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The Stranger is how the player character of the Myst series of games is known in Myst canon. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the Myst franchise. ...

When they created Myst and Riven, Cyan's intent was for players to feel as though they were themselves there, exploring strange worlds and gleaning information about them. Keeping the game first-person rather than third-person was the essence of this immersion. Thus, the games' protagonist is an anonymous, gender-neutral entity with no given history, and players are free to imagine themselves as the protagonist. Photo of Cyan Worlds Cyan Worlds, Inc. ...

However, as the Myst story evolved, fans became curious about the anonymous player character. Atrus' interactions with this figure were vital to the story, which itself was becoming more tightly interwoven with our world. D'ni was depicted as being under our Earth, and being accessible from real locations on Earth's surface. The events from the games were determined to be at specific points (the 18th and 19th centuries) in Earth history.

With the line between Myst canon and real life blurring, fans began to speculate about the character's "actual" identity and role in D'ni history. Until such time as the truth is learned about him or her, the player character is referred to — in historical contexts — as The Stranger.

Story

The Stranger's origin has long been assumed to be Earth, since even before there was any indication of such from the games. Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, however, strongly implies that the assumption was correct, and that the Stranger is therefore a human. 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... This article is about modern humans. ...

Somehow the Stranger discovered Atrus's Myst Linking Book, which had fallen into the Star Fissure (as depicted in Myst's opening cinematic). He touched its Linking panel and Linked to Myst. His explorations led him to Atrus, who was trapped in K'veer by his sons Sirrus and Achenar, on 12 December 1806 (according to official D'ni timelines). A month after freeing him, the Stranger Linked to Riven and freed Atrus's wife Catherine from Gehn. Atrus then let the Stranger fall into the Star Fissure, on faith that it would return him home to Earth. 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   Dni Ages   The Art   Timeline   Items   Kings   Language   Numerals   People   Wildlife   Organizations Brøderbund   Cyan   Presto   Ubisoft   DRC Note: Fictional details... 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... Note: Fictional details from the Myst franchise follow, and will be treated as facts. ... Not to be confused with Ages of Myst, a boxed compilation of Myst and Riven. ... 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   Dni Ages   The Art   Timeline   Items   Kings   Language   Numerals   People   Wildlife   Organizations Brøderbund   Cyan   Presto   Ubisoft   DRC Note: Fictional details... 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... is the 346th day of the year (347th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 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   Dni Ages   The Art   Timeline   Items   Kings   Language   Numerals   People   Wildlife   Organizations Brøderbund / Red Orb   Cyan   Presto   Ubisoft   DRC Note... 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... Gehn is a character in Riven, the sequel to 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... This article is about Earth as a planet. ...

About ten years later (1816) the Stranger met the couple again in Tomahna, a place on Earth close to the Cleft, in what is now Eddy County, New Mexico. There he became involved in a grievance of a man named Saavedro. Saavedro, wronged by Atrus' sons, exacts revenge by stealing a precious linking book; the Releeshahn Age. The Stranger helped Atrus recover the Releeshahn book from Saavedro. Year 1816 (MDCCCXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Largest metro area Albuquerque metropolitan area Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ...

Another ten years later (1826), the Stranger returned to Tomahna and saved Atrus' daughter Yeesha from her brother Sirrus, who kidnapped her in order to pursue his plan for revenge. It is implied in Myst IV: Revelation that the Stranger visited Atrus and his family several times in between 1816 and 1826. The oldest surviving photograph, Nicéphore Niépce, circa 1826 1826 (MDCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Note: Fictional details from the Myst franchise follow, and may sometimes be referred to as facts. ... 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...

The player character of Myst V is not The Stranger. Uru: Ages Beyond Myst takes place in 2003, and Myst V takes place after Uru. If the Stranger is indeed a typical human, he or she would have died before either game took place. The Myst Online: Uru Live storyline has revealed that the player character of Myst V was in fact Dr. Watson, former leader of the DRC. In the game, Atrus refers to the player character as "my old friend," but the Myst V strategy guide explains this as being a result of Atrus' age and senility. 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...

Clues to his identity

The identity of the Stranger is one of the best hidden mysteries in the Myst universe since it seems from the narrative that Cyan did not intend to develop the character; next to nothing is known about this person. As the Myst games have no dialogue — only monologues from non-player characters — we do not know whether the Stranger was asked about their origin or what reply they might have made.

