Cyan shuts down

Yeah, i was really dissapointed when i heard they shut down the online part of URU because it sounded like such a wonderful idea and one way to bring adventure gaming back into the modern market.

It does not bode well for adventures games that the most successful company in the genre has been put out of business.

At least they were able to finish Myst 5 though

Wow... Thats all I can think. I grew up on MYST and Riven (And Tex of course ), and now its gone. I hope that Rand and Tony can do something to continue their next project. Later.

I personally blame Myst for the death of adventure games, really. The genre was alot more diverse before Myst exploded onto the scene with unprecedented commercial success. After that, more and more companies switched their efforts to trying to copy Myst, and we saw Sierra put out crap like Lighthouse while abandoning projects like Space quest 7. Not long after Myst was released you saw a real end to the humorous adventure. Games like Grim Fandango popped up here and there and were moderately successful, but generally the genre was abanded as "niche" and "unviable" mostle, because no one was putting out anything good.

So in conclusion, fork Myst. It was a great game and all, but it had a negative impact on the industry and the genre.

Myst to me was always just way too puzzle based and just all out boring as a result. It seemed so informal and had no personality what so ever. When games started copying Myst so much I lost touch with adventure games for a while... seemed like every game I'd find was another Myst copy, and the worst part is nobody could make it as good as they could... and to me it sucked!

I thrived on the Sierra adventures and still play several of them from time to time. About a month ago I was going through Liesure Suit Larry 6. Ahhh, the good times. Several months ago now I went thru Freddy Pharkas Frontier Pharmacist again as well. I loved that one. It's over really quick though.

Frogacuda wrote:I personally blame Myst for the death of adventure games, really. The genre was alot more diverse before Myst exploded onto the scene with unprecedented commercial success. After that, more and more companies switched their efforts to trying to copy Myst, and we saw Sierra put out crap like Lighthouse while abandoning projects like Space quest 7. Not long after Myst was released you saw a real end to the humorous adventure. Games like Grim Fandango popped up here and there and were moderately successful, but generally the genre was abanded as "niche" and "unviable" mostle, because no one was putting out anything good.

So in conclusion, fork Myst. It was a great game and all, but it had a negative impact on the industry and the genre.

That is utter BULLS**T, such a ridiculous comment that does not even warrant a response, but of course I am stubborn.

I am not saying that as a fan of MYST... I am saying that because it is so ridiculous there is no evidence to prove that. If you want to blame a game genre for the death of gaming, blame shooters. Don't blame a company or a series of games that did wonders for the adventure game genre just because you did not happen to personally like it.

All the great adventure games after MYST had nothing to do with the Myst style. Myst was in a league of it's own. Perhaps you should stop and think that the reason why Sierra adventure games started to disappear when MYST popped up was because technology was leaving them behind. If Sierra made crap games it's Sierra's fault! nobody else’s.

It's pathetic that you now have to start blaming MYST for the fact that the adventure genre is dying when you cannot come to terms with the fact that this is the way technology flows. Face that facts, the adventure genre is dying because every developer knows there is more money in other genres of gaming. Remember, CYAN was the ONLY company who managed to stick around and not sell out to other genres, and you are showing a astonishing lack of respect.

And Frogacuda, nobody appreciates that kind of language on these forums.

-Cub.

Now THAT, my dear friends, is "Cubbery" at its best.

Good discussion here, folks. Anyone else have two cents worth they would like to add?

lol


I have to admit that I kind of share his opinion. Myst really did seem to stear the Adventure market into a terrible path. Personally I hated myst and its knockoffs.


Perhaps its just that Myst did so well that the market felt it could only make adventures like Myst, who knows. But to say Myst killed Adventure games isnt that much of a stretch Cub.

Bah! You're all nuts!

Seems like this Tex deprivation has really made a lot of you crazy!

