I know everyone is saying Talos Principle, and that's a fine suggestion, but now I REALLY want to see him play Baba Is You. It's got words in it so it's even on brand a bit.
@@samc4741 Talos might be one of the best games I’ve seen in dealing with motion sickness; It specifically has anti-motion sickness settings. They certainly helped for me.
Simon pushing his way through the first puzzle after deducing the rules and then turning around and finding the tutorial that was supposed to teach him how to play it was so peak Simon, only way it could have been more on the nose is if he had to scan down to find the tutorial puzzles ;)
It also speaks to an enjoyment of puzzle hunts, that he's expressed a couple of times on the channel (in part when talking about CTC puzzle hunts posted to patreon) - And the Witness, being a puzzle game that attempts to teach you the rules of it's own puzzles entirely via those puzzles, shares some DNA with puzzle hunts even if I'm not sure that's deliberate on the part of Blow.
Sadly someone spoiled it for him from the chat. I completely trust Simon to be a world class puzzle solver, but there just isn't enough info at that point in the game to just go and try the idea of separating black from white without trying a bunch of mistaken ideas before.
Hey there Simon. I would suggest you don't worry too much about your pace or the speed at which you solve the puzzles. People want to see you experience the game ... so take your time and just experience it. If you wanna look at something, stop to do so. If you wanna go somewhere that interests you, do that! I'd say reading chat is not the best way to go for puzzle games as it can spoil the fun. I've only tuned in towards the end( when you did the apples in the tree puzzles) and the way you did it from then seemed fine. Look at chat sometimes and other than that enjoy the game. As for a schedule, streamers do them differently and most people surely would be excited to see them as frequently as often, but in the end having someone do a stream and enjoying it is far better than having daily streams with a burnt out streamer. This was fun, please always put your enjoyement first and have fun with it! Looking forward to seeing more! (also try to play around with the FOV a bit more at the start of your next one. Getting that right will surely help a bunch!)
Could not agree more! This is the best game ever - but only if enjoyed at your own pace, without looking at any spoilers. Many of us would love to see you play and struggle and be amazed throughout the whole game.
Mark, Simon, just a spoiler free word of advice: some of the films shown in the windmill cinema are very long, and other youtubers have received copyright strikes for showing them. You may want to think about using them as a natural break and watch them offline, or perhaps stream them but then edit them out of the video before the DMCA bot watches them.
Just echoing others to increase the odds that you read one: don't worry about your pace and try not to get spoilers from chat. The witness is all about deducting from minimalistic cues. You got this. Also, to help reduce motion sickness, your field of view should approximate the horizontal angle you'd be able to see as if the screen were a window. At a sitting desk, this is usually around 70 to 90 degrees (higher number if you are close to the screen).
I think the better advice when it comes to FoV is to play around with it. 70 is unplayable for me, I get headaches and motion sickness, even though that's the theoretical FoV of my setup by that window metric. 90 is just about playable, I prefer near 100. I know 90-100 is a common preference and I've never heard anyone say they *prefer* 70, unless they're really far from the screen. I don't think the window comparison is adequate, it varies a lot from person to person. Other common causes of motion sickness that could apply here: low frames per second, motion blur (either on or off, depends on the person).
I found the FOV disgustingly high, watching this on my medium-sized iPad. (I’ve played this game to the end on PS4 and PC, and somewhat on iPhone and iPad.)
@@rupen42 Definitely my experience too. I suffer pretty bad with motion sickness on a lotta 1st person games, and I find somewhere between 90-120 works for me. Varies from game to game for sure, but anything below 90 is usually a no go zone for me.
I actually think the art style makes it much worse. I've played many first person games, and this is the only one that has ever made me feel motion sick. I think it is because the art style looks 2D and 3D simultaneously to me, and its really messing with my depth perception.
This is the kind of The Witness blind play that I've always wanted to watch. Too many people being "UA-camrs" and not enough of them just enjoying the game. Keep it going, sir, this is genuinely interesting to watch!
I've never had any experience with this channel before, but this stream was very sweet. It was like watching Paddington trying to play games online for the first time
What a treat to hear the joy in his voice as he plays. Word of advice, Simon - be sure to savour your time playing, you can only experience the game for the first time once.
The best spoiler free general tip I could give someone playing this game is: If a puzzle seems beyond your understanding, just save it for later, the game will provide you with all the knowledge you need.
I love this game, I’ve completed it twice. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely do not read chat for any spoilers. Was such an amazing experiences figuring it out the first time. Just take your time and realise if you get stuck you can always come back. There is nothing that makes your character get better except your knowledge.
Going back to the first two episodes here. This was the video that got me hooked on this excellent LP and I started doing timestamps at #3 and then decided to do that for #1 and #2 as well (latter one still coming up). My Supercut compilation of this episode is here: ua-cam.com/video/MGO-bJ1sUaY/v-deo.html So, Timestamps (with lots of spoilers, of course): 05:31 "This is nothing like my garden" 9:17 Furiously clicks pillows "I don't know, in this game, are you meant to hunt for things? …on sofas?" …"or in greenery?" 11:34 "This is like being stuck on a sudoku, I keep going down the wrong paths!" 12:52 Further Furniture Fondling. "Can I do anything with the cushion?" Try sitting on it, Simon. 14:45 "Ah, look how pretty that is! I've found a nice view, if nothing else… Oh there's me! There! Actually, that's a pretty good representation of me…" 15:17 "uuh no no no… Puzzle!?" And now, the magic. This panel is supposed to be very hard, very early in the game to teach the player that it's ok to leave a panel be, for now, until they find a tutorial that teaches them how to do it. Simon ignores this and does it in under 10 minutes (with the occasional talking to chat) which would be a fast time for any first time player who HAS done the tutorials. 15:25 "Woah, ok this looks harder, what do I have to do with this?" 16:45 Guesses that he has to divide black and white. 17:08 "Ah you rotten thing." 17:14 "What are the… pills along the path for? Oh, do I… If I have got to collect those, I can't start THERE." 17:25 Good Superchat for Simon to stay away from chat for spoilers 19:47 "Oh… BOTHER. I can see what's going to go wrong here. You… Ahhh, Simon…" Lot's of donations coming in, some of which, unfortunately, try to helpfully nudge Simon along. 21:08 "I feel like I can nearly do this one, though." 22:01 "And now I've boxed myself into a corner, oh you silly game!" 22:05 "Oh it's NOT peak content! I can't do it!" It really, really IS peak content. 22:14 very perceptive rundown of all the constrains in the panel, getting about halfway to solving it already. 22:59 "No, I'm getting them on the wrong side of the Silly Line! … So annoying. No! That's just wrong! … I might have to come back to this one… It may be that I'm just thinking about totally the wrong way of doing this." 23:49 Does a final push with, again, a good explanation of the constraints. 24:24 "And HOW am I going to do THAT and collect both of those two things and get out!?" - SOLVES IT. 24:43 "Finally! I'm *so* sorry, good grief." 26:35 "'The puzzles are just a vehicle to watch Simon's delightful mannerisms. I would watch you do your taxes.' oh you wouldn't enjoy that. There's rather too much bad language." 27:12 "Ah! Now that looks easier than the puzzle I just did! Pacman dots!" 27:44 "no, that's nonsense. Don't do nonsense, Simon. … That's the same as I just did, STILL nonsense." 28:05 "These are very clever, aren't they? They _look_ like you should just bash into them, do them as fast as you can, but… you immediately see why what you're doing is ABSOLUTE NONSENSE." 29:00 "It cannot be- Why do I keep doing THAT!? How can that ever be correct? It's just nonsense. Good grief, Simon, get a grip on the world. … There you go, use your brain." 29:36 "What's that done? … No. The empty shed doesn't do anything. … I don't know if that did anything at all." 29:57 "Aha! Another puzzle! Oh I see, so this is just… Yeah, I think you're right, I should have started in the other places." Sidenote: Simon goes through all of these without falling for any of the misdirections until he hits the last panel where the white dots are separated by empty squares. It's notable that this is almost an exact copy of the previous puzzle and, for once, the misdirection works. 31:19 "'Enjoying this immensely.' - enjoying me making a right muff off of this, I'm really sorry, Andy." Really not sure whether I'm transcribing this correctly. 31:50 "I feel like… Oh, oh that's a good thought, that's clever, that's a really nice idea - fair play. … Did nothing though. … I love the way it mislead me with the final puzzle because those four dots here: It looks like you have to hive them off straight away, very nice misdirection." 32:16 "Uhm, I don't know what to do now." 32:29 "Oh! Two dots! … This is very clever stuff, isn't it?" 33:26 "Oh no, sandcastle! Literally a sandcastle!" (this is a reference to a different game Simon has not played) 34:39 "It probably does start there, because that's the most tricky place. That's where I would start if I was designing this puzzle." 