Myst Online: Uru Live

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Myst Online: Uru Live
Myst online logo.jpg
Logo of Myst Online
Developer(s) Cyan Worlds
Publisher(s) Ubisoft (2003–2004)
Cyan Worlds (2004–2007: Until Uru)
GameTap (2007–2008)
Cyan Worlds (2010–present)
Composer(s) Tim Larkin
Series Myst
Engine CyanWorlds.com Engine (CWE)
(based on Plasma 2.0)
PhysX
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
ReleaseGameTap
February 15, 2007
(Discontinued February 4, 2008)
(Service ended April 10, 2008)
Cyan Worlds
February 8, 2010
Genre(s) MMORPG, First-person adventure/third-person adventure, puzzle
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Myst Online: Uru Live is an open source massively multiplayer online adventure game developed by Cyan Worlds. The game is the multiplayer component to the 2003 video game Uru: Ages Beyond Myst . Like Uru, Myst Online takes place in 2000s New Mexico, where an ancient civilization known as the D'ni once thrived. The D'ni had the ability to create portals to other worlds or Ages by writing descriptive books of the Age. Players uncover clues and solve puzzles together; plot developments were added via episodic content updates.

Contents

Uru's multiplayer segment was delayed and only shipped with the single-player component initially; in February 2004 the multiplayer was scrapped entirely. Dedicated fans kept an unsupported version of the game alive through Cyan-maintained servers. Online game distributor GameTap resurrected the game as Myst Online in 2007, but this version was canceled due to a lack of subscribers despite generally positive reviews. Cyan received the rights to Myst Online from GameTap and announced its intention to bring the game back.

In 2010, Cyan Worlds released the game free of charge, under the name MO:ULagain. It is currently hosted on Cyan-maintained servers.

In 2011, Cyan Worlds and OpenUru.org announced the release of Myst Online's client and 3ds Max plugin under the GNU GPL v3 license. [1]

Gameplay

Screenshot of a group of players standing in one of the many "Neighborhoods" MOULBevinGroupShot.jpg
Screenshot of a group of players standing in one of the many "Neighborhoods"

Myst Online's gameplay is a massively multiplayer online game, where players interact with others to solve puzzles and advance the story. Players communicate with others using a "Ki", an artifact which provides a special interface. Each player has their own personal Age, called Relto; unlike in public areas, each player's Relto is different depending on the player's tastes. In public areas, any action a player takes is persistent and remains part of that world — kick a stone in one player's game, for instance, and the stone will be moved when any other player enters the area. [2]

Myst Online takes place in fictitious caverns below Earth's surface. Thousands of years ago, a race known as the D'ni practiced a craft known as The Art. By writing special books describing a location, the D'ni created a link to that world. The D'ni had their own number system and language distinct from the humans dwelling above them. According to the story, archeologists much later discovered the caverns and teamed with a development studio (Cyan Worlds) to produce educational video games based on their findings; thus, the story in the Myst games is canonically findings from the caverns. New content and additions to the story were revealed through "episodes". [3]

Development

After completing Riven —the sequel to the bestselling Myst —in 1997, developer Rand Miller and his company, Cyan Worlds, began development of what would become Uru: Ages Beyond Myst . [4] Initially, the game was to have been called Myst Online and have been a multiplayer-only title, but game publisher Ubisoft pushed for a single-player dimension. The online component, called Uru Live, did not ship with Ages Beyond Myst; in 2004, Uru Live was suspended entirely. [5] In 2006, Cyan developed a stand-in for Uru Live, called Until Uru; this replacement was hosted by players in servers known as "shards", and did not have content updates or official support. [6] [7]

GameTap

On May 9, 2006, Cyan Worlds and GameTap announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo that Myst Online: Uru Live would be returning in the holiday season of 2006. The GameTap version did not require any physical purchase: all the game content was downloaded through GameTap, which was subscribed to for a monthly fee. A major reason for the resurrection of the game was the fan support. According to GameTap's vice president of content Ricardo Sanchez, "One of the reasons [GameTap was] so attracted to Uru Live is that it had this persistent group that kept it alive during the dark days of it not being a product." [8] Closed public beta testing of Myst Online: Uru Live began in August 2006. A period of semi-open beta testing lasted from December 12 to 18, 2006, with an open beta beginning on December 20. On January 18, 2007, it was announced that a Macintosh port of the game was being developed by TransGaming; a beta became available soon after. This coincided with the release of the first new Age, Eder Delin. GameTap brought Myst Online: Uru Live online in February 2007. On May 19, 2007, Myst Online made the move to episodic content releases, [9] with each episode adding new Ages, puzzles, and a plot continuation. It was also released for Mac OS X, the first GameTap game for the platform. [10]

