NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
Braid developer gambles everything on “The Witness”
2008’s Braid was the poster child of a successful indie game, selling hundreds of thousands of copies after being developed for only $200,000. Now, Braid’s creator, Jonathan Blow, is funneling all of the money he made from Braid and then some into his next project, a colorful Myst-style 3D puzzle game called The Witness.
“Braid still sells well on platforms that are thriving, but two of Braid’s big platforms were the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, both of which are sunsetting at this point,” Blow told Engadget. “Not so many people are buying digital games [from Xbox Live Arcade]. So the Braid income is not nearly enough anymore to fund the team. I have borrowed a bunch of money to finish The Witness. So I hope when it’s done, some people buy the game.”
With the previous generation of consoles being replaced by the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the Braid revenue is quickly dwindling, and Blow is banking everything on the success of The Witness. This gamble has some fans worried about the future of the indie developer, but others are optimistic about the game.
“Well, I’m going to buy The Witness first day and I haven’t done that for any other game in quite some time,” wrote one Reddit user. “I’d be willing to bet he makes a profit on this.”
“It’s definitely something I can appreciate, and admire about Jonathan Blow,” wrote another. “He puts his everything into his projects. I dunno how good The Witness will be, but given what I know about it and what I know about him and his previous game, it’s definitely something I’ll be picking up.”
The game design of The Witness has drawn comparisons to The Talos Principle, another 3D puzzler that was a surprise hit last year, earning an 87 Metacritic rating.
“There are some similarities between The Witness and Talos Principle, but most of those similarities are on the surface,” Blow said. “I think these two games are ultimately about very different subjects, and were made for very different reasons, and you feel the differences when you play. That said, it is likely that someone interested in one game may be interested in the other game.”
Image credit: The Witness (c)
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