Braid creator shows off new game

By Ellie Gibson Published 7 September, 2010

The Witness was on display at PAX.

Braid creator Jonathan Blow has confirmed his new game, The Witness, was on show at the Penny Arcade Expo - though you might not have noticed.

"For all three days of PAX 2010, The Witness was publicly playable by anyone who came by the booth. However, it was unmarked and unattended, so it was easy to miss," he wrote on his blog.

"At a show full of companies trying to capture your attention and sell you things, I wanted to do something that is subtle, and a surprise - if you notice it, and decide to investigate, you find something unexpected," Blow explained.

"Also, I wanted people to be able to play the game for as long as they want, not feeling pressured to stop playing because of a huge line of antsy people waiting behind them."

Blow hid in the shadows by the booth, waiting to see how players reacted to the game. "Happily, the game worked very well - despite the fact that the visuals are still in an early prototype stage," he said. "People tended to play for a long time, and they liked what they played."

That included Kotaku's Stephen Totilo, who described The Witness as "a quiet game set on a lovely landscape landmarked with puzzles.

"It is clear that this is a game for the patient, the unflustered and the observant," he added. Oh, and it's a bit like Myst.

The Witness is due out some time next year for multiple platforms. Have a look at our screenshot gallery to see how it's shaping up.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (15) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Rufus #1 1 year ago

    I only bought and finished Braid the other day and absolutely loved it, so colour me very excited!

    I guess his approach to show floor tactics mirror that of his approach to games: look past the surface and find something very surprising!

  • NewbieZilla #2 1 year ago

    Confirmed his new game? He did that back in February.

    http://the-witn ess.net/news/?m=201002

  • spekkeh #3 1 year ago

    I would like to play Braid, but I'm not paying full price for a game that's over two years old.

  • Rufus #4 1 year ago

    @ NewbieZilla

    You've read that wrong. Ellie was confirming that the new game was ON SHOW at pax, not that he was confirming its existence in general.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #5 1 year ago

    I would like to play Braid, but I'm not paying full price for a game that's over two years old.

    I saw a boxed copy of Braid for PC in Morrisons for 7 quid.

  • el_pollo_diablo #6 1 year ago

    "I would like to play Braid, but I'm not paying full price for a game that's over two years old."

    Do you feel the same way about music and films?

  • peacefuloutrage #7 1 year ago

    I enjoyed Braid, and this looks like something I would enjoy. I find it interesting that publishers want to pigeonhole gamers into a few main experiences when PC gaming was so much more diverse in the past.

  • spekkeh #8 1 year ago

    Do you feel the same way about music and films?

    Yes.

    I saw a boxed copy of Braid for PC in Morrisons for 7 quid.

    I don't live in the UK, and actually that makes the €15 download price even more ridiculous.
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/10 @ 12:43

  • Sonic_D #9 1 year ago

    Nice one, I like his style.

  • el_pollo_diablo #10 1 year ago

    Do you feel the same way about music and films?
    Yes.

    lol, I can't argue with that. :D
    You genuinely made me laugh there.

  • spekkeh #11 1 year ago

    ;). You do raise an interesting point though. While I won't duke out full price for an old movie, I am still interested in buying them. The same cannot be said about old videogames. Of course it's kind of a hassle to get your old console from somewhere deep in your attic mess and reconnect it to your tv, but I bought a few Virtual Console games and found they didn't age well. I hardly played them.

    Maybe that'll change in the future when every developer will be able to reach a base level of fidelity.

  • man.the.king #12 1 year ago

    @el_pollo_diablo

    "Do you feel the same way about music and films?
    Yes.
    lol, I can't argue with that. :D
    You genuinely made me laugh there. "

    Actually, I feel the same way too.

    Assuming you had liked Batman (Nicholson, Keaton), would you pay the same amount of money to buy a DVD of it now as when it came out? Be honest.

    There's a reason most old movies and songs are sold at lower prices compared to newer ones.
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/10 @ 18:23

  • arty #13 1 year ago

    Oh dear, he can't even go to a computer show with out being pretentious about it!

  • omraya #14 1 year ago

    pretty please Mr. Blow,
    could you somehow stealthily and secretly put this demo on my X360 for me to try also?
    pretty please?

  • el_pollo_diablo #15 1 year ago

    @man.the.king

    Well not Batman perhaps, but I chuffed out full whack for The Shining the other day and it was worth every pence.
    I suppose I'm saying that it's madness to come out with a blanket statement about age being related to value. Music is perhaps a better example.