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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

#261

Post by eridius »

pewpewlasergun wrote: post #223
eridius wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please please please do NOT PUT SPOILERS INTO THE SECOND COMMENT IN THE THREAD. That's incredibly rude. At the very least, if you're going to do something like that, rot13 it, because people like me will see the spoiler before they read the word "[Spoilers]".

We are discussing a puzzle games. Part of that will be discussing puzzles. Maybe don't read comment threads talking about things you don't want any more information about.

There's a ton of ways to discuss The Witness without spoiling the game. The entire point of the game is to solve the puzzles, spoiling the puzzles is incredibly counterproductive. What's more, if you're actually genuinely stuck and want someone to give you hints, Hacker News is not the appropriate venue for that.

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

#262

Post by taloft »

iandanforth wrote: post #202

I was going to buy this game until I read the steam reviews. If you're considering this purchase I highly recommend reading the top-rated helpful reviews. They changed my mind, they might change yours. TLDR for the reviews - Only buy this if you like puzzles for individual puzzle's sake, not as means to unlocking a larger story.

Fascinating, but honestly you shouldn't be warning people off a game you haven't even played based on hearsay.

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

#263

Post by daodedickinson »

hbex5 wrote: post #45

And it is wonderful . It's one of those games that manages to push buttons in your brain you never knew you had, and make you feel like a genius when something finally clicks. And it does all this without ever needing to explain anything. Jonathan Blow's enigma variations. A meandering meditation on the means by which humans gain knowledge and understanding of the world, by standing on the shoulders of a hacking mini…

>makes you feel like a genius Blow said having a game make you feel like a genius is a disease, looks like he completely fails to understand his audience again!

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

#264

Post by progressive_dad »

ghusbands wrote: post #255
ACow_Adonis wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you're in Africa? By which I mean, I think it's a common misconception amongst those that argue this is a common misconception that the knowledge which they possess and view as straightforward, natural and obvious, is neither straightforward, natural, or obvious. Common sense is really just another phrase for popular bias...

The counting numbers are simpler by every feasible measure than the other suggestions.

I prefer counting on teeth, but hey, I guess you're a fingers guy.

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

#265

Post by simoncion »

darklajid wrote: post #208

I've gotta be honest. I have no idea who Jonathan Blow is. I checked the Steam Store page and it seems .. to be not my thing. That said, I recently found, bought and played 'Pony Island' (if you don't know what that is: Do NOT watch videos. Think '6th Sense' - you'll ruin the game). That wouldn't have caught my eye based on random videos/screenshots either and it's right now my 'best game ever'. Can someone explain w…

> I checked the Steam Store page and it seems .. to be not my thing. ... Can someone explain why 'The Witness' is interesting?

If it's truly not your thing, then you won't understand why it's interesting. If it is your thing, then it's very, very, very interesting.

ROT13'd probably-spoiler-free-but-maybe-contains-tiny-spoilers overview of what makes the game good follows:

Gur Jvgarff vf n chmmyr tnzr. Gur chmmyrf enatr va qvssvphygl sebz gevivny gb irel engure uneq. Vg vf fvzvyne va fcvevg gb Zlfg, ohg abg ng nyy gur fnzr nf Zlfg. Gur neg naq fbhaq vf tbetrbhf. Gur tnzr'f cnpvat vf ernyyl tbbq.

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

#267

Post by em3rgent0rdr »

slantyyz wrote: post #114
em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to wait for Linux version to buy...that way will incentivize devs to make Linux versions.

> I'm going to wait for Linux version to buy...that way will incentivize devs to make Linux versions. I'm not sure that's going to incentivize anyone, especially if they're making plenty of money on the platforms they chose to release on. Spending your money on existing Linux games in the same genre (and encouraging your Linux friends to as well) is more likely to incentivize devs. At least they can see that a Linux…

Spending money on existing Linux games in the same genre will incentivize devs. By waiting for them to release Linux port, I will then be spending money on the then-existing Linux game. Therefore what I said initially is valid.

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

#268

Post by kayamon »

archagon wrote: post #190

(SPOILERS, obviously. Mostly surface-level.) I absolutely love the game, but for the sake of discussion, I have to admit that I'm slightly disappointed by the puzzle-paneliness of it all. I didn't read many spoilers over the 8 years of its development, but Jonathan Blow always made a point to emphasize the epiphany-based nature of the game. I took this to mean that as you gain knowledge from the panels, you slowly be…

You might want to check out Toki Tori 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=084BUNlI7Gk

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

#269

Post by archagon »

kayamon wrote: post #268
archagon wrote: post #190

(SPOILERS, obviously. Mostly surface-level.) I absolutely love the game, but for the sake of discussion, I have to admit that I'm slightly disappointed by the puzzle-paneliness of it all. I didn't read many spoilers over the 8 years of its development, but Jonathan Blow always made a point to emphasize the epiphany-based nature of the game. I took this to mean that as you gain knowledge from the panels, you slowly be…

You might want to check out Toki Tori 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=084BUNlI7Gk

Oh yeah, how could I forget Toki Tori? I really love the concept behind that one, except I wish the game was entirely contiguous and didn't rely on a map screen. (Also, Toki Tori 1 was a fantastic straight-up puzzle game.)

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

#270

Post by db48x »

sdrothrock wrote: post #216
mwill wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've solved ~300 puzzles (out of 600) but am able to trigger the ending, so I am finished but not 100% completed yet. I haven't found ANY puzzles where I feel like you're guessing at the solution. Every puzzle I've solved has had well defined rules. I don't want to give too much away, but broadly speaking there are two types of puzzles: Those that rely on the symbols, where whats on the screen in front of you is all…

> 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…

Subtitles for those 8 or 10 puzzles would render them trivial; the subtitles would literally need to be the solution to the puzzle written out for you. You'll still enjoy the game even if you skip the little jungle area; the game is structured so that you only have to do about 75% of the "areas" of the island. I know of three puzzles elsewhere that you'd have to skip as well, all of them optional.

I think you'll still be able to enjoy the game.

On the other hand, there are audio logs scattered about which you might prefer to be able to hear. They don't tell a story though; it's more of an examination of things Jonathan Blow feels are important. I think that's a cool part of the game, even though I suspect that I disagree with him entirely.

The elephant in the room is obviously that there's no accommodation for the blind at all.

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