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Myst (series)

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العربية<br>Deutsch<br>Français<br>한국어<br>Latina<br>Nederlands<br>Polski<br>Português<br>Română<br>Русский<br>Українська

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Adventure video game series

Video game series<br>MystDevelopersCyan Worlds (Myst, Riven, Uru, V)<br>Presto Studios (III)<br>Ubisoft Montreal (IV)

PublishersBroderbund (1993–1996)<br>Red Orb Entertainment (1997–2000)<br>Ubisoft (2000–2007)<br>Cyan Worlds (2008–present)

CreatorsRand Miller<br>Robyn Miller

ComposersRobyn Miller (Myst, Riven)<br>Jack Wall (III, IV)<br>Tim Larkin (Uru, V)

Platform<br>List

Classic Mac OS, Windows, 3DO, Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar CD, PlayStation, CD-i, AmigaOS, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Pocket PC, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, iOS, Nintendo 3DS, Android, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2, macOS, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One

First releaseMyst<br>September 30, 1993Latest releaseRiven (remake)<br>June 25, 2024<br>Myst is a franchise centered on a series of adventure video games. The first game in the series, Myst, was released in 1993 by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller and their video game company Cyan, Inc. The first sequel to Myst, Riven, was released in 1997 and was followed by three more direct sequels: Myst III: Exile in 2001, Myst IV: Revelation in 2004, and Myst V: End of Ages in 2005. A spinoff featuring a multiplayer component, Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, was released in 2003 and followed by two expansion packs.

Myst's story concerns an explorer named Atrus who has the ability to write books that serve as links to other worlds, known as Ages. This practice of creating linking books was developed by an ancient civilization known as the D'ni, whose society crumbled after being ravaged by disease. The player takes the role of an unnamed person who assists Atrus by traveling to other Ages and solving puzzles. Over the course of the series, Atrus writes a new Age for the D'ni survivors to live on, and players of the games set the course the civilization will follow.

The brothers developed Myst after producing award-winning games for children. Drawing on childhood stories, the brothers spent months designing the Ages players would investigate. The name Myst came from Jules Verne's novel The Mysterious Island. After Riven was released, Robyn left Cyan to pursue other projects, and Cyan began developing Uru; developers Presto Studios and Ubisoft created Exile and Revelation before Cyan returned to complete the series with End of Ages. Myst and its sequels were critical and commercial successes, selling more than twelve million copies; the games drove sales of personal computers and CD-ROM drives as well as attracting casual gamers with its nonviolent, methodical gameplay. The video games' success has led to three published novels in addition to soundtracks, a comic series, and television and movie pitches.

Plot<br>[edit]

A linking book as seen in realMyst. By touching the animated panel, players are warped to the Age described.<br>Myst's story begins with the arrival of a people known as the D'ni on Earth, almost 10,000 years ago. The D'ni /dəˈniː/ are an ancient race who used a special skill to create magical books that serve as portals to the worlds they describe, known as Ages. The D'ni build a great city and thriving civilization in caverns. A young geologist from the surface, Anna, stumbled upon the D'ni civilization. Learning the D'ni language, Anna becomes known as Ti'ana and marries a D'ni named Aitrus; the couple have a son named Gehn. Soon after, D'ni is ravaged by a plague created by a man named A'Gaeris. Aitrus sacrifices himself to save his wife and child, killing A'Gaeris while Ti'ana and Gehn escape to the surface as the D'ni civilization falls.[1]

Ti'ana raises Gehn until he runs away as a teenager, learning the D'ni Art of writing descriptive books. Ti'ana also cares for Gehn's son, Atrus, until Gehn arrives to teach Atrus the Art. Atrus realizes that his father is reckless and power-hungry, and with the help of Ti'ana and a young woman, Catherine, Atrus traps Gehn on his Age of Riven with no linking books. Atrus and Catherine marry and have two children, Sirrus and Achenar. The brothers grow greedy, and, after plundering their father's Ages, they trap Catherine on Riven. When Atrus returns to investigate, the brothers strand him in a D'ni cavern before they themselves are trapped by special "prison" books. Through the help of the player character, Atrus is freed and sends his benefactor to Riven to retrieve Catherine from the clutches of Gehn.[1] Sirrus and Achenar are punished for their crimes by being imprisoned in separate Ages until they reform.[2]

Atrus writes a new Age called Releeshahn for the D'ni survivors to rebuild their civilization as he and Catherine settle back on Earth, raising a daughter named Yeesha. As Atrus prepares to take the player to Releeshahn, a mysterious man...