Kolzig

The Witness by Jonathan Blow

Recommended Posts

What later puzzles are these? Are they somewhere outside or is it something inside the mountain?

I don't remember there being one inside the mountain, but there might be. There's one

near the cluster of buildings, as part of that whole area.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh yeah that drove me fucking bonkers. I spent at least half an hour trying to figure out where that cable was supposed to lead. I guess it just unlocked that gate and I never noticed it being locked in the first place. That's another dead end area that confused the hell out of me. At least you could argue that that one's just teaching you the ropes for a later puzzle, but still. D:

If you want some hints:

Vague-ish hint:

You're on the right track, thinking with colors.

Less vague-ish hint:

Look around that puzzle, see if you can view it from a different angle.

Even lesser-vague-ish-er hint (aka the way to solve it):

There's a yellow glass pane you can look through to see the actual colors. (Can't remember the exact location. You might need to solve another puzzle to get the right angle, but I'm not 100% on that.)

And yeah that ship door, hoo boy. There's only one mechanic to it, but it's a goddamn pain to solve, haha. That's one of the few puzzles I found more annoying than fun, but I did eventually get it, and was so super satisfied. :3

Dang, I noticed that right away! :smugface:

It still doesn't make it that easy, for me, haha. I'm so baffled as to where some of the puzzles are located. Can't fucking figure it out, lol.

Quickly scrolled down to miss the outright hint. But I think I know what you mean now. There are some things around there that look like they fit in with solutions. I swear 9/10 of the hard puzzles are literally "take a step away and approach it with a new perspective" I'll try what I think you are on about tonight.

Cheers for the hint though. I have been coming back to this one puzzle a lot and just having no idea.

With the ship, I only spent 10 minutes on it, no major sticking point yet. I just need to work out how to apply the stimuli to the board.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Finished up the cave area over the weekend so I think I can say I'm done with this guy. In honor of the occasion I'm giving myself a username promotion. Maybe I'll go through and hunt for + puzzles another time, but I don't feel especially compelled to do so now. Ended up somewhere around 510+90. Some endgame spoiler talk:

 

That last challenge...man it took me dozens of tries to get. The first time I made it through the triangle puzzle room I thought I was done, only to realize there were two more column puzzles to do which just crushed me. Also once I had time run out when I was literally inches away from finishing the second column. I actually did a Darth Vader "Noooo!" as the puzzle powered down. There's obviously some luck involved in finishing quickly, but even still, I really liked it...a fun final/optional challenge to cap things off.

 

Oh, and on the + puzzle in the theater with the eclipse video...I rolled my eyes a bit when I realized that they make you sit through that entire GDC talk to get the symbol to complete (which I then did).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ah, I guessed this may be true - though I was a bit doubtful as

there's NO WAY I could've missed so many in some areas :(

 

Some of them can be quite far away though, for instance...

 

the desert monolith links all the way over to the windmill.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah it's really hard to judge like, how far to go.

 

Also

If you didn't know already, the lake gives you a good idea for what you're missing and where you're missing it.

 

I'm not sure of the exact method of tracking, but it'll tell you where the monoliths (fountains) are, how many audio logs you've found, whether you've activated the lazers (lanterns), and how many unsolved puzzles (non +, I believe) there are in the area.

 

Something to do with leaves and flowers and clams, too. I'd have to look it up to figure out exactly what it all means. I noticed the lanterns and fountains on my own, but can only surmise about the rest from various hints other people have said to me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The stars and tetrominos are annoying me. In both cases I just ran out of puzzles and the rest are hidden some way.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah it's really hard to judge like, how far to go.

Also

If you didn't know already, the lake gives you a good idea for what you're missing and where you're missing it.

I'm not sure of the exact method of tracking, but it'll tell you where the monoliths (fountains) are, how many audio logs you've found, whether you've activated the lazers (lanterns), and how many unsolved puzzles (non +, I believe) there are in the area.

Something to do with leaves and flowers and clams, too. I'd have to look it up to figure out exactly what it all means. I noticed the lanterns and fountains on my own, but can only surmise about the rest from various hints other people have said to me.

Holy cow! I noticed

the lanterns turning on, and saw there were some fountains but didnt clock that they were related to actions in the world.

