Looking back on the game 'Myst' on its 20th anniversary
grantland.com
grantland.com
Also, Brendan Eich was inspired by Hypercard/talk as well when he was pushing out Javascript: https://twitter.com/search?q=%40brendaneich%2C+hypercard
Add that to the fact that Tim Berners-Lee was also inspired by Hypercard, I feel like the web that we have now really is a big, beefed-up, networked remanufacture of Hypercard.
Whenever I see a Myst screengrab I always think "Look, the Web!" Again, as a non-programmer, this is probably just some useless observation, but its inspirational and evocative to me nonetheless. It gets me musing that there are some uses for what we've got now that we're not seeing, and some folks should be exploring. For me, its storytelling, and I bet we could all do some pretty damn cool storytelling with the toolkit we're sitting on.
Perhaps Myst doesn't actually demonstrate a hidden value, but I always point to Hypercard and its friendliness & useability when smarter-than-me people tell me Javascript is crap. People I know from that era that were technically inquisitive tend to point to Hypercard and go: "Yeah! Hypercard was the shit!" or some variation of that.
Although I'm just flipping over rocks looking for similarities, it's a blast to see when and how certain structures have been tried-out.
Holy Smokes.. the more I read about Hypercard, the more I realize that Myst was quite a huge hack!
The XCMD part is clutch. I'm curious what that community looked like, and how that code was exchanged. Beyond disks, did anyone ever host anything that looked like a repo on the early Net?
There was something of a free and paid market for these, but it never really took off. Discoverability was an issue in those days.
> Beyond disks, did anyone ever host anything that looked like a repo on the early Net?
Not that I remember.
If that's the case, it partly explains why nothing seemed to follow in its footsteps: you can only pull the rabbit out of the hat once.
That was their stylistic choice, of course, and there's nothing wrong with that. But it's off the mark to hold that up as an example of excellence in photorealism. It certainly wasn't trying to look real.
Indeed, it is a choice... and that is part of my point. We've not only got very photorealistic graphics, we've got the experience to know we can do better. Odds are Myst, if made today, would not be seeking photorealism itself! I'm sure it would adopt a style too.
But in terms of quality, yes I still say this looks better. Where Myst has a muddy, hypercompressed image that can barely fit the one visual theme in it due to resource constraints, Bioshock here has the visual bandwidth to show multiple focal points of interest, without it having to feel "crowded" because it's so much bigger, and yes, all in realtime.
http://img7.hostingpics.net/pics/104111.jpg
More (low-res) examples from Riven in 1997 that I agree still beat modern realtime environments in many ways:
The combination was quite new, though and execution certainly was very good.
However, I think that rabbit did get pulled out of the same hat earlier a couple of times. At the very least, the first movie and "the wizard of Oz" did the same.
I also think it isn't hard to think of future products that might give the same, if not a much better, 'wow' effect. For example, imagine wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling 300 DPI displays showing a physically realistic world, showing Tranquility Base on July 20, 1969. Now, imagine that in interactive form.
On the other hand, the internet has made it harder to be wowed by new technologies because chances are you will read about a product far before seeing it for the first time. Because of that, I think it takes a much larger jump in quality to be wowed.
The impressive part is that they weren't illustrations, they were individual renders of from 3D models of the worlds, designed, built and rendered on computers with a small fraction the processing power of my cell phone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94pzx_9LkVI
So, just like Google Streetview, with way fewer, way higher quality images.
Back to the 'rabbit out of the hat' subject: I found the 3D view in iOS maps on an iPad way more a 'rabbit' thing than I found Myst a rabbit at the time (the first city I saw it was Rome. I looked at a few others, but still think that is the best)
What about Avatar? It's a movie, but it's the same basic trick -- forgettable plot, but amazingly photorealistic and beautiful world.
This still happens to me regularly... for example last week when viewing some of the GTA V screenshots. http://www.gtav.net/screenshots/
I think many people (myself included) would be very interested in seeing a O.R powered 'Myst' game of some sort or another. If anyone remembers the movie eXistenZ, I can somehow see worlds like that eventually happening. Would be interesting stuff if actually taken outside of the sci-fi context!
Edit: The right idea at the right time was in regards to Kickstarter.
I definitely think there's room for Myst today.
