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I don't think The Witness is pretentious. Pretentious means "attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually poss

I don't think The Witness is pretentious. Pretentious means "attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed", but The Witness really is as deep and meaningful as it acts like it is if one bothers to be open to all it is saying in all of the ways it is saying it. > except one.... you know which one it is jblow I found several to be un-fun, but yes, that's part of how Jon explores the conceptual space of a puzzle. If he didn't include those puzzles then he feels the exploration would be incomplete. The player would be left wondering "What if..." and I think these puzzles are sort of Jon's way of saying "That would suck. Trust me, I checked.".

VHRanger 4y ago
What would suck is a 1hr long puzzle forcing you to listen to a lecture and if you misclick at any point being forced to restart the whole hour Yes, truly that WOULD suck
- db48x 4y ago
  Which is why it’s optional.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago
  Yes, exactly. Hmm... maybe, and hear me out here, just maybe there isn't a lot of value in completionism for completionism's sake?
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
gravypod 4y ago
> "attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed" I think the critiques in this video [0] sum up my main feelings about the game. The puzzles are fantastic. The <spoiler> puzzles are fantastic. The movement, environment, graphics, etc are all fantastic. But, the "story" and "message" of the game can be interpreted in many ways. It is art in the sense that everyone gets something different from it. But it is pretentious because, if everyone gets something completely different from your "experience", you really didn't convey anything. That's what most people (I think) are talking about when they say "<art> is pretentious". [0] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZokQov_aH0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZokQov_aH0
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago
  I haven't watched that video, although many people do reference it[0], in part because its clickbaity nonsense title leaves me with a poor impression of the creator. It would be pretentious if Jon's intention had been to throw a bunch of crap out there and then say "it means what you want it to mean", but I don't think that's what Jon did. Jon did what artists do: they take ideas that can be difficult to express simply and they try to express them in art. That any individual can come away from the work with one experience or another is just how the world is. We all exist in our own contextual bubbles that inform our interpretation of the things around us, and while an artist can try to communicate the meaning more clearly they will find, like Heisenberg, that precision in one aspect ensures imprecision in another. And yes, these are all themes expressed in the game itself, though by no means the only ones. When I see criticism like this, I can't help but feel like some people just can't stand that there isn't some definitive documented interpretation, some twist ending that makes it all makes sense. Like it's a twilight zone episode or something. [0] Actually, I've only ever seen people link to it and try to claim its ideas as their own. I don't know about you, but I'm especially disinclined to take "here, read this link" seriously if it is the sum totality of an argument.

VHRanger 4y ago

What would suck is a 1hr long puzzle forcing you to listen to a lecture and if you misclick at any point being forced to restart the whole hour Yes, truly that WOULD suck

db48x 4y ago
Which is why it’s optional.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago
Yes, exactly. Hmm... maybe, and hear me out here, just maybe there isn't a lot of value in completionism for completionism's sake?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

gravypod 4y ago

> "attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed" I think the critiques in this video [0] sum up my main feelings about the game. The puzzles are fantastic. The <spoiler> puzzles are fantastic. The movement, environment, graphics, etc are all fantastic. But, the "story" and "message" of the game can be interpreted in many ways. It is art in the sense that everyone gets something different from it. But it is pretentious because, if everyone gets something completely different from your "experience", you really didn't convey anything. That's what most people (I think) are talking about when they say "<art> is pretentious". [0] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZokQov_aH0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZokQov_aH0

AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago
I haven't watched that video, although many people do reference it[0], in part because its clickbaity nonsense title leaves me with a poor impression of the creator. It would be pretentious if Jon's intention had been to throw a bunch of crap out there and then say "it means what you want it to mean", but I don't think that's what Jon did. Jon did what artists do: they take ideas that can be difficult to express simply and they try to express them in art. That any individual can come away from the work with one experience or another is just how the world is. We all exist in our own contextual bubbles that inform our interpretation of the things around us, and while an artist can try to communicate the meaning more clearly they will find, like Heisenberg, that precision in one aspect ensures imprecision in another. And yes, these are all themes expressed in the game itself, though by no means the only ones. When I see criticism like this, I can't help but feel like some people just can't stand that there isn't some definitive documented interpretation, some twist ending that makes it all makes sense. Like it's a twilight zone episode or something. [0] Actually, I've only ever seen people link to it and try to claim its ideas as their own. I don't know about you, but I'm especially disinclined to take "here, read this link" seriously if it is the sum totality of an argument.