As for post laser discussion

im only a couple of levels down in the mountain, two floor puzzles I guess, but fuck, the puzzles that move as you move the cursor gave me such motion sickness, and the colour pulsating ones gave me such a head ache. The fouth one specifically as I couldn't tell which ones were flashing due to failing or due to disco.

The next row of puzzles though we're so ingenious though that I laughed out loud when I realised the mechanic.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, I didn't have a lot of fun with those. I ended up having to stop because I thought I was going to hurl. I didn't have a problem anywhere else in the game.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Giant Bomb put up a lengthy video interview with Jonathan Blow. It's way spoiler heavy, but it's definitely worth checking out once you've finished the game. Lots of insights into the history of the game, the puzzle and world design, etc. Plus they have him play through the final (final) part of the game...pretty fun to watch.

 

http://www.giantbomb.com/videos/we-play-the-witness-with-jonathan-blow/2300-10990/

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is a good interview. Man, I really wish all those people who think Blow is pretentious or elitist would watch this video. Would go a long way toward stopping that shit. Well, okay, probably not the pretentious part. But he comes off as pretty straightforward here, not at all slighting games that aren't like his. People seem to think he believes his games are the best psosible thing games have to offer, which is just ugh.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was excited to see the video and watched the first 2 minutes and had an entire type of puzzle i didn't even realize existed spoiled. 

 

I'd seen weird allusions to those types of puzzles but never put 2 and 2 together. It's like the translation monolith next to the fox and dog in Fez. So close but I don't know if I'd have ever made that last step, but I feel cheated since now I'll never know. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Haha yeah. I only barely figured it out on my own after some heavy hints in here.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was excited to see the video and watched the first 2 minutes and had an entire type of puzzle i didn't even realize existed spoiled. 

 

I'd seen weird allusions to those types of puzzles but never put 2 and 2 together. It's like the translation monolith next to the fox and dog in Fez. So close but I don't know if I'd have ever made that last step, but I feel cheated since now I'll never know. 

 

Yeah, it's difficult. There's certainly a spot where you're stuck enough that you just wouldn't go back to the game without help, but there's also a spot where you've been told too much that completing the puzzles no longer feels like an accomplishment. I guess that's the point that the Polygon review was trying to make in the first place? I'm definitely disappointed at a couple of the hints I took, but also not so concerned about a couple of others. Still, it would have been really awesome if I'd come across the +1 stuff on my own, but I don't think I ever would have.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ah that sucks. I said it was way spoiler heavy!

 

It's really interesting with those puzzles. I stumbled on them very early on but it's very possible to totally miss them. They actually talk about it in the video...how even some of the more direct clues in the game can be missed (and that some reviewers obviously did) but that there's a balancing act required so that figuring them out feels worthwhile.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The things, I went in trusting the game when it told me that all interaction would occur through the panels. I'd seen things in the world that looked suspicious and world stuff that resembled stuff on panels but I'd been resisted every time I'd ever clicked any that I'd given up. 

 

Now that I had the insight handed to me, I can only see them everywhere. 

 

I saw the video yesterday at random and thought I'd gotten far enough into the game that there wasn't anything really left to be spoiled. Jokes on me :D 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I didn't have them spelled out for me quite so directly, but the hint that led to my discovering ~those~ puzzles was heavy enough that I felt disappointed in myself. 

 

Actually, every hint that I've (both intentionally or more commonly unintentionally) read about this game has made me feel guilty. Disproportionate to any other game.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There was a couple that I'm disappointed in myself for. 

 

The place with what looks like a broken washing machine with the melted panels. The roof had a bunch of black lines and white squares on it and I thought "well this will definitely be something" but i never put the giant circle and the giant paths together. Also, the panel on top of the mountain that mirrors the river below but doesn't have any decernable affect on it when you activate it. I just though "huh, this panel looks just like that river...................................... ok bye"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ah that sucks. I said it was way spoiler heavy!

 

It's really interesting with those puzzles. I stumbled on them very early on but it's very possible to totally miss them. They actually talk about it in the video...how even some of the more direct clues in the game can be missed (and that some reviewers obviously did) but that there's a balancing act required so that figuring them out feels worthwhile.

 

I actually did the EXACT same thing Brad showed re: + puzzles, and didn't realize my mistake until after asking about a different thing in this thread. I might've figured it out on my own eventually, but I suspect I might not have haha.

