Eigentlich nicht viel Neues, außer der wischiwaschi-Aussage, dass das Ende noch nicht geschrieben wurde.......MYST has become a synonym for the first person graphic adventure game, and anything what followed was compared to MYST. When Riven and Exile were released the bar was raised again. How did you guys react?
We have always been humbled by the response to Myst. So many people enjoyed it. With the subsequent titles it was always our desire to simply make the worlds more rich, more immersive, more real.
What tools do you use in development and how are they different from the tools you used to use for the other MYST titles? Can you give us a little insight into the way you approach a project like MYST.
The tools for Myst 5 have changed dramatically, but the development feeling is the same - build a place, not just a game. With Myst 5 we're working in a real-time 3D environment compared to the pre-rendered worlds in the previous Mysts. That means we spend a lot more time working smart, reducing the complexity and limiting the textures, so that exploring the world is a smooth, dynamic experience.
But the approach is the same, an interesting mix of story, architecture, and gameplay. Create a bit of the story, design a bit of the place, and wrap in the play. Then go back and do a bit more story, more place, and more play. Then more story, more place...etc. The process continues to iterate and feed back on itself as each step contributes and affects the others.
Many people were surprised to see the announcement for MYST 5 considering MYST 4 was recently released and the time period between 3 and 4 was much longer.
Ubisoft wanted us to complete Myst 5 in a very short time. We were able to consider it for a few reasons. First, we had some design work already done. Second because we had a remarkable team that had a lot of experience with our own 3D engine coming off of Uru. It's still amazing to me how much we accomplished in such a short time.
Will MYST 5 be realtime 3D like Real MYST was, as some early screenshots suggest? It's nice to move around freely in the game world, but how will that impact the quality of the graphics?
Myst 5 will be realtime 3D. What realtime 3D graphics lack in photo-realism is more than made up for with the ability to move fluidly through a world that is dynamic and alive. With that said, I think that our current level of realtime quality is actually better than the original pre-rendered Myst.
Everybody I talked to has mixed feelings about Myst 5. On one side they are happy that a new MYST is being developed, on the other hand I see sadness because this will be the ending of MYST. Why oh why must this be the last one?
We have the same mixed feelings. We're pleased to have such a technically advanced Myst, that introduces so many new features and concepts. And there's a bit of regret that just when we've accomplished so much for the series, we end it. But sometimes it's good to get on with new things. It's refreshing to start with a completely blank sheet of paper.
Why was the concept and gameplay of URU – Ages of Myst so different from the original series? Many people expected it to be more like MYST. Will MYST 5 hold up the concept of MYST, RIVEN, EXILE, and REVELATION gameplay wise?
Uru was more like a spin-off then a direct part of the Myst series. It was built to provide a multiplayer experience and so a third-person point of view was always part of that. But Myst 5 is the fifth game in the series, providing a similar experience to the four Myst games that came before - first person exploration - albeit, in a state-of-the-art 3D environment.
As far as gameplay goes, we've made a conscious effort to make Myst 5 more accessible. Looking back at the series it seems that the puzzles have gotten more and more difficult - Myst 5 reverses that trend. We want people to see the worlds we've built.
We've also added a new user-interface model to our realtime 3D to allow a point-and-click experience similar to previous Myst games. And for the first time in a Myst game we've also provided a very gamer-friendly FPS interface for those who want full control.
What are your favorite graphic adventure games (besides your own games) of the past and present?
These games are not all necessarily graphic adventures, but to me they were about exploring. I was blown away by Mario 64 because it was the first time that it felt I could explore a realtime 3D world. Oddly enough, I was intrigued by Tomb Raider, it felt like after I killed the dogs and bad guys I could relax, explore, and decide how to proceed. I enjoyed exploring Dark Age of Camelot - trying to see the world, get to new places.
Choose one and explain: Pre-rendered graphics or Realtime 3D graphics First person view or Third person view Action Adventure or Graphic Adventure
Realtime 3D - because real life is dynamic, alive, and moving all the time.
First person (for our games) - because it presents a view of the world that most closely mimics real life
Graphic Adventure - because the "action" many times becomes a frustrating exercise in button pushing and starting over. And Graphic Adventures allow for much more advanced story development that is more integrated into the experience, where in Action Adventure the story is simply a background attachment.
Online adventure games are very popular with young people who played their first adventure game online through a browser. Will there ever be an online MYST adventure (browser) game to get more people into adventure gaming? (The original MYST could possibly be ported to an online version)
Myst certainly could be ported to an online version. It's just a matter of demand. There may not be that many people who want to explore the worlds that way - especially when newer Myst games allow them to see whole new worlds with the latest 3D technology.
With the end of the MYST era.... what could possibly take it's place? Will there be a “legends of MYST” to continue the now classic adventure series or is it the end of the brand MYST.
It's the end for now. There are no plans to do any more Myst games. There is plenty of story and design to draw from, but it's time to move on. But of course, anybody who plays Myst knows that perhaps the ending has not yet been written.
Adventure games are making another comeback to the gaming scene it seems. More and more adventure games are published these days. The internet has a strong influence on it all because it makes gathering information very easy and finding out about new adventure titles has become easy compared to the pre-internet age. Has the internet in your opinion become a strong marketing tool for adventure games to enlarge it's target audience?
Adventure games are not very popular with publishers these days, so I'm not sure that there is much of a future for them in their current state. Publishers don't sell the same number of units of adventure games so they are moving away from the category.
The internet has been an integral part of the Myst community, the place where people could discuss the game, and form friendships. It's the reason that the Myst games have gone on as long as they have.
If you had to describe the MYST series to someone who never seen the games.
Myst is about loosing yourself in another place, allowing it to become your world, exploring it so that you understand it.
Could you reveal a little about you long term plans considering graphic adventure games?
Our new project is called Latus - a completely new type of interactive entertainment that mixes linear storytelling and interactive 3D in a way that has never been done before. It's hard to describe. It feels like a new kind of genre.
Interessant ist allerdings der letzte Absatz: Cyan arbeitet an einem neuen Projekt, genannt "Latus". Something else??
