Sign in to follow this  
toblix

Riven

Recommended Posts

Riven's feels a good deal more (gah I can't think of the word) inhabited than all the other games I've played. Later Myst games (3+4) became obsessed with inventing far-out, unbelievable worlds, and while they are often interesting, the fact that Riven represented a single cohesive ecosystem as well as a civilization with it's own history, religion, and architecture made it so much deeper than the other Myst games, including the first.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Riven's feels a good deal more (gah I can't think of the word) inhabited than all the other games I've played. Later Myst games (3+4) became obsessed with inventing far-out, unbelievable worlds, and while they are often interesting, the fact that Riven represented a single cohesive ecosystem as well as a civilization with it's own history, religion, and architecture made it so much deeper than the other Myst games, including the first.
We may feel almost the same way here (although I wouldn't feel an apostrophe in the "it's"). While the linking makes it easy to take you to crazy, awesome places, it also sort of amplifies the "unrealness" of it. You never link during the "main game" in Riven, and one of the absolutely coolest things about Riven is that I can feel the size of the islands. If I find a place with a good view, I can see almost the whole game area. This is where the game takes place, this is the place I'd lose a leg to get to explore for the first time again. I like how the puzzles are realistic, not in every sense, but in the physical sense. It's steam and pipes and powers, levers and machines, creaky, old rubber, moving, scraping stone, dusty metal reflecting the sun, and it's so fucking awesome. Sometimes, when I'm somewhere I've never been before (in real life), and it's serene, beautiful and somehow fascinating, I instantly think of Riven.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I loved the idea of how you travelled between islands in Riven and the way

the water had a space in it for the tunnel.

I also loved poking throuhg Gehn's lab and finding the hidden areas that you needed to go.

I missed a vital door because I didn't close the main door in order to see it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I missed a vital door because I didn't close the main door in order to see it.

I think, in a way, that was the best puzzle in the whole game.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I loved the idea of how you travelled between islands in Riven

I'm a little bit of a Riven fanatic. A couple years ago I picked up the Riven artbook from ebay and the the fiction is really cool.

Minor, minor, minor spoilers:

The whole idea behind Riven is that Gehn, Atrus' father was unable to write worlds that were stable. That's why all the ages in Riven are in some state of decay. With Riven itself, the 5 islands are constantly drifting apart, to the flexible rails that you use to get from one to another allow for the islands to drift farther and father apart without destroying bridges or anything like that. What makes Riven so great is how logically everything works together to create a believable world.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just finished the Spire Age in Myst IV, and it still amazes me how incredibly complex and satisfying the puzzles in these games are. There are puzzles within puzzles, and that a light goes on or something moves when you push a button doesn't always mean you did the right thing. You have to observe all these crazy devices and mechanisms, try to find out what they do, find out you were wrong, look around some more and wham, you suddenly figure out some part of the big puzzle.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I just finished the Spire Age in Myst IV, and it still amazes me how incredibly complex and satisfying the puzzles in these games are. There are puzzles within puzzles, and that a light goes on or something moves when you push a button doesn't always mean you did the right thing. You have to observe all these crazy devices and mechanisms, try to find out what they do, find out you were wrong, look around some more and wham, you suddenly figure out some part of the big puzzle.

I agree the games' logic and structure have a certain appeal. But I just wasn't able to get into Riven. The navigation was just too confusing for me at times, which is why I liked IV more than the rest, you could easily place yourself topographically by just freely looking around and movement wasn't a chore. Just trying to get to places in Riven could be a pain, with all of the screen loading, disc swapping, and same-looking corridors. (Well the disc swapping and loading were probably remedied in the later releases).

Toblix, seeing as you're a real fan of the series do you think Myst V is worth looking in to? I enjoyed IV.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I remember my dad got me Riven when I was a teenager. He was so proud of the gift, after all he'd read about it.

I never got into the game! I got stuck ridiculously early and never learned to love it. It LOOKED amazing though. And to be fair, it was a pretty cool present.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this