![]() ![]() Finally, the intricate world of Myst comes to life: we are able to "feel" it, to be in it.īefore you think that the graphics lost some detail because of the transition to 3D, let me assure you that is not the case. I can't even begin to describe properly how much it enhances the experience. The remake is done in real-time 3D, with full camera controls, which means that you can physically go wherever you like and look at anything from any angle. Real Myst contains absolutely everything the original release had, eliminating at the same time its biggest drawback that ruined the game for many people: the inability to be physically immersed in its world. As a matter of fact, I used to hate it, and it was thanks to this remake that I changed my opinion and learned to appreciate it. ![]() Real Myst is so much better than the original version that you can't be sure to dislike it even if you hated the old Myst. This is exactly what the remake (very fittingly called Real Myst) attempted to correct - and the results are spectacular. The twisted irony was that adventure games didn't follow the vision of Myst, but only its faulty execution. Under a Killing Moon was a better realization of this vision, at least from a purely graphical point of view. There had to be some sort of an engine to tie it all together. Rendering and scanning pretty pictures was not really enough to make up for lack of activity. However, Myst didn't quite succeed at attaining its lofty goal. People didn't play them because they wanted to travel into a virtual reality so beautiful that it would be enough to look at it in order to enjoy the game. Adventure games were cerebral, not sensual. This was also what Myst wanted to be but in its time, there was no other adventure game that tried to do that. Today, in the age of advanced 3D graphics, many games are developed with a specific idea of making the game world as appealing to the senses as possible. This vision was most certainly ahead of its time. The vision of the designers was to create a world that would be beautiful and immersive just because it looked this way, without requiring anything else. Those graphics were now the focus, the main aspect of the game. The player was left alone with the graphics that represented the world. For the same reason, in-game text descriptions were removed. Interactivity had to be low because this way the game could feel sufficiently "empty", making the player feel like a complete stranger in a bizarre world. Puzzles had to be tough in order to make the world feel more alien and, in a way, hostile. The idea behind all those omissions was to immerse the player in the atmosphere of loneliness. But it cannot be denied that this experience is unique. To love or to hate the kind of experience Myst offers is entirely a matter of taste. For me, every game concept is as valid as any other, provided it was created with soul and not out of sheer calculation. The difficulty of the puzzles, the low interactivity, the absence of text - all of that was deliberate, as part of the ideals the creators of Myst had in mind. In order to understand and enjoy Myst, one must abandon all preconceptions and let the game do its job. Subsequent development of the genre even went as far as dividing fans into opposing camps: those who resented and lamented the game's meditative nature and its lack of interactivity, and those who saw in it a higher ideal of more sophisticated puzzle-solving. Inventory, characters to talk to, text feedback - all familiar staples of adventure games - were inconspicuously missing. This strange game greeted players with beautifully drawn images depicting confusing mechanical puzzles and not much else. When Myst was released back in 1993, it polarized opinions. Note: this review refers to the original version of Myst as well as the new features introduces by this remake. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |