Cyan Worlds to Re-Release the Entire “Myst” Series, For The Franchises 25th Anniversary
Myst 25th anniversary Kickstarter brings all 7 titles to Windows 10. Now the developers have gathered all 7 titles into one to make them all work on Windows 10 in a 25th anniversary collection.
- 名作アドベンチャーゲーム『Myst』の開発元Cyan Worldsは4月10日、同作の発売25周年を記念した『Myst 25th Anniversary Collection』の制作資金を募るKickstarterキャンペーンを開始した。このキャンペーンでしか入手できないパッケージが複数用意されており、早々に初期目標金額を突破する人気と.
- The Myst 25th Anniversary Collection will include: Myst: Masterpiece Edition, Riven: The Sequel to Myst, Myst III: Exile, Myst IV: Revelation, Myst V: End of Ages, Uru: Complete Chronicles, and finally, realMyst: Masterpiece Edition. These have all been upgraded for Windows 10 quality graphics and gameplay, thanks to GOG.com.
- A few weeks ago I saw that Cyan Worlds had put up a Kickstarter campaign for a 25th Anniversary Collection of Myst, a series of games I adore but because of limitations, mostly incompatibility with modern systems and being unavailable for purchase, haven’t been able to play as much as I’ve wanted to, with some titles.
Myst 25th Anniversary Collection Review
“Myst” was one of those video games, that if you owned any type of video game console or computer in the mid 1990s, you have played it. It was released on nearly every possible device that housed a CD-ROM drive, and with good reason, as the game certainly took advantage of the said technology, which was still somewhat new in the video game world at the time. But as the said technology has advanced over the years, sometimes we have compatibility issues if we ever want to play our old games, “Myst” included. Cyan Worlds, Incorporated, the company that originally developed the series, has recently taken back their rights to the game, and is planning to release the entire series in a set, that will be playable on modern PCs.
At one time, you could not get away from the original game in the series. It was available on nearly every platform that had a CD-ROM drive. Computers, the original PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar CD, 3DO, CD-i, among others. The adventure/puzzle game had breathtaking graphics and sound for the time period, and even if you didn’t have any interest in the game, it became one that people would sometimes buy simply for the technology that it took advantage of. Alongside of other games of the era like “The 7th Guest”, “Myst” was one of those killer apps that helped boost sales of CD based devices. Ultimately, the game would be so successful that it spawned a series of sequels, and even a set of written novelizations.
At some point in the history of Cyan Worlds, the rights to release the games in the “Myst” series were lost. However in recent months, the company has since regained those rights, and are presently working on getting the entire series of games back into the hands of players that have since upgraded their technologies over the past 2 and a half decades. This will not only reintroduce fans of the games to the series, but they also hope that it will spark an interest for new gamers that have never played the titles previously. This is all thanks to a successful fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, in which the goal has already been met, with a lot more funding earned, and with a lot of available time still to obtain funding.
“Looking back on this incredible, 25-year journey, Cyan believes a celebration is in order! We recognize this amazing achievement could not have happened without each and every one of you who have found your way to this Kickstarter. You have embraced the intricacies, oddities and mysteries in the Myst worlds – and have come back for more. So, as 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of Myst, Cyan is taking our journey together one step further. Behind the scenes, we’ve been working to procure the legal rights to make all of the Myst games available. As an indie developer, resources are limited for development, and acquiring these rights isn’t always an option. But we’ve finally managed to talk with all the right people in all the right places to garner funds to make it happen! With the needed agreements secured, we’re delighted to present the Myst 25th Anniversary Collection, featuring all seven titles in the Myst series!”
The “Myst: 25th Anniversary Collection” will include all of the games in the franchise:
- “Myst: Masterpiece”
- “Riven: The Sequel to Myst”
- “Myst 3: Exile”
- “Myst 4: Revelation”
- “Myst 5: End of Ages”
- “Uru: Complete Chronicles”
- “realMyst: Masterpiece Edition”
Just like most other Kickstarters, the amount that you pledge determines what you will receive. The game collection is being offered for as low as $49, which will give you the complete series of games in digital form, which will be available via Steam or GOG, and will all work natively with Microsoft Windows 10. For those that prefer physical media, another set is being offered for $99, which will give you all of the games on DVD, alongside of the digital versions. The games come packed in exclusive packaging that looks like the original book, and also includes blank journal pages for note taking, as well as a hidden compartment.