34:57 "That's doing something! Aha!" - panel opens to a whole lot of nothing - "oh come on." 36:12 "You have to earn things in this game!" The funny thing about these next panels is that the solution is the exact same every time even if the puzzle is only slightly different (apart from the melting). Simon diligently solves each one anew every time. 39:25 "Then we got to go… not that way. That's just nonsense, stop doing nonsense, Simon, don't like that at. all." 43:45 "Ah! Isn't that strange? I couldn't do that a moment ago and then, suddenly, I could." 45:15 "Can I just start the blue… yeah, that's better. Come on. Boom boom, boom boom boom, boom. Yes. It liked that. Good." 47:00 "Oh no, I didn't even see that one! You *rotten thing*!" 48:20 "Oh this is looking good… Bingo! It's *better* when I don't look at it for a bit and then go back to it. It's so strange. So - reading the chat is actually helping me." 48:39 "Ohhh you rotten thing - more puzzles! No! These were getting quite tricky enough!" …he exclaimed with thinly veiled delight. 56:03 "Oh, I've just noticed - these are getting… I could barely see that one. Uhm, that's a worry. … Is that why these are easier? Because you can't see them? … Oh nooo…" Smile on his face as he walks further into his doom. 56:27 "I can't see what's going on there at all. Uhm. Right. Brilliant." 58:17 "I can understand why it's one of your favorite puzzle games - it's _really_ clever." 58:36 "That's an easy one… That's wrong." 1:01:02 "Oh no, I know what I've got… oh you _rotten thing_ that's _really_ clever. Look - I bet… Look at them!" 1:03:20 "What's that done? Oh! A Speed Camera!" 1:03:57 "Ooooh, whoa, whoa where is THAT going!? Good grief. … What is THAT about!?" Chat is going mental typing "B E A M" 1:04:40 "!h, what's that. What. On earth. Is that?" 1:06:20 "Silver Birches… Look, oh this is lovely, look at the lazer beam coming all the way from… hang on, going to watch the lazer beam." 1:06:57 "Aha! That _is_ lit." First time pink trees! Starts going through every single possible solution. 1:07:30 "Now, THIS is the way that Mark does Sudokus sometimes. There, I've said it. This is genuine - look, it's a big bifurcation tree." Chat is typing such "helpful" messages as "Look at your screen, Simon". Well gee, thanks. 1:08:41 "Chat is going doo-lalley, I'm not looking at it." Thank you, Simon. 1:08:51 "Oh. What!?" First penalty disabling of a panel. Haha, Panalty. 1:09:21 "Oh, I see what it's doing. It's trying to stop me doing bifurcation. No THIS is how Sudoku should work! They should stop you doing bifurcation!" 1:09:30 "So if I go here… Haha, very good. I APPLAUD a game design like this." 1:09:38 "So there is a way of telling why this is correct." 1:10:04 small gasp of realization "ah, I've just realized what it is. That's _really_ clever. That is really, really clever." 1:10:25 "Is there anyone in chat who has not played this game before, who is seeing what I'm seeing now? Because it's really, really, really beautiful." 1:10:40 "I… love that." 1:14:52 "there's no apple in that tree." 1:16:03 "I think there's a missing branch compared to the diagram…" 1:16:51 "Cardio-vascular system? Woah, that tree looks _weird_. … THIS… looks a bit like THAT." 1:18:09 "Bonsai Trees. Are they Bonsai Trees? Maybe. … I don't know if I can get out of this area. … What was the point of me coming up here!? Don't know." 1:19:25 "That's one's easy! Oh! It's in the shape of a windmill! Again, that's _very_ witty." 1:20:33 Simon squinting his eyes all the way down the stairs. 1:23:18 Sudden Music Playing "What's that done? 'Well, that's no better a solution than any of the others is it?' Holey Moley!" 1:24:46 The look of amazed disbelief that a Brit, carefully explaining something while an audience sits back has to now do the same with another Brit who is carefully explaining something. 1:25:15 "I do not know what's going on, here. Am I meant to know…?" This Brit is trying his hardest to not talk over that other Brit. 1:27:08 "BBC! What. Was THAT about!? … Well… I wasn't expecting that. That was very, very odd." Then, he goes on to try to solve the two puzzles in the back of the room without a tutorial after having learned he's supposed to wait for a tutorial.
A lower field of view will make the puzzles larger in the middle of the screen, which might help while solving them. Generally, the best field of view to use depends on how far away your screen is from you and how large it is, so it's a good idea to experiment with the slider and find what feels the best.
So excited to get to watch the VOD! You did such a great job, Simon. Positive Feedback: It’s exactly as fun as I hoped it would be to watch you explore the game in your own unique way. Like, incredible fun! It was incredible that you solved that first hard door on your own without the tutorial puzzles! There is no right way through this game, so my belief is that viewers will be tuning in partly to see what decisions you make about exploration. You will uniquely make your way around, and part of the fun is seeing what you do similarly or differently from me. Both are interesting. The amount that you’re talking about your process of discovery is wonderful, to hear you talk about what you think about individual puzzles and the design of the game or layout is part of the fun of viewing too and you do a tremendous job of this already. Keep it up! I can’t imagine anyone I’d like to watch play this game more than you. Just perfect. Constructive Comments (just two from me!): Personally, as a viewer, I am mostly tuning in to watch you play the game, so not as interested in chat readings. But this is going to vary person to person! And ultimately, I can FF the VOD if you’re talking to or reading chat for a bit. I think much more than 30 secs of reading chat at once starts to feel like taking a break, which you should totally do. Just know that it starts to feel like taking a break from the game and that can feel like a jerking back and forth if it’s too frequent. Your fun and joy is always paramount, to be clear, that’s why we’re watching. Suggestion from other streamers I’ve watched - set the expectation that if you ask a question out loud, it’s just you talking to yourself and they shouldn’t answer in chat. If you want to ask chat a real question then, make it clear that “ok, this is a real question I want you to answer, chat” (e.g. should I keep trying this or is there a tutorial puzzle, if you want to ask that). It’s an easy distinction to see as a viewer then. Once again, this made my day and it’s so neat to watch you experience one of my favorite puzzle games! You’re doing AMAZINGLY so far! Keep it up.
15:40 "Oh good grief, people are giving me money! That's so kind of you." -> says a man who has clearly never streamed consistently nor realizes just how many people care about or appreciate his content. Keep up the great work! I hope you enjoy The Witness. It's quite the treat with a few very specific exceptions that anyone who's played will probably know what I mean. The long video (really interesting, but very long). The "boring lecture." And the "final" puzzle gauntlet. Your stream will likely give you a heads up before/as you get to them so I highly doubt they will cause any serious problems. But PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take your time. The game is called the "witness" for a reason. It's not a crime to take time to observe and "witness" the environment, set pieces, or random corners of the map. We've been there before and we're here to see you enjoy the full experience. Edit after I hit post. I speak for myself but I doubt I'm alone in this, if you ever feel chat is getting to be too much of a distraction feel free to move it to another monitor while you focus on the current puzzle or task.
(people new to the game!) DO NOT READ THE CHAT. THE CHAT WILL CONTAIN MASSIVE SPOILERS AS PEOPLE TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH YOU KNOW ABOUT THE GAME. DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS FROM THE CHAT.
The problem is that just one person who either wants to ruin the fun or just assumes you know more than you do is all it takes, even if the vast majority will carefully avoid spoilers.
1:10:10 - This is the exact reason why I loved playing this game so much. I love puzzles, but this game makes you look at the world differently the longer you play it. There is no feeling which compares to seeing that which was right in front of you in a such a different light, it not only changes your perspective moving forward, it also makes you see the things you've already seen in a completely different light. This game is elegant, brilliant, and frustrating all at the same time...sometimes, in the same moment. Watching Simon's evolution almost makes me miss the fact I will never experience that sense of discovery again...
The Theatre Cinematics (and audiologs) are extremely creative metaphors for the game. They all talk about different ways to view the world, different perspectives and different ways to approach knowledge. A lot of people sleep on them (and I did at first), and they aren't particularly fun to watch on a stream, but they truly are just as beautiful as the rest of the game once you connect all the logical dots.
Agreed! I loved listening to them as I explored, considering how they could be relevant to the game. So many people thought they were pretentious and I couldn’t understand why they were so negative towards them.
@@Scuuurbs On reading the chat messages, it seems some people are just here for the puzzles and nothing else - get them done and move on. They ignore that part of the puzzle is _why did the game designer include these clips?_ because they aren't scored for it. It's a journey vs destination thing. I enjoy seeing how a player reacts to different elements within a game, especially at moments like this. There are some clips later in the game that I personally considered vacuous quasi-profound word-salad, but I'd enjoy seeing Simon's reaction to those even more!
