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Jonathan Blow's new game, The Witness, is out

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Re: Jonathan Blow's new game, The Witness, is out

#241

Post by sdrothrock »

unimpressive wrote: post #233
sdrothrock wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think deaf players will be unable to 100% this game because of a handful of puzzles, and theres no indication that the piece of the puzzle you're missing is sound. This is the first time I've seen this mentioned, so thank you. I've been thinking about buying a PS4 just for this game, so that's a major bummer. I hope there's a patch in the future for some kind of visual indicator or subtitle to make it a bit easie…

To elaborate on what was said in other replies to this comment. Jonathan Blow has said previously that he got around some of the puzzles being fiendishly hard by not requiring all of them to be completed to get to the end of the game. He didn't want somebody to get stuck on one puzzle and then not be able to see the rest of the game over it, so you should be able to complete the vast majority of the game including th…

I've read that, but it's still a bit of a shoddy response to people who want to get 100% or get the rewards for completing non-critical subsections.

Imagine if you paid for a book and there were appendices about characters or something extra, but written in a language you didn't know. It would kind of suck.

Edit: As a side note, these comments seem to be the internet equivalent of:

A: =~#$())##~

B: Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you.

A: Nevermind, it's not important.

Which I think most people would agree is incredibly rude and dismissive.

Re: Jonathan Blow's new game, The Witness, is out

#244

Post by agentultra »

oilywater wrote: post #239
agentultra wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You may begin to realize that you are doing maths without realizing it. Thinking mathematically is quite natural for a curious, motivated person. It's writing down these thoughts which people find difficult. It's not easy for us to be precise! It could augment your skills in mathematics. Most people are much better than they think they are or are given credit for. I gave my niece the game, Set, over the holidays. She…

I believe it is called problem solving, not math. Mathematics is a framework for problem solving which requires problem solving skills and knowledge of mathematics. I believe anyone using a piece of paper and writing down their thinking is doing problem solving on problems that are presented in the game. Yes, it is probably equivalent to some algorithms present in computer science but they are (if not familiar) disco…

Believe what you will but a rose by any other name...

Maths is problem solving, recognizing patterns, and the ability to express those ideas and solutions. The language is rather difficult to learn but most people can do the former intuitively without being told they're doing maths.

Without giving away the game there are beautiful mathematical concepts built into it. You may not realize that as you encounter new puzzles and constraints you are internalizing a vocabulary for the patterns you start to recognize. Once you start writing down this language you will appear to be doing what people recognize as maths. However I find myself content with simply having the conversation... for now.

It is certainly tempting to start formulating a proper solution to some of the puzzles and write programs to test out my theories.

Regardless of what you want to call it I think you can certainly hone your "problem solving" skills in this game.

Re: Jonathan Blow's new game, The Witness, is out

#245

Post by prawn »

evan_ wrote: post #225
prawn wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would it be appropriate to share with a smart 3yo watching alongside? Is there anything likely to be nightmare-inducing?

I don't think so, but obviously you know your 3yo better than I do. The only thing that I could even imagine coming close are some marble statues of men and women that appear throughout the island. They aren't all that creepy but an imaginative child see them that way. It's rated E for Everyone: https://www.esrb.org/ratings/Synopsis.aspx?Certificate=34184...

Thanks. Just realised it's PC and PS4, while I'm on a Mac and have a 360, so doubt I'll get to play it anyway.

Re: Jonathan Blow's new game, The Witness, is out

#246

Post by philtar »

sdrothrock wrote: post #241
unimpressive wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To elaborate on what was said in other replies to this comment. Jonathan Blow has said previously that he got around some of the puzzles being fiendishly hard by not requiring all of them to be completed to get to the end of the game. He didn't want somebody to get stuck on one puzzle and then not be able to see the rest of the game over it, so you should be able to complete the vast majority of the game including th…

I've read that, but it's still a bit of a shoddy response to people who want to get 100% or get the rewards for completing non-critical subsections. Imagine if you paid for a book and there were appendices about characters or something extra, but written in a language you didn't know. It would kind of suck. Edit: As a side note, these comments seem to be the internet equivalent of: A: =~#$())##~ B: Sorry, what was th…

The alternative is not to include them at all. What benefit does that provide?

(You have to play the game to get why he can't give hints)

Re: Jonathan Blow's new game, The Witness, is out

#247

Post by egypturnash »

pferde wrote: post #3

Is that the guy who was unable to install Ubuntu properly, so he declared that supporting Linux versions of his game is not worth the effort? Color me disinterested. "No Tux, no bucks."

Some very cursory research suggests that the sales numbers on computer games tend to be about 93% Windows, 5% Mac, and 2% Linux.

I'll let you pull your own estimate out of the air for how much extra development time/money supporting a decent cross-section of popular Linux distributions will take. Oh, and don't forget to add in time for testing it, too.

This may change if Valve can make the Steam Box happen, but right now it sure doesn't sound like a sound business decision to bother looking for those last few extra bucks from Tux. Honestly I'm surprised anyone releases anything for Linux or for Macs now that I look at the numbers; I suspect we have the rise of cross-platform general-purpose game engines (which this game doesn't rely on) to thank for that.

Re: Jonathan Blow's new game, The Witness, is out

#248

Post by abustamam »

douche wrote: post #44
colinramsay wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is going to be one of the most popular games of 2016, and is releasing for Windows and PS4. Compared to those platforms, do you think that the time it would take to get a Linux version up and running would be cost-effective? There are some Linux sales figures kicking around [1] and they generally show that the Linux share is under 3%. [1] https://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/sales-statistics-for-...

Anyone tried running it under WINE yet?

I am trying to run it using Crossover, but to no avail.

Re: Jonathan Blow's new game, The Witness, is out

#249

Post by pferde »

simoncion wrote: post #240
dharma1 wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ah, interesting, will have to buy to see what all the chatter is about :) I seem to be downvoted to death - the comments weren't meant in a disrespectful way - just wondered why the gargantuan effort with a DIY engine. The game itself looks really interesting.

> ...just wondered why the gargantuan effort with a DIY engine. Given that Jonathan Blow is in charge of the project, it's almost certainly because existing engines were inadequate for the task. From what I can tell, Rust is the most ambitious Unity project out there. The Witness is substantially more technically ambitious than Rust. Additionally -from what I read on the Rust devblogs-, the Rust guys spend a large am…

Actually, I think Frontiers (http://explore-frontiers.com/) might be even more ambitious Unity-using game, but the developer working on it is in over his head. Still, what he's done so far is amazing already.

Re: Jonathan Blow's new game, The Witness, is out

#250

Post by pferde »

JabavuAdams wrote: post #133
pferde wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course, the cost/benefit ratio has to be evaluated by the developer, and I don't want to force anyone into anything. I'm just aware that plenty other developers have no problems making their games available on the OS I am running. And since their games are more than enough to fill whatever free time I have for computer games, I won't be missing this one.

Do they make any money from those games, or are those mostly hobby projects?

I wouldn't know, I do not research every game developer and their financial standing. But considering the games on my list range from small indie stuff to big AAA stuff, I'd say it's a cross-section of both.
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