Good luck, everybody

I'm embarrassed about this one. The Witness will be September's release for the Visible Zorker project, but it's already done for Patreon supporters. So I've scanned my Witness feelies for the app already. (You can see the high-res scans here at the Internet Archive.) It's a classic package. The 1938 newspaper is probably Infocom's high point for pure immersive scene-setting. But the matchbook caught my attention. My original matchbook feelie from The Witness. That's a curious symbol. It's sort of a generic "look at this Chinese symbol" symbol. But is it actually Chinese? The Witness has this uncomfortable schtick of "obviously Asian, but no definite nationality". The Linder house is full of Orientalist tat; some of it is Japanese style, but only the "small Shinto shrine" in the entry betrays an actual tradition. If you know Chinese: just hold off. I'll get there. So I immediately suspected that the symbol is a fake. After all, everything else on the matchbook is some variety of joke.…