Myst
Developer(s)	Cyan, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Brøderbund
Distributor(s)	{{{distributor}}}
Designer(s)	Robyn and Rand Miller
Engine	Proprietary
Latest version
Release date(s)	September 24, 1993
Genre(s)	Graphic adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone (NR)
Platform(s)	Mac OS, PC, Saturn, PlayStation, Jaguar, AmigaOS, CD-i, 3DO
Media	CD-ROM
System requirements	Macintosh: Mac LC, System 7.0.1, 4 MB RAM, 3 MB disk space, 256 Colors, CD-ROM drive. PC: 386, Windows 3.0, 8 MB RAM, 4 MB disk space, SVGA Video, Sound card, CD-ROM drive
Input	Keyboard, mouse

This article is about the first computer game titled "Myst". For the entire series, see Myst franchise.

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. Adventure is a genre of video game typified by exploration, puzzle-solving, interaction with game characters, and a focus on narrative rather than reflex-based challenges. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Robyn Charles Miller (born April 22, 1960, in Dallas, Texas) co-founded Cyan Worlds (originally Cyan) with brother Rand Miller. ... Photo of Rand Miller Rand Miller co-founded Cyan Productions (now Cyan Worlds) with brother Robyn Miller (the two Miller Brothers) and became famous from the unexpected success of their computer game Myst, which remained the number one-selling game for the remainder of the 1990s. ... Photo of Cyan Worlds Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous... Spokane (pronounced spō-CAN ) is the county seat of Spokane County in the State of Washington, USA. It is also known as the seat of the Inland Empire. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 18th 184,824 km² 385 km 580 km 6. ... Video game publishers are companies that publish video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. ... Broderbund was a maker of computer games and educational software. ... The Miller Brothers, Rand and Robyn Miller co-founded Cyan Productions (now Cyan Worlds) and became famous from the unexpected success of their computer game Myst, which remained the number one-selling game for the remainder of the 1990s. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

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. Many people believe it to be one of the most intellectually demanding games of recent times. Its popularity led to the following: The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, the last decade of the 20th Century. ...

• Four sequels: Riven, Myst III: Exile, Myst IV: Revelation, and Myst V: End of Ages.
• Two remakes: Myst Masterpiece Edition, and realMYST.
• Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, and its expansion packs Uru: To D'ni and Uru: The Path of the Shell, are hybrid single-player games set in the Myst universe but in the modern day. They were later released in a single compilation called Myst Uru: Complete Chronicles. An online version of these games somewhat similar to a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) called Uru Live was planned and developed, but it was cancelled a short time after it went live, after a short-lived online beta. It was brought back in a limited capacity under the name Untìl Uru.
• Three derivative novels, written by the Miller brothers together with David Wingrove and published by Hyperion, entitled Myst: The Book of Atrus, Myst: The Book of Ti'ana, and Myst: The Book of D'ni (with two more releases coming up, one of which will be Myst: The Book of Marrim).
• Two comic books published by Dark Horse called Myst: The Book of Black Ships. A series of four was originally planned, but Cyan cancelled the series after issue #1 due to grievous artistic licenses taken by its designers and a refusal by Dark Horse to correct them.

Myst was the spark for a new genre, 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". A sequel is a work of fiction in literature, film, and other creative works that is produced after a completed work, and is set in the same universe but at a later time. ... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Myst V: End of Ages Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Myst V: End of Ages Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni   Marrim Comic Books #0... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The... In film, a remake is a newer version of a previously released film or a newer version of the source (play, novel, story, etc. ... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The... An expansion pack is an addition to an existing game. ... Players interacting in Ultima Online. ... DeFoes Robinson Crusoe, Newspaper edition published in 1719 A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... Author of the Chung Kuo novels (eight in total), being: Book One: The Middle Kingdom (1989) Book Two: The Broken Wheel (1990) Book Three: The White Mountain (1991) Book Four: The Stone Within (1992) Book Five: Beneath the Tree of Heaven (1993) Book Six: White Moon, Red Dragon (1994) Book... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book publisher, one of the largest independent publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics. ... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The... Adventure is a genre of video game typified by exploration, puzzle-solving, interaction with game characters, and a focus on narrative rather than reflex-based challenges. ...

