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homphgomph posted:I'll also note this video was like 6 minutes longer which is why you might have missed the slow build up of Katie getting more and more sick of that puzzle. I think you cut out why I didn't end up liking that puzzle and I still stand by that assessment.
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# ? Jun 30, 2016 00:59 |
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# ? Jun 3, 2024 22:02 |
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I didn't notice it when I was playing the game, but the final puzzles in the Keep weren't very good. On the life-size side, it feels disconnected from the preceding puzzles. Sure, all the obstacles are exactly the same, but the first four puzzles were based on having to modify the solution based on what physical path you were able to take; the final puzzle has no such modification. The hedge-maze side had the opposite problem - it was a carbon copy of the four hedge mazes themselves, with no added twist to make it feel satisfying. Compared to the final puzzles in the Reflecting Pool (splitting the mirrored setup onto two different panels, but the mechanic is the same) and the Shady Forest (combining the two separate gimmicks on each half of the puzzle to form a complete solution), it just feels uninspired and bland.
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# ? Jun 30, 2016 01:22 |
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ManicVolcanic posted:The hedge-maze side had the opposite problem - it was a carbon copy of the four hedge mazes themselves, with no added twist to make it feel satisfying. Compared to the final puzzles in the Reflecting Pool (splitting the mirrored setup onto two different panels, but the mechanic is the same) and the Shady Forest (combining the two separate gimmicks on each half of the puzzle to form a complete solution), it just feels uninspired and bland. This was exactly the problem I had with the overlooking hedge puzzle. I was expecting there to be something more to it, but it ended up being literally a copy + paste of something you've already done. I just ended up being disappointed and almost bitter in the end.
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# ? Jun 30, 2016 03:24 |
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I mean, the overlooking hedge puzzle is a good idea in theory: the puzzles in the mazes require you to figure out what path you need to walk and then trace it on the board, and the puzzle in the tower is literally the path that you walked in the entire area, so it's a continuation of that idea. In practice, it's just disappointing if you think about the concept too hard. What would be more interesting is if each puzzle somehow required you to use the opposite side of the Keep, or perhaps one final puzzle that includes both halves. That way, the retracing-your-steps thing isn't greatly compromised, but it still has a sense of finality to it. I dunno. I still quite like this game, but a good number of things don't really hold up under scrutiny. I didn't mention earlier but I'm really enjoying the LP. Watching people play this game for the first time is fascinating because you can really get a bead on how the players think. The screen drawings are a nice touch too.
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# ? Jun 30, 2016 03:35 |
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ginko posted:I think you cut out why I didn't end up liking that puzzle and I still stand by that assessment. We can only have so many expletives per video. I think the "copy and paste" puzzle is a great example of something that was great on paper but really not great in the execution. It's also not the WORST thing in the world though.
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# ? Jul 1, 2016 01:57 |
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It feels mostly just pointless and tedious. I understood what I have to do almost instantly. But then the execution was just a slog. Going down, making a screenshot of every panel, or even drawing them. (Not many people could straight up remember that.) going all the way back up and inserting an already solved puzzle. Like the underground water reflection puzzles, it's always annoying if the execution of a solution is the hard part.
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# ? Jul 1, 2016 13:02 |
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Episode 22 - Krem Quay (15 Puzzles Solved)
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# ? Jul 2, 2016 19:52 |
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Couldn't tell if you guys noticed it, but this video started out staring at one of the big hidden visual bonuses (feels wrong to call them easter eggs). Rotate your view 90 degrees if you have trouble seeing it.
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# ? Jul 2, 2016 20:24 |
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What we have taken to be called the Bayou is one of the most frustrating locations in The Witness to talk about, partly because half of the pathways don't physically exist until you make them, but mostly because pretty much anything you can call the area could be used as the name for another area. Bayou, Swamp, and Marsh could all describe the dye farm next door (which, if I remember correctly, is labeled in the Playstation trophies as "The Swamp"), Forest most commonly refers to the shadow-puzzle area (called in the trophies Shady Trees) or else the pink orchard, and the Jungle hasn't been entered yet, but you've been in the vicinity of it at least once. The achievements/trophies refer to the area as the Tree Houses, which leads to the question of how do you talk about the bayou floor? Overall, I think Bayou is a fine name and wish I had come up with it.
ManicVolcanic fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Jul 2, 2016 |
# ? Jul 2, 2016 22:22 |
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It's very clearly Channelwood. But without the intrigue of a thriving society being possible.
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# ? Jul 3, 2016 02:18 |
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I call it the Mangroves.
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# ? Jul 3, 2016 03:35 |
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Bruceski posted:Couldn't tell if you guys noticed it, but this video started out staring at one of the big hidden visual bonuses (feels wrong to call them easter eggs). Rotate your view 90 degrees if you have trouble seeing it. I always feel kind of silly when we miss things right in front of us. Though I think a lot of the environmental puzzles just bank on the luck of you catching them. What I find interesting about this whole island is that it is really void of any sign that people had once lived there. Sure you have the statues, the random couches and pillows, but the only signs of human interaction with the world that I've noticed were the cut apple by the tree branching puzzles and the half-made puzzles in the spoiler video we started this game off with. Everything else is devoid of of life or having been lived in. All the plants are is fully grown, the water is stagnant, the clouds stay in place showing no real air movement, there are no birds, fish or insects - the island just comes off as very artificial. I honestly don't know if this will ever be explained, but hold onto the hope that it will be.
