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Uru Makes A Comeback
Via a GameSetWatch post, the news on Adventure Gamers that Uru is back in a limited form. Uru, the online Myst game from Cyan Worlds, was taken offline not long after the service was first launched. From the article: "In an open letter to the community, Cyan co-founder Rand Miller revealed that they have received 'limited funding from a third party that allows us to breathe some refreshing new life and optimism into all things Uru.' The server, called the D'mala shard, is available for no charge to any owner of Uru, though to access it you'll require an invitation from the community."
I bought Uru because I was a fan of Myst, and was intrigued by the idea of a cooperative, multiplayer Myst (although, I was, honeslty, a little puzzled how they would pull that off - I figured cooperative puzzles that required players to be at different locations, do things together - although, again, how could they ever create enough puzzles to keep the game from getting old very fast. . .?).
Nevertheless, I bought Uru, and then was disappointed when I figured out that the multiplayer experience wasn't even online yet at the time they sold it. I registered for a Beta invite, and was finally invited. . . then they shut down the server a week later, before I had even really had a chance to try it out much.
Add to that the fact that while the single player game ran fine on my computer, the multiplayer experience, even though I never got out of my private 'neighborhood', so never even ran into any other people, was incredibly slow and laggy. To the point where it made it hard to explore the game properly. I shrugged this off though thinking to myself. . . it's a Beta, that's only to be expected. It'll get better nearer to release.
I really think Uru was a cool idea, but I'm still left wondering why it got canned before it ever even had a chance. The reason given for the funding cuts was that there was not enough interest/response. How can there be a lot of response for a game that never even had a decently working beta? Did they measure the response based on the sales of the single-player game? I don't think I ever saw much advertising/marketting for Uru. I just happened to see it in Best Buy and, being the fan I am, bought it.
Uru seems like it never got the chance to be the game it could be, which makes me sad. It also made me angry that they sold it as a multiplayer game, when the multiplayer component wasn't ready when I installed the game, and *never* was ready. But, being both poor, and a fan, I never considered trying to sue for false advertising or anything. It's just like, well, what can you do. You can't force them to finish the multiplayer component, the most you could get is a refund. But I didn't want a refund. . . I wanted the multiplayer game that the box promised.
I really liked the Uru game engine. Full 3d, full motion. You could *jump* - something no other Myst game ever let you do (I know some people hate jump puzzles, but if done in moderation, I find them to be kind of fun). I thought Uru was a better game than Myst 4 Revelation, not that Myst 4 is bad, but after playing Uru, it seemed more limited, like going backwards in game development instead of forwards. Like going from Super Mario Bros 3 back to Super Mario Bros - the original SMB was a great game, but after playing 3, it would be less satisfying.
I really truly hope that maybe Uru can be brought back to life. I'll probably even go seek an invite, just to show Cyan my continued interest. Maybe if enough people try to get on the shard, they can demonstrate sufficient interest to this mysterious source of funding, to get the funding necessary to continue the project and create new content.
Although. . . I'm rather puzzled that Cyan needs 3rd party funding. Myst was (and may still be) the best selling game of all time (at least it held that title for awhile). How could Cyan not have a development warchest to do whatever they want with?
It kind of seems analogous to Blizzard saying they can't develop a new game for lack of funding.