Myst
Description official descriptions
You have just stumbled upon a most intriguing book, a book titled Myst. You have no idea where it came from, who wrote it, or how old it is. Reading through its pages provides you with only a description of an island world. But it's just a book, isn't it? As you reach the end of the book, you lay your hand on a page. Suddenly your own world dissolves into blackness, replaced with the island world the pages described. Now you're here, wherever here is, with no option but to explore.
Myst is a first-person point-and-click adventure where the player controls a character known as The Stranger. Magically transported into the world described in the book, he needs to explore Myst Island and solve its mysteries. The game is presented as a series of static scenes where the player acts with the environment by clicking and manipulating objects. There are no enemies and it is not possible to die. Through Myst Island, the game is further divided into mini-worlds set in different ages accessed through different books.
The game's interface is reduced to a single cursor for navigation and interaction. Rather than collecting items and using them to solve puzzles, the player must gather subtly placed clues and manipulate complex mechanical devices in order to advance in the game. The world of Myst is mostly uninhabited, and the game has very few live-action scenes with characters and dialogue.
Spellings
- ミスト - Japanese spelling
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Credits (Windows 3.x version)
72 People (28 developers, 44 thanks) · View all
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[ full credits ] |
Reviews
Trivia
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
Related Sites +
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Cyan's Myst Walkthrough
Full solution to Myst -
JTB's Myst Help
A webpage providing a hint book in three different formats, illustrated puzzle solutions, both spoiler-free and spoiler-laden tips, maps of the Channelwood Age, links to other sources of online help for the game, and a set of save games for the Macintosh version of the game. -
Myst UHS Hints
Online web hints for Myst, written by Jason Strautman. -
Myst.Com
Cyan's Official Myst Homepage. -
Play Myst For Me
An article by Scott Rosenberg, originally published in the SF Examiner Sunday Magazine, detailing his experiences attempting to get <em>Myst</em> running on his (dated) PC (1994 - Feb. 1995). -
The Myst Guidebook
The <em>Myst</em> subsection of the Guidebook fansite that provides information about the game and a brief background on the game's production and later remake in addition to game hints and a walkthrough. -
Wikipedia: Myst
article about the game in the open encyclopedia
Identifiers +
- MobyGames ID: 1223
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by MAT.
PS Vita added by Fred VT. PlayStation 3 added by Lance Boyle. CD-i added by Corn Popper. Windows added by Trixter. iPhone, PSP added by Sciere. SEGA Saturn added by Kohler 86. Windows Mobile added by Kabushi. Macintosh added by Terok Nor. PlayStation added by Grant McLellan. Amiga added by Syed GJ. Jaguar, 3DO added by quizzley7.
Additional contributors: Jeanne, Guy Chapman, Sciere, JudgeDeadd, Parf, Ms. Tea, Zeppin, Patrick Bregger, Plok, FatherJack.
Last modified February 27th, 2023.