DescentBB

I have always loved the Myst games and books. I even played the online multiplayer version when it was running. Looks like they are in the process of trying to free that version by making it open source but until then they have also relaunched the game for free play. Check it out here:
http://mystonline.com/en/play/

I played a bunch of them.

I have to say that by Uru, I was losing interest.

NO.

a Lot of running back and forth. bleh.

Duper wrote:NO.

a Lot of running back and forth. bleh.

I'm surprised at you Decenter.

Never liked them.

Isaac wrote:

Duper wrote:NO.

a Lot of running back and forth. bleh.

I'm surprised at you Decenter.

*shrug*
too much running back and forth with little reward.
CGI was a best part of the game "back in the day".

I liked it.

My wife and I played through Myst a few years ago, and really enjoyed it. We started Riven, but haven't made the time to really get into it.

I loved Myst! So much so that I was the only person in America to preorder the sequels.

I have yet to play Myst V, I should probably go bargain bin hunting.

Foil wrote:My wife and I played through Myst a few years ago, and really enjoyed it. We started Riven, but haven't made the time to really get into it.

the one I really liked was Riven. I'll admit that I didn't solve all the puzzles myself. what I really liked was the good looking scenery.

I think I played the next two, too... but by then it was getting old. Strangely enough, I preferred the stills over the later games in the series where you could look around in a full 360. I think it was because each still could be polished to have a lot of detail.

I thought Riven was the high point of the series myself as well. The original wasn't bad, but it really wasn't all that realistic (in this day and age it looks like a slapped-together Bryce scene, but it was a bit nicer in 1993 or whenever they released it). Riven on the other hand had some really stunning visuals - they probably still are today - and the animations were pretty cool as well, if a bit of a case study in compression artefacts.

I've been playing the Myst series since the original game came in a software package with our ancient Gateway 2000 in 1995 or so, and it remains one of my all-time favorite gaming franchises. The entire universe and mythos that Cyan created almost rivals that of Tolkien's works; there are thousands of years of backstory at work (not to mention the requisite fictional language and alphabet). The story of Myst Online's real-world history almost rivals that, though, as it's now been killed off and resurrected on two or three separate occasions now. (I wrote a way-too-long post about some of those past events, in case anyone is bored enough out of their mind to read it.) I got involved with Myst Online in the GameTap days, and I'm currently active in the new freeware incarnation; if anyone's interested in trying it out, I'd be glad to lend a hand and get you started.

Duper wrote:NO.

a Lot of running back and forth. bleh.

I know the games' style may not have been your personal cup of tea, but that's really selling things short. At least to me, the whole appeal of the Myst series was never "running back and forth" to accomplish tasks as quickly as possible...it was allowing myself to be immersed in gorgeous, alien worlds and experiencing the story of one man's very dysfunctional family. I had to strategy-guide my way through various puzzles in most of the series' entries, but that didn't diminish my underlying enjoyment of them.

Top Gun wrote:and I'm currently active in the new freeware incarnation; if anyone's interested in trying it out, I'd be glad to lend a hand and get you started.

What's your name in there? I need friends too lol. My name is the same.

Top Gun wrote: I know the games' style may not have been your personal cup of tea, but that's really selling things short. At least to me, the whole appeal of the Myst series was never "running back and forth" to accomplish tasks as quickly as possible...it was allowing myself to be immersed in gorgeous, alien worlds and experiencing the story of one man's very dysfunctional family.

Yeah, these games have always been amazing on the story side. Though, I haven't finished "The Book of Ti'ana" yet because it got too depressing toward the end. Genocide is very sad. I should pick it up again.

Xamindar wrote:

Top Gun wrote:and I'm currently active in the new freeware incarnation; if anyone's interested in trying it out, I'd be glad to lend a hand and get you started.

What's your name in there? I need friends too lol. My name is the same.

Same as here too, actually.

And I'd definitely recommend finishing Book of Ti'ana, even though it does get admittedly dark at the end; it's definitely my favorite of the three, though all of them are legitimately good. One of the things I like about the Myst novels is that they're a legitimate part of the games' overall storyline, as opposed to being a quick cash-in like many other game-based books. (Still can't help but love the Descent novels, though.) I guess it's a lot easier to write tie-ins when the games they're about completely revolve around books.

Buried in Time was the only one of those types I ever really devoted any time too. I found the puzzles in Myst/Riven to be too dry for my taste. BiT was an incredible game though.

Top Gun wrote: I know the games' style may not have been your personal cup of tea, but that's really selling things short. At least to me, the whole appeal of the Myst series was never "running back and forth" to accomplish tasks as quickly as possible...it was allowing myself to be immersed in gorgeous, alien worlds and experiencing the story of one man's very dysfunctional family. I had to strategy-guide my way through various puzzles in most of the series' entries, but that didn't diminish my underlying enjoyment of them.

That's what books are for. (and I do read.)

no, about the time i had to completely traverse the map 4 times in sequence at ten minutes each way real time, I figured I was done. If i want that much sitting around time, I'll play FF 13. ;D
Oh, after all that travel time, the game glitched and crashed. I lost all that progress.

I don't think it's a bad game; i simply don't have the patience for it.

Most books don't let you view beautiful pre-rendered scenery and operate all sorts of awesome retro-futuristic technology, though. But that's fair enough. Like I said, I know these sort of games aren't for everyone, in the same way that I myself don't find much appeal in most RPGs.

(Is that the original Myst game you were referring to? And if so, what part? I don't remember anything off the top of my head that required quite that much immediate back-tracking.)