine this is part of those design pieces that Blow will concede were not optimal in some presentation in the future. A lot of his talks on Braid covered areas of bad design, but also areas of purposefully frustrating design too. I hope he keeps making games for a good long time.

hylian_elf

I was getting a headache last night. Stuck on one particular one in Swamp.

Spoiler:

Tempy

Some of those are very devious.

ShabbyMcCrabby

Blow is a puzzle bastard for sure. In a spoiler, what do you mean by final area T?

Tempy

Spoiler:

mistercrayon

The real world

mistercrayon

Tempy wrote:

Spoiler:

I did all the lasers and went in the mountain, I am currently on floor two of the descent. I think there is a challenge thing afterwards, but I dunno if I can be bothered to do that.

I really really dug

Spoiler:

Some of the puzzles in that area are really really awkward. Like

Spoiler:

JonB

The challenge is equal parts compelling and infuriating.

It's not something that's necessarily worth the effort, but once you start trying it's hard to stop.

ShabbyMcCrabby

Tempy isn't even there yet.

The part that Tempy is at took me a while too but I found it to be a rewarding challenge. Just one that took a bit of thought. I found it to be a good rise in challenge from what came before. A lot of the "end game" stuff made me use a lot of pen and paper to figure out. Keep going T! You have a bit more to discover.

Tempy

It gave me a really bad headache what with all the strobing, so I just stopped for a while and other stuff got in the way.

hylian_elf

Stuck in a lift. Colours are annoying me. Aaarrrggghhh I hate puzzles that reset.

Bollockoff

Hit the phone button.

ShabbyMcCrabby

hylian_elf wrote:

Stuck in a lift. Colours are annoying me. Aaarrrggghhh I hate puzzles that reset.

Oh yeah, that's a good area. Did my head in!

dynamiteReady

hylian_elf wrote:

Stuck in a lift. Colours are annoying me. Aaarrrggghhh I hate puzzles that reset.

That area's awesome.

SPOILERS!!!

acemuzzy

That was the one area I never quite properly got. Winged it somewhat.

ShabbyMcCrabby

Just had to use your brain mate. I think one part of it involved a lot of drawing in my book. Took me ages though.

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