Re: Myst!


19 Jan 1995 14:59:36 GMT

In article <3fkmbd$3h2@usenet.rpi.edu>,
The Vampyr Armande <furiop@rpi.edu> wrote:
> Play Myst a few more times. Examine it not just for it's puzzles,
>but also for it's mood, atmosphere, and so forth. What really drives the
>game? Is it graphics alone, or is it a combination of the nearly seemless
>user interface, the uncertainty when you are thrust into the game and
>the surreal nature of the landscapes?

Actually, these points have always been the reason why I enjoy
interactive fiction. The best adventure games drop you in with more
questions than answers, keep the scenery consistent with the theme, and
attempt to constrain the syntax to avoid breaking the suspension of
disbelief.

I'm not sure I'm interested in creating a "Myst-killer" program. But,
to me, Myst makes very effective use of multi-media to create and sustain
a mood. What I'd really like is to see if, perhaps in a more limited
way, the same techniques could be used with more classic forms of IF.

I remember playing several games which had a picture associated with
each room (The Pawn springs to mind for some reason), but they always
seemed cumbersome to me. Disassociated from the game, I guess. Myst
seems to do a much better job of integrating the effects into the game;
it makes me wonder as to whether an appropriate score or a video here
and there within the game could be added cleanly to other games. At the
very least, I already sample sounds on my machine; it can't be that hard
to go out and find authentic noises of a busy street or a babbling brook.

Of course, Myst had the resources of a (small) production movie behind
it, and was years in the making, so I don't expect to do things on that
level. But it would be nice to experiment...

John