decided to break the game’s world down into multiple ‘ages,’ each with some unifying theme. To retain their desired sense of scale without pushing the limits of players’ hardware, Cyan Inc. The brothers had originally intended to create a dense, interconnected world but were stymied in carrying out this plan. This would have the benefit of breaking down the common segregation between plot and gameplay.Īt the same time, programming limits were not on their side. They decided to fold puzzles into the fabric of the world, seeking to carry out worldbuilding by way of their game’s core mechanic. believed puzzles to be a compelling way to pull in and engage adult audiences, but did not want them to feel transparent or artificial. This would prove to be a significant miscalculation on the part of Sunsoft, as Myst would revolutionize the PC gaming market.Ĭyan Inc. As a result, Brøderbund gained the rights to distribute the game on computers. Myst‘s budget rapidly increased and, while Sunsoft was willing to support development, they had planned for a home console release rather than a PC title they consequently settled for distribution rights only on home consoles, believing the PC market to be a dead end. The Millers had not played many video games when they began work on Myst, so it isn’t surprising that their primary influences came from outside the gaming medium. The first game in the Myst series was influenced by a number of surprising sources – Middle Earth and Narnia were said to be inspirations for its unique world, while Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island informed the game’s aesthetic and central mystery. and set about building a complex, story-driven world in which the player would have to make challenging choices. With the backing of producer Sunsoft, in 1991 the Millers formed a small studio called Cyan Inc. Activision, which had published earlier games by the team, rejected the concept outright. When published in 1989, their first release, Manhole, was the earliest game to be published in the CD-ROM format. By the early ’90s, the Millers had gotten their fill of developing small-scale children’s games and sought to bring a greater level of ambition to their projects. Myst was originally a passion project of two brothers – Robyn and Rand Miller – who had been making a living creating children’s computer games since 1988. This week we’ll be peeling back the layers of mystery that surround PC game franchise Myst. Welcome back to Franchise Festival, where we explore and discuss noteworthy franchises from the last several decades of gaming history.
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