Information AboutMyst |
''Myst'' is a Graphic Adventure Computer Game designed and directed by the brothers Robyn and Rand Miller . It was developed by Cyan, Inc. , a Spokane , Washington based studio, and Published and distributed by Brøderbund . The Millers began working on ''Myst'' in 1991 and released it on September 24 , 1993 . Myst was so successful that it sparked a new genre of computer game, the first-person Adventure-puzzle Game . The games that followed this genre are often referred to by both fans and non-fans as "Myst clones". ACCOMPLISHMENTS ''Myst'' has sold over 6 million copies and held the title of best-selling computer game of all time throughout much of the 1990s before being overtaken by '' The Sims ''. Its popularity led to the following:
DEVELOPMENT The Myst creative team consisted of the brothers Rand and Robyn Miller, with sound designer Chris Brandkamp and graphical artist Chuck Carter . Robyn Miller designed the Ages of Myst Island Stoneship and Channelwood, while Carter was responsible for both the Selenitic and Mechanical Ages and D'ni (K'Veer). The game was created on Apple Macintosh computers, principally Macintosh Quadras . Each scene was modelled and rendered in StrataVision 3D , with some additional modelling in Macromedia MacroModel . Each image was edited and enhanced using Photoshop V1.0. ILM 's John Knoll released a Photoshop Plugin to lead artist Chuck Carter so as to read PICS animation format files in filmstrip form which helped with some of the animation editing and color correction. Video editing, compression and compositing were performed in Adobe Premiere . The original Macintosh version was constructed in Hypercard . Each "Age" was a unique Hypercard stack. Navigation was handled by the internal button system and HyperTalk scripts, with image and QuickTime movie display passed off to various plugins (XCMDs and XFCNs in HyperCard terminology), mainly Simplex HyperTint and Apple's QuickTime XCMD. Images were stored as 8-bit PICT resources with custom color palettes and QuickTime still image compression. Animated elements were QuickTime movies with Cinepak compression. The game was ported to Microsoft Windows in 1994. GAMEPLAY The gameplay of Myst consists of a first-person journey through an interactive world. The player moves the character by clicking at the outside border of the game display and can interact with specific objects on some screens by Click ing or dragging them. Unlike many computer games, there are no enemies or any threat of "dying", although you can lose the game at the end. The only competition is the player versus the Puzzle s presented in the game. To complete the game, the player must discover and follow clues to be transported via Book s to several Ages , each of which is a self-contained mini-world. After traveling through each of the Ages Of Myst , Selenitic, Stoneship, Mechanical, and Channelwood, the player would return to the starting point of the game, Myst Island, with all the information necessary to complete the game. According to the creators, the game's name, as well as the overall solitary and mysterious atmosphere of the island, was inspired by the book '' Mysterious Island '' by Jules Verne . Also said to have been an inspiration is '' The Invention Of Morel '' by Adolfo Bioy Casares , a novel which deals with an anonymous traveller entering a surrealistic island created by a brilliant but deranged scientist. STORY Under obscure circumstances, a mysterious person known as the Stranger (the player) finds an unusual book titled 'Myst'. Opening the book, the stranger discovers that the first page is occupied by a single moving image or Linking Panel . The picture shows a flyby of an island. Touching this panel, the stranger is transported to that island and is left with no choice but to explore. Myst Island contains a library where two books can be found; a red book, and a blue book. These books are Traps for Sirrus and Achenar , two men who claim to be the sons of Atrus . Atrus is the mysterious and powerful owner of Myst Island who could write special books ("linking books") by an ancient practice known as The Art , which would literally transport the user to the worlds, or " Ages ", that they described. From the linking panels of their books, Sirrus and Achenar plead to the stranger to let them escape. However, the books are missing several pages, so their messages at first are faint and unclear. As the stranger further explores the island, more books are discovered hidden behind complex mechanisms and puzzles. There are four books in total, each linking to a different world or Age . The stranger must visit each Age, find the red and blue pages hidden in that age, and then return to Myst. Those pages can then be placed in either the red or blue book. The brother trapped within the red book is named Sirrus, and in the blue, Achenar. The more pages the stranger adds to these books, the clearer the brothers can speak. As pages are collected, the brothers inform the stranger that the other brother cannot be trusted. After collecting five pages, the brothers can talk clearly enough to tell the stranger where the sixth page is hidden. If the stranger gives either brother their sixth page, they will be free. The Stranger is left with a choice. Should she or he help Sirrus or Achenar? Or neither? The brothers plead to be liberated, and above all, that the player not access a green book. They claim that it is a book like their own, and if opened, will trap the stranger. When in truth, it leads to D'ni , where their father Atrus is imprisoned. He asks the player to bring him a final page that is hidden on Myst Island. Atrus cannot bring justice to his sons on Myst without the final page. The note explaining how to reach the page has been ripped and brought to two of the ages by the brothers. This is the only way that leads to victory; entering D'ni without the page leads to eternal imprisonment, and freeing one of the brothers leaves the player trapped inside a book. AGES As the player explores the game, he or she discovers four Linking Book s, books that allow a person to link to the worlds that the books describe. The Art of Writing was practiced by the '' D'ni '', an ancient civilization who lived in a large underground cavern. The game includes the following 'Ages':
See Ages Of Myst for descriptions. THE WINDOWS VERSION In 1994, the Windows version for IBM PCs was released. When porting from the original Mac version to Windows, a few technical problems occurred and as a result the following changes were necessary:
Unfortunately, ''Myst: Masterpiece Edition'' (below) for Windows does not correct these changes. In fact, the "Masterpiece Edition" for Mac also contains the same content as the Windows version: essentially, it is a step "backward" for Mac players. REMAKES Myst: Masterpiece Edition ''Myst: Masterpiece Edition'' was an updated version of the original ''Myst''. Due to the hint system's bugs and some shortening in the soundtrack, the updated edition was not well received by audiences. Updates included:
realMYST ''realMyst: Interactive 3D Edition'' was a re-make of the ''Myst'' computer game featuring various changes over the original:
''realMyst'' was developed by Cyan, Inc. and ''. PSP Remake In November 2005 , Sega announced that they would be developing a remake of ''Myst'' for the Playstation Portable . The remake would include additional content that was not featured in the original ''Myst''. Myst Set for PSP ign.com (accessed 29 March, 2006) PARODIES AND FAN GAMES
CRITICISM Though ''Myst'' was an extremely popular and commercially successful game it was also intensively criticised, mostly around the lack of "action" in the game, leading some to claim the game is boring (a typical review of this type describes the game as a "slide-show"). These reviews often complain about the difficulty of the puzzles, which those who like the game would claim is the main point . The Myst page of Mobygames has several reviews putting forth both views. In the January 1998 issue of '' and '' Buried In Time '' which have actually surpassed ''Myst'', these games combined story and puzzles to form an engaging whole, something that ''Myst'' itself failed to do. One question remains, how did an average game like ''Myst'' get so dang popular?'' TRIVIA
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS Official websites
In the media - articles, reviews and interviews
Game Archive and Review sites
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