Comments on: Island Snapshot

By: User

User — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 05:49:17 +0000

Great progress screenshots. I hope it will be available on Steam upon release.

Ps. Going for the Greenlight method of releasing isn’t a great idea.

By: dyxxon

dyxxon — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:44:41 +0000

So excited to play this game! It’s looking gorgeous.

By: Alex Pedruzzi

Alex Pedruzzi — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:43:08 +0000

Good day … was reading about this game that are developing and I was very curious. “Witness” already has a release date?

Thank you, a hug.

Alex Pedruzzi – Brazil
(Translation: Google Translate)

By: Angelo

Angelo — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 10:28:56 +0000

The wait is killing me. I wish I didn’t take interest in this game.
Just do me a favor, when you announce the release date, only do it when it’s imminent. Like, a month or to away. Reading something faraway and generic like “next year” would positively drive me insane.

Great job, by the way.

By: Daniel R. Maciel

Daniel R. Maciel — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 11:46:58 +0000

Hmm… Is the pattern of the position of the clouds relevant to gameplay as well? They look arranged in a very specific way.

By: AlexC

AlexC — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 00:52:07 +0000

This image makes me long for a sample of the score. When will we get our first taste of that? Or will we have to wait for the game to release first?

By: Lu

Lu — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 06:01:52 +0000

It is the really scene I DREAMED

By: Phil Willis

Phil Willis — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 23:17:50 +0000

In reply to Gabriel Verdon. Wahahahahahaha!

By: Mathieu

Mathieu — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:45:25 +0000

Boy’ I followed this blog since it basically started but for the last months I’ve kinda forgot about it… wow I’m amazed at the progress. Can’t wait to see the final game!!

By: mvjunkie

mvjunkie — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 00:43:51 +0000

OMG
when we can use it???????

By: Jesse

Jesse — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 00:43:42 +0000

Sorry if this's come up before, I couldn't find a search field on this blog (google didn't return anything either). I just did the loop around Angel Island on a bicycle, and on the way to and from the island you get a good all-encompassing view of Alcatraz. I was betting you were mostly inspired by Alcatraz for this game because of its baffling mishmash of retired architecture. But the person I was with on this bicycle ride was thinking your island looks more like Angel Island in that there's a little more wilderness, and even though the architecture is not quite so eclectic there's still plenty to be intrigued by. I have to admit, when I rolled up to a chain-link gate half-heartedly blocking access to the historic "Nike Missile Site" I thought to myself: How much better would this experience have been had one of those blue puzzle panels been installed on this gate instead of that uninspired chain and padlock? Well even if Angel Island was never a part of your initial inspiration, maybe after you finish the game you could go on that bicycle loop. If you pick a clear day off-season it'll give you some pretty incredible views. There's even an apparently dysfunctional wind turbine that's very similar to the one I've seen in the The Witness screenshots. I would hurry before the California Parks & Rec Dept decides to gussy up any of the rest of what's left.

By: M.M

M.M — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 19:15:41 +0000

Can You please elaborate on the clauds and the sky, perhaps in some future blog entry?
In one of the prevoius spots ( one about the “interesting to explore” valley) You said the sky in the screenshots is just placeholder. It looked really amazing, and it was hard to belive it really is a placeholder.

I understand that you got round to making the final clouds. They clearly look like placeholders. Escpecially ones in the back. The one to the right looks as if it was build from a number of cilinders. The one to the left too, though the cylinders look more like a spheres ( from the distance the exact shape can’t be seen).

Also, if i remember correctly, in in one of the old entries You’ve said that You had a too good sky, and you intend, to exchange it to some simpler and less resource demending, for a sky so good is not needed for this game.

By: Ryan Lindahl

Ryan Lindahl — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 16:14:07 +0000

I cannot wait to explore every inch of this island. Unraveling its secrets and mysteries is something I’ve been looking forward to since I first read about the game.

I teach algebra, and it’s been reading through some of the more technical posts with my students to illustrate the importance of algebra, geometry, trig, etc for projects like this (not that we understand the actual programming language).

I apologize if this has been answered elsewhere, but are there other puzzles besides the monitor-based ones? If so, does the puzzle-count include non-monitor based puzzles?

By: Keenan

Keenan — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:49:36 +0000

I’m sure you probably answered this somewhere, but are you going to be able to swim in the game?

By: Lestibournes

Lestibournes — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:48:48 +0000

I hope those white buildings on the cliffside are just using placeholder graphics, since they look very out-of-place to me.

By: Lestibournes

Lestibournes — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:46:25 +0000

In reply to brian. You can easily see individual trees in that screenshot. The player is smaller than the tree trunks.

By: Walter

Walter — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 17:11:53 +0000

The game is starting to look really nice! I’m curious about the clouds, though. They look good and I’m wondering how exactly you guys made them, because it doesn’t seem extremely obvious just looking at a screenshot. Did you guys model the clouds and have a transparent texture and shader to hide the edges, or are the pieces of the clouds billboarded particle effects? Or is there some other type of magic going on? I imagine if it was the first option then they would look a lot worse from above, although maybe there is a gameplay reason for them to look good from above. Either way, I’m curious!

By: Peter Hamilton

Peter Hamilton — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 17:06:07 +0000

I really enjoy these periodic island snapshots. The progression from toy space to a crisp, polished environment is fascinating. I like the air-brushed look of the clouds. It gives the mountain a nice mysterious feel, hiding details barely visible around the edges. The new tree on the upper slope is interesting as well, as it’s right below the snow layer. I would have thought you would go with more stunted growth the higher you climb.

By: Philip Fortier

Philip Fortier — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:03:51 +0000

Not unusual to have low clouds like that, looks fine to be. Plus the vertical scale probably isn’t physically accurate anyway – looks like snow on the mountain top, but lush green summer vegetation at sea level.

By: Dave Ottley

Dave Ottley — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:48:57 +0000

Amazing pic, Jonathan. I can’t wait until I get to play The Witness. It will be out next week right? :D

By: Sami

Sami — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 10:19:44 +0000

Looking awesome! I’m also wondering about the clouds though, if they are clouds at all.

By: Gabriel Verdon

Gabriel Verdon — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 06:48:18 +0000

Jonathan, please fix those visual artifacts in the screenshot.

By: justin

justin — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 06:17:50 +0000

In reply to N.

Heh… Pretty sure that’s intentional. The only time I remember clouds in a video game is Braid. And I walked on those clouds to go back and forth in time… so… We’ve already walked on clouds. Whats next for this game?

By: Nathan

Nathan — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 06:00:10 +0000

Given the ability to move around freely, and at the exact speed prospective players will be able to move around, how long do you think it might take to fully explore the island?

When I say fully explore, I mean how long would it take to simply see each individual reachable area without actually having to set foot there.

By: brian

brian — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 04:45:39 +0000

Not sure if this is a dumb question or not, but what’s the scale of the player to that mountain? Could we get a shot looking up?

By: N

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 01:27:40 +0000

Those clouds(?) are looking a bit close to the ground!

By: sebastian

sebastian — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 01:22:22 +0000

Good lord, that is beautiful.