Blast From the Past: Myst (realMyst)

My next game is different from the other games that I've reviewed. After playing two adrenaline fueled games, it was time for something more low-key and the games on my Android just were not going to cut it. Myst is a game I revisit every few years, and the game itself has evolved since my first steps playing it on my childhood friend Kevin's old Macintosh machine in 1994.

Myst has had two major overhauls, Myst: Masterpiece Edition which was released in May 2000 and realMyst: Interactive 3D Edition which was released later in 2000. The latter is the version I've sat down to play over these past few days. I felt incredibly nostalgic. This game hit the spot.

The original Myst was static pre-rendered stills. The screens were often beautiful, like a painting, or at least what you'd expect a painting to look like on a early 1990s computer screen. The Masterpeice Edition advanced the game's visual look by using 24-bit truecolor instead of the 8-bit color as it was originally rendered, which was quite a change. However, the real deal is with the changes made to realMyst. This game is certainly a huge step up from the previous versions. realMyst uses free-look, real-time 3D graphics instead of photographic stills. There is actual weather now and there is a noticeable change from night to day. The changes are certainly not in any sort of "real time" but it's exciting to just stand around and see how the environment is affected). This was a huge step up and many of the weather effects are still amazing to me, even 10 years and numerous advances in technology later.

So the game is made up of essentially 5 key areas, or Ages as they are called in the game (with one more appearing once the game is compete in the realMyst version). The first is the Myst Island, the island that the player (The Stranger) comes across a book called “Myst.” The island is inhabited by no one. A dock with submerged boat, a mechincal gear, a rocket ship, a small power plant, a wood shed, a clock tower offshore, an observatory and the library. There is a note that will help start the player off by allowing them a look into the previous occupants of the island, and within the library there are two books – red and blue – which feature prominently in the rest of the game. As the player explore the island, they may have no idea what they're supposed to do. Investigate closely. Remember, it's a puzzle game. And beware, if you play the game correctly, you'll be reading a lot.

The rest of the Ages are the Mechanical Age, the Stoneship Age, the Selenitic Age and the Channelwood Age. Perhaps my fondest memories are the playing through the Channelwood Age, which in retrospect is incredibly simple set of switches to get things moving. The most challenging age is perhaps the Stoneship Age, which has a complex and somewhat vague sound puzzle at the beginning, then a complex maze at the end. RealMyst adds an interesting new Age that ties into the sequel, Riven.

Myst was the best selling PC-Game of all time 8-years running. That's certainly a track record to take note of. Some may be surprised to know this. How could this be? How could such a quiet, slow paced game be a best seller? How could a game so frustrating be a best seller? How could this boring game be a best seller? Myst is a puzzle game. It makes you think. It may be boring to some, a point I won't contest. I know the game isn't for everyone. I do like to chuckle a bit and wonder how many of those copies that were sold never even got off the dock, chucking their copy across the room to either smash the floppy disk or throwing the CD like someone playing Ultimate. There is actual movement on a Myst movie. This could prove to be very interesting. Can they do a Journeyman Project film next?