CanonGame_Myst_2848
**Posted by Anonymous at 5:53 PM
Before I start to talk about the game, I really want to ask a question, how can I find 135 in this compass?
It seems that I was so silly to ask such a question when I know the answer, it should be not that hard. But, actually, I spent more than 40 minuets to find out the answer, I just don’t know why I cant get it during the game. And, every time I pressed the wrong button, the room became totally dark so I can not fix it by pressing all of buttons, what I can do is load again and go back to the start of the island.
So during solving this puzzle, I was thinking, on what earth can this game be the best selling game for such a long time?
Actually, this is just 1 of many times I stuck in the game, so I want to tell the story from the beginning.
To me, the puzzle started from I choose this game for this assignment. I chose the game that I never heard before (or not cool enough for me to remember it). So Myst, Umm, a graphic adventure video game, released on September 24, 1993. btw, I was 3 three years old. So I started to think, It should be either ugly but fun, same as Mario, or ugly and ugly not fun. But to my surprise, it was kind of famous for its beautiful graphic. So why not give it a try?
So I started to try to install it, I suddenly found that it might be the most complicated install process I ever met. I download Myst, win3, Dosbox, Qtime, Et400. I didn’t know what the Et400 is. I didn’t follow the instruction at first. I installed the Myst directly in my vista system. What I can say now might be just it worth a try. I failed and started work on the Dosbox stuff, after reading the text on blog, I could start to install the win3, but I failed again. So I asked teacher for help and after painfully tried and tried and tried, we finally installed it correctly, with nice graphic and “nice” sound. It took me about 1 week on installation, I felt that, oh my god, I solved the puzzle and got the biggest reward in the puzzle game, the happiness when you solved a problem, though I didn’t do it by myself. And I thought, the puzzle in the game might not even as hard as the process of installing.
I started to play it. It started with a video, a man told something to me, which is hard for me to understand with the sound which is not clear. But I didn’t want to listen to it again, so I just went into the book and started the game.
What I saw is the very “famous” beginning picture of the Main island. To be honestly, I didn’t think the graphic is that good as many commons said. But then I realized that it’s a game released in 1993, the Super Mario’s time for me. At that time, Mario was just 20 color dots?! So the pre-render 3d picture was actually amazing. Then I figured out the way I play the game is just using mouse to point and click. That is a child game mode, click a picture and it will change to another picture, “A child would turn the page, click on items on each page, and those items would react in certain ways”(http://www.nowgamer.com/features/224/the-making-of-myst?o=0#listing). I walked around the island and try to be used to the method I walk, but actually, it was pain for me sometime, especially in the part that in front of the library, I totally lost several times, I guess that happened because when mouse turn to point left or right, it will turn 90 degrees or 180degrees(depends on where you are). Anyway, after that, I tried to figure out what I should do. According to the game experience I had, I thought at least I should beat some monsters, or talk to some npc and then I can know my task. But I was wrong, there is no clue at all. The only thing I can found is just 1 paper with handwriting font words. But that didn’t help me a lot. I was still so confused. But I started to find out that the main building is the library, because in other buildings what I could do is just 1 stuff, but I can do many stuff in the library. So I went into the library. In the shelf I found some books I can read, so that should tell me something. I read 1 of them quickly, it is kind of a diary. I didn’t want to read all of it. So I quitted the shelf, I turn to the map. But I didn’t figure out I can do something with the map. I suddenly found that I can click on 1 picture and then the shelf turned into a secret door. I went into it and found an elevator. I went up and found nothing. Then I got stuck. I had no idea what I should go and what I should do. And because the game is not that cool enough to make me want to solve the puzzle by myself, so I went find some walkthrough strategy. After that, I got the idea that what I should do. I knew the basic part of the world. I needed to find some code and go to another world. Followed the game strategy, I tried to go the stoneship age.(Because the room is just near the library) I changed the map, got the date, went to astronomical room and finally got three pictures of some constellation. But how can I know the meaning of every picture. I tried to ignore the strategy and press the button by myself. I failed. The leaves symbol is easy but the other 2 were crazy. The snake symbol could be every button. So I turned to strategy again. Btw, the fountain area made me lost again and again. I can not even tell which button I just went to. Finally I got to the stoneship age.
That is very first feeling about the game, actually, after I got to the new world, I started to feel a bit fun but I didn’t realize it I think. Now I have a new word to explore. The strategy I found is just a simple one, it just motioned a little about the generator on the top of the lighthouse. I found a key in the light house and a locked box in the bottom of the house(if I get rid of the water in the house by using the pump). The question is the key was tied on the ground and I can not take box. Suddenly I found a switch on the box, I clicked it and water came out, so I thought I found the key to this puzzle. So excited for me and I went back to the pump and fill the water in to the house, I wished the box will float up. But I failed. I thought my method is right. So I tried and tried, repeat many times, the box still stick at the bottom. That nearly made me crazy because I thought I was right. And then, during 1 more try, I suddenly found that I need to switch off the box and then it could store air and float up. Oh my god. Finally got the key inside of the box. When I’m typing now, I’d like to say it is a good detail and good puzzle. Back to game, I got access to the generator. I rotate several times and then I went to the scope and got the code 135. Then I got into the cave hole and started deal with the compass staff what I mentioned in the beginning. Because every time I pressed the wrong button, I should go back to the start of the island, so this part took me long time. I even went to search some image on google about compass. 1 thing I need to mention is that I did realize that the sound in the game is quite good and realistic. When I was outside, I could hear wind blows or water from the sea, that’s normal but realistic. Compared to Mario bros that time, it could not be described by just great or amazing. But when I got into the cave, I felt it’s more than that. In the dark cave, I can hear my footstep with echo, and if I called that is scary, then the alarm(if I pressed the wrong button, there came out the alarm) should be holy scary. That is one of the reason I stuck in this place, it made me feel I really got dazzled and can not get out.
About sound, I have to talk the selentic age. The entry puzzle is kind of testing player’s music skill, if I want to pass, I need to know how the tone high exactly and remember it, which is an impossible-mission for me. So after trying half an hour with helping of iphone’s recording software, I failed and gave up.
Then I went to the Mechanical Age, I don’t want to talk about the puzzle part though I liked it very much, may be because I finished most of the puzzle without hint from the strategy which make me feel great. The story is shown through many details in this world. I found the 2 sons’ room. 1 is the elder brother’s, it is well decorated and in the secret room of it, I can find many gold there, which imply that he is a men controlled by money. Another room is really dirty and filled with weapon which imply that the little son is cruel. In the box in his secret room, I could even find some bloody dead body. I read the story after the whole game, and then I realized though there is no detail story from the game, but player still could find and guess the whole story, which make the game fun enough.
After this section, I passed the last one and finished the game. It has 4 ends, 3 bad one and 1 good one.
I should give 1 paper to the “dad”, and if I give him red or blue(his sons’ paper), player will be trapped in the book, that’s the bad end. If I give him the white paper, he will be released and it’s the good end.
As we all known, Rand Miller is the father of Myst, and what funny is, he performed the dad and little son in the final video, and his brother performed the elder brother. Btw, he’s also the father of this game species.
So in summery, there are several reasons I think make it as a canon game. The graphics, the sound, the puzzles, the story, which I have mentioned before, but there is 1 more thing, it is the 1st game released by cd. It helped a lot in storing the images and sound, that’s why It can beat Mario easily in graphic or sound effect. It ever changed the way we present games. Last but not least, as the 1st one of the adventure and puzzle game, it might seems so poor nowadays, and the puzzle might really makes many people mad, but if you understand and get into it, you will like it.
2848_Kyle
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