Development

The Myst creative team consisted of the brothers Rand and Robyn Miller, together with sound designer Chris Brandkamp and graphical artist Chuck Carter. Robyn Miller designed the Ages of Myst Island, Stoneship and Channelwood; Carter was responsible for the Selenitic and Mechanical Ages, as well as D'ni (K'Veer). The mosaic in D'ni is actually Carter's face. Chuck Carter Charles Chuck Michael Carter (born July 31, 1957, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA) In 1979 after four years in the U. S. Navy Chuck Carter returned to Cleveland, Ohio and went to work as a freelance illustrator, working for local newspapers, advertising, comics and greeting card companies. ...

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. The Macintosh project started in early 1979 with Jef Raskin, an Apple employee, who envisioned an easy-to-use, low-cost computer for the average consumer. ... Quadra 800 Quadra was the name used by Apple Computer for most of its Macintosh computers built around the Motorola 68040 CPU. The product manager for the Quadra family was Frank Casanova who was also the Product Manager for the Macintosh IIfx. ... StrataVision 3D was a comprehensive 3D computer graphics software package by Strata. ... Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) is a graphics and web development software house. ... Chuck Carter Charles Chuck Michael Carter (born July 31, 1957, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA) In 1979 after four years in the U. S. Navy Chuck Carter returned to Cleveland, Ohio and went to work as a freelance illustrator, working for local newspapers, advertising, comics and greeting card companies. ... Renewal of the surface coating of an adobe wall in Chamisal, New Mexico Adobe is a building material composed of water, sandy clay and straw or other organic materials, which is shaped into bricks using wooden frames and dried in the sun . ... Adobe Premiere Pro, produced by Adobe is a realtime video editing software targeted at semi-professional video editors. ... HyperCard HyperCard is an application program and a simple programming environment produced by Apple Computer which runs natively only in Mac OS versions 9 or earlier (it can still be used in Mac OS Xs Classic mode). ... HyperTalk is a high-level programming language created in 1987 by Dan Winkler and used in conjunction with Apple Computers HyperCard hypermedia program by Bill Atkinson. ... QuickTime is a multimedia technology developed by Apple Computer, capable of handling various formats of digital video, sound, text, animation, music, and immersive virtual reality panoramic images. ... Apple Computer, Inc. ... PICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. ... Compressed with Cinepack, quality 40% Cinepak is a video codec, developed by Radius Inc to accommodate 1x (150 kbyte/s) CD-ROM transfer rates. ... Microsoft Windows is a series of operating environments and operating systems created by Microsoft for use on personal computers and servers. ...

Gameplay

Myst Island seen from above

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 clicking or dragging them. Unlike some computer games, there are no enemies or any threat of "dying". The only competition is the player versus the puzzles presented in the game. To complete the game, the player must discover and follow clues to be transported via books to several Ages, each of which is a self-contained mini-world. Once traveling through 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. For those less patient, this information could be obtained from an outside source and the game objective could be completed in a matter of minutes. Image File history File links Myst_Island_Age. ... Image File history File links Myst_Island_Age. ... Point and click describes the simple action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen (point) and then clicking a mouse button, usually the left one (click), or other pointing device. ... An example of a simple puzzle. ... Look up book in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Myst V: End of Ages Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Myst V: End of Ages Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni   Marrim Comic Books #0... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Myst V: End of Ages Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Myst V: End of Ages Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni   Marrim Comic Books #0...

According to the creators, the game's name, as well as the overall solitary and mysterious atmosphere of the island and the title for the game, was inspired from the books Mysterious Island by Jules Verne or even more "Morel's invention" by Adolfo Bioy Casares. The latter novel deals with an anonymous traveller entering a surrealistic island influenced by a "reality generator" created by a brilliant but deranged scientist, though upon mastering the machines controlling this generator the protagonist only secures his own death. Cover page of The Mysterious Island Map of Lincoln Island Mysterious Island (LIle Mystérieuse) is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne. ... Jules Verne. ... Adolfo Bioy Casares (September 15, 1914 - March 18, 1999) was an Argentine fiction writer. ...

Story

Under obscure circumstances, a mysterious person known as the Stranger (the player) finds an unusual book entitled '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 franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Myst V: End of Ages Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Myst V: End of Ages Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni   Marrim Comic Books #0... Note: Fictional details from the Myst franchise follow, and will be treated as facts. ...

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. Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Myst V: End of Ages Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Myst V: End of Ages Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni   Marrim Comic Books #0... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Myst V: End of Ages Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Myst V: End of Ages Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni   Marrim Comic Books #0...

As the stranger further explores the island, he discovers more books 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. Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Myst V: End of Ages Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Myst V: End of Ages Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni   Marrim Comic Books #0...

Those pages can then be placed in either the red or blue book. The more pages the stranger adds to these books, the clearer the brothers can speak. 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 he help Sirrus or Achenar? Or neither?