There are other amazing offerings being made available for those that pledge even higher amounts. A $169 pledge gives you the game in a box with an animated blinking LCD panel screen, which emulates an actual working “Myst” book. It also includes extra exclusive content through a USB drive. An offering of $250 gets all of the above, plus a recreation of the Gehn’s pen and beetle inkwell. There was also a $1,000 set that was limited to 25 people, which has already sold out, which would also have given gamers an original, hand drawn, Riven concept sketch.
One thing people may be curious about, is the strange amount that was requested by Cyan World. (They originally asked for a total of $247,500 exactly.) They have already to date earned over $763,000, with 41 days remaining in the campaign:
“To deliver a high-quality Myst collector’s edition at a reasonable price, we need to have a minimum number of orders. Based on quotes for the design, tooling and manufacturing, we’ve calculated that we need at least 2,500 orders at the $99 tier or above (2,500 x $99 = $247,500) to achieve the bare minimum and move forward.”
Also, you may be asking yourself at this point if there is going to be a Mac version released. Sadly, the answer to this is currently no, at least for right now:
“Myst started out as a Mac-first title, and over the years, Cyan has always released each of our games for the Mac. But for various reasons, maintaining some of those Mac titles now means rebuilding them from scratch – an option that, as a small indie studio, takes time or resources we just don’t have. And for games that were produced by other studios, even that option may not be possible. Although most games in this Anniversary Collection are not compatible with MacOS, Cyan will continue to work to update or rebuild some of the Mac titles, and explore other options to try to make more of the games playable again on the Mac in the future.”
Digital versions of the games are slated to be released this coming August, while all of the various physical editions are planned to ship out by November of this year.
Source: Boing Boing
Official Kickstarter: “Myst: 25th Anniversary Collection”
Although it’s arguably not as iconic as, say, Doom, Cyan World’s Myst has a cult following that the 90s gaming market by surprise and have been referenced in pop culture and media time and again. Since its initial release, the game has produced 5 sequels and one 3D “remake”. Given its age, however, not all those titles have become available or work on the latest Windows systems. Now the developers have gathered all 7 titles into one to make them all work on Windows 10 in a 25th anniversary collection only available from Kickstarter.
Myst is technically defined as a graphic adventure puzzle game but that really sells it short. It was an unexpected and unprecedented success at an age where first-person shooters were starting to take hold of the market. It was an odd duck by that day’s standards, mixing non-verbal storytelling, no clear end goals, multiple endings, and lots and lots QuickTime movies to much success.
Of the seven Myst games, five have actually already been dusted off to work on modern PCs thanks to GOG. That includes the original Myst, Riven, Myst V: End of Ages, Uru: The Complete Chronicles, and realMyst. The other two, Myst III: Exiles and Myst IV: Revelation, weren’t and Cyan Worlds didn’t have rights to them, as they were held by Ubisoft. Cyan says it was finally able to negotiate with “the right people” to make the Kickstarter possible.
Aside from releasing all seven games “refreshed” for Windows 10, the crowdfunding also offers authentic “game artifacts” that are promised to never be made available outside of Kickstarter. That includes “The Linking Book” with a die-cut screen that lets you watch video fly-throughs of the games, a pen and inkwell owned by in-game character Gehn, and original design sketches from Riven, the second title in the game.
Buy Myst For Windows 10
Given its popularity, it’s no surprise that the Kickstarter campaign blazed through its funding goal in less than 24 hours with more than a month to spare. The bundle will be released on GOG initially. Those who already bought the other games on the distribution platform will have their copies updated. Mac and Linux users, sadly, might have to sit this one out or at least wait for more encouraging news.