Rand Miller

Last updated
Rand Miller
RandMiller2014.jpg
Miller in 2014
Born (1959-01-17) January 17, 1959 (age 64)
Occupation(s)Co-founder and CEO of Cyan, Inc.
Children3
Relatives Robyn Miller (Brother)

Rand Miller (born January 17, 1959) is a C.E.O. and co-founder of Cyan Worlds [1] (originally Cyan). 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. [2] 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 . [3] He also co-authored Myst novels The Book of Atrus , The Book of Ti'ana , and The Book of D'ni . [4]

Contents

He remains the C.E.O. of Cyan Worlds. [1]

Career

Before the success of Myst, Rand and Robyn Miller released The Manhole , Spelunx , and Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel . [5]

Miller, his brother, and the company they founded came to international prominence with the success of Myst in 1993 and its sequel Riven in 1997, both of which broke sales records. [6]

Following the success of Myst and Riven, Miller spent nearly seven years spearheading the development of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst , [7] an online massively multiplayer extension of the Myst franchise. Miller noted that "the essence of Uru was people love to explore and the fault in the one-off games is you get to explore until it stops. Well, what if it didn't stop? What if the worlds continued?" [8]

Upon its release in 2003, Uru was a commercial failure. [9] Online services were ceased by original publisher Ubisoft in 2004. [10] Despite this earlier setback, Cyan Worlds announced in Los Angeles at E3 2006 that they would be partnering with GameTap to bring Uru Live online again. On February 15, 2007, Myst Online: Uru Live was released. However, this version also failed to attain sufficient popularity and was shut down in 2008. [11]

Uru's failure caused Cyan Worlds to briefly cease operations. [12]

Miller appeared shocked by Uru Live's ultimate failure, as reflected in his letter to the Uru Live community, [13] which he wrote to explain why the game had to be shut down for an indefinite amount of time. In a previous interview, Miller had stated that finance from outside investment, not technology, was the reason for the failed project: "I think the biggest failure was running out of money, and thus running out of time, and thus losing control of our own destiny. No matter what promises are made or common goals are agreed upon, whoever pays the bills has the final say."

On October 17, 2013, Miller announced the development of Obduction , intended to serve as the spiritual successor to the Myst series, via a Kickstarter campaign. [14] The game was released in 2016 (for PC) and 2017 (for Mac OS). Reviews for Obduction were largely positive. [15]

Personal life

Miller lives in Spokane, Washington, and has a wife, Robin, three daughters, and two stepdaughters. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Myst</i> 1993 video game

Myst is an adventure video game designed by the Miller brothers, Robyn and Rand. It was developed by Cyan, Inc., published by Broderbund, and initially released in 1993 for the Macintosh. In the game, the player travels via a special book to a mysterious island called Myst. From there, 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. The player interacts with objects and walks to different locations by clicking on pre-rendered imagery.

<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 Brøderbund, 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.

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.

<i>Spelunx</i> 1991 video game

Spelunx and the Caves of Mr. Seudo is an educational computer game intended for young children developed by Cyan in 1991.

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

Robyn Charles Miller 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.

Tim Larkin is a composer and sound designer for Valve. Previously the audio director for Cyan Worlds, who produced the Myst series of computer games. Before working at Valve, he worked at Cyan, working as a sound designer for Riven, and as a composer for realMyst, Uru: Ages Beyond Myst and Myst V: End of Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Escape room video game</span> Point-and-click adventure sub-genre

An escape room video game, also known as escape the room, room escape, or escape game, is a subgenre of point-and-click adventure game which requires a player to escape from imprisonment by exploiting their surroundings. The room usually consists of a locked door, objects to manipulate, and hidden clues or secret compartments. The player must use the objects to interact with other items in the room to reveal a way to escape. Escape the room games were born out of freeware browser games created in Adobe Flash, but have since become most popular as mobile games for iOS and Android. Some examples include Crimson Room, Viridian Room, MOTAS, and Droom. The popularity of these online games has led to the development of real-life escape rooms all around the world.

<i>Myst Online: Uru Live</i> 2007 video game

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.

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.

<i>The Myst Reader</i> Collection of novels based on video game

The Myst Reader is a collection of three novels based on the Myst series of adventure games. The collection was published in September 2004 and combines three works previously published separately: The Book of Atrus (1995), The Book of Ti'ana (1996), and The Book of D'ni (1997). The novels were each written by British science-fiction writer David Wingrove with assistance from Myst's creators, Rand and Robyn Miller.

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.

<i>Firmament</i> (video game) 2023 adventure video game

Firmament is an adventure video game developed by Cyan Worlds. Similarly to their 2016 title Obduction, it was funded by a Kickstarter campaign beginning in 2018. It was released on Windows PCs on May 18, 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 Myst creator Rand Miller teases new Kickstarter project during IndieCade. PCWorld. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
  2. Walker, Trey. (2002-03-22) The Sims overtakes Myst. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
  3. "Rand Miller". IMDb .
  4. 1 2 Rand Miller. MobyGames (2009-04-10). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
  5. Games - Cyan, Inc. - Makers of Myst, Riven, and More. Cyan.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
  6. ‘Myst’ creator keeps the dream alive - Spokesman.com - Sept. 27, 2013. Spokesman.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
  7. Writing the Next Age | News | The Pacific Northwest Inlander | News, Politics, Music, Calendar, Events in Spokane, Coeur d'Alene and the Inland Northwest. Inlander.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
  8. Gamasutra - Myst Will Persist: How Uru Got Its Groove Back. Gamedevelopment.com (2006-06-29). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
  9. Myst creator warns of over ambition in MMO space | GamesIndustry International. Gamesindustry.biz (2008-09-18). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
  10. Uru Live Dead. IGN. Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
  11. GameTap Shuttering Myst Online: Uru Live. Gamasutra (2008-02-04). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
  12. Myst Creator Cyan Worlds Folds Archived 2013-10-14 at the Wayback Machine . Blogcritics (2005-09-19). Retrieved on 2014-01-14.
  13. "Cyan Worlds, Inc". 2007-03-28. Archived from the original on 2007-03-28. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  14. Chalk, Andy (October 17, 2013). "Myst Studio Brings Obduction To Kickstarter". The Escapist . Retrieved October 18, 2013.
  15. "Obduction". Metacritic. Retrieved 2022-05-17.