When it comes to game design, indie developer Jonathan Blow believes there's a natural learning process that's vital to a player understanding and overcoming a puzzle - and it's an ethos that's been central to the design of his latest project, The Witness.
In the latest issue of Official PlayStation Magazine, Braid creator Blow explains how this understanding has informed the exploration and puzzle elements of The Witness. "Before Braid I didn't really have that idea, and then in Braid I saw, 'Oh yeah, there's this thing that happens when people encounter puzzles.' For The Witness, the whole game is designed around that experience - that arc of understanding. You see something new, you have no understanding of it, and gradually your understanding increases in the experience."
So withPS4-timed exclusive The Witnessdue for the release sometime later this year, what will Blow and his studio Thekla Inc tackle next? Well, puzzle fans the world over might want to sit down before reading his answer. "The next game is not a puzzle game," reveals Blow. "The next game is probably... very much recognisable as a traditional videogame."
The latest issue of Official PlayStation Magazine, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 on the cover, is out now. You can buy it here or subscribe to future issues.