In February 2008, GameTap announced that Myst Online was canceled. Sanchez released a statement that "The decision was a very difficult one and was made for business reasons rather than due to any issues regarding the design and vision of the amazing world that Cyan Worlds and Rand Miller have brought to us. Despite the great Myst Online experience coming to a close, Cyan is still a very valued partner of GameTap, we are on excellent terms, and we look forward to continuing our relationship in the future." [11]

Various explanations for Uru Live's continuing troubles were given. Game designer Ernest Adams stated that "An important part of Myst's atmosphere came from being alone in a very strange place." Adams stated that the realities of online play distracted from the fantasy setting. [12] When asked about the game's commercial failure, Miller responded:

I'm always going to fall back on 'we were ahead of our time,' because it's easy. The biggest thing we did was an all or nothing proposal from an entertainment point of view. It's not like you can start up a new TV network and give one show a month and expect it to be successful ... We couldn't quite pull that off with the money we had." [13]

GameTap parent Turner Broadcasting's product development vice president Blake Lewin added that he did not believe any budget would have worked, due to the difficult content production pipeline. Lewin compared the game's production to the television series Lost , which had difficulties producing a full season. [13] In an article discussing the current state of the adventure game genre, IGN writers Steve Butts and Charles Onyett considered the major issues with Myst Online that while a different kind of adventure game, Myst Online was not accessible to players other than the "hardcore faithful". The authors suggested that the franchise needed "to try something more dramatic than slapping an online architecture onto a game that already released, then periodically putting out small content updates." [14]

MORE and future

After several months of negotiations, Cyan regained the rights to Myst Online for no charge. Miller stated that Cyan was committed to resurrecting Myst Online once again, giving fans the chance to interact with and create content. [15] The new version of Myst Online was dubbed the "Myst Online Restoration Experiment" or MORE, and Cyan planned to reopen the game on their own servers without new content; instead, tools would be released for fans to create new content. Cyan put forward a tentative outline, which started with Cyan running MORE servers, the restructuring of the MystOnline.com web site, the release of MORE tools to players, and the delegation of approving fan-made content given to groups known as "Guilds". The ultimate goal was a continuation of the storyline and new content, with or without fan aid. [15]

MORE was postponed after revenue to Cyan was disrupted and the company was forced to lay off all but seven employees in November 2008. [16] The company has since announced that Myst Online's source code and tools would be given to the fans, making MORE an open-source project. [17] On April 6, 2011, Cyan Worlds released the client and the tools under the GNU GPL v3 license on the OpenUru.org website. [18]

Uru Live Again

On February 8, 2010, Cyan Worlds announced the return of Myst Online under the new title Myst Online: URU Live Again. The game is now being advertised as entirely free to play. [19] In August 2020, fan-led development of the game led to the release of the first fan-created Ages. [20]

Reception

Myst Online was generally well received by critics. The game has average critic scores of 77% and 83% at aggregate sites Metacritic and GameRankings, respectively. [21] [22] The Ages' varied visuals and strong aesthetic design were praised, as were the ambient sounds and music. [23] The world that persistently changes depending on player actions was also lauded as more sophisticated than other MMOs. [2] [24]

Complaints from Uru: Ages Beyond Myst carried over to Myst Online; for example, Robert Washburne of JustAdventure found that the interface was still clunky. [2] Charles Onyett of IGN said that those who had played through the previous Uru content would not find many changes: "As a result, Myst veterans uninterested in plugging through Uru's content again will be left with a dearth of things to actually do, shifting the onus of gameplay creation to the community." [25] Onyett continued that the only reason to subscribe to the game was the dedicated fan community and the potential for the game to expand. [25] Sarah Borger of GamesRadar noted that most puzzles could be completed without the help of other players, making the game "a pretty chat room". [24]

Related Research Articles

<i>Myst</i> 1993 video game

Myst is an adventure video game designed by Rand and Robyn Miller. It was developed by Cyan, Inc., published by Broderbund, and first released in 1993 for the Macintosh. In the game, the player travels via a special book to a mysterious island called Myst. The player interacts with objects and traverses the environment by clicking on pre-rendered imagery. Solving puzzles allows the player to travel to other worlds ("Ages"), which reveal the backstory of the game's characters and help the player make the choice of whom to aid.

<i>Riven</i> 1997 video game

Riven: The Sequel to Myst is a puzzle adventure video game, the second in the Myst series of games. Developed by Cyan Worlds, it was initially published by Red Orb Entertainment, a division of Broderbund. Riven was distributed on five compact discs and released for Mac and Windows personal computers on October 31, 1997, in North America; it was later released on a single DVD-ROM in 1998. Riven was also ported to several other platforms. The story of Riven is set after the events of Myst. Having been rescued from the efforts of his sons, Atrus enlists the help of the player character to free his wife from his power-hungry father, Gehn. Riven takes place almost entirely on the Age of Riven, a world slowly falling apart due to Gehn's destructive rule.

