So, basicaly...

[58-10]

This game just rips off witness's mechanics? I don't mind being inspired, main mechanic is really similar an I'm ok with it, but come on, enviromental clue in a form of row of trees of different heights, dots working almost exactly the same as they work in witness. You copy not onlly overall vibes but like, specific gimmicks too. And art-style too. What new does this game bring? I'm not trying to hate, I'm genuinely curious

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Taiji began development before The Witness was released but later took inspiration from it with JoBlo's blessing. Obviously the top-down 2D pixel-art format is one way in which it differs, but personally I think Taiji's puzzles are much better suited for solving through logic alone (like traditional pencil puzzles) than those in The Witness. This is particularly due to Taiji's "marking" feature, and the fact that you don't have to form the solution to a puzzle in one go like in The Witness; you can actually leave a Taiji puzzle only partially solved and return to finish it later. At the end of the day, even though the games are very similar, I loved The Witness, so why wouldn't I love this too? I'd love to play more Witness-likes, personally.

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Originally posted by Quote:

Taiji began development before The Witness was released

Thr Witness was in development for a really long time. And Blow streamed a lot, so this changes nothing.

Originally posted by Quote:

Obviously the top-down 2D pixel-art format is one way in which it differs

Top-down 2D pixel-art just a lot cheaper. And ot's just easier to work with 2D game, easier to design it's levels. And overall art-style(colors, forms, set of objects) is still stolen

Originally posted by Quote:

personally I think Taiji's puzzles are much better suited for solving through logic alone (like traditional pencil puzzles) than those in The Witness.

You are just wrong, look at other discussions in this forum. Taiji doesn't do it job at making learning rules fair and logical.

Originally posted by Quote:

This is particularly due to Taiji's "marking" feature

Funny that you say that, because I was really confused the way this feature was presented. The game didn't tell anything and I was sure that this is another mechanic that changes answers? like a third color to use or something.

Originally posted by Quote:

you can actually leave a Taiji puzzle only partially solved and return to finish it later.

Really small feature, anfd btw it doesn't really needed in The Witness, cause its' solutions are smaller. It's one line, not a binary coloration of entire square.

Originally posted by Quote:

I loved The Witness, so why wouldn't I love this too? I'd love to play more Witness-likes, personally.

Because there is a difference between "being like smth" and "directly steal from smth". I don't see where this games does something original, It steals from The Witness everywhere, and just makes some parts of it worse(like way of presenting puzzle logic). And after this game you will not be able to normally enjoy The Witness(if you have not played it before), because of this sense of not-originality. Honestly it should be a shame to publish such a game at all, and this developer also sets really high price for a game he basically stole and made worse.

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Originally posted by 23 года котик :3:

Top-down 2D pixel-art just a lot cheaper. And ot's just easier to work with 2D game, easier to design it's levels.

Never heard anyone take issue with pixel art so much... let's see you make a pretty pixel-art game, since it's so cheap and easy.

Originally posted by 23 года котик :3:

And overall art-style(colors, forms, set of objects) is still stolen

Colors? Forms? Objects like grass, caves, mountains, trees, walls, screens, and wires? Lots of games have those things, and the assets in Taiji were created from scratch. That's not stealing. I think screens connected by wires is the only unique visual element shared by both games; the rest is just nature and architecture.

Originally posted by 23 года котик :3:

You are just wrong, look at other discussions in this forum. Taiji doesn't do it job at making learning rules fair and logical.

I agree that some of the rules are obtuse, but I wasn't talking about discovering the rules. I was talking about solving the puzzles once you know the rules. The flow of solving a puzzle in Taiji once you know the rules is very much like solving a traditional pencil puzzle like Nurikabe, which is not something I experienced often in The Witness.

Anyway, it's okay to not want to play a game heavily inspired by another game. It's true that I didn't enjoy Taiji as much as I would've if I'd never played The Witness. But to call it "stolen" and "a shame to publish" is a bit crazy, especially since JoBlo himself recommended the game and even helped fund it.

[SurpriseDonut]

Jonathan Blow was a playtester for Taiji and personally tweeted a recommendation for the game. It’s sufficiently distinct from The Witness while also drawing inspiration from it.

It’s a fun game and worth playing. It’s certainly not worth criticizing for sharing some similarities with another game.