A Brief History of... Myst

Everybody knows Myst. It's the one with the island and the puzzles. But the story neither starts nor ends there. We trace nearly 30 years of developer Cyan's history from its humble beginnings into a garage and through the rise and fall of one of gaming's greatest success stories.

Twitter: @ludodrome

Music:
no more sandlots by Uncle Milk

[EricAAnderson]

Cyan's Art Director here. Well done - Great video... lots of good memories in there...

[lexihaley]

"alternately timeless, and impossibly '90s"

Nailed it.

[IceLordCryo]

me and my dad would spend HOURS playing Myst together when i was a little kid. I have very fond memories of this game

[scottrousseau]

This was amazing. It's 2019 and I remember playing MYST on my little apple computer. Late nights and long days. It took me 6 months to complete...without help! The opening music, the game's score, and the stories and worlds bring back many great memories. I played all of the series, good and bad. I played URU live to the bitter end. I remember the fun and excitement as each new area opened. The atmosphere was contagious with all the players in D'ni. Running around looking for friends, parties, and new discoveries. I get nostalgic now when I go back. Obduction was a blow away! That was hard, but very satisfying to me. Crazy ending. Now Firmament! The ending is INDEED not yet written. I started playing MYST in my 30's. I'm now in my 60's and still look around the corner for the next adventure. Thank you Rand, Cyan and company. The ride has been so exciting. I long for what is next!

[liberator]

My dad was a world-builder on Riven. It was really cool to see the game take shape behind the scenes, and that didn't detract at all from the fun of finally getting to play it. This video brings back lots of memories!

[sabinew]

My parents got their hands on MYST in 1995. I was 4 years old at the time, too young to comprehend the puzzles, and yet I watched in fascination how my parents struggled for hours trying to solve them. I'm 28 now and still very much captivated by MYST and its sequels. The intro of Atrus falling into the fissure gives me goose bumps.
Sadly, I haven't found many others sharing the same kind of passion. Many people haven't even heard about this once best-selling game, and I find it doesn't get the credit it deserves for all the milestones it brought to the gaming industry.
That being said, I absolutely ADORE MYST - I rebuilt the island in Minecraft once with semi-working puzzles. Thank you, Robing and Rand, for blessing us with this great creation. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the many worlds of Myst. And thanks for Ludodrome for putting this lovely masterpiece of nostalgia together. Really enjoyed watching it!

[heatheralyce]

I was 5 years old & LOVED watching my dad play this. I didn’t understand the game... I just loved the music, and the talking guys in the books 🤣

[EnderCrypt]

"the smartest way to run a business is with someone else's money, but the most satisfying way is to use your own."
- Rand Miller

[dancingman]

The fact that these people are still around and working warms me up inside

[adamrobledo]

That freaking art style is so unique. That 90s 3d style gives me such a strange vibe but it’s so good.

[robbradley]

"Myst is lessened when it's familiar." Alas, truer words have never been spoken. I get goosebumps just thinking about the time I've spent in the various Ages. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, Myst is part of who I am as a person. I refuse to give it up.

[robertanderson]

Just hearing the Cyan theme brings back lots of fond (and frustrating) memories of exploring and puzzle solving. To this day, my favorite games are the ones that don't "push" me but rather let me play at my own pace and figure stuff out they way Myst did.

[solidsnake]

I finished Riven without a guide! Probably one of my proudest gaming achievements : )

[MrBROTHERFELDER]

Disney once considered turning Discovery Island at Disneyworld into a realistic land of MYST.

[DoctorTex]

I still remember when I first played the game. I open it up and I see this book falling through apparently space. When it landed and I clicked on it, I was enthralled when the mystical music began playing as I saw an impossibility, a moving picture on paper! The first moments of a game should be powerful to get you invested, and this one delivers.

[sir_christmas_leopold_duckson]

If ever there was a game I wish I could experience for the first time again, it's Myst.

[TheDominitri]

I remember playing Uru Live around 2011 and the game was largely empty, but I went through all the worlds and once while visiting the cavern I heard some people chatting. I wandered into a room that was normally empty but was full of about half a dozen people and it turns out I stumbled into a weekly D'ni language class where the players taught each other the D'ni language. I stuck around for the last bit of class and chatted with one of the guys, really nice and inviting bunch!

[ItsYaBoiV]

Myst is one of the first PC games I ever played, and it is still very near and dear to my heart. I still have all of the puzzles memorized, and own every unique version of the game. I actually just purchased realMyst on the Nintendo Switch yesterday in fact! When Riven came out, it was the first time I'd ever gotten excited about a game sequel! This series solidified my love for point and click adventures, and also exploration over combat styled games. It's a title so precious to me, and the funny thing is, I didn't even know there was a community online for this game until, maybe... 5ish years ago? It was just a special thing I had in my heart from childhood, that thing I had that nobody else in my social circles knew about or understood. Playing through it again on the Switch actually makes me cry. There's just so much nostalgia here. I don't think I'll ever love another game as much as I love this one.

[veru]

I don't think Myst aged badly at all. I am only 18 but I've been playing games from the 90s or early 2000s my whole life and I love that kind of style. I think Myst looks great, even after almost 30 years.

[TashaJoanWheelhouse]

I want you to know I love rewatching this documentary you’ve put together for comfort. The Myst series is one I grew up with and bonded with my parents over.