<i>Uru: Ages Beyond Myst</i> 2003 video game

Uru: Ages Beyond Myst is an adventure video game developed by Cyan Worlds and published by Ubisoft. Released in 2003, the title is the fourth game in the Myst canon. Departing from previous games of the franchise, Uru takes place in the modern era and allows players to customize their onscreen avatars. Players use their avatars to explore the abandoned city of an ancient race known as the D'ni, uncover story clues and solve puzzles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyan Worlds</span> American video game developer

Cyan, Inc., also known as Cyan Worlds, Inc., is an American video game developer and publisher based in Mead, Washington. Founded as Cyan Productions by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller in 1987, the company created the Myst series.

<i>Myst III: Exile</i> Third title in the Myst series of graphic adventure puzzle video games

Myst III: Exile is the third title in the Myst series of graphic adventure puzzle video games. While the preceding games in the series, Myst and Riven, were produced by Cyan Worlds and published by Broderbund, Exile was developed by Presto Studios and published by Ubi Soft. The game was released on four compact discs for both Mac OS and Microsoft Windows on May 8, 2001; versions for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 were released in late 2002. A single-disc DVD version was later released for Windows and Mac OS.

<i>Myst IV: Revelation</i> Adventure video game in the Myst series by Ubisoft

Myst IV: Revelation is a 2004 adventure video game, the fourth installment in the Myst series, developed and published by Ubisoft. Like Myst III: Exile, Revelation combines pre-rendered graphics with digital video, but also features real-time 3D effects for added realism. The plot of Revelation follows up on plot details from the original Myst. The player is summoned by Atrus, a man who creates links to other worlds known as Ages by writing special linking books. Almost twenty years earlier, Atrus' two sons nearly destroyed all of his books and were imprisoned; Atrus now wishes to see if his sons' imprisonment has reformed them. The player travels to each brother's prison, in an attempt to recover Atrus' daughter Yeesha from the brothers' plot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rand Miller</span> American businessman

Rand Miller is a C.E.O. and co-founder of Cyan Worlds. He and his brother Robyn Miller became famous due to the success of their computer game Myst, which remained the all-time best-selling computer game from its release in 1993 until that record was surpassed by The Sims nearly a decade later. Rand also worked on the game's sequel, Riven, and later reprised his role as protagonist Atrus in Myst III: Exile; realMyst; Uru; Myst IV: Revelation; and Myst V: End of Ages. He also co-authored Myst novels The Book of Atrus, The Book of Ti'ana, and The Book of D'ni.

Myst is a franchise centered on a series of adventure video games. The first game in the series, Myst, was released in 1993 by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller and their video game company Cyan, Inc. The first sequel to Myst, Riven, was released in 1997 and was followed by three more direct sequels: Myst III: Exile in 2001, Myst IV: Revelation in 2004, and Myst V: End of Ages in 2005. A spinoff featuring a multiplayer component, Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, was released in 2003 and followed by two expansion packs.

<i>Myst V: End of Ages</i> 2005 video game

Myst V: End of Ages is a 2005 adventure video game, the fifth installment in the Myst series. The game was developed by Cyan Worlds, published by Ubisoft, and released for Macintosh and Windows PC platforms in September 2005. As in previous games in the series, End of Ages's gameplay consists of navigating worlds known as "Ages" via the use of special books and items which act as portals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robyn Miller</span> American artist

Robyn Charles Miller is an American video game designer who is the co-founder of Cyan Worlds with brother Rand Miller. He served as co-designer of the popular computer game Myst, which held the title of best-selling computer game from its release in 1993 until the release of The Sims seven years later. He also co-directed and co-lead designed the sequel to Myst, Riven, which was the best-selling computer game of its year of release, 1997. Miller composed and performed the soundtracks to both games. He also acted in Myst, portraying one of the antagonists, Sirrus. He co-wrote the first Myst novel, The Book of Atrus.

<i>Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel</i> 1990 video game

Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel is a graphic adventure computer game for the Macintosh computer line created by Cyan, Inc. It was published in 1989 and won the 1990 Mac User's Editors' Choice Award for the "Best Recreational Program" category.

<i>The Manhole</i> 1988 video game

The Manhole is an adventure video game in which the player opens a manhole and reveals a gigantic beanstalk, leading to fantastic worlds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GameTap</span> Online video game service

GameTap was an online video game service established by Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) in 2006. It provided users with classic arcade video games and game-related video content. The service was acquired by French online video game service Metaboli in 2008 as a wholly owned subsidiary; Metaboli aimed to create a global games service. The service remained active until October 2015, when it was shut down by Metaboli.