Myst seemed like another in a long line of fantastic games where the goal was exploration and puzzle solving, like Maniac Mansion, Space Quest, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, etc.
I think Limbo was the most recent game I played that had that same feel.
Why aren't there games like this now? Is there no interest?
They are actually quite scary though and that is the focus, so there's less puzzle solving.
- The Whispered World
- Edna bricht aus (Edna & Harvey: The Breakout) (don't be put off by its graphics)
- Harveys neue Augen (Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes) - The sequel to Edna & Harvey: The Breakout
The Deponia series from Daedelic is also said to be very good (haven't played it, though).
I could list you lots of other very good adventure games from the last years, also from other studios.
Games by Funcom (from Norway)
- The Longest Journey
Of all adventures that I've played I consider this as my absolute favorite. I won't spoil the story here. Unluckily it's rather difficult to get to run properly on modern computers. :-(
- Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
The sequel to The Longest Journey. I didn't like it so much, mainly because of the action elements. I'd like to mention that in November 2014 the sequel to Dreamfall called "Dreamfall Chapters" is to be released. This game was funded by a Kickstarter. The developers promised to drop the action elements.
Games by Future Games (from Czechia; now bankrupt)
- Black Mirror: Der dunkle Spiegel der Seele (this is the name under which it was published in Germany)
A rather serious, dark adventure. In Germany two sequels were published, about which I can't say anything, since I didn't play them.
- Nibiru: Der Bote der Götter (this is the name under which it was published in Germany)
Haven't played it, but it has its fans.
The next game that Future Games developed (Reprobates: Insel der Verdammten (for this game I also only know its German name)) was rather bad. I really don't recommend it (although the story wasn't as black as it is painted in many reviews).
Games by Péndulo Studios (from Spain)
- Runaway: A Road Adventure
This is probably the adventure game which brought back the renaissance of adventure games. This game is considered as rather hard (small, difficult to find hotspots) and even lead to the concept formation of "Runaway Syndrome" (meaning that you often have to return to "containers" to look whether you find an item in it, for which now a use could be found). Nevertheless: I consider it as a pretty good serious (despite its comic graphics) adventure.
This game has two sequels
- Runaway 2 – The Dream of the Turtle
Here the developers tried to make the game more funny and bright - which fans didn't like (it's still a good game). It is ending in a steep cliffhanger.
- Runaway: A Twist of Fate
In this game the trilogy ends. More dark and serious as the first part. If you play the game you'll notice that the developers wanted to make part 2 "forgotten" since the cliffhanger at the end of "Runaway 2" is resolved completely differently than you would have expected.
Games by House of Tales (from Germany)
- The Moment of Silence
A science fiction adventure that poses lots of questions about surveillance (which is especially interesting if you compare these to the leaks of Snowden).
- Overclocked: A History of Violence (English title)
A dark story about a former American military psychiatrist who has to treat five amnesic teens suddenly appearing with guns. For this he has to go deep into their subject minds. I highly recommend it.
Games by Deck 13 (from Germany)
- The Ankh Trilogy consisting of Ankh, Ankh: Heart of Osiris (Ankh: Herz des Osiris), Ankh: Battle of the Gods (Ankh: Kampf der Götter)
I only played the first two parts of it. The best way to describe these adventure games is: what Monkey Island is to pirate games are the Ankh games to the ancient egypt. The first part is good, but the second one is IMHO even much better.7
Games by Microïds (from France)
- Syberia & Syberia II
A melodrama about a female lawyer who must find the secret heir of an automaton factory who was a genius inventor.
Adventure games didn't die, they just became niche and indie. They moved to Europe, the leading character is more likely to be female these days, and the games are made by smaller companies.
Edit: somewhere on the thread, "The Room" is mentioned. Looks nice, I might give it a try :)
Edit2: "this app is incompatible with your device".. oh well. I do need to upgrade my phone.
Went right there to download it, but it's also not compatible with my device (Galaxy Ace)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.net.machin...
looks awesome :)
Personally, when I play a game like Scribblenauts, where I can solve a problem in a variety of ways, I can't help but wish that there were adventure games that allowed for the same amount of lateral thinking.
Really? That's a bold statement. I don't agree with it, but it's bold nonetheless.
