Riven: The Sequel to Myst

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Riven
Riven box cover
Developer(s) Cyan, Inc.
Publisher(s) Brøderbund Software (PC/Mac)
Acclaim (Saturn)
Enix (PS1/Saturn) (Japan)
Mean Hamster (Pocket PC)
Designer(s) Robyn Miller, Richard Vander Wende
Release date(s) (Win)
United States October 29, 1997
(Mac)
United States 1997
(PS1)
United States November 30, 1997
Japan December 23, 1997
United Kingdom February, 1998
(Saturn)
Japan April 09, 1998
(Pocket PC)
United States December 20, 2005
Genre(s) Graphic adventure
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: K-A (original rating)
ESRB: E (re-releases)
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, PS1, Mac OS, Sega Saturn, Pocket PC
Media CD-ROM (5) / DVD (1)

Riven is the sequel to the highly successful computer game Myst. Directed by Robyn Miller and Richard Vander Wende and produced by Rand Miller, Riven was distributed initially on five compact discs and later released on a single DVD-ROM with a 14 minute making-of video. The Myst style of gameplay in which the player clicked on objects within prerendered still images and videos was maintained in this sequel, however it was enhanced with many animated scenes. It is widely regarded by players of Myst and other adventure games to be the most beautiful and difficult game in the Myst franchise. A book called From Myst To Riven chronicled the game's development after unexpected mainstream success with Myst.

Contents

[edit] Name

Riven is also the name of the Age in which the majority of the game takes place. In the Myst storyline this was the fifth Age written by Gehn, father of Atrus, and like all of Gehn's Ages is unstable and doomed to die. Gehn coldly refers to it as simply "The Fifth Age." "Riven" is actually an English word meaning "violently divided, split or torn apart". This is applicable to the Age, which has been torn apart by the instabilities inherent in all Gehn's Ages; the world is physically split into five separate islands, and the native inhabitants' society is similarly split into factions who either worship or despise Gehn.

The name "Riven" could also be interpreted as having some connections with the number five. The word has five letters in it. In addition, the "V" in "Riven" is slightly larger then the other letters in the word when seen in-game or on its box art to show its emphasis. "V" is the Roman numeral for five. The complete title of the game, "Riven : The Sequel to Myst", is also made of five words.

The number five in general is so significant to the game, that a whole now-defunct site was devoted in detecting references of five in the game scenery, scenario, even the title and the package itself [1].

Riven's name is unique in the series in that it is the only game which isn't called Myst or Myst (number).

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Although Riven is the sequel to Myst, it ties up many loose ends in the novel, Myst: The Book of Atrus. Riven starts right where Myst left off, in the basement of K'veer in D'ni where Atrus remained imprisoned at the end of Myst. The player once again takes the role of the Stranger, Atrus's friend. Atrus needs the Stranger's help, as his wife Catherine is trapped on the Age of Riven, written by his mad father Gehn who has proclaimed himself God of Riven and rules over its inhabitants.

Because Atrus needs the Stranger to link to Riven, free Catherine, and trap Gehn, he equips the Stranger with a Trap Book, a book that "appears to be a linking book back into D'ni" but is "actually a one man prison." Atrus tells the Stranger that s/he must trap Gehn in this book, find Catherine, and then "signal" him, and without much more explanation sends the Stranger into the dying world of Riven to accomplish these tasks.

The stranger proceeds to accomplish the tasks set by Atrus. Catherine is found on a small island in the 5th age, which is only accessible by a Linking book from Gehn's 233rd age (headquarters). Catherine is released and Atrus is summoned. Whilst summoning Atrus the 5th age begins to collapse. Catherine and Atrus escape into another age and the Stranger falls into the void.

