Myst is a legendary atmospheric adventure/puzzle game first released in 1993. It combined impressive visuals (mostly pre-rendered still images
created with 3d software, with occasional 3d animations integrated into
the scenery) with an atmospheric minimalist score and ambient
soundscapes to bring the mysterious island of Myst to life...
The game has a mysterious plotline that is largely uncovered in bits and pieces, by finding scattered clues while exploring the island in solitude, or by reading some of the few remaining books on the island's library. After the surprise discovery of several highly dynamic personalities imprisoned inside two of these books, major elements of character interest and suspense are introduced to the game, as each character implores the player to aid him alone, accusing the other of being guilty of dark crimes...
 |
| The interior of the library where two strange characters are found imprisoned within red and blue books... |
Myst was a very unique game when it was released, and became a
surprise success, becoming one of the best-selling computer games of all
time. Myst's intuitive first-person point-and-click interface has since
been
emulated in scores of other adventure/puzzle games over the years, but
the original Myst is still impressively unique and engrossing:
Myst's gameplay required players to solve many challenging puzzles, often using only a handful of cryptic clues— but the atmosphere and plotline was engaging enough that even many people who don't generally care for solving puzzles still loved the game.
Myst was also noteworthy for its complete absence of violent gameplay dynamics:
The game design simply ignored violent dynamics in favor of exploration,
puzzle-solving, and admiring the game's amazing atmospheres, while
speculating about the plot's many mysteries. All of this ultimately had
the effect of increasing the sense of realism, and therefore heightening
the impact of the game's dark, suspenseful and macabre moments...
 |
| A macabre scene discovered in one of the Ages of Myst... |
Even though the original Myst was released in the early '90s, many of us still think it holds up extremely well today, with its absorbing atmosphere
and plot, and how the game combined creative "fantasy" elements (such as
the use of "linking books" as portals to enter remarkable and surreal
worlds) with an impressive sense of realism that made us feel we were really inside the linking books, exploring mysterious environments while trying to solve the plot's intriguing mysteries.
