Well, I have tried Myst for the first time and I have to say I am a bit underwhelmed. I wasn’t expecting it to be some mind-blowing experience with action at every turn, but there is just very little that makes me want to continue the game. I enjoy the usual type of adventure/puzzle game where you have to get a key to open a chest to get an item to move onto the next room, etc. This one however, does nothing to reward the gamer in return. The story is vague and any form of action is non-existent, which makes it difficult for me to get into it. Also, to think that this game at one point didn’t have any hints during the beta-testing, as we had discussed in class, is a frightening thought.

However, I think it brings up the interesting point of how a text changes and stays the same over time. While this game may be difficult or frustrating to play for gamers now, it was an achievement for when it was made. It was one of the first games to give a sense of three dimensions. The soundtrack was also quite amazing and I would consider it still very good by today’s standards. A similar comparison could be made to Shakespeare’s plays. Many students might find them a chore to read but at the same time understand that they are very well written and can even find many aspects of them enjoyable.

I believe that on a deeper level Myst has many interesting things going for it. It has a theme of books that bring the player from new location to new location. Yet when you open the books there is a video. Also, the book imagery is ironic in a videogame. I believe these kinds of concepts are rather interesting, but they require a study beyond just playing the game.

I look forward to the types of parallels that can be drawn between Myst, Zelda, and adventure games in general that we will be examining in the coming week.