According to the Miller brothers, the original scripted ending would have been much longer and more difficult to create. [citation needed]

[edit] Alternate endings

To see the main ending the player must trap Gehn and free Catherine before opening the star fissure. However, there are nine alternate endings (game overs included):

  • If the player fails to trap Gehn before opening the Star Fissure, Atrus simply arrives and asks the player where Catherine is, and notes that the trap book is empty. In this alternative ending, a dawning horror appears on his face as Atrus says, “I don’t understand!” “You never did!” cries Gehn, appearing behind him with a guard. Atrus tries to concent him, a simple "Father..." Gehn then raises his gun and bellows "Father!? I am no longer your father because you are no longer my son!" As the world crumbles, Atrus is killed by a blowgun dart. Gehn retrieves the Linking Book (believing it to be his gateway back to D’ni and freedom) and then walks close to the player, smiling. “I don’t know what you thought you were doing,” he says, vastly amused, “but… thank you” Gesturing with the book, he adds, “I finally am… free.”[1] He then gestures to the guard, who shoots the player dead as the screen goes black.
  • If the player fails to rescue Catherine before opening the Star Fissure, Atrus arrives and says "I don't understand. You've captured Gehn, but... why did you signal me? There's no time left. The age is collapsing...." Atrus then uses the linking book to escape, not knowing the fate of his wife. You fall into the fissure and return home, but there is a sad voiceover explaining that Gehn was captured, but at a great cost.[2]
  • If the player traps himself in the trap book in the rebel world, a rebel picks up the book, realizes the player has foolishly trapped himself, and throws the book into a fire.
  • If the player traps himself in the trap book anywhere else in Riven, Gehn eventually discovers the book. You awake to see one of Gehn's henchman stretching his shaking hand out to the panel. Gehn then appears in front of you, holding the trap book. He remains silent, waltzes over to the desk behind him, picks up his gun, and shoots you without a word. As you slowly die, he explains "I don't believe we've met. I am Gehn. You must be the one that Atrus sent to trap me." He then goes on about how he is sorry that you must pay the price for Atrus' faults and that he wishes to see him one last time.
  • If the player meets Gehn before retrieving the trap book, Gehn insists that Atrus must have given you a linking book and tells you to go get it. If the player then retrieves the book and traps himself in it anywhere but the Moiety age, Gehn discovers him in the same way as above but adds, "I see you've found the book. Thank you for returning it to me. It seems, however, circumstances have changed..."
  • If the player refuses to enter the trap book after three encounters with Gehn, the player is shot with a dart gun when Gehn realizes that it must be some kind of trap.
  • If the player traps Gehn in the trap book, but later releases him, Gehn thanks the player and mocks him for his stupidity.
  • If the player traps Gehn in the trap book, but later releases him within the secret Moiety rebel world, Gehn appears in front of the player, slowly opening the book with disbelief. "I don't know why exactly you let me go, but thank you." He then proceeds, while holding his gun, to tell the player about how he and the rebels will finally be able to 'discuss their differences.' He then tells the player how the D'ni will be reborn and how millions of lives will be purified thanks to the player, but however, he cannot risk the player getting in his way, so he closes the book.
  • Although it is not possible to free Catherine without trapping Gehn because the code to Catherine's cell is not generated by the game until the music box is discovered and thus cannot be bruteforced, the code to the star fissure is generated at the start of the game and thus can be bruteforced (or discovered before reverting to a previous version of the game). If the star fissure is opened before the player visits the Moiety age and recovers the trap book (and Catherine's journal which contains the code to the fissure), the player disappears into the fissure just as Atrus links to Riven; you can hear sound of the link but you don't see him. There is no voice-over.

[edit] Hints of D'ni

Riven is based on and expands the ultimate past and historical background of Myst, fully described in the two books (the third is Riven's sequel). Other than language there is other information available to the player. Items such as Gehn's journal and his book in the laboratory explain more of Gehn's past and his relationship with his wife, Keta.

The game introduces a great deal of information on the culture and language of D'ni. The D'ni language was first used in this game, both in written form and spoken by characters (poorly by Cho, a Rivenese person trained to speak basic D'ni phrases. Cho is a latchkey to Gehn in the way of a slave- in one of the endings where Cho and Gehn shoot you). The system of D'ni numerals and a system of symbols used for describing colors are also introduced, and it is necessary for the player to learn and apply them to complete the game.