We don't know even the Stranger's gender; references to the Stranger as a male are probably a result of English language custom rather than of actual information*. In one losing ending of Myst, Atrus sounds as though he mutters to himself, "He didn't bring the page!" referring to the player. If so, this is probably a slip-of-the-tongue by Rand Miller rather than a deliberately placed piece of information.However, it also sounds like "you". 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. ...

In the Myst hint guide there is a small paragraph about the game's backstory, with highly dubious and contradictory details about the Myst book's discovery. This description is considered non-canonical.

The game Uru: Ages Beyond Myst revealed that the Star Fissure's destination — and thus the location where the Myst Linking Book fell — is in Eddy County, New Mexico. As it has also been revealed that the Myst games take place in the early 1800s, many fans speculate that the Stranger was either a Spaniard (Mexico), or an Amerindian native of the 19th century. However, the Myst Book might well have changed hands after its original discovery before its first use. 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... Eddy County is a county located in the state of New Mexico. ... // Invention of the Jacquard loom in 1801. ... Mexican may have several meanings. ... Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Richard A. Watson has stated that Atrus spoke English with his grandmother before his descent into D'ni with Gehn and his journals were also written in English as a result of Anna's family having come originally from Europe, as mentioned in Myst: The Book of Atrus. Since the Stranger is able to read Atrus' journals on Myst Island, possibly the sole other datum we have about him is that he is able to speak and read English with some fluency. 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 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...

The resurrection of Myst Online: Uru Live is the most likely outlet for further information on the Stranger.

The official strategy guide for Riven, in addition to the straight walkthrough, has a sort of journal obviously kept by the Stranger as he makes his way through Riven. It gives some ideas into his identity and personality. Riven is the sequel to the highly successful computer game Myst. ...

• He is good at mathematics, as he estimated how many possible combinations there are for the Color Marble Puzzle.
• He is maybe a drug user, as quoted in the strategy guide: "I've just had the most remarkable experience. It involved drugs, but that was the bad part." However,it is possible that the "drugs" are the anesthetic drugs he got in Tay (a rebel shoots a dart at him which makes him sleep).
• Interestingly enough, he makes a reference to Alcatraz Prison, which conflicts with the official timeline since Alcatraz prison was not established until 1933 (assuming he did visit Riven in 1807).
• Another conflict is that he makes a reference to an Oscar, something not introduced until 1928.

With the conflicts, it can be inferred that the journal portion of the strategy guide was implied for comedy and immersion from someone other than the Stranger. Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...

Legacy

The philosophy of 'blank' and nameless player characters was present for many years before Myst, but Myst perhaps inspired its adoption in subsequent games. These games are usually set in the first-person, so the player can better adopt the character's position. Notable such games include many adventures (like the Zork games, and RAMA) but games from other genres as well (Star Trek: Klingon, and even as far back as Doom). Like in Myst, the camera in these games never moves away from the player character's eyes (There is one exception, when using the elevators in the Great Shaft in Myst V, although the player is hidden from its view) , the character is never shown, his/her name is never mentioned, and (s)he never speaks; the characters speak to him/her as if they aren't expecting an answer or in such a way that anything they might say would not require a direct reply, and aren't surprised when (s)he isn't talking, Zork universe Zork games Zork Anthology Zork trilogy Zork I • Zork II • Zork III Beyond Zork • Zork Zero Enchanter trilogy Enchanter • Sorcerer • Spellbreaker Other games Wishbringer • Return to Zork Zork: Nemesis • Zork Grand Inquisitor Zork: The Undiscovered Underground Topics in Zork Encyclopedia Frobozzica Characters • Kings • Creatures Timeline • Magic • Calendar Zorkmid... Rama ( in IAST, in Devanāgarī) or Ramachandra is a legendary or historical king of ancient India. ... Star Trek: Klingon was a Star Trek Windows-based game, released by Simon & Schuster Interactive in 1996 and directed by Jonathan Frakes. ... Doom (or DOOM)[1] is a 1993 computer game by id Software that is a landmark title in the first-person shooter genre. ...

See also

• AFGNCAAP