The worlds of Myst are full of hints of the dark past, where a horrible tale of greed and plunder took place. The Stranger must piece together these hints to discover the true nature of Sirrus and Achenar.

Ages

As the player explores the game, he or she discovers four linking books, 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. Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Myst V: End of Ages Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Myst V: End of Ages Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni   Marrim Comic Books #0...

The game includes the following 'Ages':

• Myst Island, the starting Age. This island remains the central 'hub' Age throughout the plot.
• Channelwood Age
• Stoneship Age
• Selenitic Age
• Mechanical Age
• Rime Age, found only as a special bonus at the end of realMYST
• D'ni, later revealed to be only a small part of D'ni proper

See Ages of Myst for descriptions. Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Myst V: End of Ages Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Myst V: End of Ages Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni   Marrim Comic Books #0...

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:

• Re-rendered images in truecolor (24-bit) instead of 8-bit color.
• Additional point-of-view images.
• Enhanced audio effects and music.
  • Shortened version of the Pool Imager theme.
• In-game maps and hint system.

Truecolor (also spelled Truecolour; called Millions on a Macintosh) graphics is a method of storing image information in a computers memory such that each pixel is represented by three or more bytes. ... 8-bit colour graphics is a method of storing image information in a computers memory or in an image file, such that each pixel is represented by one 8-bit byte. ...

realMYST

realMyst box cover

realMyst: Interactive 3D Edition was a re-make of the Myst computer game featuring various changes over the original: Image File history File links realMyst Box Cover This is the cover art for a video or computer game. ... Image File history File links realMyst Box Cover This is the cover art for a video or computer game. ...

• Graphics were rendered by the real-time 3D Plasma engine also later used (with improvements) in Uru: Ages Beyond Myst and Myst V: End of Ages
• Navigation provided vastly more freedom due to the above
• Weather effects like thunderstorms and sunsets/sunrises were added
• Some minor changes to the main Age (Myst Island), like the addition of a gravestone for Ti'ana, adjusted the gameplay to the Myst novels and sequels
• Rime as a new Age was added and loosely tied into the storyline

realMyst was developed by Cyan, Inc. and Sunsoft, and published by Ubisoft. It is regarded by some as a test project for the then-in development Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The... A roll cloud associated with a heavy or severe thunderstorm over Enschede, The Netherlands. ... A red sunset panorama A composite image showing the terminator dividing night from day, running across Europe and Africa. ... Sunrise over the sea Sunrise, also called sunup in some American English dialects, is the time at which the first part of the Sun appears above the horizon in the east. ... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The... Sunsoft is a video game development company founded in 1985 as a division of Sun Corporation of America. ... Ubisoft Entertainment (formerly Ubi Soft) is a computer and video game publisher and developer headquarters in Montreuil, France. ... Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Myst V: End of Ages Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The...

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.[1] Ongoing events • Abramoff-Reed gambling scandal • Al Jazeera bombing memo • Avian influenza (H5N1) outbreak • Black sites scandal • Conservative leadership race (UK) • Fuel prices • Irans nuclear program • Jilin chemical plant explosions • Kashmir earthquake • Malawi food crisis • Malaysian prisoner abuse scandal • New Delhi bombings investigation • Niger food crisis • North Indian cyclone... Sega (セガ) (pronounced seh-gah in the U.S, see-gah elsewhere) is a video game software and hardware developer, and a former home computer and console manufacturer. ... The PlayStation Portable (officially PSP), a handheld game console, is a product of Sony Computer Entertainment. ...

Parodies and Fan Games

• Pyst was produced in the wake of Myst's success. Featuring a satirized version of the Myst universe (where everything appeared to be trashed and vandalized by disgruntled gamers unable to solve Myst's puzzles), the game was notable for featuring a performance by John Goodman. Although nothing more than slideshow of desecrated Myst screenshots, it was popular enough to spawn "Pyst: Special Edition," which included a preview of "Driven: The Sequel to Pyst," which never saw the light of day as creator Parroty Interactive went bankrupt.
  • In 2004, a Parroty Interactive fan began making "ReallyPYST," a Hyperstudio-based recreation of "Pyst" that would've allowed click-based movement to match the style of the original "Myst" games. However, the project was delayed indefinitely after only a few new screen renders were completed, each involving the inside of the Pyst library.
• Missed is a text-based online game in which you must help Ascii, who is lost on the web, find the six keys of the internet. The game involves spoofs of various buildings, characters and Ages in Myst.
• Mylk, produced by Bart Gold (PC version by Wayne Twitchell), is a parody based on dairy products and other foodstuffs.
• D'ni Legacy is a browser-based fan game.
• Missed Island, a recreation of Myst as a map for Marathon Infinity. It can be downloaded from Bungie.Org's Marathon archives.