 

And yeah this is one of the very few games I've played in, I dunno, the past fucking decade, where I was super excited and encouraged and determined to get by with as few hints as possible. It was such a goddamn complete and utter joy to discover things on my own.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Reyturner, 

 

"huh, this panel looks just like that river...................................... ok bye" is pretty much word-for-word a thought I had playing this game

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm going to ask a stupid question: where do people see the n+k numbers for their game that I see people talk about? I'm playing on PC and I have never seen this number.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A legitimate, non-trolling question -- I see a lot of folks in this thread expressing disappointment with themselves for seeking hints. In my experience, I would've thrown this game out the window two dozen hours ago without at least a bit of light encouragement and hints from folks. No outright solutions, but those occasional hints have been lifesavers.

 

Is it a pride thing? I've figured out the vast majority of things myself, but, as others have observed, there are some places where the tutorializing does a poor job of showing the player the next logical step (that one goddamned marsh puzzle, for instance), and, I take that as a bit of a flaw in the game (or, a flaw in the game's ability to communicate to me).

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm practically addicted to The Witness. I cannot stop playing, even though I am the furthest thing from a puzzle/logic whiz, and progress is coming in fits and starts, with long, frustrating dry spells. The puzzles themselves are 99% brilliant, and I really love exploring the island, encountering the different bits and pieces of logic.

 

(the statues, on the other hand...)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Could be pride! It's not a feeling I'd ever brag about, though. I'm certainly not bragging about it when I talk about it in this thread. It was just really super duper satisfying for me to figure things out on my own.

 

I'm no stranger to looking up hints, or even straight up solutions to puzzles in games (usually point and click adventure games, where I just don't want to spend hours beating my head against a puzzle just to get to the next bit of dialogue). But for some reason this game inspired me to fully commit to solving and discovering as much as I possibly could by myself.

 

There's... one puzzle I would've had no problems asking for help on, had I not solved it accidentally. I hate that puzzle. It's the worst! But I've harped on that one more than enough around here. U:

 

It helps that I think this is the kind of puzzle I'm just sort of... good at, in general? I only got stuck on I'd say five puzzles or so for more than five minutes. One of those was for a really long time, but that's because I was an idiot and looking at it the wrong way, haha. I don't say I'm good at these puzzles to brag, either. There's plenty of types of puzzles I'm just really bad at. Besides, it's not like this is a skill useful in the real world! (I'm listening to you talk about The Witness right now on the latest Idle Weekend!)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A legitimate, non-trolling question -- I see a lot of folks in this thread expressing disappointment with themselves for seeking hints. In my experience, I would've thrown this game out the window two dozen hours ago without at least a bit of light encouragement and hints from folks. No outright solutions, but those occasional hints have been lifesavers.

 

Is it a pride thing? I've figured out the vast majority of things myself, but, as others have observed, there are some places where the tutorializing does a poor job of showing the player the next logical step (that one goddamned marsh puzzle, for instance), and, I take that as a bit of a flaw in the game (or, a flaw in the game's ability to communicate to me).

 

I looked up the solution to one perspective puzzle (turns out I had missed an environmental thing), and checked whether one puzzle was bugged because I was sure that I had the right solution (turns out I can't count to five). I also looked up how to proceed to an optional area once I had beaten the game and unlocked all the lasers. Didn't feel disappointed with myself after any of these. Well, except for the counting to five thing.

 

I avoided hints not because of pride, but because of the feeling I got after figuring out the solution to a puzzle that had me stuck for a while. In many of these cases, I had gotten stuck on one way of looking at the problem when a completely new take on the puzzle was required. The "Aha!" moment I experienced after putting some distance between me and the puzzle, then coming back, and solving it immediately, was immensely satisfying.

 

The fact that this game is all puzzles helps too. I knew that the solutions were right there in front of me and would not be of the obscure use-bottomless-mug-to-stain-the-sunbather-in-red-wine-to-make-him-turn-around-then-use-cooking-oil-to-burn-his-skin-and-peel-of-the-tattoo-map* adventure game variety. In other words, I trusted the solutions to be fair and solvable, and in my opinion they were. Still, had I gotten stuck for frustratingly long periods of time, I would probably have used hints. I think I got lucky with the order I decided to tackle the puzzles.

 

 

* Although, this puzzle was actually quite easy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now