A Foretaste of Myst To Come
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1993 was the year that the world of Adventure Gaming underwent a dramatic change of direction. Aficionados of this gaming genre will identify this sea-change with the arrival of Myst. Developed by the Miller brothers (Rand and Robyn), the game of Myst become one of the best selling computer games in history as it placed the player in a complex interactive, immersive world.
When entering the world of Myst you can forget about weapons and violent (well not committed by you). Instead gamers are faced with a world that needs exploring and puzzles solving in order to discover the mysteries that give this world its name. Many soon found themselves committed to completing this game.
The reason for mentioning a game that is now 12 year old, is the arrival of a new (and possibly the last) game in this popular series. But before getting to this new game, lets take a brief look at the previous titles released under the Myst banner.
As mentioned earlier, it all started when Myst burst on to the gaming scene in 1993. The game was set sometime in the 19th century and deals with the story of Atrus who is a descendent of the Dni race. Atrus has the ability to create worlds through the medium of writing. Betrayed by this two sons and their attempt to destroy the Art of Writing, Atrus imprisons his offspring in prison worlds. The story then moves on to Riven and the kidnapping of Atrus wife, Catherine. The task before the game player is to find Ghen, the villain of the piece, and release Catherine.
Myst Exile, the third game in the series, introduces Saavedro who is hell-bent on destroying not only Atrus family but the entire Dni race. He must be stopped before he can gain revenge for the destruction of his own world. The year 2003 saw the release of URU which gave the game player the ability to explore a fully 3D world where archaeologists were at work to discover why the Dni Empire had disappeared.
Myst IV Revelation returned to the theme of kidnapped victims as Atrus two sons escape from their confinement and kidnapped their ten year old sister Yeesha. Again the players task is to track and rescue the unfortunate victim. This brings us to what is being described as the final ever episode with Myst V: End of Ages.
Developed by Rand Miller and his studio at Cyan World, Myst V: End of Ages challenges the player to save the Dni Empire. Any wrongs decisions could result in the total destruction of the worlds created by Atrus. Building on Mysts known strengths, the developers give the player a choice of keyboard controlled movement or point-and-click interaction. Introduced for the first time into the Myst environment is a slate interface that can be used to communicate with various mysterious creatures that inhabit this world. With photorealistic 3D scenes and innovative facial mapping technology, to give each character a certain amount of emotion and expressiveness, this game is a visual treat while several new types of puzzles will help challenge the players ability.
Having seen a brief introduction to the game, I am looking forward to immersing myself into Myst V: End of Ages as soon as Ubisoft release this title and add to the already impressive total sales of 11 million of Myst.
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