Waiting 8+ Years for A Game

When the Witness came out in 2016, I found myself wanting to play more puzzle games. On my search for the most unique puzzle games, I found Miegakure the worlds first 4D puzzle-platformer. I didn’t think at the time that this game that was probably a year or two into development would keep me waiting for eight years. Realistically I expect to wait 10–12 years at this point. And It will be worth it.

The fourth dimension (spatial, not temporal) has always been one of the greatest mathematical and philosophical thought experiments. As a game, and as an art piece, hopefully Miegakure will be enough to satisfy our curiosity into the mysterious dimension. Like I said, it’s been 8 years since I first discovered this game’s development, and I still revel at the idea of finally exploring and solving the games puzzles.

The puzzle design for a game that utilizes 4 dimensional transitions is my guess for what is taking the game so long to even announce a release date. I remember back when Portal 2 was delayed, the developers were honest and said something along the lines of ‘look, making puzzles is hard.’ I can’t imagine what making puzzles in another dimension is like. Sure, there is the gimmick of walking through walls using the fourth dimension (more accurately walking around walls). But one puzzle’s solution can only be a component of future puzzles in the game.

A few years ago, the game’s creator Marc ten Bosch, released 4D Toys. A fun little interactive where you can play around with various four-dimensional shapes. A teaser for the technology that Miegakure utilizes.

If your curious about Miegakure’s gameplay there are plenty of resources to help explain how creating a game in the fourth dimension is even possible. Until the game is released, we’ll never know what miraculous feats you can achieve in this zen garden of math and play.