Information AboutMyst |
''Myst'' (or '''''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 for the Macintosh computer on September 24 1993 . It has spawned four direct sequels and several spin-off games and novels. ''Myst'' was the bestselling video game for several years, until '' The Sims '' exceeded its sales. ''Myst'' and its success had a significant impact on the First-person Adventure Game genre. Many games that followed in this genre are often referred to by both fans and non-fans as "Myst clones". ACCOMPLISHMENTS ''Myst'' and its sequels have sold over 12 million copies Ubisoft (publisher) at a glance : "Myst® (entire series): more than 11 million units sold worldwide" 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 the Selenitic and Mechanical Ages, as well as D'ni (K'veer). The game was created on Apple Macintosh computers, principally Macintosh Quadra s (the music was composed on a Macintosh SE ). Each scene was modeled and rendered in StrataVision 3D , with some additional modeling in Macromedia MacroModel . Each image was edited and enhanced using Photoshop 1.0. 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. This careful processing made the finished graphics look remarkable despite their low bit depth; in an 8-bit era, Myst was so visually appealing that it quickly set the standard for its contemporaries. GAMEPLAY The gameplay of Myst consists of a first-person journey through an interactive world. The player moves the character by clicking on locations shown in the main 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 it is possible to reach a few "losing" endings. The only competition are 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 '' The 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 In some sense, there are two slightly different stories for the game; one is the "real story" that was recovered from D'ni manuscripts (as mentioned in the instruction manual), while the other version includes liberties that the designers used to turn the "real story" into a game. Under obscure circumstances, a mysterious person known as the Stranger (the player, assumed to be male in order to simplify this description) finds an unusual book titled "Myst". According to the instruction booklet, he then reads the book and discovers a detailed description of an island world. The Stranger then places his hand on the last page and is whisked away to that world with exploration as his only option. However, the events occur slightly differently in the game. Upon opening the book, the Stranger discovers that the first page is occupied by a single moving image or Linking Panel . The picture shows an aerial view of an island. Touching this image, 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 , respectively, 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 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 the corresponding books. As the Stranger adds more pages to these books, the brothers can speak more and more clearly. Throughout this process, each brother maintains that the other brother cannot be trusted. After collecting four pages, the brothers can talk clearly enough to tell the Stranger where the fifth page is hidden. If the Stranger gives either brother their fifth page, they will be free. The Stranger is left with a choice. Should he help Sirrus or Achenar? Or neither? The brothers plea to be liberated and, above all, that the player not touch the green book that is stored in the same location as the last pages. They claim that it is a book like their own and that, if opened, will trap the Stranger. In truth, it leads to D'ni , where their father Atrus is imprisoned. Atrus asks the player to bring him a final page that is hidden on Myst Island. He 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. Answers to the FAQs on Cyan's website {Link without Title} imply that in the "real story" Sirrus and Achenar were in prison Ages, not trapped in the linking books, which means they would have no way of communicating with the Stranger at all. After the Myst back-story was further revealed, it was fixed that the events in Myst occurred in the early 1800s . AGES During the game, the player 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 that lived in a large cavern deep in the Earth. The game includes the following "Ages":
See Ages Of Myst for full descriptions. PORTS
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:
Slight further enhancements, and a restore of the original soundtrack, were made to the ''MME'' release as part of the ''Myst DVD 10th Anniversary Edition'' which bundled DVD versions of ''MME'', ''Riven'', and ''Exile''. realMYST ''realMyst: Interactive 3D Edition'' was a re-make of the ''Myst'' computer game featuring various changes over the original:
The trailer for realMyst was elaborate and some at first thought that realMyst was a motion picture. It has been disputed who the female voice in the trailer belongs to, with the suspects being Catherine , Ti'ana , and Yeesha . Even though it is a large chance that it is one of the first two (because Myst III: Exile wasn't released until 2001), Yeesha's voice in the URU games, as well as ''Myst V: End of Ages'', sounds very similar and is in fact voiced by the same actress. ''realMyst'' was developed by Cyan, Inc. and Sunsoft , and published by Ubisoft . Production of the game was discontinued after its release in November 2000, due to its slow performance on most computers of the time. A patch was released to bring the retail version to v1.1.1. realMyst will not work under Windows Vista. PSP Remake In 2006 . Pocket PC Remake Mean Hamster Software, Inc. has developed a port of ''Myst'' for the Pocket PC . {Link without Title} Nintendo DS Remake Available in November 2007 , this new version of ''Myst'' for the Nintendo DS promises "newly remastered video and audio," utilizing source code specifically re-written for the Nintendo DS. The remake will feature Rime as a playable Age, with an all new graphic set.1 PARODIES AND FAN GAMES
CRITICISM Though ''Myst'' was an extremely popular and commercially successful game it polarized critics and was intensively criticised, mostly around the lack of "action" and storytelling in the game, leading some to claim the game is boring. These reviews often complain about the difficulty and lack of context 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. TV MINISERIES A miniseries was planned with Cyan and Mandalay Television Pictures, but was cancelled.
APPEARANCE IN POPULAR CULTURE
SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS Official websites In the media — articles, reviews and interviews
The soundtrack music
Game Archive and Review sites
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