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Myst Comes to the Net in 2003
erichj writes "Reuters is reporting that Cyan Worlds announced that they will be releasing an online version of the popular adventure game Myst for internet play in 2003. Users will pay a fee for the privilege of unraveling the mystery online." The article mentions some
multiplayer functionality, but I can't really tell if the online version will
be new puzzles or not.
While the original Myst was a single-player game, Miller said people tended to congregate in groups and play, and so the online version will be one of a class of "massively multiplayer" games that permit group exploration and complex interaction.
I don't know if I am alone on this, but I really don't like the idea of a multi-player Myst. Part ot the mystique (no pun intended) of the game was the isolation, walking around alone on an island trying to piece a story together that might have taken place decades ago. I used to get spooked playing that game, sitting alone at night with the speaker volume up, wondering if at the next turn something would poke its head out.
If while playing the game I see a bunch of other netizens playing with me, the experience will feel less like being on a deserted island and more like being at a cheap amusement park.
But I could have it all wrong.
"I like to wear big boy pants."
Amazing what you can do with Hypercard nowadays!
It's been codenamed "Mudpie". It's going to focus less on traditional Myst-style puzzles and more on Dn'i culture, traditions, etc. This may be a rumor, but I've heard that you can write your own ages (!) I actually can't wait, the screenshots look incredible.
Everything is mainstream now.
Well, the puzzles could require some kind of cooperation. That wouldn't be too hard. You could even introduce some kind of variable elements, to keep it interesting. If the puzzle doesn't change from game to game, either randomly or depending on what other people do, this would get really annoying, of course, since some jerk who already knew the whole puzzle would just race through it.
Most likely, you'll just have to coordinate lever pulling with someone in another room, which would be just like Myst only with the added frustration, I mean fun, of online social interaction.
If they did this right they would've looked to good, simple/innovative, mutiplayer boardgames for inspiration.
Clue - where there was some information (needed to solve the mystery) that only certain players could get, and you have to pool the info, that could be cool.
Settlers of Katan - there could be items (not just information) that you need from other players, but you have to trade other stuff you actually need (or may need) to get it. An economy of items (where you need X of each item over the course of the game, maybe) could be interesting.
Slasher - one of the other players IS the villain; the identity of the evil one is actually determined during the course of play.
Features introduced by other players could be worked into the puzzles, somehow. This would be incredibly difficult to do in an interesting way; it would also require a level of interaction with the environment well beyond what was present in the The Manhole (anyone else remember The Manhole?)
Myst has beautiful artwork, but I've always had this problem where you don't inject anything into the game; you might as well be watching a movie, to my mind (not intended as a Troll.) This would be a good opportunity for them to remedy that with a vengeance - not only would you alter the storyline in a real way, but so would a bunch of other people.
The good and new comes from no quarter where it is looked for, and is always something different from what is expected.