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# ? Jul 3, 2016 04:39 |
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Yeah, a mangrove is trees/bushes growing in saltwater, and that seems like the most fitting name. I don't really object to it, but bayou is better for flat, broad regions of water/swampland, and it would almost fit the yellow-shape puzzle area better. Along with no animal life, I think the lack of a moving sun (combined with the fact that so many puzzles rely on the lack of a moving sun) is the biggest indicator that this is clearly a constructed/virtual reality.
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# ? Jul 3, 2016 04:39 |
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ginko posted:I always feel kind of silly when we miss things right in front of us. Though I think a lot of the environmental puzzles just bank on the luck of you catching them. Don't feel bad about it, there's a HUGE difference between where people look when watching a video and where they look when playing. The driver is focused on where they're going next and scanning details for environmental puzzles, the passengers are doing the same as well as finding doodle targets, while the viewer can just take the screen in as a whole without being distracted by any of that.
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# ? Jul 3, 2016 04:50 |
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I have a couple ideas on how to tackle the environment puzzles we are undoubtedly missing, for now we'll probably stick to "oh poo poo look!" because finding them ourselves feels great. I do think the snow globe theory has some legs though... Episode 23 - Zazz (13 Puzzles Solved) Doodles Hsss Big Boy Reporter
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# ? Jul 6, 2016 17:00 |
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Her Story and Contradiction? You guys have played all the games I've never seen anyone else discuss. His name was Jenks, by the way. FFXIII-2 had another game's octopus as a DLC fight, if that counts. FFXII had one too. Also for actual relevant discussion of The Witness, the game this thread is about, I sincerely hope you guys figure that out really soon into the next video. You were looking right at it, agh!
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# ? Jul 6, 2016 17:28 |
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There's an archived LP of Contradiction (check out the thread if you can, it's pretty great too). Bacter[?] or somebody in the art games thread had started on a Her Story LP, but I don't think it got completed. I really like the way you're talking about the rules (or what you perceive the rules to be), it's one of the best parts of doing this as a collab. Kangra fucked around with this message at 05:03 on Jul 7, 2016 |
# ? Jul 7, 2016 04:59 |
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AlphaKretin posted:Also for actual relevant discussion of The Witness, the game this thread is about, I sincerely hope you guys figure that out really soon into the next video. You were looking right at it, agh! Heh...ummmmmm..we'll see. Jenks is the best and I am now thinking he's the one going around solving these puzzles making his amazing facial expressions as he tries to figure out the correct path. Kangra posted:I really like the way you're talking about the rules (or what you perceive the rules to be), it's one of the best parts of doing this as a collab. Hey thanks! I think that's part of the fun of the puzzles is trying to add everything together and make it work. Episode 24 - Happybunny (08 Puzzles Solved)
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# ? Jul 9, 2016 17:23 |
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I love watching people play The Witness because you really get to see how they think. For instance, Joe and Jesse appear to think spatially - they can keep track of where things are on the island well enough, and are finding most of the paths. Katie, on the other hand, thinks logically - she understands the rules and underlying logic behind each of the different symbols faster. It's pretty great stuff.
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# ? Jul 9, 2016 20:31 |
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ManicVolcanic posted:I love watching people play The Witness because you really get to see how they think. For instance, Joe and Jesse appear to think spatially - they can keep track of where things are on the island well enough, and are finding most of the paths. Katie, on the other hand, thinks logically - she understands the rules and underlying logic behind each of the different symbols faster. It's pretty great stuff. This has been super interesting to read peoples perspective after watching us. This game brings out a lot of peoples perception and how they handle puzzles, it's real neat and it's been a trip playing this in a cooperative setting. Episode 25 - It's Some lovely World Thing (12 Puzzles Solved)
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# ? Jul 13, 2016 17:39 |
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You guys hit on the rules, but just to clarify things: --squares only care about other squares, not the color of other shapes in their zone. --spikes only care about other shapes of their color, not whatever else may be in their zone. --the color of squares/spikes doesn't matter. Whether they're same or different yes, but black/white squares could be black/green and act the same, as the puzzles at 10:00 showed.
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# ? Jul 13, 2016 23:03 |
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The puzzles in the Tree Houses are really tricky because there's often more than one way to solve all of them, meaning there's no one obvious way to begin. Like, maybe you would see *a* solution easier if you start going left first than right, but neither one is wrong, so it's hard to rule out possibilities. All of the solutions I saw when watching the video were different than the ones you came up with.
