The Witness
Overview
The Witness is a 3D puzzle video game created by Jonathan Blow, developed and published by Thekla, Inc. The Witness was released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 on January 26, 2016, with the iOS version scheduled for a later date.
Inspired by Myst, The Witness has the player explore an open world island filled with a number of natural and man-made structures. The player progresses by solving puzzles which are based on interactions with mazes presented on panels around the island. The rules and outcomes of solving the individual mazes are part of the puzzles that the player will have to come to learn themselves through both visual clues around the island and through audio logs that the player can find. Blow aimed to include as little instruction as possible, wanting to have players come to understand the rules of these puzzles for themselves and coming to moments of realization while exploring the island. The final game has about 650 total puzzles to be solved, though the player is not required to solve them all to finish the game.
Inspired by Myst, The Witness has the player explore an open world island filled with a number of natural and man-made structures. The player progresses by solving puzzles which are based on interactions with mazes presented on panels around the island. The rules and outcomes of solving the individual mazes are part of the puzzles that the player will have to come to learn themselves through both visual clues around the island and through audio logs that the player can find. Blow aimed to include as little instruction as possible, wanting to have players come to understand the rules of these puzzles for themselves and coming to moments of realization while exploring the island. The final game has about 650 total puzzles to be solved, though the player is not required to solve them all to finish the game.