@@cavalierwiththetruth I think that the long-winded astronaut clip at the top of the mountain is so clever. Not only is it an excellent bit of dialogue that we all could benefit from listening to, but it’s also telling the player to take advantage of their height and really look at the island from this perspective. It’s a nod to the environmental puzzles, an accent to the nearby river ‘puzzle.’ Another one that sticks out to me is the ‘final’ one next to the true ending clue. I remember the quote talking about beginnings and things coming full circle, it was so on the nose and just heightened the epiphany that there was something I had been missing way back at the start. Edit: Nevermind, I looked it up and that’s not what it says at all, lol. It _does_ say how they thought they had reached the end, but there was still more. Same idea, not quite as obvious as I was remembering, however.
You did great. As for length of stream, reading chat etc. Do whatever feels right for you. Having a co-reader of chat for a game that is so easy to spoil is a fantastic idea, you should definitely do that.
I would strongly recommend reducing the FOV and seeing if that helps with motion sickness. You might want to try a few different options and see how each feels.
It's more that you need the right FOV than the biggest one. Besides, the right FOV for you will very likely vary from game to game. Movement speed, view bobbing, and stuff like that also plays an effect. The witness doesn't have view bobbing though, so it's mostly the ingeniusly chosen super fucking uncomfortable movement speeds and the FOV that plays a part. Knowing the dev though, I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't on purpose.
@@SondreGrneng makes sense. I'm lucky enough that I don't get motion sickness so all my knowledge on the matter is second-hand (hence why I formulated my original comment as a question and not a statement, but thank you for the detailed explanation :) )
"Mark, you havent given me any money" had me rolling Really enjoyed watching this and regret not catching the livestream itself, but you did great. I cant wait until you discover some of the 'secrets' of this game!
This was really entertaining to watch. The highlight for me was definitely your realisation of the environmental clues on the tree puzzle! Don't worry about having to stop or take breaks to avoid the motion sickness. It may help to look away from the screen every so often to let your eyes focus on the real world for a bit and help you stop feeling woozy. As you build up some hand-eye coordination and get more used to "looking around" in-game you'll hopefully find you can go for longer without feeling too sick.
This is one of my favorite games of all time and you're doing really great! Just be patient with yourself. You're supposed to struggle sometimes or be confused. If you need time with something or want to move on to something else that is 100% intended. Also the way you are handling chat is fine. I think not reading it while playing is probably a good idea. I hope you'll enjoy the game as much as I am enjoying your playthrough of it. :] Also something you might not have picked up on: that apple next to the branch at 1:16:33 is the missing branch from the previous puzzle. The island is full of this kind of visual storytelling and these small easter eggs so feel free to look around and soak in the atmosphere. Like I said, the way you've played so far is perfect.
I have to say, it is just immensely satisfying to see someone who is both good at puzzles and appreciates good puzzle design play this game. The reaction of "that's beautiful" rather than the far-too-common "that's stupid" to figuring out the tree puzzle was extremely pleasing - can't wait to see some of the other big "aha" moments down the line!
Glad to see you enjoying this one, Simon. It was my favourite game of the entire year back when it came out, and I can’t think of another game so perfectly tuned to your skill set. A lot of people are suggesting other puzzle games but I do hope you stick with this one to the end. It really is something of a miracle.
I'm haven't even started this video yet and I'm about 99.9% convinced that I'm going to love this video. Can't wait, watching now. ... Yep, editing my comment after watching. Fantastic. LOVED IT. (Hate the feeling that chatters that give away tips/hints/spoilers will ruin Simon's joy of discovery).
That was amazing. Everyone else in the world took one look at the vault puzzle, backed away in fear, carried on down the path and found the tutorial. Not Simon. Within seconds he has instantly worked out the rules. That is literally awesome.
That was amazing!! Please, Simon, when you resume playing this game, don't change anything! This is exactly what we wanted to see... Just YOU trying to figure out this game (and also as a bonus, you trying to figure out streaming). Don't try to BE a streamer, just BE Simon trying to own this game (and streaming) and you'll be just fine. Authenticity is the key. (always has been)
I want more!!! 😍😍 Thanks for playing this, Simon! At the 24:00 mark, when you figured out the rules of that puzzle and solved it without first finding the tutorial, I was so impressed. I know you say you're worried about pacing, but your Sudoku videos are normally like that. Your fans and viewers aren't at all bothered by it! Figuring it all out takes time, it's realistic, candid, honest, and genius. I like that about this game, especially. They give these cryptic sort of advanced puzzles to tease the average player, and they normally do need a tutorial to be able to solve it later, but with your intuition and experience, you shined. You're the kind of person this game was made for, and it's absolutely wonderful seeing you work through it! I keenly await more videos of you on The Witness, Simon!
I love that Simon solved the first stumper puzzle after 10 minutes of chat yelling at him to come back to it later. This'll be a very interesting playthrough.
I can not explain to you, Simon, the absolute giddiness and joy I felt seeing this video in my inbox. I'm very excited for you to play this game and look forward to the next stream/upload.
Take your time. Also, "Baba Is You" is a fantastic puzzle game with the rare combination of an extremely interesting concept and near perfect execution thereof; you may want to give it a look.
i absolutely love watching others play this game; it's truly one of my favourites. the *_most_* important thing about this game is your own personal experience of playing it, so no worries about speed or efficiency! very excited to see more of these!
I loved playing this game back when and I'm very glad to see you doing so with reasonable caution towards the chat. It's fun to be along for your journey of discovery, thanks!
I don’t know if you streamed other games before, this is the first I’ve seen. But watching a puzzle master, play a puzzle game it’s something to behold. Especially hearing your thought process as you decode the mysteries. I’m looking forward to more!
I watched a few of these videos when you first made them, and today, I finally bought the game (it was deeply discounted for cyber Monday), I can't wait to explore everything! Thank you for the introduction!
This is so heartwarming to watch, just an old bloke, trying to wrap his head around an entire puzzle adventure on an puzzle island made of puzzling puzzles both small and grand, easy and difficult, Simon doesn't understand how legendary he and Mark are, we enjoy your videos, not only due to the amazing puzzles you solve, but also because you're genuine people with whom we who view you can feel a sense of camaraderie, as fellow puzzle enjoyers, both setters and solvers, who simply like to see how your mind works and truly enjoy how you go about solving puzzles, even though it isn't easy.
absolutely delightful playthrough. love how much fun you're having and taking the puzzles seriously and not just getting spoiled by chat. this game will definitely reward you if you put effort and take it seriously, there's so much depth =)
This is one of my favorite games of all time. I recommend Outer Wilds, a space puzzle exploration game. It is my favorite game of all time. It is less "solve the puzzle" and more archeology, with out of the box situations and finding the "great answer"
Wow. I think this is by far the best playthough of this game I've seen so far, in terms of puzzle mastery. I don't think I've ever seen anyone get through all of these puzzles so quickly, especially when it comes to understanding and figuring out certain twists the game throws at you (like the missing apple, or how you get to decide which line is blue and which one is yellow in the mirrored puzzles). Great job so far, looking forward to more!
I have to say that having been a big fan of "The Witness" and subsequently the CTC videos as part of my nightly bedtime ritual, this crossover is one of the of the most pleasant surprises I've had in a long long time. What a treat.
This is one of the greatest games of all time -- what a treat to have you playing it! I do second the opinion that looking at chat should be kept to a minimum, fwiw.
As many comments have said, take it at your pace, exploration is a big part of the game. I think your success in sudoku comes from people following your trains of thought, so just keep talking and enjoy!
What a nice wholesome stream! I’ve just finished The Witness myself and decided to have a look at other playthroughs on UA-cam. Stumbled upon this video and realised I recognised you from some Sudoku!
I love this game, and I'm so happy that you're doing this. I have some non-spoiler tips to help out. 1) Don't be afraid to skip puzzles if you don't recognize some of the mechanics. Every mechanic has an amazing tutorial somewhere, and guessing may do yourself a disservice. 2) Please just avoid spoilers like the plague. I actually think this game would be better for everyone without a stream watching. Your mods are doing a great job, and you could perhaps have them send you curated comments to read rather than seeing it live. 3) Have fun, take your time, and don't ever feel rushed. We're here to watch you learn and discover puzzles, not just solve them. Additionally, if you're looking for another great game to play sometime, give Baba Is You a gander. It's 2D, so motion sickness wouldn't be a problem.
For the motion sickness it really helped me to turn on the "reticle" in the settings. I also increased the FOV, but the reticle really seems to help the most.
