The Witness - a screenshot photographer's paradise!

I'm not an avid PC gamer, these days I mostly play puzzle games on my mobile phone during my commute. In terms of PC/console games I play probably one game a year and in the last few years I don't even remember staying true to that rule. This year however, a game that I have been anticipating for a while is already out and it's a marvel called "The Witness" by Thekla Inc. and the iconic designer of Braid, Jonathan Blow.

I have managed to finish the game in just over 21 hours (over a period of around 2 weeks - parents don't get that much consecutive time you see) and I must say that the puzzles are a joy to play. The variety of rules and combinations around a simple path-in-a-maze concept are unbelievable. Jonathan & friends are clever blokes, no question about that.

Early views
What struck me most though is the ability to explore the island pretty much unconstrained and the sheer beauty of the environment. As an amateur photographer, my eye was caught almost immediately! After playing a few puzzles I simply found myself climbing to a high place and admiring the view.

I discovered how to get a screenshot (if you can solve a puzzle you can take one - no probs) and soon after that, I found myself loading the shots into Adobe Lightroom and making panoramas - just as I do with my pictures from the real world.

High point
After every single gaming session, I would end up in Lightroom stitching, cropping, applying filters. I was so engrossed into this that I actually went and bought a new graphics card to enjoy the game even more.

This post is all about the sharing these views in the hope that I don't spoil the experience. Enjoy!

The quarry
My pixelized shadow - before the graphics card upgrade
The Japanese garden
The shipwreck from the mangrove forest's tree houses
The rocky side of the island
An ultra-wide view
The South side of the island (assuming we are in the Northern hemisphere)

When I first visited the mountain I was gasping from amazement! I would stop at every view point of the path and take pictures! I would go up, then down, then up again. I just couldn't get enough of it.

The view from the mountain after all beacons are lit
One of the views you can enjoy once the game is finished
Unreal beauty
The view from high above
It was just beautiful from here...


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