5 ms·

Excited to see how this pans out. Myst and Riven (and to an extent, "7th Guest" and Gadget) 3D-ified text adventures and were very successful. Riven III was nod

Excited to see how this pans out. Myst and Riven (and to an extent, "7th Guest" and Gadget) 3D-ified text adventures and were very successful. Riven III was node based but provided full 360 degree viewing, but the game sucked. With the Williams' at the helm I don't think they'll let a substandard game through. Although I'm curious to see if they can add any more depth to it than Robyn and Rand Miller could squeeze out of the engine. IMHO I don't think there has been a single novel advancement to 3D games in decades, as I don't consider goggles to be novel. I had already played all the Infocom games before discovering Crowther and Woods' Adventure (remember this was pre-internet). It came in the box with a Mockingboard speech synthesizer I got for my Apple in the early 80's. The novelty was that the mocking board text-to-speeched the game, which was neat but unbearable. Not to mention it didn't know how to say "xyzzy" correctly.

moron4hire 5y ago
Have you played the 3D Myst remake? I've played it both on pancake monitor and in the Quest. On PC, I found it was very easy, though that might have been because I was 20 years older than the first time I played it. It's a delightful experience in the Quest. Some of the difficulty comes back due to not having any ability to take notes. But being able to walk around and see this world "for real" that I've already spent so much time in was giddying.
- gotaquestion 5y ago
  I remember reading something about it back when it came out (RealMyst I think?) but didn't get into it. I think a non-node based Myst would be difficult since there would be so many places to look for clues. In node-based Myst, you were forced to scrutinize a very small field of view. Myst III solved the 360-degree FOV by having the clues be quite obvious, as it is harder to "hide a lever" if the user can look anywhere. I was excited for Return to Zork's attempt at rendering, but was that ever a bummer ("Want some rye?" ...wtf?), as was Inquisitor.
  - moron4hire 5y ago
    Yes, RealMyst, name escaped me for a moment. Like I said, I found RealMyst easier than original Myst. Being able to move in 3D space made levers more obvious, not hidden in background detail. I also tended to get lost in original Myst and had difficulty getting back and forth between puzzles while backtracking (especially a problem in Riven). RealMyst with free movement taps into my spatial awareness much better.
    - jrmg 5y ago
      I think the game you're referring to (since you say you played it recently, and on Quest) is just called, slightly confusingly, "Myst": https://store.steampowered.com/app/1255560/Myst/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1255560/Myst/ (link to Steam, but I think it's available on all current-gen consoles too) 'realMyst' is an earlier 3D remake: https://store.steampowered.com/app/244430/realMyst_Masterpiece_Edition/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/244430/realMyst_Masterpie...
      - gotaquestion 5y ago
        I didn't know there were two. Weird. Even weirder that Myst is selling for $29.99 and realMyst, 17.99, 25 years later.
        q-big 5y ago
        The link for "Myst" on Steam that jrmg gave is to a more modern 3D remake than realMyst. This remake can also be played in VR. Indeed: Cyan created a whole lot of variants/remakes of Myst.
      - moron4hire 5y ago
        I played both. RealMyst about 5 years ago, Myst for Quest last year. ...And original Myst probably 25 years ago.
- mattl 5y ago
  What's a pancake monitor?
  - moron4hire 5y ago
    Slang for playing a 2D mode versus VR mode on PC.
    - jhgb 5y ago
      It's not 2D mode, though. That's just bog-standard 3D (unless there's some software that can do 2D-in-VR and has only 2D and VR modes -- is there any? Something like Age of Empires VR Edition?)
      - fknorangesite 5y ago
        > It's not 2D mode, though. That's just bog-standard 3D But without the depth perception that VR gives you. That's why it's "flat."
        jhgb 5y ago
        Yes, it's always been that way.
        moron4hire 5y ago
        Well, not really, because there are 3D displays with shutter glasses and lenticular displays that can show graphics with depth without the use of goggles or glasses. The graphics may be rendered in 3D, but the monitor itself, the thing I spoke of, only shows 2D images.
  - fknorangesite 5y ago
    Just a regular monitor. It's an idiom in the VR community, especially since a lot of games support both VR and non-VR. But always saying "non-VR-mode" or "normal mode" (which mode is 'normal'? VR or not?) is kind of awkward. It started as "flat", people started joking about it being "pancake" and it just stuck.
- shadowgovt 5y ago
  The VR headset really simplifies the Channelwood first puzzle, where half the challenge, I'm sorry to say, was understanding if you were coming or going as you moved around the node network of walkways and shunted water back and forth. ... but simplifies in a good way. I'm not a fan of the sort of artificial challenge that a viewpoint more limited than my avatar should have in a game induces, and I considered that complexity in the original more bug than feature.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- ehnto 5y ago
  The remake was excellent. Having played it already I wasn't really expecting to be wowed again, but it really was a great experience once more. Have you played Obduction? If not I can highly recommend it. I'm also looking forward to their new game Firmament. I'm so glad Cyan is back making games.
freddie_mercury 5y ago
> With the Williams' at the helm I don't think they'll let a substandard game through. Why not? They've published lots of substandard games in the past. https://www.vice.com/en/article/a3n8ea/how-sierra-and-a-disgraced-cop-made-the-most-reactionary-game-of-the-90s https://www.vice.com/en/article/a3n8ea/how-sierra-and-a-disg...
- atdrummond 5y ago
  Open Season, despite how regressive it may appear today, sold north of 1 million copies and received extremely warm reviews from outlets such as CGM[1]. From the Wiki summary of said review: A longer review in March 1994 stated that the game had succeeded "at so many levels", that its realism and "seemingly endless amounts of" police procedure offered "larger implications about our society and its struggle against the drug machine". The reviewer noted that treating NPCs with the same "lack of consideration" players do so in other games "seems incredibly damning—and heartrending—because it's true to life. We treat each other, the game implies, in our attempts merely to cope with the problems with which we are faced, like NPCs". The magazine concluded that "Open Season tells that story magnificently". 1. https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=116 https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=...

