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Myst, One of the Most Influential Games Ever, Turns 25 (fastcompany.com)
harrymcc writes: On September 24, 1993, Myst debuted as a CD-ROM game for the Mac. The mysterious, puzzle-laden adventure went on to become the best-selling game title of its era, inspiring a devoted following and multiple sequels. But for all the people who loved Myst, it was disrespected by many in the gaming industry, who found it less engaging than previous adventures and even blamed it for killing of the earlier genre of more action-packed adventuring. Over at Fast Company, Benj Edwards provides an appreciation of Myst but also talks to game designers about the game's still-complex legacy.
I much preferred Seventh Guest. It was a lot more fun and is also puzzle-focused.
Kriston
Myst can be completed within 5 minutes. Faster if you speedrun it.
Proof: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Other adventure games that can be completed that quicky include Alpine Encounter, where you can get a backpack (by waiting at a certain area), call the inspector (whom you weren't introduced to yet), and give the backpack to the inspector (which then solves some crime).
Myst immersed me in its world. There was nothing jumping out at you or time limits on anything, but you wanted to solve the problems for the graphics and the story. Last one I played like that was Syberia II that came out in 2004; although now I have just noticed there is a Syberia 3 that came out in 2017. There doesn't seem to be a lot of games like that since first pirson shooters became popular.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
No Pyst came 3 years after Myst, so it's only 22. I like the description from wikipedia: "The basic concept of Pyst was to show what Myst Island (from the best-selling game) would look like after four million people (players) had visited....... the island is full of litter, most of the buildings are ruined, and graffiti reveals secret doors and solutions to puzzles that challenged players in Myst."
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Pyst was a gag that was more fun to read about than to play. It would have gotten rave reviews if it were a free bundle to promote a magazine subscription. Most people who paid full price for it felt kind of cheated.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Perhaps one of the most influential mac games, but this was essentially a curiosity in the wider gaming world of PC and console gaming...
Only a diehard mac fanboy of old would try to argue its massive influence in wider gaming - and I say that is a mac user...
For basically a fancy hypercard stack, it really had beautiful graphics and pushed the limits on what was possible with that era of technology. That said, i can still hear my quad speed cdrom drive churning, between movements, whenever i even think about that game!
As a potential lottery winner, I totally support tax cuts for the wealthy
Cheryl: "This primitive cave was once the ceremonial center for the aboriginals of Pyst."
Other announcer: "How primitive were they, Cheryl?"
Cheryl: "Their simple language consisted of a mere seven symbols: hello-goodbye, tree, bad, luck, very, martini, and death."
Other announcer: "Wow, it sounds like we know very little about them."
Cheryl: "Yes, except for that one haunting sentence they have left behind, 'Very bad martini death, hello-goodbye.'"
Other announcer: "Oh, I've had one of those."
I remember it was one of the first games I got that came on CD. I had first seen the game at a friend's house and was enamored with the graphics and music. I even ended up getting a collector's edition later that came with a Myst t-shirt and a game music CD which I listened to numerous times. I went on to read the Myst book trilogy (they were OK, but still a fun read), but never really explored the computer games beyond the first one. I still have fond memories of the game and can envision the various worlds if I close my eyes.
The biggest thing I didn't like about Myst was the lack of design. And by that I don't mean the physical game, I mean the design of the puzzles.
What nutjob thought it would be a great idea to have to unlock this puzzle by going to the other side of the island and having to solve two more puzzles first? No real person would ever make something so ridiculous to accomplish tasks.
Yes, I know, it's a game, and it had its moments. But it was the stupid stuff which got to me.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Would you say they were.... pissed?
I thought the initial shift to graphics with Zork with Return to Zork kept to the original atmosphere pretty well, although there were some details about some of the puzzles in that game that were kind of annoying.
I have to admit I was a bit thrown for a loop when Nemesis came out, given how.. well, dark it was. A person killing themselves in the title sequence wasn't exactly your typical whimsical Zork world...
"Who the hell is Nietzche? It's a question stupid people are asking." -- Newscaster, "Jesus Christ Supercop"
I knew that Myst was a hot game, but every time I tried to play it I got bored really quickly and really didn't have any idea what I was supposed to be doing.
My expectation was that this "25 year anniversary" thing was supposed to make me feel old, but it really doesn't... because I associate Myst with me being young.
What made me feel old was learning that Serial Experiments Lain turned 20 this summer. Apparently there was a 20th anniversary party at Club Cyberia hosted by Wasei "JJ" Chikada, the real-world DJ who played the voice of JJ, the DJ in Cyberia, as well as composing much of the soundtrack (and co-composing the Cyberia Mix CD). I've been listening to his cover of ScummV's cover of Duvet a lot on Youtube recently.
"Who the hell is Nietzche? It's a question stupid people are asking." -- Newscaster, "Jesus Christ Supercop"
https://i.imgur.com/LUbACUF.jp...
Pyst was a gag that was more fun to read about than to play.
Sounds like they did a great job of copying Myst.
The innovative thing about Myst was the mixed graphics and video content. The gameplay was definitely not its selling point.