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UbiSoft Takes Myst IV In-House, Uru Secrets Show Myst Library

Posted by simoniker on from the cyan-not-happy-or-bunnies dept.

Thanks to 1UP for its story discussing UbiSoft's announcement of Myst IV Revelation, revealing the "...fourth single-player installment in the series... in development at its Montreal studio." UbiSoft has "very little to say about the game as yet", but it seems developers of Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time are bringing their expertise to the franchise, most recently faltering a little with series creator Cyan's Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. Elsewhere, fansite URU Obsession has discovered hidden linking panels in Uru, possibly not intended for use in the game, but including a picture of the library from the first Myst game (though posters note "some differences from the original Myst library".)

25 comments

  1. Man, I loved Myst by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just loved playing that game, and it was so amazing back whenever it came out. It was fun trying to solve the puzzles, and really was a well-made game. I never could get that organ in the space ship to show me the book though.

  2. Another one? by Oncogene · · Score: 2, Funny

    Erm, is anyone really interested in another Myst game? Sure, the first one was a mile-marker at its time of release, but I really don't think that another installment of Myst is what the gaming community wants. Unless there are boobages. Yes, I'm sure it'll do just fine then.

    --

    - - - - - - -
    "All hail the glory of the Hypnotoad."
    1. Re:Another one? by Manfre · · Score: 1

      It's amazing how the name still holds enough weight for them to dedicate the financial resources necessary to create the game.

    2. Re:Another one? by Ayaress · · Score: 1

      I'd buy it. The games really never were for everybody. I have Myst, Riven, and Myst III Exile around, but never bought Uru. I mostly dig them up when there's nothing else to do and nobody online worth talking to. They're pretty fun once in a while, but even I've never manged to play them for more than a few hours at a time.

    3. Re:Another one? by Oncogene · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Yes, but would you be more inclined towards a purchase if it included boobs?

      --

      - - - - - - -
      "All hail the glory of the Hypnotoad."
    4. Re:Another one? by atomic-penguin · · Score: 2, Funny

      You are right, why play myst and solve puzzles... When you could play Tomb Raider and solve puzzles, and get to watch a cute girl shake her ass as she walks :)

      I really enjoyed the first Myst game, haven't played the others.

      --
      /^([Ss]ame [Bb]at (time, |channel.)){2}$/
    5. Re:Another one? by bhima · · Score: 1

      Why.... Yes, I would!

      --
      Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
    6. Re:Another one? by GMC-jimmy · · Score: 1

      "...fourth single-player installment in the series... in development at its Montreal studio."


      Isn't there already 4 single-player Myst games out there ?

      Myst

      Riven

      Myst III

      Uru (Single/Multi player)
      Or am I counting one of these wrong ?

      --
      __________________________________
      Free your mind - Flush your toilet
    7. Re:Another one? by cjmnews · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I would say a lot of the fans of Myst would like another game. It's been several years since Exile (the third one) came out so even the busiest of us have had time to complete it at least once.

      In my opinion URU does not count as a version since there is no compelling story to drive the player to want to solve the puzzles (as stated in a previous posting I made on this topic).

      My kids and I spend a lot of time playing games, video or otherwise. And watching them gain in analytical thought processes due to that play time makes me desire another version of Myst where we have a non-violent, non-sexual atmosphere, that is beautiful to see and hear, and provide their sponge like brains a reason to think out problems.

      For those of us that want our kids to grow up knowing how to think for themselves and reason out the correct answer, yes another Myst game is greatly desired.

      --
      You can lose something that is loose, so tighten the loose item so you don't lose it.
    8. Re:Another one? by Prior+Restraint · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Personally, I thought Exile was the weakest in the series (I didn't play Uru online, just the single-player mode). In Exile, everything felt like a puzzle; nothing seemed to organically belong in the story. Also, the route from one puzzle to the next seemed a little too linear for my taste. Maybe that was just the way the storyline was written, but it constantly felt like: "Hi! Here's a puzzle for you to solve. When you've finished, follow the only road it opened until you come to the next puzzle." At least in Riven, it wasn't always obvious when something was part of a puzzle or not.

    9. Re:Another one? by cjmnews · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I agree that Exile was a bit linear in places, but in other places (the one with the dam and airship) puzzles could be solved in different orders. I would have enjoyed Riven more if it weren't for the 5 CD switching. That really broke the flow of the game too much.

      --
      You can lose something that is loose, so tighten the loose item so you don't lose it.
    10. Re:Another one? by Prior+Restraint · · Score: 1

      I splurged and got the DVD-ROM version of Riven (I had just purchased a new PC and needed something to flaunt its abilities). Maybe that was part of my problem with Exile: CD-switching. Also, while I liked Brad Dourif's villian in Exile, I couldn't help spending the whole game thinking of his character on Voyager. That took me out of the game (my own fault, admittedly).

