Myst (or MYST) is a graphic adventure computer game designed and directed by the brothers Robyn and Rand Miller. It was developed by Cyan, Inc., a Spokane, Washington based studio, and published and distributed by Brøderbund. The Millers began working on Myst in 1991 and released it on September 24, 1993.
Myst was so successful that it sparked a new genre of computer game, the first-person adventure-puzzle game. Many games that followed in this genre are often referred to by both fans and non-fans as "Myst clones".
The gameplay of Myst consists of a first-person journey through an interactive world. The player moves the character by clicking at the outside border of the game display and can interact with specific objects on some screens by clicking or dragging them. Unlike many computer games, there are no enemies or any threat of "dying", although you can lose the game at the end. The only competition is the player versus the puzzles presented in the game.
To complete the game, the player must discover and follow clues to be transported via books to several Ages, each of which is a self-contained mini-world. After traveling through each of the Ages of Myst, Selenitic, Stoneship, Mechanical, and Channelwood, the player would return to the starting point of the game, Myst Island, with all the information necessary to complete the game.
According to the creators, the game's name, as well as the overall solitary and mysterious atmosphere of the island, was inspired by the book Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. Also said to have been an inspiration is The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares, a novel which deals with an anonymous traveller entering a surrealistic island created by a brilliant but deranged scientist.
Under obscure circumstances, a mysterious person known as the Stranger (the player) finds an unusual book titled 'Myst'. Opening the book, the stranger discovers that the first page is occupied by a single moving image or linking panel. The picture shows a flyby of an island. Touching this panel, the stranger is transported to that island and is left with no choice but to explore.
Myst Island contains a library where two books can be found; a red book, and a blue book. These books are traps for Sirrus and Achenar, two men who claim to be the sons of Atrus. Atrus is the mysterious and powerful owner of Myst Island who could write special books ("linking books") by an ancient practice known as The Art, which would literally transport the user to the worlds, or "Ages", that they described. From the linking panels of their books, Sirrus and Achenar plead to the stranger to let them escape. However, the books are missing several pages, so their messages at first are faint and unclear.
As the stranger further explores the island, more books are discovered hidden behind complex mechanisms and puzzles. There are four books in total, each linking to a different world or Age. The stranger must visit each Age, find the red and blue pages hidden in that age, and then return to Myst.
Those pages can then be placed in the corresponding books. The brother trapped within the red book is named Sirrus, and in the blue, Achenar. The more pages the stranger adds to these books, the clearer the brothers can speak. As pages are collected, each brother maintains that the other brother cannot be trusted. After collecting five pages, the brothers can talk clearly enough to tell the stranger where the sixth page is hidden. If the stranger gives either brother their sixth page, they will be free. The Stranger is left with a choice. Should she or he help Sirrus or Achenar? Or neither?
The brothers plead to be liberated, and above all, that the player not access a green book. They claim that it is a book like their own, and if opened, will trap the stranger. When in truth, it leads to D'ni, where their father Atrus is imprisoned. He asks the player to bring him a final page that is hidden on Myst Island. Atrus cannot bring justice to his sons on Myst without the final page. The note explaining how to reach the page has been ripped and brought to two of the ages by the brothers. This is the only way that leads to victory; entering D'ni without the page leads to eternal imprisonment, and freeing one of the brothers leaves the player trapped inside a book.
As the player explores the game, he or she discovers four linking books, books that allow a person to link to the worlds that the books describe. The Art of Writing was practiced by the D'ni, an ancient civilization who lived in a large underground cavern.
The game includes the following 'Ages':
Myst Island - the starting Age. This island remains the central 'hub' Age throughout the plot.
Stoneship Age - a somewhat small Age consisting of a few large rocky islands and a broken ship.
Channelwood Age - a small, swamp-like Age with boardwalks covering most of the ground.
Selenitic Age - a very large Age consisting of rocky towers, a small forest, and massive underground caverns, among other things.
Mechanical Age - a rotating fortress mounted between three islands.
D'ni - later revealed to be only a small part of D'ni proper.
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