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# ? Jul 14, 2016 23:43 |
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Bruceski posted:You guys hit on the rules, but just to clarify things: Trying to keep it all together in your head can be real tough, I actually might refer back to these when we head back to the town. Episode 26 - A Bridge to Nowhere (16 Puzzles Solved)
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# ? Jul 16, 2016 20:48 |
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I wasn't sure if I should say this now or until some of the next few videos come out, but despite having some issues with the puzzle mechanics near the beginning, I grew to really enjoy how they integrated the puzzles and progress in this area. So far, it's probably one of my favorites. The "bayou" just comes off as much more satisfying in terms of progress and completion.
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# ? Jul 16, 2016 21:20 |
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That last bridge in the Bayou feels backwards, especially since I got stumped on the ones just before the, in Jesse's words, "you get it? You get it?" puzzles that feel like they should have come first to teach you.
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# ? Jul 17, 2016 10:27 |
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I never understand people with the ability to leave a puzzle unfinished. Even with an open-ended design I still sat down with each area and finished them one-by-one. It just seemed more convenient.
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# ? Jul 18, 2016 03:16 |
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Did anyone else get a horrible flashback and start profusely cursing Jonathan Blow when they said the clouds were moving?
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# ? Jul 20, 2016 07:51 |
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H.R. Hufflepuff posted:Did anyone else get a horrible flashback and start profusely cursing Jonathan Blow when they said the clouds were moving?
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# ? Jul 20, 2016 08:43 |
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LogicalFallacy posted:I actually lucked out and timed it just about perfectly on complete accident. Just FYI homph, I believe exactly one butt is moving, and as should be obvious by this point, because it is different, it is important. After 100% Braid I KNEW he was going to pull something like that. frozentreasure posted:I never understand people with the ability to leave a puzzle unfinished. Even with an open-ended design I still sat down with each area and finished them one-by-one. It just seemed more convenient. I think it's more of just clearing your head so you don't cross mechanics wires. At least that's how I approached it, but I can also see feeling like you have to solve it. I think it's cool that there's the option to go explore whenever you want. Update time! Episode 27 - Wonderfur (10 Puzzles Solved) Doodles Dead or Alive? Menu Helper
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# ? Jul 20, 2016 16:39 |
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My toaster could run Windows 10 (pretty much literally, I'd never cleaned the thing out properly and when I removed the CPU heatsink it was a solid mass of dust so my system had cooked itself, but it was also 10-15 years old).
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# ? Jul 20, 2016 16:54 |
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There we go, that's what I was referring to - you looked at your feet constantly towards the end of the video I commented on and you didn't see the alternate exits. I don't mean this next question as a hint or spoiler, I haven't played the whole game myself, but I'll tag it because it probably spoils the solution to a problem you don't see until you solve it. What does that panel that controls the bridge to the castle do if you use the moving walkways to get off that island with the bridge up?
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# ? Jul 20, 2016 17:26 |
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AlphaKretin posted:There we go, that's what I was referring to - you looked at your feet constantly towards the end of the video I commented on and you didn't see the alternate exits. As far as I've been able to figure out, the answer is "nothing". But I wouldn't be surprised if I was wrong.
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# ? Jul 20, 2016 17:33 |
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Bruceski posted:As far as I've been able to figure out, the answer is "nothing". But I wouldn't be surprised if I was wrong. Yeah, it doesn't do anything. There also isn't a puzzle on the underside of the bridge that would require you to resolve the panel in a different way. Not that bridge, anyway.
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# ? Jul 20, 2016 21:59 |
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ManicVolcanic posted:Not that bridge, anyway.
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# ? Jul 21, 2016 00:09 |
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Bruceski posted:My toaster could run Windows 10 (pretty much literally, I'd never cleaned the thing out properly and when I removed the CPU heatsink it was a solid mass of dust so my system had cooked itself, but it was also 10-15 years old). LogicalFallacy posted:Now that does trigger my JoBlow PTSD. Episode 28 - Shades of Blow (11 Puzzles Solved) Doodle Reaching side note: Happy Birthday Katie!
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# ? Jul 23, 2016 17:54 |
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Does the knowledge that you've been beaten to it count as a present?
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# ? Jul 23, 2016 18:17 |
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homphgomph posted:Fun fact, I'm doing all this on a Mac running Bootcamp. While normally I would be able to upgrade to Windows 10, the reason they list why I can't is "Apple Broadcom Built-in Bluetooth" not being compatible. I'm not looking to fix this as the notifications have stopped and I'm not really worried about my computer just deciding to upgrade me at random times. quote:I didn't look at any of the spoiler tags but, that sounds like a good time waiting to happen. I think they mean the Braid star.
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# ? Jul 23, 2016 18:46 |
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Bruceski posted:I think they mean the Braid star.
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# ? Jul 23, 2016 19:05 |
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Bruceski posted:Well that explains ir. Didn't mean to accuse nothing, I was just surprised that error message existed. AlphaKretin posted:Does the knowledge that you've been beaten to it count as a present? Episode 29 - Blastoise (15 Puzzles Solved)
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# ? Jul 27, 2016 14:52 |
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# ? Jun 3, 2024 22:02 |
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I have a headache now. I'm mostly joking but those sounds did really start to grate. And the lack of consideration for deafness is pretty lovely, especially since it doesn't give the impression of being a game that requires sound to be enjoyed.
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# ? Jul 27, 2016 15:37 |