There's going to be some big publishers out there who will want to do this [too]. There's big money here for them. And I don't think they went after it.
Off the top of my head I can think of 'The 7th Guest'. There were plenty of rendered CD-ROM games just none as successful as 'Myst'.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.FireproofS...
And because I'm in a rhetorical mood tonight because of work-related communications sitting in my inbox, since you ask. :P
I still have a copy of the game and play it every once in awhile for nostalgia's sake.
I was talking with a friend today about how interesting it would've been if Elizabeth's "quantum powers" had been explored as a puzzle solving device rather than a "summon furniture" mechanic. I feel like that could've been a Portal-esque revolution in gameplay.
I do wish they would re-release these games on Steam though.
However, ScummVM's sister project, ResidualVM, was created to do for the GrimE engine what ScummVM did for the SCUMM engine, so you can still play the game on modern OSs without too much hassle.
The likelihood of Lucasarts classics ever being re-released is miniscule, since why would Disney put effort into putting out The Dig or even Monkey Island when they could make ten times as much money from Star Wars?
Actually the thought of a Myst-esque game on the Rift sounds like something I could lose a lot of time playing.
"...customers are locked into single-room funhouses where they have to solve a mystery in order to escape. Some mysteries are supernatural, others are crime-scenes, and others are "hospital-themed." They're inspired by similar video-games and cost less than a movie-ticket to play."
More at [2].
[1] http://boingboing.net/2013/09/24/beijings-mystery-rooms.html...
[2] http://kotaku.com/escape-from-chinas-mystery-rooms-136968856...
It was one of the main reasons I finally took the plunge and got a PC, nearly $4,000 (1993/94 Canadian dollars) to play a game :P well more than that but it was a good part of it.
At the time a PC in a private home wasn't really all that common, at least in my region, so this hot game on this thing called an "IBM compatible personal computer" piqued the interest of many people and drove sales.
Physicus!
This article is completely delusional. Myst was not this huge, influential masterpiece the way it paints. The Sopranos changed television. Myst did not change video games. It was talked about like the Sopranos, but only for a year after it came out. And it didn't have a lasting impact on the games industry. It looked good for the time, then quickly became outdated and is clearly a relic of its time, like wide, ill-fitting jackets and pleated pants. The gameplay offered nothing new - better adventure games (like those offered by LucasArts and Sierra) were doing more for longer. But its influence was an illusion. Graphics have always been getting better and striving for more photorealism. Myst didn't have any affect on that mindset, it just had decent graphics for when it came out.
Myst's legacy is that if you make something pretty enough, the buzz it generates will lead to huge sales until people realize it's an illusion. Which is why these guys weren't able to do anything after Myst. Meanwhile, Grand Theft Auto, Half Life, Assassin's Creed, and Zelda and Mario, these games that Myst apparently enabled, continue to move people and make huge amounts of money.
I think that would be fair to say. It left an impression on people, just not necessarily on gaming.
I played it when it first came out and really it's not all that noteworthy these days unless you are talking about 1993 specifically.
Edit since someone downvoted this:
"Released in 1993, it became the non-gamers' game. "Oh, I don't really like videogames, but I did like Myst." It sold more copies than Kinkos - well over six million. Everyone with a PC in the nineties had a copy, you'll be told. And you know why? Because it was given away with absolutely everything. If you bought a PC, you got given Myst. New printer? Myst. Upgrading your RAM, here, have a copy of Myst. Vast piles of Myst were causing terrible landslides, killing hundreds of children, all around the world."
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-11-20-retrospective-m...
Did you read it? The big point was that everyone at the time thought it would be influential and widely imitated, but it wasn't.
* Got the mainstream to talk about games in a way that it hadn't before.
* Enabled many other games by selling the hardware it needed to run.
* Is a tentpole in a (now again growing) subgenre of games that focus on ambience. It may not do Grand Theft Auto numbers, but the medium is richer for its existence. It's a valid way to use a computer to provide an experience many people find compelling.
* Intrigued many artists enough to start viewing the computer as a credible art tool and dive into 3D computer graphics.
It didn't do all of these things all alone, no. But it was part of the times, and a significant one at that. If you ask me, that's enough of a legacy to call it interesting.
Arcade games based on laserdiscs were quite impressive to me as a child, such as Space Ace. That title seemed quite futuristic in 1988 in no small part due to the giant rainbow disc it flaunted.
