Adventure on Myst Island

The adventure game MYST was way ahead of its time. Released in late 1994, the original MYST was the first computer game to be released on CD-ROM.

Created by brothers Rand and Robin Miller, the game of MYST was unique in its visual and auditory experiences. You play as yourself. Your explorations of the island are the things you would do if you were really there. The game was one of the first to effectively make the player feel they had been transported to another place.

This lens is NOT a MYST walk-through or guide!

I firmly believe that the game of MYST is best experienced without foreknowledge of what is to come!

My brother showed me MYST before I appreciated what it was. He showed me the secrets of the Library, and basically gave me the clues I needed to find the Stoneship Age. Later, after I finished the game, I could appreciate how much was spoiled by what I had seen in those few minutes on my brother's computer.

I hope to share with you my enthusiasm for the game of MYST, to show you some of its beauty, and to tickle your curiosity, without giving away any of MYST's secrets!

These words provide the introduction to the game...

I realized the moment I fell into the Fissure that the Book would not be destroyed as I had planned. It continued falling into that starry expanse of which I caught only a fleeting glimpse. I have tried to speculate where it might have landed, but I must admit that such conjecture is futile. Still, questions about whose hands may one day hold my Myst Book are unsettling to me. I realize my apprehensions might never be allayed, and so I close, realizing that perhaps the ending has not yet been Written.

With these words and an animation of a figure falling through a crack in the stars, a book lands on a surface. The first action of the game is to click on this book, which brings it closer. Another click and the book opens...

Open in front of you is a gateway to the world of MYST

When it opens, it is apparent this book is like no other ordinary book. Instead of text, there is an image. Not just any image, this is an animated image. The view first flies over an ocean, and then shows an aerial view of of a strange island. The camera gets closer and closer to the island, before finally landing on a dock...

This is your landing spot, where you start the game

After the game opening sequence and after you have been transported through the MYST book, you land here, on the dock.

This is the point at which your adventure truly begins. From this point, your explorations and actions are your own. Nothing you do in these early stages of the game cannot be undone. There is no way to die or lose until many more answers have been found.

It is in the Library that you will find the clues to the clues you'll need

The Library is a building you will come back to again and again as you search for answers on MYST island.

Directly across the Library from the open door is the bookcase. It appears to hold many books.

However, most of the books in the bookcase are burned...

On one of the eight walls of the Library hangs a map of the island

From a distance, the map appears to be just the island itself. When you step close to the map, it "activates" and shows some of the features of the island.

Just which features it shows and why it shows them, I will not tell you. However, the map in the Library is an important part of discovering the secrets of MYST Island.

There are a few books which survived the fire

When a book that hasn't been burned is selected, it opens to a page of handwritten text. Often, this text continues for several pages and tells a story of another land, outside of MYST island.

These books also contain sketches, drawings, diagrams, and maps.

In the back of this book about the Stoneship Age is a series of diagrams of various constellations.

There is a sunken ship at the dock, and a sunken model ship in the birdbath

If you turn to the right when you arrive on MYST Island, there is a sunken ship just off the edge of the dock.

As you explore the island, you'll come across another sunken ship. This time, it's a model ship, sunken in the birdbath.

Figuring out how these two ships are related comes from examining the surroundings of the birdbath area, and making connections with what you have seen in the Library.

In addition to MYST's visual richness, the beautiful and haunting music added much to the mood of the game. Even after all the secrets of MYST have been unraveled, you can enjoy the peace of the game by playing the music on this soundtrack CD.

Many scenes in MYST are dramatically beautiful

This scene contains no puzzles. It's gratuitously beautiful. Much of what made MYST unique was that it spent so much effort on beauty. Not just the visuals are beautiful, but the richness of sound and music also set MYST apart for its day.

This scene is a bit of a non-sequitur

While some of the sights on MYST island may have seemed a bit strange, this rocket ship out past the Library is the most out of place.

However, the rocket ship is in a very real way "connected" to another spot on the island. Figure out this connection, and find the unburned book in the Library that connects to the rocket ship to find another way off of MYST island.

Almost as much of a non-sequitur as the Rocket Ship...

These huge gears are visible as soon as you arrive on MYST island. It's a bit harder to figure out what the gears are connected to, as there is no obvious connection as between the rocket ship and its counterpart. However, like the wooden ships and the rocket ship, there is an unburned book in the library containing important clues as to how to use the gears to find yet another way off of MYST island.

This tree must be special, as it is surrounded by a wall.

Somewhat hidden down a trail forking off a trail that forked off the main path is this massive tree. As with the other sites on MYST island, the tallest tree is associated with a second spectific site on the island, and with another of the unburned books in the Library. The secrets of the tallest tree reveal one of the most intriguing ways off of MYST island.

All of MYST is internally consistent and can be solved by careful observation and logic. Believe me, you'll be much happier if you resist the walkthroughs and work it out for yourself.

That being said, here are a few MYST walkthroughs. DO NOT READ THESE until you've finished the game!

The secrets of MYST Island lead you to different worlds, or Ages, as they are called. Each is distinct and beautiful.

I'd like to hear about your favorite memories of your visit to MYST Island and the various Ages linked to the island. Spoilers will be deleted.