    11. Re:Another one? by cjmnews · · Score: 1

      The Exile game could be loaded so no CD switching was needed. Just choose the FULL install. Brad did an awesome job being the villian. I had fun going through all the different endings just to see how he'd react. I'd say that stranding him was my option of choice even though it was not the "best" ending.

      --
      You can lose something that is loose, so tighten the loose item so you don't lose it.
    12. Re:Another one? by Ziffy · · Score: 1

      I didn't like Exile much either...

      When I got Myst, it was HARD. I was younger then, and it took me a long time to complete. I was overjoyed just to find my way off the first island. Eventually, I managed to beat the game, and I could remember all the fun I'd had along the way.

      When I got Riven, it was also hard. I was older, knew more of what to expect, and was able to get past the beginning areas a lot faster - but quickly ran into areas that gave me trouble. The largest puzzles were harder than anything in the first game, and it took me a long time to beat them. When I did beat the game, it was after spending a lot of time with it and getting to know it well, and as with the first I felt I'd accomplished something.

      I got Exile at a time when I hadn't thought about the Myst series for a while. I started playing it in the morning, eager for another Myst adventure. I was older and smarter by then, and I figured that was why I was getting past the puzzles so easily...

      On the afternoon of that same day, I finished the game. I watched the ending, the credits started rolling, and the game crashed. Gee... that doesn't seem very quality. And all those puzzles were pretty simple and straightforward; none gave me serious pause and there weren't any overarching puzzles. There weren't hidden things that took me a long time to notice. Plus that was pretty tiny... there were only three real islands. Y'know, it was kinda fun while it lasted, but it's hardly on the level of the first two games. It didn't even take me a full day to complete!

      I uninstalled it then, and haven't had any desire to look at it again.

    13. Re:Another one? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Uru,
      - you play in the present time
      - you play yourself
      - the story is mostly unrelated to Atrus

      In the Myst series,
      - you play in the 1800s
      - you play "the stranger" who met Atrus
      - everything evolves around Atrus' family

  3. New engine please by keesh · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The third one had a really screwy control system which made me feel sick...

  4. Long live the Adventure genre! by MMaestro · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'd be interested in another Myst game. Myst was never a game for the masses anyway (once you get past first impressions). Adventure/puzzle based games were never very for the mass market due to their lack of replay value. They're more for people who like to take their time on games and be able to look back on that time and consider it well spent.

  5. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time by delus10n0 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Somewhat off-topic, but that game is very underrated. The graphics are amazing, and the gameplay just feels so intuitive. I was able to pick up on a lot of the tricky moves pretty quickly.

    I think the problem with Uru is that it was rushed. I was in the beta test for a short while, and problems persisted without ever being fixed, such as people falling through maps, locking up between map changes, and complaints about how the community was structured.. they all went unanswered.

    I love Myst and the whole storyline behind it (and have read all the books/played all the games/etc.) -- but Uru just lacked. If they had taken more time to polish it, it might have been more successful.

    --
    Not All Who Wander Are Lost
  6. Breathing new life by Varsis · · Score: 1

    UbiSoft has thus far developed a number of high-quality and innovative games, bringing them quickly to the forefront of the game industry. Granted, I haven't been a true Myst fan so my view might be a bit skewed, but I think the series has been spiraling downward. Here's hoping that UbiSoft will be able to breathe new life into the series.

    1. Re:Breathing new life by Carnildo · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Here's hoping that UbiSoft will be able to breathe new life into the series.

      UbiSoft screwed up on Myst III: Exile. If anything, they're responsible for state the series is in.

      --
      "They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
  7. FFS... by Roshin · · Score: 1

    Myst fans? FFS...

  8. finaly... by RancidLM · · Score: 2, Interesting

    its about time... another adventure game. the current game market is saturated with First person shooters.. and now third person shooters. i for one am a fan of adventure games. maniac mansion, monkey island serries.. etc.. thiers not enough of them around any more i can just hope that more adventure games get produced and linux clients avalible for them *grin*

    on one more note.. i think thier should be a open source standard scripting language for building adventure games... sure we can Emulate SCUMM but something totaly open source should be made .. And get some Nice games out in the Adventure Gaming Market :)

  9. URU is beautiful by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Uru is a very different kind of game. You have to play it to understand the subtleties of the story. And its goal is the exploration itself. There has never been a 3D game so beautiful, so detailed as Uru.

    If you've never played it, you'll never really know what you're missing.

    1. Re:URU is beautiful by Pandorik · · Score: 1

      Uru wasn't just about exploring. It was about trying something new. UruLive was groundbreaking. A MMO Adventure Game had never been tried before. It's unfortunate that it didn't continue. I think the reason that some people didn't find the story compelling was that it never had time to develope. Hopefully they will bring it back someday and take a chance that it could work. As for Myst IV, it looks great as usual and I can't wait for the next installment in the story.