The Witness

The Witness is a 2016 puzzle video game developed and published by Thekla, Inc. Inspired by Myst, the game involves the exploration of an open world island filled with natural and human-made structures. The player progresses by solving puzzles, which are based on interactions with grids presented on panels around the island or paths hidden within the environment. No direct instructions are provided for solving these puzzles, requiring the player to identify the meaning of symbols in the puzzles. A central design element was how these puzzles are presented so that the player can achieve a moment of inspiration through trial and error and gain that comprehension themselves.