Riven - the sequel to MYST

The adventure game which started on MYST island gets more fleshed out and continues in the sequel, Riven.

Again, you play yourself. All explorations of the islands within the lands of Riven are undertaken as if you are really there. While running into other people is rare, it is more common than it was in the game of MYST. However, there is almost no interactions with those people. For the most part, it's a brief glimpse before they run away.

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

If you've read my lens on MYST then you know that I firmly believe that Riven is best experienced without foreknowledge of what is to come!

Everything in the game can be logically understood by observing the details of the surroundings. Be yourself, explore, and discover, and you will uncover the secrets of Riven!

While I am against spoilers and walkthroughs, I did spend a lot of time in the map room within Riven and made my own detailed maps of all the islands. There are spoilers on these maps! I'm hoping that you'll just enjoy the tiny thumbnails and only look at the big versions of the maps after you've completed the game.

Introduced in the game of MYST, Atrus is the first person seen in Riven

Atrus was the creator of the Library on MYST Island. He is the last person you see when the game of MYST is completed. He is the first person you see when you start the game of Riven.

He gives you two books when you start. The first is his diary. The second is a larger book.

When you arrive, things are out of your control...

The first thing that happens when you arrive in Riven is that you are imprisoned.

As you stand in the prison helplessly, a guard wanders by. He speaks to you in an unknown language. He then steals the larger of the books given to you by Atrus.

Next, as the guard examines the book he has stolen from you, he is struck by a blowdart. After he has fallen unconcsious, a rebel steals the book from him. The rebel then releases the prison bars, wedges the handle open, and runs off.

One of the first puzzles is this five-sided room

This room fascinated me. I loved the scarabs, and I loved the way the puzzle worked.

Here is the view of the Gate Room in the game:

And here is the view of the Gate Room that I re-created using Bryce, a 3d landscape and modeling program:

Fantasy maps are my favorite art form

Long before I had the ability to create digital landscapes, I created fantasy maps.

When I got to the mapping machine in Riven, I knew what I had to do. I had to get out my parchment papers and drawing tools to create beautiful hand-drawn maps of Riven!

The follwing maps contain spoilers. It is my hope that anyone who has not completed the game will not look at these maps in close detail until AFTER you've finished the game.

This is the island where the action begins

Temple Island is the home of the Gate Room, the Temple, and several other features which become important much later in the game.

I loved the Gate Room because of the scarabs on the pillars, not to mention the fact that it was a very clever puzzle. I loved this room so much that I re-created the Gate Room with Bryce, a 3d landscape and modeling program.

For full-sized images of these maps, please visit the Calyxa's Cartography page.

This is the largest of Riven's islands

Jungle Island has many beautiful sights. It also is home to some rather macabre locations.

Among the puzzles to solve on Jungle Island are the submarine and the mysterious underground chamber of tombstone-like sculptures.

The full-sized map of Jungle Island can be found at the Calyxa's Cartography link referenced above.

The artists got the water just right here

Paper Island is home to a large boiler in which pulp for paper making was boiled. When I was young, I lived downstream from a paper mill, so I know that the lake in the middle of Paper Island effectively conveys what it's like when water has been used to manufacture paper.

The one clue I'll give about the puzzles on Paper Island is the old bit of wisdom, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!"

Again, there is a full-sized map available at the Calyxa's Cartography link further up the page.

This is where I spent my time with the mapping machine

Survey Island is probably the weirdest and most oddly beautiful island in the land of Riven. It has also been called Spike Island, Plateau Island, and Garden Island, but I know from the Riven soundtrack that its official name is Survey Island.

Survey Island is home to a machine which maps all of the islands. I sat at this machine for hours making detailed notes for these maps that I made.

Just as with the previous three, a much larger version of this map is located at the Calyxa's Cartography link.

The smallest island is also the last one you'll visit

Prison Island is not only the last of the islands that you'll discover, it is also one where you have a chance to have limited interactions with another person.

Another scene from Riven which I re-created with Bryce was the strange elevator on Prison Island. See the full map at Calyxa's Cartography.

The game of Riven is so elegant and logical that I believe you are really cheating yourself if you use a walkthrough.

I love maps, especially fantasy maps, but I was very torn when I put my Riven maps on the 'net. But because they are not accompanied by any step-by-step instructions on how to solve various puzzles, I decided to share my artwork.

Where did Riven show its beauty the best? Describe where you were, but please don't give away any game clues!

Please also jump to the top of the page and click on the stars to rate this lens. Thanks!