The Witness: Lab 05
The Keep
Adjacent to the shady trees, an echoing tunnel entrance leads to the pristine gardens of The Keep. Various statues caught in frozen motion adorn the grounds. Not everything is as it appears to be.
You Are Here
Key Insights
| Auditory Detail | Vantage | Composite Solutions |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| Broken Rules | Visual Detail | Puzzling Transformations |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
Audio Logs
Auditory Detail
As you walk through this dimly lit entrance into the keep, consider how the echoes of your footsteps become acutely noticeable.
Group Discussion: What other sensorial experiences pervade the keep’s grounds?
Vantage
Sometimes a puzzle can be best scene from a different vantage point.
Group Discussion: How does adjusting your point of view help you find solutions to some of these puzzles?
Composite Solutions
Group Discussion: What is the lesson this puzzle is trying to teach you?
Broken Rules
Do these platforms allow you the bend the rules while puzzle-solving?
Group Discussion: How does operating outside the rules change your approach to finding the solution?
Visual Detail
Notice how this platform is broken.
Group Discussion: Do the landscape features and obstructions in the environment help you identify the puzzle solutions more easily? Do these landmarks present additional challenges? How might you improvise if the optimal solution is unattainable?
Puzzling Transformations
Pay attention to what occurs on the puzzle panel when you step into this area.
Group Discussion: What methods do you utilize to study the relationship between the puzzle panels and the platforms?
B. F. Skinner
An audio log excerpt from B.F. Skinner’s 1971 book, “Beyond Freedom and Dignity”, can be found just to the right of this spilled bucket.
Group Discussion: Do you feel your approach to puzzle solutions in this area is dictated by the environment, or is your approach your own?
Rabindranath Tagore
This audio-log recording featuring Rabindranath Tagore can be found atop the amplifier near this guitarist statue.
Group Discussion: What do you think is the purpose of the statues in this setting?
Douglas Hofstadter
Search the backside of the tallest throne to discover an audio-log of Douglas Hofstadter ruminating on the concept of the self.
William K. Clifford
Peak beneath the feet of this burdened figure to spot an audio-log of William K. Clifford.
Completing Lab 5
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 #5
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.
-
Hedges in Harmony
-
What challenged your understanding of the rules and mechanics of the hedge-maze area?
-
How did your understanding of this area progressively change as you completed each hedge?
-
Discuss your understanding of each section of the hedges. What unique lesson does each section teach you?
-
-
Panels and Platforms
-
In what ways are the platform puzzles similar to the hedge-maze puzzles?
-
How are the platform puzzles different from other panel puzzles you have experienced in past labs?
-
After completing the platform puzzles, how has your understanding of the puzzles in this game grown?
-
-
Statuesque Philosophies
-
Study the statues that walk the lawns of the keep.
-
What thoughts go through your mind as you look at each statue?
-
Identify a minimum of (3) statues in the keep that seem to relate to the conceptual understanding of the puzzles in this area, or the content of the audio-logs. Explain these relationships.
-
-
The Big Picture
-
In combination, what do the platform puzzles and hedge-maze puzzles attempt to teach you?
-
Based on your personal experience, would you recommend the keep be completed in a specific order? Explain.
-
In your opinion, what common theme exists in the keep’s audio-log recordings?
-
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.