The Witness: Lab 03

The Monastery

Centered in the Southern section of the island, a zen monastery offers puzzling environmental mysteries.

You Are Here

Consider these aspects of the monastery environment:

Key Insights

Distant Puzzle Manipulation	Obstructions

Audio Logs

• Ibn ‘Arabi:

  

Distant Puzzle Manipulation

Consider the first puzzle in this area, locked behind the entrance.

Group Discussion: How might we solve this puzzle when it’s trapped behind an impenetrable gate? Does the player need to be directly in front of a puzzle to interact with it?

Obstructions

Centered in the front section of the monastery’s interior, a well-tended Bonsai tree grows serenely.

Group Discussion: What simple lesson does this puzzle attempt to communicate to the player?

Ibn 'Arabi

After manipulating the East-facing wall of the monastery, an audio log will be revealed sitting within the cut-outs of one of the folding doors.

View Excerpt

Group Discussion: How might a change in your perception of the environment reveal new problems to be solved?

Completing The Monastery

This part of the island is complete when the final puzzle is solved and the laser fires into the sky. Nice work!

The Witness Journal Entry #3

Write a journal entry on what you learned from this lab. Pretend that you are a scientist exploring this island for the very first time. Choose one of the prompts below (either 1, 2, 3, or 4) to respond to in your journal entry.

1. Lesson Learned

   • Can you identify the main lesson the monastery attempts to teach you?

   • Did you learn something during the play through of this area that would have helped your understanding of a previous area?

2. Unseen, Unsolved

   • Report on a “secret” you discovered in this area that wasn’t mentioned in this guide or during class. How did you discover this secret? Feel free to include screenshots or sketches in addition–not substitution–to your written response.

   • Discuss your thought process in the moments leading up to and during this discovery.

   • How does this discovery contribute to your understanding of the nature of the game?

3. Recorded Wisdom

   • Imagine you are asked to record an audio log for the monastery section of the island.

   • What piece of advice would you want to pass on to the listener?

   • How would your guidance relate to both the in-game world and the real world?

4. Variations on A Theme

   • Briefly summarize your personal route through the monastery.

   • Do you think the puzzles in this area could have been solved differently or in a different order? Explain.

   • In your opinion, is there an ideal way to solve this area?

Final Journal Requirement:

After responding to one of the items above, discuss the solution to a particular puzzle that challenged you. Explain the mechanics of this puzzle in detail and how you came to understand them. If it helps, feel free to include screenshots or sketches of the puzzle.