[edit] Ages

Main article: Ages of Riven

Unlike Myst, the point of the game is not to travel to Ages, solve puzzles, return to the hub, and then go on. Almost all of the action takes place on Riven and its five islands. Most of the action consists of solving puzzles in order to access all of the islands through bridges and maglevs. Riven being a game in the Myst series, the player will find linking books which let him/her link to other worlds.

Riven includes the following Ages:

  • D'ni (K'veer), the starting Age. Atrus briefs the Stranger on the mission's purpose, as well as giving the stranger a journal and a prison book. The events in this age are entirely scripted, meaning the player only watches.
  • Riven, or Gehn's 5th Age, where the main adventure takes place. It consists of five islands linked by a fast 'tram' system or other less conventional transports. (note that island means a patch of land that with a small, rotating sphere, or dome, that holds a linking book to the 233rd age. The term isle denotes simply a patch of land that may have its own dome or may be part of a chain of isles with one dome)

The islands are:

  • Temple Island: The stranger begins here and finishes. This island is actually three very close isles that connect via bridges. Several of Riven's landmarks reside on Temple Island, including an enormous golden dome divided in half, the gate room puzzle, the Temple, and the generator within said dome. It is necessary to activate the generator in order to power Gehn's 233rd Age books.
  • Jungle Island: This island has several areas, including Riven's only settlement. It can be accessed by the tram (to/from Temple Island and to/from Plateau Island) and a mining cart (to/from Crater Island). After arriving from Temple Island, the Stranger is presented with several paths. The first fork leads either down to a tropical lagoon and part of the settlement or up to a rope bridge. One large axe and one very enormous axe sit embedded in the landscape surrounding the rope bridge. After crossing the bridge, three routes allow access to the mining cart transport, the 'forest', or to another part of the settlement. The forest holds several mysteries, including the island's dome, while the settlement has a one-person submarine for transport across a shallow inland lake. Jungle Island also has the only access to Tay, the Moitey Rebels' Age.
  • Crater Island: Accessed by the mining cart from Jungle Island, this land is dominated by a large central lake with several rusted, industrial-looking constructions on the lake's edge. It is supposedly where Gehn conducts his experiments in Riven, and is the location of his laboratory. Also, a small 'ytram' (a frog-like creature) trap can be used by the Stranger sits in a cavern, as does the island's dome. Several essential clues are found in the laboratory for victory. The island's tram sits behind the laboratory, and leads to the fourth Island.
  • Plateau Island: The most complex island, Plateau Island has several unique features, but virtually no foliage. Two trams access the island, with the first coming from Crater Island and the second from Jungle Island. Upon exiting the tram on the left platform, the stranger, after climbing a flight of stairs, comes upon the first, and larger, of the two maps. (The large map covers over half the island, while the smaller is a petit grid no larger than a coffee table.) A small canyon-like pathway leads through the map to an elevator. The elevator takes the Stranger to the top floor, which houses the second map and the first map's controls as well as the island's dome. If the Stranger exits onto the tram's right-side platform, another, more ominous, elevator appears and takes the Stranger through a pool of lava to a cave below. There, various monitors receive security feeds from cameras around Riven. The second Tram can be found in the depths as well.
  • Prison Island: Also known as 'Catherine's Island,' it is where Gehn has incarcerated Atrus' wife, Catherine. The land appears to be a gigantic tree trunk with a small path leading out to the dome. This small piece of land can only be accessed via a single linking book in Gehn's 233rd age. Very little can be explored, as it is impossible to see Catherine's cell (she immediately runs up to the Stranger on sight and destroys the elevator's controls).

