Myst

1001 Video Games

Myst appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Development

Myst was rendered entirely on stock color Macintoshes using only Stratavision Software. Until the success of Myst, The Miller brothers ran Cyan from their basement.

Easter egg

A mosaic on the floor in the D'ni Age shows the face of developer Chuck Carter.

Novels

Hyperion published three novels set in the Myst universe:1. The Book of Atrus (1995), by Rand Miller, Robyn Miller and David Wingrove; 2. The Book of Ti'ana (1996), by Rand Miller, Robyn Miller, and David Wingrove; and 3. The Book of D'ni (1997), by Rand Miller and David Wingrove.

A fourth novel, The Book of Marrim, by Rand Miller and David Wingrove, was put on hold while the last Myst games were completed, and is now expected to be published at some point in 2006.

Additionally, Dark Horse Comics published two issues (Passages and the Joining) of an aborted Myst comic book miniseries, The Book of Black Ships.

Reception

Myst is the best-selling game of all time. Over the course of a few years, it stayed on PC Data's top ten list. The game's non-violence (the creators are both pious Christians), simplicity, and amazing graphics contributed to its success. Myst was also responsible for many people buying a CD-ROM drive for their computers.

References

While in D'ni, you may notice there is a mosaic of a face on the tile floor. Though it may look like one of the characters in the game, it is actually Chuck Carter, one of the graphics designers for the game.

References to the Game

In the 1995 episode "Treehouse Of Horror VI" of the TV series The Simpsons the last of three parodies named Homer³ is based on a Twilight Zone episode. Homer gets sucked into the 3rd dimension and enters a 3D animated world where some 3D objects exist on a grid. As he walks along, you can see a replica of Myst's library and a snippet of the Myst finale theme music can be heard.

Cancelled versions

Sunsoft announced releases for both the Sega CD and the LaserActive's Mega LD format, both of which were in an advanced state of completion before being cancelled.

Soundtrack

Myst soundtrack composed by Robyn Miller was released in 1998. This soundtrack is pretty much available everywhere, in almost every online music CD store.

The songs are parted to several Myst game ages:* Myst Island (1-6) * Mechanical Age (7-13) * Stoneship Age (14-17) * Selentic Age (18) * Channelwood Age (19-21) * Finale (22-23) * Bonus Tracks (24-26)

Tracklist: * Myst Theme * Treegate * Planetarium * Shipgate * The Tower * The Last Mesage (Forechamber Theme) * Fortress Ambience, Part I * Fortress Ambience, Part II * Mechanical Mystgate * Sirrus Cache * Sirrus Theme * Achenar's Cache * Achenar's Theme * Compass Rose * Above Stoneship * Sirrus Theme - Stoneship Age * Achenar's Theme - Stoneship Age * Selentic Mystgate * The Temple of Achenar * Sirrus Theme - Channelwood Age * Achenar's Theme - Chennelwood Age * Un-finale * Finale * Fireplace Theme * Early Selentic Mystgate * Original Un-finale

Awards

• Computer Gaming World
  • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #11 Most Innovative Computer Game
  • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #13 Hardest Computer Game
  • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #3 Least Rewarding Ending of All Time
• Electronic Entertainment
  • March 1994 – Editors' Choice Awards: Breakthrough Game (Honorable Mention)
• FLUX
  • Issue #4 - #14 in the "Top 100 Video Games of All-Time" list
• GameStar (Germany)
  • Issue 12/1999 - #33 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
• MacUser
  • 1993 - Best Game (Editors' Choice)
• PC Gamer
  • April 2000 - #42 in the "All Time Top 50 Games" Readers' Poll

Information also contributed by Adam Baratz, Agent 5, Big John WV, Mu77etOfDeath, PCGamer77, Pseudo_Intellectual, Scaryfun and Scott Monster