Cyan nor the Myst series are NOT to blame for the destruction of the adventure genre. Companies are!... Nobody had a gun pointed at Sierra or other 'classic adventure' companies telling them to ditch their classics for cheaper and crappier alternatives. If the companies decided to follow the Myst success it was their fault. Like I said, Myst was in a league of its own so of course phoney imitations were going to suck badly. Cyan never approved any 'knockoffs'... and if they did exist you can squarely point the finger at the companies who made them, and not Cyan. The unfortunate thing is, people want to hate Myst so much they are very much blind to this fact, and it is very sad.

Myst appealed to a certain market... and if you were a company dumb enough to abandon your own market and fans just to make money off the Myst idea and success then you deserve to go broke! It is called "selling out" kiddies! Funny thing is, you blame Cyan, and it happens to be the only company that did not sell out it's games, it's genre and it's fans (unlike Sierra and Lucas Arts etc.)

Blaming the Myst series for the decline of adventure games is like blaming Bush for the Katrina disaster... and well, all know that does not hold up well!

Me thinks some folks need to get a Tex injection soon before we start blaming each other for global warming or something.

-Cub.

Perhaps this is just the end of an era. The dynasty that was puzzle based adventure games is about to come to a close, at least as to the concerns of the mass market. Inventory management will be a thing of the past. So, now we look to the future.

Just as lone gunmen have become squad leaders in first person shooters, adventure games have to make the step forward to grab a larger piece of the market.

P.S. Myst did not bring ruin to adventure games. Believe it or not, but the Myst series was quite important in the evolutionary ladder of adventure, and thusly deserves to be remembered, even if you think it is poop.

P.P.S. I've never played the games. Maybe one day.

I never thought much of the Myst games for a long time. I couldn't understand how people would want to play games where you clicked through screenshots instead of moving fluidly from one screen to the next.

I had this attitude till i played them.

To me the games are highly immersive with a sense of wonder and exploration. I also find it amusing that everybody seems so hot or cold on the issue. You either love the games or hate them.

Myst was very important to not only adventure gaming but to the the video game market. Not only for being the first game to truly front cd-rom technology but i think its success over the years speaks for itself. Before the Sims (and i think now World of Warcraft may have the top of the ladder), i believe it stood as the highest selling PC game of all time.

I just think it's sad that no one is willing to take a risk and fund another project the Miller brothers have. Hopefully like a lot of great creative minds in the game industry over the years, they're able to land on their feet at another company.

I remember a comment Aaron made a while ago in regards to myst. He said he never understood why Myst took off so amazingly instead of the Tex murphy adventures. too bad for us anyways, it DIDN'T go the other way. I could give a crap about Myst, but there's no way to deny that Myst HELPED....not HURT. Cub is right... Myst helped bring a new level of gameplay, just like anyone who has an inovation toward gameplay, like even something simple like when Sierra started with the icons instead of using text. Everyone helped in their own way. It's when everyone stopped coming up with new ideas the genre started to suffer.

Farhenheit is the new adventure game (Indigo Prophecy). Just look at the reviews the game got before its release even. They're the next ones to bring forth a new idea and forward the genre. Some say it's not an adventure... I implore you to try it. It's an adventure... it's soooo an adventure. I'm loving it and only played it for 5 minutes before school.

And now I'm off to play again. And it's only a freekin' demo!

--Bill

Cyan may not be dead yet! We've already got some reports that old Cyantists have been rehired, and that their back in their old building that they worked on Riven in. Its still pretty quiet, but theres a new pic on the Cyan cam that say's "beginning of the gathering" (roughly translated in the D'ni language). I hope they get everything they need to continue on their new project! I don't know about some of you on this board, but I'm excited! Later.

Good news indeed, thanks Sowden!

I also am heading off to pick up my copy of Myst 5: End of Ages today and will tell you how it is when I have had a go of it.

-Cub. =o)

Thanks Cube. I need to play it, but I need to get through Path of the Shell and Revelations first. I know, I'm behind . But I'm seriously considering skiping Revelations cause I want to play a "Cyan" game, not a "Ubisoft" game with Cyans input, you know what I mean? But, whatever. Later.