Myst defined its own category and I'm still looking for an open other-world of curiously interwoven discovery to carry its mantle.
And yet many regard its sequel, Riven, as one of the best puzzle games ever made.
- Schizm: Mysterious Journey
- Mysterious Journey II (also known under the name "Schizm II: Chameleon" and in Germany "Schizm II: Trügerische Wahrheit")
- Sentinel - Descendants In Time (also known under the name "Realms of Illusion" and in Germany "Sentinel: Verborgene Existenzen")
(To my knowledge) mainly in Germany also the RHEM series (an indie game series) had its followers.
What all these games did - in my opinion - wrong, is that they concentrated a lot on puzzle solving (often with really hard puzzles; especially about the Schizm/Mysterious Journey series some people say that you'll probably only like them if you either study mathematics or physics ;-) ) and not so much on exploring. Myst and especially Riven mainly concentrated mainly on exploring, while not so much on puzzle solving. This IMHO made the huge appeal Myst and Riven made, which other studies "didn't get".
The thing about Riven, for me, that made it so compelling was that the puzzles were mostly integrated seamlessly into the world. Even Myst didn't really accomplish this to the same extent Riven did. In Riven, exploration was not distinct from puzzle solving. Rather, the two terms were nearly synonymous. Some of the hardest puzzles could only be figured out by wandering around the world and soaking everything in; staring at the marble puzzle without realizing what anything on it represented about the world around you wouldn't get you anywhere.
Myst IV came closer to replicating this, and by God it was and is gorgeous. But I personally found some of the puzzles in Myst IV to simply be too brutal, and the world overall was broken into pieces like in the original Myst rather than one more seamless environment.
One of the things that I enjoy most about Myst is its atmosphere, even today when its graphics are considerably outdated. As an adventure type game, interacting with the game and the story it tells is a huge part of keeping you interested in playing the game, so I don't really buy that this was just some "ooo shiny" fad game.
> This article is completely delusional. Myst was not this huge, influential masterpiece the way it paints. The Sopranos changed television. Myst did not change video games. It was talked about like the Sopranos, but only for a year after it came out. And it didn't have a lasting impact on the games industry. It looked good for the time, then quickly became outdated and is clearly a relic of its time, like wide, ill-fitting jackets and pleated pants. The gameplay offered nothing new - better adventure games (like those offered by LucasArts and Sierra) were doing more for longer. But its influence was an illusion. Graphics have always been getting better and striving for more photorealism. Myst didn't have any affect on that mindset, it just had decent graphics for when it came out.
Myst has most certainly influential to a good degree. This game has been ported A LOT and is still talked about. It definitely has some influence on modern game designers (The Witness and Gone Home come to mind). It also spawned 4 official sequels over 14 years (Myst 5 came out in 2005). That the gameplay is not wholly original or that Myst isn't the absolute genre-defining title for adventure games doesn't mean it isn't influential.
> Myst's legacy is that if you make something pretty enough, the buzz it generates will lead to huge sales until people realize it's an illusion. Which is why these guys weren't able to do anything after Myst.
Plenty of game devs and designers do not release many games or only have 1 or 2 hits, but that doesn't diminish anything about those games.
> Meanwhile, Grand Theft Auto, Half Life, Assassin's Creed, and Zelda and Mario, these games that Myst apparently enabled, continue to move people and make huge amounts of money.
Mario and Zelda were things before Myst and all of those games series have had their own transformations and changes over sequels. But we know the adventure games, including first person types, are not dead and are having a bit of a resurgence right now, esp. in the indie scene, so I wouldn't write Myst off so easily.
Riven was also a pretty big success, huge even for its time (though not as big as Myst), and I found it to be a much better game. I found Riven simply enthralling, in a way that no game before or since has been.
Myst - 1993
Rise of the Robots - 1994
People not aware of RotR should do some googling. The pre-release hype was impressive. The game was shiny and looked nice. It was appalling to play.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_of_the_robots)
> Rise of the Robots was announced early in development, and generated considerable buzz for its advanced graphics. On release it became notorious in the video gaming industry for myriad crippling gameplay problems. Today it is generally considered one of the least successful and most critically reviled fighting games of its time.