Two other, smaller ages are also in the game:

  • Gehn's 233rd Age: Gehn's home and headquarters, it is a small tower sitting atop a mountain. The terrain itself appears desolate, bleak and inhospitable, with yellow and red dominating the skies and no flora or fauna to speak of. However, the Stranger cannot venture outside the building and explore the environment. Only Gehn's small house can be examined. Gehn has several unique collectibles in his residence, as well as linking books to all five islands, including the only book linking to Prison Island. The Stranger arrives in a cell, and cannot escape until Gehn has been dealt with. Upon arriving, Gehn delivers a heartfelt, albeit fictitious, account of his changed ways.
  • Tay: The Moiety Rebels' Age can only be accessed by traveling a hidden passage in a Jungle Island cell. A puzzle, involving selecting the correct columns, reveals the Tay linking book. Similar to Prison Island and 233rd age, very little can be explored. The age itself, whether it's the surrounding cliffs, the inland lake, the cloudy skies, or the rebels' fortress (see game cover, above), can be simply described as gray and forboding. After linking only a small room with a statue and ambush party can be accessed. Once the rebels ambush the Stranger, a boat ride across the lake reveals some of the environment. But, the Stranger regains control in a prison, and links from there to Riven after receiving his/her possessions. This world is the one originally displayed on Riven's box cover.

[edit] Riven in the rest of the Myst franchise

A large part of the novel Myst: The Book of Atrus takes place on Riven. The Book is chronologically set roughly 20 years before the events in Myst. As a continuity could be considered a sequel to the Book of Atrus, providing closure to the inhabitants and protagonists.

The Riven Descriptive Book appears in Tomahna at the start of Myst III: Exile, but the black Gateway Image suggests Riven has been completely destroyed by that time (about ten years after the events in Riven). The Book is labelled with the D'ni numeral Five, the first time the descriptive book's cover is clearly seen (as opposed to the linking books seen throughout the game of Riven), as Atrus is continually writing in the book during the Myst and Riven games.

Imagery and objects from Riven (most notably the Moiety dagger and the star fissure telescope) reappear in places in realMYST, Uru and Myst V. The various animal symbols used in this game can be found in the floorboards of a room in Myst IV.

At the end of Myst IV, Atrus reveals that Catherine has taken Yeesha to Tay to unwind after the events of Myst IV's story.

On August 2, 2006 Robyn Miller announced (via his Tinselman blog[3]) the online publication of a music video for "Catherine's Freedom" (from the Riven soundtrack) called "Persistent Disparate Interchange". The film consists of old, uncopyrighted documentary footage that was compiled and edited by Justin Norman and Wesley Norman of the Shrieking Tree Web Factory.

[edit] Reception

As it was a long awaited sequel to a best selling game, Riven sold very well upon release and like its predecessor received mixed reviews. Computer Gaming World claimed that it was the "same game with a new title" and that after the first few minutes of gameplay, the story was "thrown out the window" and interactivity is minimal. On a more positive note, they also said that the graphics were the best they have ever seen in any adventure game until that point.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Adventure Classic Gaming (1997). Riven: The Sequel to Myst review.
  2. ^ Riven Hints - Alternate Endings. Retrieved on May 5, 2006.
  3. ^ Robyn Miller announces the online publication of the "Persistent Disparate Interchange" music video (accessed August 8, 2006)
  4. ^ "Myst Again", Computer Gaming World January 1998.

[edit] External links

M Y S T

Games and Ages

• Myst (Ages, Soundtrack) • Riven (Ages, Soundtrack) • Myst III (Ages, Soundtrack) • Myst IV (Ages, Soundtrack) • Uru (Ages, Soundtrack) • Myst V (Ages, Soundtrack)

Characters

• Aitrus • Ti'ana • Veovis • Gehn • Atrus • Catherine • Achenar • Sirrus • Yeesha • Saavedro • Esher • The Stranger

Publications

• Book of Atrus • Book of Ti'ana • Book of D'ni • Book of Marrim • Passages • The Book of Black Ships

D'ni

• D'ni Ages • The Art • Items • Kings • Language • Numerals • DRC • Timeline • Wildlife

Organizations

• Cyan • Brøderbund • Red Orb • Presto • Ubisoft • Turner • GameTap
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