moron4hire 5y ago

Have you played the 3D Myst remake? I've played it both on pancake monitor and in the Quest. On PC, I found it was very easy, though that might have been because I was 20 years older than the first time I played it. It's a delightful experience in the Quest. Some of the difficulty comes back due to not having any ability to take notes. But being able to walk around and see this world "for real" that I've already spent so much time in was giddying.

gotaquestion 5y ago
I remember reading something about it back when it came out (RealMyst I think?) but didn't get into it. I think a non-node based Myst would be difficult since there would be so many places to look for clues. In node-based Myst, you were forced to scrutinize a very small field of view. Myst III solved the 360-degree FOV by having the clues be quite obvious, as it is harder to "hide a lever" if the user can look anywhere. I was excited for Return to Zork's attempt at rendering, but was that ever a bummer ("Want some rye?" ...wtf?), as was Inquisitor.
- moron4hire 5y ago
  Yes, RealMyst, name escaped me for a moment. Like I said, I found RealMyst easier than original Myst. Being able to move in 3D space made levers more obvious, not hidden in background detail. I also tended to get lost in original Myst and had difficulty getting back and forth between puzzles while backtracking (especially a problem in Riven). RealMyst with free movement taps into my spatial awareness much better.
  - jrmg 5y ago
    I think the game you're referring to (since you say you played it recently, and on Quest) is just called, slightly confusingly, "Myst": https://store.steampowered.com/app/1255560/Myst/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1255560/Myst/ (link to Steam, but I think it's available on all current-gen consoles too) 'realMyst' is an earlier 3D remake: https://store.steampowered.com/app/244430/realMyst_Masterpiece_Edition/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/244430/realMyst_Masterpie...
    - gotaquestion 5y ago
      I didn't know there were two. Weird. Even weirder that Myst is selling for $29.99 and realMyst, 17.99, 25 years later.
      - q-big 5y ago
        The link for "Myst" on Steam that jrmg gave is to a more modern 3D remake than realMyst. This remake can also be played in VR. Indeed: Cyan created a whole lot of variants/remakes of Myst.
    - moron4hire 5y ago
      I played both. RealMyst about 5 years ago, Myst for Quest last year. ...And original Myst probably 25 years ago.
mattl 5y ago
What's a pancake monitor?
- moron4hire 5y ago
  Slang for playing a 2D mode versus VR mode on PC.
  - jhgb 5y ago
    It's not 2D mode, though. That's just bog-standard 3D (unless there's some software that can do 2D-in-VR and has only 2D and VR modes -- is there any? Something like Age of Empires VR Edition?)
    - fknorangesite 5y ago
      > It's not 2D mode, though. That's just bog-standard 3D But without the depth perception that VR gives you. That's why it's "flat."
      - jhgb 5y ago
        Yes, it's always been that way.
        moron4hire 5y ago
        Well, not really, because there are 3D displays with shutter glasses and lenticular displays that can show graphics with depth without the use of goggles or glasses. The graphics may be rendered in 3D, but the monitor itself, the thing I spoke of, only shows 2D images.
- fknorangesite 5y ago
  Just a regular monitor. It's an idiom in the VR community, especially since a lot of games support both VR and non-VR. But always saying "non-VR-mode" or "normal mode" (which mode is 'normal'? VR or not?) is kind of awkward. It started as "flat", people started joking about it being "pancake" and it just stuck.
shadowgovt 5y ago
The VR headset really simplifies the Channelwood first puzzle, where half the challenge, I'm sorry to say, was understanding if you were coming or going as you moved around the node network of walkways and shunted water back and forth. ... but simplifies in a good way. I'm not a fan of the sort of artificial challenge that a viewpoint more limited than my avatar should have in a game induces, and I considered that complexity in the original more bug than feature.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
ehnto 5y ago
The remake was excellent. Having played it already I wasn't really expecting to be wowed again, but it really was a great experience once more. Have you played Obduction? If not I can highly recommend it. I'm also looking forward to their new game Firmament. I'm so glad Cyan is back making games.

freddie_mercury 5y ago

> With the Williams' at the helm I don't think they'll let a substandard game through. Why not? They've published lots of substandard games in the past. https://www.vice.com/en/article/a3n8ea/how-sierra-and-a-disgraced-cop-made-the-most-reactionary-game-of-the-90s https://www.vice.com/en/article/a3n8ea/how-sierra-and-a-disg...

atdrummond 5y ago
Open Season, despite how regressive it may appear today, sold north of 1 million copies and received extremely warm reviews from outlets such as CGM[1]. From the Wiki summary of said review: A longer review in March 1994 stated that the game had succeeded "at so many levels", that its realism and "seemingly endless amounts of" police procedure offered "larger implications about our society and its struggle against the drug machine". The reviewer noted that treating NPCs with the same "lack of consideration" players do so in other games "seems incredibly damning—and heartrending—because it's true to life. We treat each other, the game implies, in our attempts merely to cope with the problems with which we are faced, like NPCs". The magazine concluded that "Open Season tells that story magnificently". 1. https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=116 https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=...