Absolutely love that you are doing this game! I got so exited to see this pop up on my page. For a puzzle game such as this, I would honestly say just to play it how you want to. I’ve seen many other people say this too, and I agree, but don’t worry about your pacing or speed. We love watching you logic your way through sudokus and finding out the relationships between rules and seeing where they can be applied (which is why I would agree this is a great game for you to stream). I don’t think you have to worry too much about reading chat as it might spoil the game, people will still watch even if you don’t always engage with the chat.
Simon this was awesome!! Thanks so much for stepping outside of your comfort zone, so to speak, you did great! Please keep playing, as you briefly saw, this is one of the most beautiful and elegant puzzle games ever made. There is SO much more to see, and I would love to watch you discover it. Thanks again and keep it up!
ok, so. i didn't know i wanted this, but watching you solve a puzzle game is equally enjoyable as watching you solve puzzles! Who knew! Keep it up, you guys!
So happy you did this Simon and it couldn’t have gone better, what a perfect first episode! You’re doing amazingly well and I loved watching you discover one of my favourite games!
Great fun to watch you stream one of my favorite games. :) You definitely should do your best to avoid spoilers - figuring out the trick to solving the puzzles is a big part of the fun! And there’s joy in seeing you miss things as well, knowing you’ll go back and find them eventually. ;)
What an incredibly calming stream. You are so humble and adorable! It's a pleasure to see how you figure things out. I can't believe you solved the main puzzle before the tutorials, but I shouldn't be surprised.
Whoa! What an unexpected let's play of a timeless masterpiece. This game has an incredibly touching blend of puzzles and philosophy that is sure to leave a mark in the memory. I can't wait to see your playthrough of some of the tougher areas of the game, of which there sure are some
I have never watched a live stream video game before. I would have never watched this if Simon had not been doing it. Much more entertaining than I would have anticipated. Thank you, Simon. Looking forward to the next installment.
Enjoyed this. Hoping when you're finished this you'll do something like Baba Is You (Or Mark streaming Baba Is You if he decides to get in on the streaming game as well ;)) - It's a fairly low intensity game as far as resources go, so despite it being newer than The Witness I suspect if your machine can run The Witness it should be able to run Baba. IMO, though the algorithm may disagree, the right schedule for streaming is whatever works for you. And no shame doing shorter sessions, especially if the game's giving you motion sickness; an hour and a half for a non-stream focused channel that puts out two videos daily already seems like a hefty amount to me? It looked like you naturally got a good balance between interacting with the chat while avoiding spoilers in chat (which... Are always going to happen - Seriously consider finding moderators to help enforce whatever spoiler policy you decide on, and asking folk not to spoil stuff in the video title sometimes helps?) and focusing on the game to me, so you probably are going to want to just do what you did here really.
Not to get ahead of myself but after this one, an absolutely amazing puzzle game with a really cool underlying story as well is The Talos Principle. Never got to finish it but I absolutely love it, and if these streams are something you'd like to continue I'm sure you'd love it!
This is amazing! I wasn't paying attention to the channel for a little while and suddenly discovered this after part 4 was out. The Witness is such a brilliant game and seeing Simon tackle it with such flair is just the best. I can't even think of anything else I would like more to watch him play live except perhaps the Talos Principle. I'm normally not all that susceptible to motion sickness, but certain types of 3D games will do it for me, and sadly the Witness was difficult for me to play for very long as well. I wish I could go right into watching part 2, but even just watching this video has given me a headache, so I will have to catch up later.
Ah what a delight this was! Simon is such a fun and kind guy and the speed he`s picking things up is astonishing! Super excited to watch the upcoming streams!
I am beyond impressed that you were able to deduce the rules to and solve the first black/white dot puzzle without a tutorial. Can't wait to see how you tackle the rest of the game.
something that i love and hate at the same time with this games is the the discovery of your journey I took too long to discover some parts on it, but I still love it so much
I love how you felt the need to apologize after taking awhile to solve a puzzle that the game hasn't really "intended" you to "know" how to solve yet. I would have expected nothing less from you, both the apology and the patient, stubborn refusal to give up a puzzle just because it's waaaay more complicated than anything else you'd seen so far. well done!
Heh heh, that moment with the heart sketch and the branches when he tried to puzzle the branches…he's a smart man to break free of the boundaries of the game so quickly.
Simon, you made me get the game and try it myself. Great game, great video! If going down heights makes you feel dizzy, be warned, there is some gameplay to come that has heights. But the game won't let you fall down.
This was awesome to see! A favorite game from a favorite channel. I would say that you don't need to worry about your pace or the chat interaction at all, at least for this audience (maybe that is obvious). Just enjoy the game, it's unique and terrific.
The initial discovery of any part of this game is magical! I WISH I could go back and play this game for the first time again, which is the main reason I'm excited to watch you play it - to get what I can out of the vicarious experience! I'd wager that's why the majority of the people who have played the game are here as well, so take your time and enjoy it! :)
One of the greatest game experiences I ever had. Truly wonderful game for puzzle lovers. I'm very much looking forward to watching this series. I wish I'd been there live.
Thats an incredible first dip into the witness. You got a lot of them faster than anyone else i watched. And a vault (that what people call that room with paper) without the tutorial? That was incredibly impressive.
I played this game back in 2016, and I barely remembered it at all. Fair enough since I was literally a child. Well, I saw this video in my recommended, started to watch, and paused a few minutes in because I knew I had to play it again. A month or so later, it was only $9 I believe for the steam sale... and here I am again because I've finished a decent chunk of it. This is such a good game. Even just watching someone else figure out the puzzles is extremely entertaining. I'm really thankful that this exists, or else I would've probably just forgotten about the game altogether.
I wondered how you would do with the Witness. It was so fun to see you immediately push through that first puzzle that's supposed to be too hard :) and then apologise :D I hope you enjoy the rest of the game, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest on stream!
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I know everyone is saying Talos Principle, and that's a fine suggestion, but now I REALLY want to see him play Baba Is You. It's got words in it so it's even on brand a bit.
I would also love some BABA, and Steven's Sausage Roll.
Maybe I need to get further in Talos Principle, but Baba Is You is just a better game on all fronts
And also would bypass issues with FPS motion sickness, being a top-down 2D game.
Talos is a great game but it seems very cruel to ask Simon to play it with how motion sick he gets.
@@samc4741 Talos might be one of the best games I’ve seen in dealing with motion sickness; It specifically has anti-motion sickness settings. They certainly helped for me.
Simon pushing his way through the first puzzle after deducing the rules and then turning around and finding the tutorial that was supposed to teach him how to play it was so peak Simon, only way it could have been more on the nose is if he had to scan down to find the tutorial puzzles ;)
It also speaks to an enjoyment of puzzle hunts, that he's expressed a couple of times on the channel (in part when talking about CTC puzzle hunts posted to patreon) - And the Witness, being a puzzle game that attempts to teach you the rules of it's own puzzles entirely via those puzzles, shares some DNA with puzzle hunts even if I'm not sure that's deliberate on the part of Blow.
Sadly someone spoiled it for him from the chat. I completely trust Simon to be a world class puzzle solver, but there just isn't enough info at that point in the game to just go and try the idea of separating black from white without trying a bunch of mistaken ideas before.
@@PauloAugustoTolentino He explicitly said that it reminded him of a type of puzzle he'd seen before.
@@milesrout yeah this kind of puzzle already exists.
Hey there Simon. I would suggest you don't worry too much about your pace or the speed at which you solve the puzzles. People want to see you experience the game ... so take your time and just experience it. If you wanna look at something, stop to do so. If you wanna go somewhere that interests you, do that!
I'd say reading chat is not the best way to go for puzzle games as it can spoil the fun. I've only tuned in towards the end( when you did the apples in the tree puzzles) and the way you did it from then seemed fine. Look at chat sometimes and other than that enjoy the game.
As for a schedule, streamers do them differently and most people surely would be excited to see them as frequently as often, but in the end having someone do a stream and enjoying it is far better than having daily streams with a burnt out streamer.
This was fun, please always put your enjoyement first and have fun with it! Looking forward to seeing more! (also try to play around with the FOV a bit more at the start of your next one. Getting that right will surely help a bunch!)
Could not agree more! This is the best game ever - but only if enjoyed at your own pace, without looking at any spoilers. Many of us would love to see you play and struggle and be amazed throughout the whole game.
Raoul is absolutely right. Your enjoyment comes first. We're just happy to be invited to be along for the ride!
And potentially stop sprinting! The camera absolutely zooms when he sprints around!
What a wonderful comment!
I wish i could pin this comment.
The Witness: So, here's the puzzle where we teach the player that they can't immediately solve every puzzle they come across --
Simon: Hold my beer.
