Question about the Myst series...

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 3:18 am

I really love first-person RGP's, but I how does the Myst series compare, in terms of interface, with games like Shadowgate, and Deja Vu?

magnum opus · Post by **magnum opus** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 3:32 am

not even remotely similar.

the myst series is a series of mostly self contained logic puzzles (well not Riven) interspersed though out a beautiful, generally creative, but mostly static world.
there is no real inventory, there is no almost no dialog, there is almost no story (which adds to the atmosphere).

as for interface its point and click thats it.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 4:45 am

Ok, thanks! Still sounds like an ejoyable series. The first one came got a Saturn release, too.

marcus12024 · Post by **marcus12024** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 5:10 am

If you enjoy being dropped into situations where you have absolutely no friggin' clue what's going on, and like to figure everything out for yourself, you'll like these games.

Riven is really bloody difficult at first.

sethsez · Post by **sethsez** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 7:14 am

Personally, I love the Myst series.

However, I love it mostly for the atmosphere. For a game that's so amazingly serene on the surface, it's really, really dark and unsettling.

Incidentally, if you enjoy the games, there are three novels that are actually worth reading.

Nuke · Post by **Nuke** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 3:27 pm

It's the prettiest Interactive Screensaver around

Ord · Post by **Ord** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 3:37 pm

Myst does my nut in! I think i'm too thick to play it.

sethsez · Post by **sethsez** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 4:04 pm

Nuke wrote:It's the prettiest Interactive Screensaver around

I've never really liked this attitute toward the series. I mean, I understand it up to a point, but the Myst games have some of the most difficult and obscure puzzles in game history. Calling it an "interactive screensaver" is implying that it's easy, when it's really anything but.

Nuke · Post by **Nuke** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 4:39 pm

It has nothing to do with the puzzles or the story, It's how the games are made. Call me nuts, but I prefere both movment and actual gameplay in my games as oposed to slides revarded to the player by doing obscure puzzles.
In conclusion tough, I have nothing against the Myst series, but they are not actualy adventure games. Puzzle games with adventure game elements is more like it.

sethsez · Post by **sethsez** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 4:59 pm

What is an adventure game then? As far as gameplay goes, what's the difference between Riven and, say, The Dig?

And you're not "rewarded with a slide" for completing a puzzle. Not any moreso than any other adventure game, anyway. More often than not completing a puzzle in Myst opens up a new area to explore. No offence, but I have to wonder how much you actually played and how much you're basing this on what you've heard from other people. There's more to Myst than just slides and puzzles, and this is even more true of Riven. I can understand not liking the series (it definitely doesn't pander to anyone, which makes the success of the original pretty surprising looking back on it), but I also think you're selling it short.

In any case, if the "slide" feel of the first game bothers you that much, then try realMYST (a remake of the game in 3D) or Uru. Same exact gameplay, but in fully explorable 3D.

magnum opus · Post by **magnum opus** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 8:32 pm

the argument goes something like theres no characters or plot or inventory so its not an adventure game. frankly i don't care, other than maybe monkeys island and sam and max i'm not really playing them for witty one liners or plot.

and while none of them have much story they have a history. go to the library in myst and read. My mom actually did (i was like 9 when myst came out), she read them all. the worlds they set you into have more depth to them before you even arrive than most games do after hours of plot developement. one of the things myst and riven in particular really managed to get across was that you were treading in the footsteps of kings.

myst III might have done that too but i managed to beat it in like 2 days so i never got as immersed in it, after riven it was a peice of cake.

@sethsez, are the books worth reading considering that a video game is their source or are the worth reading period?

TWITCHDOCTOR · Post by **TWITCHDOCTOR** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 10:25 pm

Some of you guys might want to consider the game "D". Its a horror styled adventure game, thats similar to Myst and the likes, only D has a little bit more action going on.
I used to have it for the PS1, and I think there was a Saturn release as well. It would probably look grainy as a rain storm though on the Saturn.

I think I can remember The Dig" as well as "Full Throttle"?
I never had em, but Zeroeight did.

Dave, I just noticed, is RGP's a typo for R-P-G=Role Playing Game?
If so, and you really like "first person RPG's" then I HIGHLY reccomend the Kings Field series. Parts I&II are on the PS1, and part III is on the PS2. Also, the same company made a side story called Eternal Ring.

(part II and Eternal Ring would be my favorites)

Stormwatch · Post by **Stormwatch** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 2:29 am

I have Riven for the Saturn - TecToy translated it to portuguese. It's beautiful, every screen is something I'd not mind having framed on my wall. But the game is too damn confusing!

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 5:48 am

I imagine that since it was translated by a portuguese team, the quality of the translation is quite good, right? You should see how raped the Neo Geo and CPS spanish translations were back in the early 90's.

magnum opus · Post by **magnum opus** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 5:52 am

i can't imagine that a bad translation would really do much any way, i think there's like two or three notes, and maybe 5 minutes of dialog in the entire thing.

sethsez · Post by **sethsez** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:43 am

magnum opus wrote:@sethsez, are the books worth reading considering that a video game is their source or are the worth reading period?

Worth reading period. The first two are better than the third (which is really more of a sidestory, and a cliched one at that), but they're all well-written fantasy novels.

The first book is about Atrus and his father, and describes how both Riven and Myst came into being. The second book goes back in time a bit further, and is about the collapse of the D'Ni culture. The third book is a sidestory about a "rival" culture to the D'Ni.

Twitch, I used to own D. It's pretty good, but I don't think it quite lives up to the Myst series, simply due to how those games manage to make you feel as if the worlds you're exploring really have history. Still good, though, even if it was a bit frustrating at points (the fight with the suit of armor... arg).

Stormwatch · Post by **Stormwatch** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 3:22 pm

Specineff wrote:I imagine that since it was translated by a portuguese team

A brazilian team actually. TecToy is Sega's exclusive distributor in Brazil. By the way, this is the same company that ported Duke Nukem 3D to the Genesis. And they still make the Master System and the Mega Drive around here!

Specineff wrote:the quality of the translation is quite good, right?

The translation is good, they even dubbed the opening video.

Specineff wrote:You should see how raped the Neo Geo and CPS spanish translations were back in the early 90's.

I know, I recall the arcades... and I have KOF Dream Match and KOF Evolution for the Dreamcast.