An episodic video game is a video game of a shorter length that is commercially released as an installment to a continuous and larger series. Episodic games differ from conventional video games in that they often contain less content but are developed on a more frequent basis.

Tim Larkin is a composer and sound designer for Valve, and previously the audio director for Cyan, best known for the Myst series of video games. At Cyan, he worked as a sound designer for Riven, and as a composer for realMyst, Uru: Ages Beyond Myst and Myst V: End of Ages.

Characters of <i>Myst</i> Fictional characters of video game

The Myst series of adventure computer games deals with the events following the player's discovery of a mysterious book describing an island known as Myst. The book is no ordinary volume; it is a linking book, which serves as a portal to the world it describes. The player is transported to Myst Island and must unravel the world's puzzles in order to return home. Myst was a commercial and critical success upon release and spawned four sequels—Riven, Exile, Revelation and End of Ages— as well as several spinoffs and adaptations.

AdventureQuest Worlds is a browser-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released by Artix Entertainment in 2008.

Obduction is an adventure video game developed by Cyan Worlds. Obduction is considered a spiritual successor to Cyan's previous adventure games, Myst and Riven. In the game, the player finds their character transported to strange alien worlds but with human elements within the settings. The player must explore and solve puzzles to figure out how to return home.

CyanWorlds.com Engine is a real-time 3D game engine originally called Headspin and developed by Headspin Technologies in 1997 and later by Cyan Worlds to power the next generation of real time 3D Myst series games such as URU: Complete Chronicles and Myst V: End of Ages.

References

  1. ↑ "CyanWorlds.com Engine". OpenUru.org. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Washburne, Robert (March 5, 2007). "Review—Myst Online: Uru Live". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  3. ↑ Berens, Nathaniel (June 7, 2007). "The Ending Has Not Yet Been Written". The Escapist . Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
  4. ↑ Gerianos, Nicholas (November 23, 2003). "Creator of 'Myst' launches new game". USA Today . Archived from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
  5. ↑ Murdoch, Julian. "MMO Armageddon". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
  6. ↑ Berens, Nathaniel (November 6, 2007). "The Ending Has Not Yet Been Written (page 2)". The Escapist. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
  7. ↑ Washburne, Robert (2007). "Until Uru; the semi-living remains of Uru Live". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on December 31, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  8. ↑ Terdiman, Daniel (May 18, 2006). "Online game rising from the dead". CNET Networks . Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  9. ↑ Warzecha, Ryan (May 4, 2007). "The Future of Myst Online: Uru Live". Myst Online.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
  10. ↑ Cohen, Peter (March 20, 2007). "GameTap releases Myst Online for Mac". Macworld . Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  11. ↑ Oynett, Charles (February 4, 2008). "Myst Online is discontinued". IGN. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2008.
  12. ↑ Thomas, David (February 17, 2004). "'Uru' updates video game classic 'Myst' with full-featured 3-D version". The Denver Post . p. F1.
  13. 1 2 Boyer, Brandon (September 18, 2008). "Myst creator warns of over ambition in MMO space". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
  14. ↑ Butts, Steve; Onyett, Charles (February 14, 2008). "State of the Genre: Adventure Gaming – The Response". IGN. Archived from the original on February 18, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  15. 1 2 Sowa, Tom (July 3, 2008). "GameTap gives Myst Online back to Cyan". The Spokesman-Review . Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  16. ↑ Caoili, Eric (November 12, 2008). "Cyan Lays Off Almost 50 After Gamecock Acquisition". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  17. ↑ Sowa, Tom (December 12, 2008). "Cyan makes it official: 'Myst' now in the hands of its fans". The Spokesman-Review . Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
  18. ↑ "OpenUru.org". Archived from the original on May 8, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  19. ↑ Clarke, Robert (February 8, 2010). "Myst Online: URU Live Is Back, Now Open Source". Aperture Games. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  20. ↑ "A New Era in D'ni". Guild of Messengers. August 21, 2020. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Myst Online: Uru Live (pc: 2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  22. ↑ "Myst Online: Uru Live – PC". GameRankings. Archived from the original on January 11, 2009. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  23. ↑ Seamster, Jeff (June 24, 2007). "Myst Online: Uru Live Review". GamersHell.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  24. 1 2 Borger, Sarah (March 1, 2007). "Myst Online: URU Live". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  25. 1 2 Oynott, Charles (March 5, 2007). "Myst Online: Uru Live Review". IGN. Archived from the original on March 8, 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2008.

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