Mark, Simon, just a spoiler free word of advice: some of the films shown in the windmill cinema are very long, and other youtubers have received copyright strikes for showing them. You may want to think about using them as a natural break and watch them offline, or perhaps stream them but then edit them out of the video before the DMCA bot watches them.
To be clear, "very long" means "literally an hour long" in one case.
No wonder the game is 4GB
the last one is 1 hour long.
@@MrGhosta5 yeah, I know. I turned all the obelisks white. ;)
I really hope chat and comments don’t spoil too much for him :(
Just echoing others to increase the odds that you read one: don't worry about your pace and try not to get spoilers from chat. The witness is all about deducting from minimalistic cues. You got this. Also, to help reduce motion sickness, your field of view should approximate the horizontal angle you'd be able to see as if the screen were a window. At a sitting desk, this is usually around 70 to 90 degrees (higher number if you are close to the screen).
I think the better advice when it comes to FoV is to play around with it. 70 is unplayable for me, I get headaches and motion sickness, even though that's the theoretical FoV of my setup by that window metric. 90 is just about playable, I prefer near 100.
I know 90-100 is a common preference and I've never heard anyone say they *prefer* 70, unless they're really far from the screen. I don't think the window comparison is adequate, it varies a lot from person to person.
Other common causes of motion sickness that could apply here: low frames per second, motion blur (either on or off, depends on the person).
I found the FOV disgustingly high, watching this on my medium-sized iPad. (I’ve played this game to the end on PS4 and PC, and somewhat on iPhone and iPad.)
@@rupen42 Definitely my experience too. I suffer pretty bad with motion sickness on a lotta 1st person games, and I find somewhere between 90-120 works for me. Varies from game to game for sure, but anything below 90 is usually a no go zone for me.
I actually think the art style makes it much worse. I've played many first person games, and this is the only one that has ever made me feel motion sick. I think it is because the art style looks 2D and 3D simultaneously to me, and its really messing with my depth perception.
@@Spamhard I always go for the highest FOV in games lol. Anything under 100 can get me sick quick.
The joy on Simon's face when he received the first donation was golden!
I hope for future streams and to catch one live!
"Oh! Someone gave me money!"
Simon is so adorable.
And then, "Mark, you haven't given me any money!"
This is the kind of The Witness blind play that I've always wanted to watch. Too many people being "UA-camrs" and not enough of them just enjoying the game. Keep it going, sir, this is genuinely interesting to watch!
I highly recommend reading chat as little as possible and doing things at your own pace! Love that this is happening
I've never had any experience with this channel before, but this stream was very sweet. It was like watching Paddington trying to play games online for the first time
Paddington wishes he could be as sweet and entertaining as Simon.
its just so nice to watch someone on youtube who is intelligent, entertaining and not a self-obsessed douchebag
'That is sooo clever, I cannot tell you.'
I love how he plays completely different games in the completely same talking style.xD
But he has yet to say 'oh, bobbins.' ...
@@peterkelley6344Lmao
What a treat to hear the joy in his voice as he plays. Word of advice, Simon - be sure to savour your time playing, you can only experience the game for the first time once.
The best spoiler free general tip I could give someone playing this game is: If a puzzle seems beyond your understanding, just save it for later, the game will provide you with all the knowledge you need.
I love this game, I’ve completed it twice. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely do not read chat for any spoilers. Was such an amazing experiences figuring it out the first time. Just take your time and realise if you get stuck you can always come back. There is nothing that makes your character get better except your knowledge.
Isn't the second time around basically playing with all the spoilers, though?
Actually, he should block from commenting anyone spoiling anything in chat and comment
@@badrunna-im is hard to get 100% on the first play through. I've played it. I was never able to succeed at the final boss if I may call it that
@@N0rdall that ultimate gauntlet near the end of the game is extremely challenging. I have yet to beat it myself.
@@badrunna-im i waited some years so i forgot most of it haha
i would love to see Simon & Mark play as a duo in a collab game like Portal 2 or some kind of team-based game like It Takes Two!
...Why do I suddenly want to see them do A Way Out, a game I have never even considered watching anyone stream before?
hahahah i would pay literal gold to see them play Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
@@Stephen-Fox dude these guys are like 50 give they're boomer hands a break 😂😂😂
Dude gets motion sickness from a walking sim and you're telling him to play Portal 2??
Going back to the first two episodes here. This was the video that got me hooked on this excellent LP and I started doing timestamps at #3 and then decided to do that for #1 and #2 as well (latter one still coming up). My Supercut compilation of this episode is here: ua-cam.com/video/MGO-bJ1sUaY/v-deo.html
So, Timestamps (with lots of spoilers, of course):
05:31 "This is nothing like my garden"
9:17 Furiously clicks pillows "I don't know, in this game, are you meant to hunt for things? …on sofas?" …"or in greenery?"
11:34 "This is like being stuck on a sudoku, I keep going down the wrong paths!"
12:52 Further Furniture Fondling. "Can I do anything with the cushion?"
Try sitting on it, Simon.
14:45 "Ah, look how pretty that is! I've found a nice view, if nothing else… Oh there's me! There! Actually, that's a pretty good representation of me…"
15:17 "uuh no no no… Puzzle!?"
And now, the magic. This panel is supposed to be very hard, very early in the game to teach the player that it's ok to leave a panel be, for now, until they find a tutorial that teaches them how to do it.
Simon ignores this and does it in under 10 minutes (with the occasional talking to chat) which would be a fast time for any first time player who HAS done the tutorials.
15:25 "Woah, ok this looks harder, what do I have to do with this?"
16:45 Guesses that he has to divide black and white.
17:08 "Ah you rotten thing."
17:14 "What are the… pills along the path for? Oh, do I… If I have got to collect those, I can't start THERE."
17:25 Good Superchat for Simon to stay away from chat for spoilers
19:47 "Oh… BOTHER. I can see what's going to go wrong here. You… Ahhh, Simon…"
Lot's of donations coming in, some of which, unfortunately, try to helpfully nudge Simon along.
21:08 "I feel like I can nearly do this one, though."
22:01 "And now I've boxed myself into a corner, oh you silly game!"
22:05 "Oh it's NOT peak content! I can't do it!"
It really, really IS peak content.
22:14 very perceptive rundown of all the constrains in the panel, getting about halfway to solving it already.
22:59 "No, I'm getting them on the wrong side of the Silly Line! … So annoying. No! That's just wrong! … I might have to come back to this one… It may be that I'm just thinking about totally the wrong way of doing this."
23:49 Does a final push with, again, a good explanation of the constraints.
24:24 "And HOW am I going to do THAT and collect both of those two things and get out!?" - SOLVES IT.
24:43 "Finally! I'm *so* sorry, good grief."
26:35 "'The puzzles are just a vehicle to watch Simon's delightful mannerisms. I would watch you do your taxes.' oh you wouldn't enjoy that. There's rather too much bad language."
27:12 "Ah! Now that looks easier than the puzzle I just did! Pacman dots!"
27:44 "no, that's nonsense. Don't do nonsense, Simon. … That's the same as I just did, STILL nonsense."
28:05 "These are very clever, aren't they? They _look_ like you should just bash into them, do them as fast as you can, but… you immediately see why what you're doing is ABSOLUTE NONSENSE."
29:00 "It cannot be- Why do I keep doing THAT!? How can that ever be correct? It's just nonsense. Good grief, Simon, get a grip on the world. … There you go, use your brain."
29:36 "What's that done? … No. The empty shed doesn't do anything. … I don't know if that did anything at all."
29:57 "Aha! Another puzzle! Oh I see, so this is just… Yeah, I think you're right, I should have started in the other places."
Sidenote: Simon goes through all of these without falling for any of the misdirections until he hits the last panel where the white dots are separated by empty squares. It's notable that this is almost an exact copy of the previous puzzle and, for once, the misdirection works.
31:19 "'Enjoying this immensely.' - enjoying me making a right muff off of this, I'm really sorry, Andy."
Really not sure whether I'm transcribing this correctly.
31:50 "I feel like… Oh, oh that's a good thought, that's clever, that's a really nice idea - fair play. … Did nothing though. … I love the way it mislead me with the final puzzle because those four dots here: It looks like you have to hive them off straight away, very nice misdirection."
32:16 "Uhm, I don't know what to do now."
32:29 "Oh! Two dots! … This is very clever stuff, isn't it?"
33:26 "Oh no, sandcastle! Literally a sandcastle!"
(this is a reference to a different game Simon has not played)
34:39 "It probably does start there, because that's the most tricky place. That's where I would start if I was designing this puzzle."
34:57 "That's doing something! Aha!" - panel opens to a whole lot of nothing - "oh come on."
36:12 "You have to earn things in this game!"
