Jonathan Blow, the indie developer behind critical blockbuster Braid, made an understated public debut of his second game at last weekend’s Penny Arcade Expo.
Called The Witness, the game is an exploration-puzzle game on an uninhabited island. Writing on the game’s development blog, Blow said, “I had several reasons for wanting to show the game this way. Firstly: At a show full of companies trying to capture your attention and sell you things, I wanted to do something that is subtle, and a surprise — if you notice it, and decide to investigate, you find something unexpected.”
“PAX is a huge show, with tons of stuff to see everywhere; if the game could hold peoples’ attention under those conditions, purely on its own merits rather than by hype or pedigree, then I would know that it was really working.”
The game is scheduled for release sometime in late 2011, and will come to any platforms that “make sense.”
It's so easy for the press to make darlings out of indie developers, but Jonathan Blow's understated approach in a neon saturated industry really is a breath of fresh air.
