Honestly, this post alone got me to subscribe! Myst had a massive impact on me when it came out. No one in my family practices art of any kind. There are no writers, illustrators or musicians. Myst and the story of its development gave me a kind of permission to try these things out for myself. I spent years in high school drawing maps of places I’d love to explore. I even developed my own alphabet and conlang—I just didn’t know that’s what they were called at the time. Every aspect of those games was unique, but perhaps most of all was their ethos. Thanks so much for the walkthrough and the descriptions; definitely brought back memories!
Beautifully written. I love the depth here, it's such a fantastic dive into the magic of D'ni! It’s incredible how Myst continues to inspire exploration.
Learn something every day... I didn't know about "dunny" in Australia! :-D
I'm actually seeing an Australian friend this Sunday and will try the term on her...
I remember when Myst came out and its impact; and also the excitement whenever a new one was released; but I never got a chance to play them. Your descriptions of it make me think of the more recent games, where you explore endless eerie car parks and tunnels - those liminal space horror games - and they must have been so heavily influenced by Myst.
In terms of Myst's stories, was it just one author who developed them, or was it a combination of people, including the novels?
Glad you liked the article. Will be interested to hear what your friend says.
In regards to Myst's story, it's been in a lot of hands. Rand and Robyn Miller wrote the story for the first game. They brought in a bloke by the name of Richard Vander Wende to help build the world and story for Riven. They also had someone on staff by the name of Richard A. Watson - known as RAWA to fans - helped build the D'ni culture stuff from Riven on.
The novels were a team effort by all those men as well as writer David Wingrove.
Things get a little messier with Must III and IV as they we're made by Cyan but rather other studios hired by UbiSoft who, at that time, had the publishing rights for the series. That said, Rand, and I think RAWA, did oversee the story and game design.
Uru, which was the next Cyan-made game after Riven, was done by all those previously named apart from Wingrove (not sure if Watson had anything to do with it).
Must V, which acts as a semi-sequle to Uru and finishes the main story, was back with Cyan. The Miller brothers were a lot more involved but I'm not sure how much input RAWA had with it as around that time he was diagnosed with cancer. Watson and Wingrove - as far as I know - had no input.
So a lot of hands, which is one of the reasons the continuity and lore is a bit of a mess. 😅
Honestly, this post alone got me to subscribe! Myst had a massive impact on me when it came out. No one in my family practices art of any kind. There are no writers, illustrators or musicians. Myst and the story of its development gave me a kind of permission to try these things out for myself. I spent years in high school drawing maps of places I’d love to explore. I even developed my own alphabet and conlang—I just didn’t know that’s what they were called at the time. Every aspect of those games was unique, but perhaps most of all was their ethos. Thanks so much for the walkthrough and the descriptions; definitely brought back memories!
Thanks James. So glad you enjoyed it!
Beautifully written. I love the depth here, it's such a fantastic dive into the magic of D'ni! It’s incredible how Myst continues to inspire exploration.
Learn something every day... I didn't know about "dunny" in Australia! :-D
I'm actually seeing an Australian friend this Sunday and will try the term on her...
I remember when Myst came out and its impact; and also the excitement whenever a new one was released; but I never got a chance to play them. Your descriptions of it make me think of the more recent games, where you explore endless eerie car parks and tunnels - those liminal space horror games - and they must have been so heavily influenced by Myst.
In terms of Myst's stories, was it just one author who developed them, or was it a combination of people, including the novels?
Glad you liked the article. Will be interested to hear what your friend says.
In regards to Myst's story, it's been in a lot of hands. Rand and Robyn Miller wrote the story for the first game. They brought in a bloke by the name of Richard Vander Wende to help build the world and story for Riven. They also had someone on staff by the name of Richard A. Watson - known as RAWA to fans - helped build the D'ni culture stuff from Riven on.
The novels were a team effort by all those men as well as writer David Wingrove.
Things get a little messier with Must III and IV as they we're made by Cyan but rather other studios hired by UbiSoft who, at that time, had the publishing rights for the series. That said, Rand, and I think RAWA, did oversee the story and game design.
Uru, which was the next Cyan-made game after Riven, was done by all those previously named apart from Wingrove (not sure if Watson had anything to do with it).
Must V, which acts as a semi-sequle to Uru and finishes the main story, was back with Cyan. The Miller brothers were a lot more involved but I'm not sure how much input RAWA had with it as around that time he was diagnosed with cancer. Watson and Wingrove - as far as I know - had no input.
So a lot of hands, which is one of the reasons the continuity and lore is a bit of a mess. 😅