The funny thing about these next panels is that the solution is the exact same every time even if the puzzle is only slightly different (apart from the melting). Simon diligently solves each one anew every time.
39:25 "Then we got to go… not that way. That's just nonsense, stop doing nonsense, Simon, don't like that at. all."
43:45 "Ah! Isn't that strange? I couldn't do that a moment ago and then, suddenly, I could."
45:15 "Can I just start the blue… yeah, that's better. Come on. Boom boom, boom boom boom, boom. Yes. It liked that. Good."
47:00 "Oh no, I didn't even see that one! You *rotten thing*!"
48:20 "Oh this is looking good… Bingo! It's *better* when I don't look at it for a bit and then go back to it. It's so strange. So - reading the chat is actually helping me."
48:39 "Ohhh you rotten thing - more puzzles! No! These were getting quite tricky enough!"
…he exclaimed with thinly veiled delight.
56:03 "Oh, I've just noticed - these are getting… I could barely see that one. Uhm, that's a worry. … Is that why these are easier? Because you can't see them? … Oh nooo…"
Smile on his face as he walks further into his doom.
56:27 "I can't see what's going on there at all. Uhm. Right. Brilliant."
58:17 "I can understand why it's one of your favorite puzzle games - it's _really_ clever."
58:36 "That's an easy one… That's wrong."
1:01:02 "Oh no, I know what I've got… oh you _rotten thing_ that's _really_ clever. Look - I bet… Look at them!"
1:03:20 "What's that done? Oh! A Speed Camera!"
1:03:57 "Ooooh, whoa, whoa where is THAT going!? Good grief. … What is THAT about!?"
Chat is going mental typing "B E A M"
1:04:40 "!h, what's that. What. On earth. Is that?"
1:06:20 "Silver Birches… Look, oh this is lovely, look at the lazer beam coming all the way from… hang on, going to watch the lazer beam."
1:06:57 "Aha! That _is_ lit."
First time pink trees! Starts going through every single possible solution.
1:07:30 "Now, THIS is the way that Mark does Sudokus sometimes. There, I've said it. This is genuine - look, it's a big bifurcation tree."
Chat is typing such "helpful" messages as "Look at your screen, Simon". Well gee, thanks.
1:08:41 "Chat is going doo-lalley, I'm not looking at it."
Thank you, Simon.
1:08:51 "Oh. What!?"
First penalty disabling of a panel. Haha, Panalty.
1:09:21 "Oh, I see what it's doing. It's trying to stop me doing bifurcation. No THIS is how Sudoku should work! They should stop you doing bifurcation!"
1:09:30 "So if I go here… Haha, very good. I APPLAUD a game design like this."
1:09:38 "So there is a way of telling why this is correct."
1:10:04 small gasp of realization "ah, I've just realized what it is. That's _really_ clever. That is really, really clever."
1:10:25 "Is there anyone in chat who has not played this game before, who is seeing what I'm seeing now? Because it's really, really, really beautiful."
1:10:40 "I… love that."
1:14:52 "there's no apple in that tree."
1:16:03 "I think there's a missing branch compared to the diagram…"
1:16:51 "Cardio-vascular system? Woah, that tree looks _weird_. … THIS… looks a bit like THAT."
1:18:09 "Bonsai Trees. Are they Bonsai Trees? Maybe. … I don't know if I can get out of this area. … What was the point of me coming up here!? Don't know."
1:19:25 "That's one's easy! Oh! It's in the shape of a windmill! Again, that's _very_ witty."
1:20:33 Simon squinting his eyes all the way down the stairs.
1:23:18 Sudden Music Playing "What's that done? 'Well, that's no better a solution than any of the others is it?' Holey Moley!"
1:24:46 The look of amazed disbelief that a Brit, carefully explaining something while an audience sits back has to now do the same with another Brit who is carefully explaining something.
1:25:15 "I do not know what's going on, here. Am I meant to know…?"
This Brit is trying his hardest to not talk over that other Brit.
1:27:08 "BBC! What. Was THAT about!? … Well… I wasn't expecting that. That was very, very odd."
Then, he goes on to try to solve the two puzzles in the back of the room without a tutorial after having learned he's supposed to wait for a tutorial.
I am not sure if there is anything more deeply charming then how surprised and bemused Simon was about donations. Just endlessly endearing.
A lower field of view will make the puzzles larger in the middle of the screen, which might help while solving them.
Generally, the best field of view to use depends on how far away your screen is from you and how large it is, so it's a good idea to experiment with the slider and find what feels the best.
it's a hard balance to strike as the high FOV helps against nausea (i think?)
@@morkmon I disagree, high field of view causes nausea for me, while a "normal" field of view is fine.
So excited to get to watch the VOD! You did such a great job, Simon.
Positive Feedback:
It’s exactly as fun as I hoped it would be to watch you explore the game in your own unique way. Like, incredible fun!
It was incredible that you solved that first hard door on your own without the tutorial puzzles!
There is no right way through this game, so my belief is that viewers will be tuning in partly to see what decisions you make about exploration. You will uniquely make your way around, and part of the fun is seeing what you do similarly or differently from me. Both are interesting.
The amount that you’re talking about your process of discovery is wonderful, to hear you talk about what you think about individual puzzles and the design of the game or layout is part of the fun of viewing too and you do a tremendous job of this already. Keep it up!
I can’t imagine anyone I’d like to watch play this game more than you. Just perfect.
Constructive Comments (just two from me!):
Personally, as a viewer, I am mostly tuning in to watch you play the game, so not as interested in chat readings. But this is going to vary person to person! And ultimately, I can FF the VOD if you’re talking to or reading chat for a bit. I think much more than 30 secs of reading chat at once starts to feel like taking a break, which you should totally do. Just know that it starts to feel like taking a break from the game and that can feel like a jerking back and forth if it’s too frequent. Your fun and joy is always paramount, to be clear, that’s why we’re watching.
Suggestion from other streamers I’ve watched - set the expectation that if you ask a question out loud, it’s just you talking to yourself and they shouldn’t answer in chat. If you want to ask chat a real question then, make it clear that “ok, this is a real question I want you to answer, chat” (e.g. should I keep trying this or is there a tutorial puzzle, if you want to ask that). It’s an easy distinction to see as a viewer then.
Once again, this made my day and it’s so neat to watch you experience one of my favorite puzzle games! You’re doing AMAZINGLY so far! Keep it up.
15:40 "Oh good grief, people are giving me money! That's so kind of you." -> says a man who has clearly never streamed consistently nor realizes just how many people care about or appreciate his content.
Keep up the great work! I hope you enjoy The Witness. It's quite the treat with a few very specific exceptions that anyone who's played will probably know what I mean. The long video (really interesting, but very long). The "boring lecture." And the "final" puzzle gauntlet. Your stream will likely give you a heads up before/as you get to them so I highly doubt they will cause any serious problems. But PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take your time. The game is called the "witness" for a reason. It's not a crime to take time to observe and "witness" the environment, set pieces, or random corners of the map. We've been there before and we're here to see you enjoy the full experience.
Edit after I hit post. I speak for myself but I doubt I'm alone in this, if you ever feel chat is getting to be too much of a distraction feel free to move it to another monitor while you focus on the current puzzle or task.
(people new to the game!) DO NOT READ THE CHAT. THE CHAT WILL CONTAIN MASSIVE SPOILERS AS PEOPLE TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH YOU KNOW ABOUT THE GAME. DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS FROM THE CHAT.
The problem is that just one person who either wants to ruin the fun or just assumes you know more than you do is all it takes, even if the vast majority will carefully avoid spoilers.
THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
1:10:10 - This is the exact reason why I loved playing this game so much. I love puzzles, but this game makes you look at the world differently the longer you play it. There is no feeling which compares to seeing that which was right in front of you in a such a different light, it not only changes your perspective moving forward, it also makes you see the things you've already seen in a completely different light. This game is elegant, brilliant, and frustrating all at the same time...sometimes, in the same moment. Watching Simon's evolution almost makes me miss the fact I will never experience that sense of discovery again...
The Theatre Cinematics (and audiologs) are extremely creative metaphors for the game. They all talk about different ways to view the world, different perspectives and different ways to approach knowledge. A lot of people sleep on them (and I did at first), and they aren't particularly fun to watch on a stream, but they truly are just as beautiful as the rest of the game once you connect all the logical dots.
Agreed! I loved listening to them as I explored, considering how they could be relevant to the game. So many people thought they were pretentious and I couldn’t understand why they were so negative towards them.
@@Scuuurbs On reading the chat messages, it seems some people are just here for the puzzles and nothing else - get them done and move on. They ignore that part of the puzzle is _why did the game designer include these clips?_ because they aren't scored for it. It's a journey vs destination thing. I enjoy seeing how a player reacts to different elements within a game, especially at moments like this. There are some clips later in the game that I personally considered vacuous quasi-profound word-salad, but I'd enjoy seeing Simon's reaction to those even more!
