This game change my life. Thank you.

Good to know!

I used the Braid level editor, and it was a very valuable experience to me. I can totally understand you not wanting to bother with one here though – I just wanted it to be known that Braid’s was appreciated.

Can you tell what game specifically you were working on at Rockstar and Ubisoft?! I think you worked at that dancing game that Ubisoft was making and maybe Red dead or a Gran Theft Auto expansion at R*? …It’s cool if you don’t want to say though!

I hope we can see the visual style of the game e volve with your post, so please keep us posted ma brethen! : )

Also, I’m gald you are happy at Thekla Inc. and hope you stay to help with future projects cuz u r awezome!

I think the way to solve it is to stop seeing people as “asset creators” but as game developers.
In theory is someone joins the game industry instead of movies or advertising it’s usually because there is something unique to this environment that attracts them. Whoever hires you should understand your passion and how it will fit with the goals of the studio.
But it has to be an effort from both sides. The studio you will work for should have a clear vision and be able to show you their philosophy (more than just “make good games”) but you, as a creative person, also have to be clear on what you want and actually work for it.

I see. Well, that you replied and explained it is really enough for me anyway. I’m just one of those people who like to mess around with games. I’m sure the Witness will be a great game, regardless of the editing possibilities, and to know how much you care about the core experience (unlike a lot of commercial developers) makes it all the more awesome.

By the way, I agree that the Braid editor seems to be greatly underused, especially for all the effort put into it. I my want to (re)create a modding community so that people can help one another. Although it may take some time, if I succeed it’ll be a great chance for lots of new universes to be made for a great game that deserves to be longer :D

Almost nobody used Braid’s level editor. It wasn’t worth putting in the development effort, when you consider the opportunity cost of working on a new game instead.

To make a level editor that people will actually use, you have to put a lot of effort into making it usable, which is effort that is not going toward the core experience. The core experience of The Witness would be diluted.

Also, that “only problem you can think of” is a giant one. Nothing most people built would look remotely like anything in the game.

I understand the enthusiasm behind wanting something like this, and I appreciate it, but it’s a mistake trying to make a game that is everything to everyone. Maybe the next game will be a player-creativity game but if and when we do that we will do it very well, in a game designed specifically for that purpose.

I think that it would be cool if some modding tools were included. Not so much a “bonus room”, but something like Braid’s level editor would be more than enough.
The only problem I can think of is that because The Witness is 3D and so detailed, creating your own island would be way too much work. Braid just uses 2D images, so making your own levels is doable, but anything more than panel puzzles would be too difficult for most modders to make.

Maybe a special room or location where you can play other peoples’ panel puzzles (and test your own), similar to what Casey suggested, would be possible. It could appear once the game is completed, and tools outside of the game could be used to create the puzzles.

The Witness is very deliberately an authored experience and not a world-building kind of game.

It’s easy to get excited about different ideas of what could happen, but focus is very important, so we are focusing on making the game as it is as high-quality as possible.

Also, and I don’t know if this has ben asked before, but will there be a puzzle builder system in the game, where users can design there own panel puzzles and share them with other players? Perhaps a special area or building that has nothing to do with finishing the game, just sort of a bonus room for people who have finished the game, and want more of a challenge?

Awesome post! As a game design student looking to enter the industry, hearing your experiences with both large studios and now The Witness has been extremely insightful.

But I’m curious, how do you keep the asset creators invested in making a fun and meaningful game when a large portion of the industry is demanding the bare minimum in the quickest time possible? Irrational Studio’s Tim Gerritsen here in Boston does a good job of dealing with the corporate side and allowing his team a substantial amount of creative freedom, but how would you go about this?

Digging the art work, can’t wait to see more. Though the prototype pic got me thinking; will there possibly be puzzles that need to be to be solved simultaneously? (answer may already be somewhere on the blog, feel free to ignore this if it is)

Above all, take your time and know there are those who are willing to wait.

It’s cool to hear about the difference in work environment you’ve experienced in moving from AAA to working on this game. I recently left my job with Activision to “go indie” so I definitely understand what you’re talking about. I wish I shared your optimism that mainstream game development could ever adopt the same culture of trust that you’re talking about. I think as soon as you require a large amount of money, you’re just not going to get that level of ‘hands-off’-quality trust. We just need more self made millionaires who are willing to slowly build teams they trust up around themselves (a la Gabe Newell). Or, you know – maybe you guys can become such a studio in the future. :)

Thanks for the insight, this is very beautiful work. Can’t wait to see what else you post.