Thank you for the reply Eric! :D New Maya 2014 has a really sweet retopology tool called Quad Draw. I love your sculpt of the cliff wall by the way!

We primarily use ZBrush for sculpting tasks. In the case of the specific mesh shown above, I think I retopologized that one by hand using 3DSMax’s Graphite tools… but often we just try to keep our sculpts as clean as possible and simply use a decimated version of the sculpt (hand edited as needed).

After trying the Oculus Rift dev kit for the first time (Mirror’s Edge), a friend of mine brought up how interesting and perhaps even optimal it would be to use the device with a more slow-paced, atmospheric title like The Witness. It seems to me that using VR for a faster-paced title would be constantly disorienting but that it could work wonders for letting players get immersed into a “softer” setting.

Of course, I’m not totally convinced that VR is really that big of a deal yet, myself. It just seems kind of useless. I mean, sure, it can probably do a better job immersing you into a game, but is that really necessary? Just a thought. Any chance you could tell me yours?

We are thinking about VR support but nothing is decided at this time.

Hey, thanks!!!

It’s beautiful, so beautiful I published a news story on it. I hope you like it! http://www.gamnesia.com/news/developer-explains-the-witness-deliberately-simplistic-art-style-noise-was

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ditto!

This explanation seems to fit your question at 12:42 to 14:50 of this youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGZ3-SpId3Y

Same – if the geometry is so simplified, why the need to release on next-gen platforms?

IMO, it’s a good move. Looks edible.

Also, is that the fantastic stone age Maes Howe in Orkney that I can see in “rocksImg-14-300×238.jpg”? Very distinctive corbelled vaulting.

What I also like is that the minimalist art style stays closer to a protoype version of the game world. I remember creating grayscale renders of 3D scenes and liking how it looked before all the extra textures were added. It’s sort of like a grayscale pencil sketch with only small fill ins. I remember watching artists create drawings, and somewhere before all those extra lines, colors and details were added thinking “Stop! It looks good right there!” but inevitably they would add extra brush strokes. It added detail, sure, but were not what I had wanted to see.

If there is some space for your imagination to fill in a color or a line that is not present, I think it is more engaging. If you draw every single line and color for them, what’s left for them to wonder about?

Enjoy killing the noise! Great work guys!

I think you folks have hit on a good balance in the design and geometry of this world; it’s enticing and surreal, and looking at these screenshots makes me long to explore that world. I think that’s what you were aiming at directly.

Ok enough of that, now go finish the game already ;)

Following this blog makes me feel like I am part of something… and something that it is very much worth being a part of.

Also those are some really pretty rocks :-)