Cindy and Ray’s Myst Opportunity
Cindy: For the traditional adventure gamer, the high point of
E3 was the Mattel Interactive exhibit, which featured two new Myst
titles. The next installment, Myst III: Exile, is currently
under development by Presto Studios and scheduled for release in early
2001. At the same time, Cyan is working on a 3D version of the original
game. This “dimensional” Myst is scheduled for release
in late 2000.
Ray: I know people have made a bit of fun of Cyan for the way
they’ve milked the Myst franchise–DVD versions, Myst Masterpiece,
etc. But I’ve got to tell you, Myst Dimensions looks like an
exciting product. Cyan had a station set up with a demo of the Stoneship
Age. It was really cool to move around those familiar environments in
real-time-rendered 3D. The graphics are even more intense than the old
prerendered versions, with extra touches like a fully animated ocean roiling
underneath the catwalks, spooky rain, and lightning filling the sky …
It made me want to fall back into the world of Myst again.
Such visual delights, as well as the fact that there will be an entirely
new “Age” in Myst Dimensions make this a product I’m
eager to see.
Cindy: After watching a stunning movie trailer for Myst III:
Exile and playing with a demo of the redimensioned Myst, Ray
and I had the privilege of speaking with Greg Uhler of Presto Studios.
As a founding member of Presto, Greg has been a key player in the design
and development of all three Journeyman Project titles. Being selected
for the development of the next Myst game is just one more accolade
in his already distinguished career.
Ray: Distinguished is right. Here’s a guy who, along with seven
other friends, quit college, borrowed $70,000, and created The Journeyman
Project, the first photorealistic adventure game … at age 22. Presto
went on to create other titles, including Journeyman Project 2: Buried
in Time (which is on my Top Ten All-Time Favorite Adventure Game List),
Stephen King’s F13, Star Trek Hidden Evil, and Journeyman Project
3: Legacy of Time. If I didn’t admire his work so much, I’d want to
punch him for being so accomplished at age 30.
Continuity in personnel has surely contributed to Presto Studios’ success.
Uhler explained that five of the original eight people who formed the
company are still working there.
Naturally we asked Greg about Myst III: Exile’s storyline.
Cindy: Mum’s the word on the storyline for Exile. Despite
our attempts at coercion and bribery, Greg would only say that there is
“… a strong tie-in with the other two stories” and that
“… Atrus and Catherine are back.”
We asked Greg why he thought Myst was so successful. He expressed
his belief that the Myst and Riven worlds have unique traits
that attract players. As the adventure genre evolves away from its core,
Myst remains true to the original elements and provides a beautiful
world that can be experienced at the player’s own pace. At the game’s
center is a meaningful story with strong characters and a focus on family.
It has a simple interface and is accessible to the average person with
an average PC. He also pointed out that the worlds of Myst and
Riven are surreal but not alien. The player is provided with enough
human artifacts to enable him/her to form a base understanding of the
purpose of any items encountered.
Ray: I asked the cruel but inevitable question: whether the crew
at Presto felt pressured to “score a hit for the adventure genre.”
Uhler responded with an emphatic “no” and indicated that they
are most concerned with creating a game that is true to the Myst universe
and supports the success of all that has gone before. To this end, Cyan’s
feedback has been essential during the design phase to ensure that this
title stays within the official “mythology” of Myst.
Cindy: We asked about the mechanics of Myst III: Exile and
were told that it would be much like Riven. The images will be
prerendered, but the player will be able to rotate a full 360 degrees
while viewing them. Presto has decided not to go with a realtime-3D environment
in order to keep the image quality high without requiring a top-end machine.
Greg noted that they are making an effort to better communicate puzzle
objectives and to provide improved feedback as to player progress. Much
to our relief, he stressed that they are not planning on “dumbing
down” the complexity of the game.
Ray: I was quite surprised that Presto would make the decision
not to have animated transitions between 360-degree nodes in a game to
be released in 2001. “Don’t you think you’ll take a beating from
the techno-snob critics?” I asked sweetly.
Uhler replied that it came down to disk space. They wanted more story
and locations, and this came at the cost of animated “steps.”
Cindy: Myst III: Exile will be released on four CDs with
a different geographic area on each CD. For those who cringe at the very
idea of being asked to “please insert CD #1,” DVD will also
be available.
Ray: Whether or not the CD and DVD versions will be released simultaneously
depends on how many new features are added to the DVD version.
Cindy: In a time when adventure games are not known for breaking
sales records, Mattel and Presto are betting on the huge base of Myst
fans to support this title. With over 6 million copies sold, Myst
has a following that rivals a rock star’s fan club.
To give us a sense of how active this following is, Greg pointed out
that the Presto Studios web site has an average of 2,000 visitors per
day. On the day of the press release for Myst III: Exile, over
85,000 visitors stopped by the site to “read more about it.”
By the end of that day, these fans were sharing the news at a rate of
50 emails per minute to the Rivenguild
web site. It is this level of enthusiasm that Mattel Interactive, Presto
Studios, and Cyan are banking on for the success of these new Myst
projects.
Ray: I want my Myst III! I want my Myst 3D!