@@cavalierwiththetruth
I think that the long-winded astronaut clip at the top of the mountain is so clever. Not only is it an excellent bit of dialogue that we all could benefit from listening to, but it’s also telling the player to take advantage of their height and really look at the island from this perspective. It’s a nod to the environmental puzzles, an accent to the nearby river ‘puzzle.’
Another one that sticks out to me is the ‘final’ one next to the true ending clue. I remember the quote talking about beginnings and things coming full circle, it was so on the nose and just heightened the epiphany that there was something I had been missing way back at the start.
Edit: Nevermind, I looked it up and that’s not what it says at all, lol. It _does_ say how they thought they had reached the end, but there was still more. Same idea, not quite as obvious as I was remembering, however.
You did great. As for length of stream, reading chat etc. Do whatever feels right for you. Having a co-reader of chat for a game that is so easy to spoil is a fantastic idea, you should definitely do that.
I would strongly recommend reducing the FOV and seeing if that helps with motion sickness. You might want to try a few different options and see how each feels.
Aren't you supposed to increase fov for motion sickness?
@@yeti25934 No. This high of field of view is causing me nausea, while a normal FoV never does.
@@nZifnab SAME.
It's more that you need the right FOV than the biggest one. Besides, the right FOV for you will very likely vary from game to game. Movement speed, view bobbing, and stuff like that also plays an effect. The witness doesn't have view bobbing though, so it's mostly the ingeniusly chosen super fucking uncomfortable movement speeds and the FOV that plays a part.
Knowing the dev though, I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't on purpose.
@@SondreGrneng makes sense. I'm lucky enough that I don't get motion sickness so all my knowledge on the matter is second-hand (hence why I formulated my original comment as a question and not a statement, but thank you for the detailed explanation :) )
"Mark, you havent given me any money" had me rolling
Really enjoyed watching this and regret not catching the livestream itself, but you did great. I cant wait until you discover some of the 'secrets' of this game!
That jab at Mark got me cackling LOL
this stream summed up in one phrase
"oh you rotten thing"
"That's rubbish"
"No, that's nonsense"
Gameplay begins at 4:48
This was really entertaining to watch. The highlight for me was definitely your realisation of the environmental clues on the tree puzzle!
Don't worry about having to stop or take breaks to avoid the motion sickness. It may help to look away from the screen every so often to let your eyes focus on the real world for a bit and help you stop feeling woozy. As you build up some hand-eye coordination and get more used to "looking around" in-game you'll hopefully find you can go for longer without feeling too sick.
This is one of my favorite games of all time and you're doing really great!
Just be patient with yourself. You're supposed to struggle sometimes or be confused. If you need time with something or want to move on to something else that is 100% intended.
Also the way you are handling chat is fine. I think not reading it while playing is probably a good idea.
I hope you'll enjoy the game as much as I am enjoying your playthrough of it. :]
Also something you might not have picked up on: that apple next to the branch at 1:16:33 is the missing branch from the previous puzzle.
The island is full of this kind of visual storytelling and these small easter eggs so feel free to look around and soak in the atmosphere.
Like I said, the way you've played so far is perfect.
I have to say, it is just immensely satisfying to see someone who is both good at puzzles and appreciates good puzzle design play this game. The reaction of "that's beautiful" rather than the far-too-common "that's stupid" to figuring out the tree puzzle was extremely pleasing - can't wait to see some of the other big "aha" moments down the line!
Glad to see you enjoying this one, Simon. It was my favourite game of the entire year back when it came out, and I can’t think of another game so perfectly tuned to your skill set. A lot of people are suggesting other puzzle games but I do hope you stick with this one to the end. It really is something of a miracle.
I'm haven't even started this video yet and I'm about 99.9% convinced that I'm going to love this video. Can't wait, watching now. ... Yep, editing my comment after watching. Fantastic. LOVED IT. (Hate the feeling that chatters that give away tips/hints/spoilers will ruin Simon's joy of discovery).
That was amazing. Everyone else in the world took one look at the vault puzzle, backed away in fear, carried on down the path and found the tutorial. Not Simon. Within seconds he has instantly worked out the rules. That is literally awesome.
That was amazing!! Please, Simon, when you resume playing this game, don't change anything! This is exactly what we wanted to see... Just YOU trying to figure out this game (and also as a bonus, you trying to figure out streaming).
Don't try to BE a streamer, just BE Simon trying to own this game (and streaming) and you'll be just fine.
Authenticity is the key. (always has been)
I want more!!! 😍😍 Thanks for playing this, Simon!
At the 24:00 mark, when you figured out the rules of that puzzle and solved it without first finding the tutorial, I was so impressed.
I know you say you're worried about pacing, but your Sudoku videos are normally like that. Your fans and viewers aren't at all bothered by it! Figuring it all out takes time, it's realistic, candid, honest, and genius.
I like that about this game, especially.
They give these cryptic sort of advanced puzzles to tease the average player, and they normally do need a tutorial to be able to solve it later, but with your intuition and experience, you shined.
You're the kind of person this game was made for, and it's absolutely wonderful seeing you work through it!
I keenly await more videos of you on The Witness, Simon!
I love that Simon solved the first stumper puzzle after 10 minutes of chat yelling at him to come back to it later. This'll be a very interesting playthrough.
I can not explain to you, Simon, the absolute giddiness and joy I felt seeing this video in my inbox. I'm very excited for you to play this game and look forward to the next stream/upload.
Take your time. Also, "Baba Is You" is a fantastic puzzle game with the rare combination of an extremely interesting concept and near perfect execution thereof; you may want to give it a look.
i absolutely love watching others play this game; it's truly one of my favourites. the *_most_* important thing about this game is your own personal experience of playing it, so no worries about speed or efficiency! very excited to see more of these!
I loved playing this game back when and I'm very glad to see you doing so with reasonable caution towards the chat. It's fun to be along for your journey of discovery, thanks!
The Witness is probably one of, if not the best, puzzle video games ever made. It doesn't treat the player like an idiot
For me The Talos Principle and Antichamber are also up there
I don’t know if you streamed other games before, this is the first I’ve seen. But watching a puzzle master, play a puzzle game it’s something to behold. Especially hearing your thought process as you decode the mysteries. I’m looking forward to more!
I watched a few of these videos when you first made them, and today, I finally bought the game (it was deeply discounted for cyber Monday), I can't wait to explore everything! Thank you for the introduction!
When the orchestra started playing and James Burke came up on screen, Simon's reaction was golden. xD
This, unironically, is one of my favorite games I've ever played. Happy to watch you cracking this game open!
This is so heartwarming to watch, just an old bloke, trying to wrap his head around an entire puzzle adventure on an puzzle island made of puzzling puzzles both small and grand, easy and difficult, Simon doesn't understand how legendary he and Mark are, we enjoy your videos, not only due to the amazing puzzles you solve, but also because you're genuine people with whom we who view you can feel a sense of camaraderie, as fellow puzzle enjoyers, both setters and solvers, who simply like to see how your mind works and truly enjoy how you go about solving puzzles, even though it isn't easy.
I dunno Simon's gaming "skills", but i love how "self-teaching" the game is without using a single word.
absolutely delightful playthrough. love how much fun you're having and taking the puzzles seriously and not just getting spoiled by chat. this game will definitely reward you if you put effort and take it seriously, there's so much depth =)
This is one of my favorite games of all time.
I recommend Outer Wilds, a space puzzle exploration game. It is my favorite game of all time. It is less "solve the puzzle" and more archeology, with out of the box situations and finding the "great answer"
Outer wilds is amazing, but if he got motion sick with this game it would be even worse with outer wilds! Such a good game though
Wow. I think this is by far the best playthough of this game I've seen so far, in terms of puzzle mastery. I don't think I've ever seen anyone get through all of these puzzles so quickly, especially when it comes to understanding and figuring out certain twists the game throws at you (like the missing apple, or how you get to decide which line is blue and which one is yellow in the mirrored puzzles). Great job so far, looking forward to more!
I have to say that having been a big fan of "The Witness" and subsequently the CTC videos as part of my nightly bedtime ritual, this crossover is one of the of the most pleasant surprises I've had in a long long time. What a treat.
This is one of the greatest games of all time -- what a treat to have you playing it! I do second the opinion that looking at chat should be kept to a minimum, fwiw.
As many comments have said, take it at your pace, exploration is a big part of the game. I think your success in sudoku comes from people following your trains of thought, so just keep talking and enjoy!