Pyst was a computer game published as a parody of the highly successful Myst franchise. ... John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952 in Affton, Missouri) is an American actor. ... Parroty Interactive are a now defunct software developer company, who made a number of parody computer programs and games for the PC and Apple Mac. ... Wayne Lee Twitchell (born March 10, 1948 in Portland, Oregon) is a former Major League Baseball starting and relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers (1970), Philadelphia Phillies (1971-1977), Montreal Expos (1977-1978), New York Mets (1979), and the Seattle Mariners (1979). ... Marathon is a series of science fiction first-person shooter computer games from Bungie Software released for the Apple Macintosh. ...

Contrarian views

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"). Interestingly, 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, indicative of the dividing opinions among the gamers community. The most observant will note in that page where gamers rate the games, that in all aspects of Myst the MobyScore is totally in the middle, obviously because of the too high ratings given by the pro-Myst gamers, and the too low ratings given by the rest.

The reason for Myst's polarising effect on those who play it most likely stems from its "retrospective" style of play, that is, the player is almost never directly told what to do, what is happening or has happened before, unlike more traditional adventure games. In such traditional games, most of the enjoyment and mental effort comes from attempting to solve tasks that are immediately obvious, whereas with Myst the bulk of the gameplay is rather more "free-form", with the player wandering and gradually piecing together the backstory of the game world from the fragments and clues provided. In general, and based on this summary, those in the "pro-Myst camp" tend to be quiet, reflective types, perhaps the sort who might choose to work in archaeology or forensics, and enjoy piecing together odd fragments to see what once existed. In comparison the "anti-Myst camp" generally consists of those who prefer the more direct approach, who wish to be presented with a straight question and come up with an answer.

The first sequel to Myst, Riven, continued the tradition of rich backstory and thoughtful gameplay, though it also succeeded admirably well in addressing the other chief criticism of Myst, which was its lack of character interaction. Myst franchise Games Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru: Ages Beyond Myst Myst V: End of Ages Ages of: Myst Riven Myst III: Exile Myst IV: Revelation Uru Myst V: End of Ages Novels Myst: The Book of Atrus   Tiana   Dni   Marrim Comic Books #0...

Trivia

In Germany, the game's title was subject to a number of jokes - while the title clearly alludes to both mist and "Mysterious" in the English language, the word Mist in German means "manure" or, more commonly, "crap". Dramatic morning mist Mist is a phenomenon of a liquid in small droplets floating through air. ...

After the Myst back story evolved, it was fixed that the events in MYST occurred in the early 1800s. However the last game in the series, Myst 5, is set some 200 years later. Myst 5 in fact continues the story of Uru, which is set in the present day. Events and Trends Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815). ...

Myst 3 and 4 were produced by a different team, working for Ubisoft, to the original Cyan team that made Myst, Riven and Myst 5 and, because of this, there is a slight difference in style and general "feel" in the games, although they are so close that it is difficult to describe. Myst 4 also flatly contradicts a major aspect of the prison books, central to the plot of both Myst and Riven: however shortly after the release of Riven it was revealed by Cyan employee and "D'ni historian" Richard A. Watson that they decided that the Trap Books do not actually exist in the Myst backstory. Photo of Richard A. Watson Richard A. Watson (RAWA) has worked at Cyan Worlds (creators of the Myst series of computer games) since the early 1990s. ... Myst franchise Games and their Ages Novels Book of Atrus Book of Tiana Book of Dni Book of Marrim Comic Books #0   #1 Miscellaneous Dni Ages   The Art   Culture   Guilds   History   Timeline   Items   Kings   Language   Numerals   People   Wildlife   Pyst   Organizations Brøderbund   Cyan   Presto   Ubisoft   DRC Spoiler...

External links

Official websites

• Official Myst website (no longer updated)
• realMyst Website
• Robyn Miller's Blog
• Rand Miller's Blog
• Chuck Carter's Blog

In the media - articles, reviews and interviews

• Guerrillas in the Myst - Wired Magazine's 1994 article about the creation of Myst
• Exploring Myst's Brave New World - Wired Magazine 2003 interview with Rand Miller
• Pupils learn through Myst game -- report on the use of Myst in a primary classroom