What a nice wholesome stream! I’ve just finished The Witness myself and decided to have a look at other playthroughs on UA-cam. Stumbled upon this video and realised I recognised you from some Sudoku!
I love this game, and I'm so happy that you're doing this. I have some non-spoiler tips to help out.
1) Don't be afraid to skip puzzles if you don't recognize some of the mechanics. Every mechanic has an amazing tutorial somewhere, and guessing may do yourself a disservice.
2) Please just avoid spoilers like the plague. I actually think this game would be better for everyone without a stream watching. Your mods are doing a great job, and you could perhaps have them send you curated comments to read rather than seeing it live.
3) Have fun, take your time, and don't ever feel rushed. We're here to watch you learn and discover puzzles, not just solve them.
Additionally, if you're looking for another great game to play sometime, give Baba Is You a gander. It's 2D, so motion sickness wouldn't be a problem.
For the motion sickness it really helped me to turn on the "reticle" in the settings. I also increased the FOV, but the reticle really seems to help the most.
This was totally awesome, I watched live and then rewatched today. Utterly entertaining content.
I love enjoying the game once again with you playing it. Please finish it !
I’m so glad youtube brought me here after showing me just how genius you are at puzzles. This is a dream honestly.
Absolutely love that you are doing this game! I got so exited to see this pop up on my page. For a puzzle game such as this, I would honestly say just to play it how you want to. I’ve seen many other people say this too, and I agree, but don’t worry about your pacing or speed. We love watching you logic your way through sudokus and finding out the relationships between rules and seeing where they can be applied (which is why I would agree this is a great game for you to stream). I don’t think you have to worry too much about reading chat as it might spoil the game, people will still watch even if you don’t always engage with the chat.
Love to see two 90 minute streams a week. Would expect that to be 6-9 weeks of content. Let's hope he beats In the Hall of the Mountain King
I keep going back to it every couple months. Still can't beat it.
Simon this was awesome!! Thanks so much for stepping outside of your comfort zone, so to speak, you did great! Please keep playing, as you briefly saw, this is one of the most beautiful and elegant puzzle games ever made. There is SO much more to see, and I would love to watch you discover it. Thanks again and keep it up!
ok, so. i didn't know i wanted this, but watching you solve a puzzle game is equally enjoyable as watching you solve puzzles! Who knew! Keep it up, you guys!
So happy you did this Simon and it couldn’t have gone better, what a perfect first episode! You’re doing amazingly well and I loved watching you discover one of my favourite games!
I LOVE watching people explore this game. And you are an absolute delight.
Great fun to watch you stream one of my favorite games. :) You definitely should do your best to avoid spoilers - figuring out the trick to solving the puzzles is a big part of the fun! And there’s joy in seeing you miss things as well, knowing you’ll go back and find them eventually. ;)
What an incredibly calming stream. You are so humble and adorable! It's a pleasure to see how you figure things out. I can't believe you solved the main puzzle before the tutorials, but I shouldn't be surprised.
Whoa! What an unexpected let's play of a timeless masterpiece. This game has an incredibly touching blend of puzzles and philosophy that is sure to leave a mark in the memory. I can't wait to see your playthrough of some of the tougher areas of the game, of which there sure are some
I have never watched a live stream video game before. I would have never watched this if Simon had not been doing it. Much more entertaining than I would have anticipated. Thank you, Simon. Looking forward to the next installment.
Enjoyed this. Hoping when you're finished this you'll do something like Baba Is You (Or Mark streaming Baba Is You if he decides to get in on the streaming game as well ;)) - It's a fairly low intensity game as far as resources go, so despite it being newer than The Witness I suspect if your machine can run The Witness it should be able to run Baba.
IMO, though the algorithm may disagree, the right schedule for streaming is whatever works for you.
And no shame doing shorter sessions, especially if the game's giving you motion sickness; an hour and a half for a non-stream focused channel that puts out two videos daily already seems like a hefty amount to me?
It looked like you naturally got a good balance between interacting with the chat while avoiding spoilers in chat (which... Are always going to happen - Seriously consider finding moderators to help enforce whatever spoiler policy you decide on, and asking folk not to spoil stuff in the video title sometimes helps?) and focusing on the game to me, so you probably are going to want to just do what you did here really.
Baba Is You is beautiful and fantastic and it broke my brain repeatedly. Strongly recommend
The high FOV is not doing anyone’s motion sickness any favors.
I think there's no person that will solve a hard puzzle and still get enjoyment out of the tutorial like Simon does, great vid/stream.
Not to get ahead of myself but after this one, an absolutely amazing puzzle game with a really cool underlying story as well is The Talos Principle. Never got to finish it but I absolutely love it, and if these streams are something you'd like to continue I'm sure you'd love it!
I don't think there is anyone I would have loved to see play The Witness more than you. Super excited to watch this!
This is amazing! I wasn't paying attention to the channel for a little while and suddenly discovered this after part 4 was out. The Witness is such a brilliant game and seeing Simon tackle it with such flair is just the best. I can't even think of anything else I would like more to watch him play live except perhaps the Talos Principle. I'm normally not all that susceptible to motion sickness, but certain types of 3D games will do it for me, and sadly the Witness was difficult for me to play for very long as well. I wish I could go right into watching part 2, but even just watching this video has given me a headache, so I will have to catch up later.
Had a blast watching the VOD. Super excited to see you play again!
The only channel imo, that deserves clicking on the notification bell!
The bright smile on this man whenever he solves a puzzle :)
Looking forward to more in the future Simon!!
Ah what a delight this was! Simon is such a fun and kind guy and the speed he`s picking things up is astonishing! Super excited to watch the upcoming streams!
I am beyond impressed that you were able to deduce the rules to and solve the first black/white dot puzzle without a tutorial. Can't wait to see how you tackle the rest of the game.
Thanks for streaming this! Easily in my top 3. I'll watch all of the series for sure. Hope you enjoy!
1:20:13 "Presumably it's going anti-clockwise." Absolutely astonishing perception skills!
something that i love and hate at the same time with this games is the the discovery of your journey
I took too long to discover some parts on it, but I still love it so much
I love how you felt the need to apologize after taking awhile to solve a puzzle that the game hasn't really "intended" you to "know" how to solve yet. I would have expected nothing less from you, both the apology and the patient, stubborn refusal to give up a puzzle just because it's waaaay more complicated than anything else you'd seen so far. well done!
Heh heh, that moment with the heart sketch and the branches when he tried to puzzle the branches…he's a smart man to break free of the boundaries of the game so quickly.
Simon, you made me get the game and try it myself. Great game, great video! If going down heights makes you feel dizzy, be warned, there is some gameplay to come that has heights. But the game won't let you fall down.
I'm sad I was asleep when you streamed this but I have been excited for this a lot since you announced it.
So much fun! Thank you Simon!
Love to see Simon doing this, I really hope no one spoils ANYTHING, even hinting towards things. Once it's known.. you never get those moments back.
This was awesome to see! A favorite game from a favorite channel. I would say that you don't need to worry about your pace or the chat interaction at all, at least for this audience (maybe that is obvious). Just enjoy the game, it's unique and terrific.
so amazing! played it years ago. and seeing you play and solves these puzzles is a real treat! please continue your playthrough! your doing great!
The initial discovery of any part of this game is magical! I WISH I could go back and play this game for the first time again, which is the main reason I'm excited to watch you play it - to get what I can out of the vicarious experience! I'd wager that's why the majority of the people who have played the game are here as well, so take your time and enjoy it! :)
Tremendous start. Please continue. I'm very much looking forward to more from you
One of the greatest game experiences I ever had. Truly wonderful game for puzzle lovers. I'm very much looking forward to watching this series. I wish I'd been there live.
There are a ton of great puzzle video games out there. Love the different content! The Witness is definitely one of the better ones.
Thats an incredible first dip into the witness. You got a lot of them faster than anyone else i watched. And a vault (that what people call that room with paper) without the tutorial? That was incredibly impressive.
Been waiting for this for ages. One of my favourite games and one of the best puzzlers to approach it.
👍🏻
Klendathu was a planet in Starship Troopers, which sounds a bit like Cthulhu.
I played this game back in 2016, and I barely remembered it at all. Fair enough since I was literally a child. Well, I saw this video in my recommended, started to watch, and paused a few minutes in because I knew I had to play it again. A month or so later, it was only $9 I believe for the steam sale... and here I am again because I've finished a decent chunk of it.
This is such a good game. Even just watching someone else figure out the puzzles is extremely entertaining. I'm really thankful that this exists, or else I would've probably just forgotten about the game altogether.
I wondered how you would do with the Witness. It was so fun to see you immediately push through that first puzzle that's supposed to be too hard :) and then apologise :D I hope you enjoy the rest of the game, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest on stream!