My Favorite Video Games #1: "Riven"

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Myst fan. I've read all the books, i've played all the games, countless times, and in my younger years I even helped maintain an AOL Help forum for Myst and Riven, its sequel. I've gone to Mysterium, the annual Myst convention, when it came to Los Angeles back in 2007, and I also regularly contribute to a monthly podcast called The Cavern Today, dedicated to the Myst franchise as well as the Online Multiplayer exploration of Myst Online: Uru Live, which has recently become a free-to-play online game.

The Myst series over the years has remained my favorite franchise, created by the remarkable creative minds at Cyan Worlds. No other game spoke to me so powerfully with a deep story of betrayal and consequence, told subtly through the clues and environment, rather than through cut scenes and dialogue.

I was at CompUSA as a child, shopping for a new PC with my parents; the first real computer my family would own after the ancient 386 I had been using. With this computer (a prefabricated Compaq model that eventually proved less than sufficient. My parents weren’t the savviest computer shoppers), my parents allowed each of their children to select a software title of their choice (within reason; no $400 AutoCAD or anything like that.) My sister chose some Winnie-The-Pooh Clipart program; my older brother selected an early home-architecture program from Broderbund. My younger brother chose Jet Fighter 2, and I chose a game that captivated me with its box-art of a lonely island amongst an endless sea: MYST.

Playing the game is among the happiest childhood memories I have of playing games with my siblings. My older brother and I worked hard to solve the puzzles in the game together, drawing out notes and maps. I felt so proud of how well we had done when at last we solved the final puzzle and completed the game.

By the time Riven had been released, my siblings were already starting to move on from games, or adopt a more casual attitude towards them. He didn’t want to play Riven with me as he had done before with Myst.

This was a pattern that could continue on until today, where I still remain deeply passionate about video games, and my siblings either no longer play them, or only retain a passing interest in them (With the distinct exception of my brother Jon who is well into the clutches of World of Warcraft). Even so, playing these games with my siblings would leave me with my fondest childhood memories.



While Myst was an intriguing game unlike anything I had ever played before, it couldn't compete with the far superior Riven. The game had a much darker and almost steam-punky feel to it, thanks to the hiring of Richard Vander Wende, an artist and designer who worked for Disney on Aladdin.



Throughout the game there are some pretty dynamic moments. Chief among them are the sequences where you travel between the five various islands that compromise Riven. Most of them are connected by Mag-Lev transport (Magnetic Levitation) or through mine cart tracks.


The sensation was pretty incredible. The other aspect that really intruigued me was the design of the puzzles. Everything in that wolrd felt like it belonged. The game didn't follow the common adventure game tropes of having puzzles for the sake of having puzzles. All the puzzles in Riven felt like they belonged where they were, and had a good reason for being there.
A good example is a puzzle involving decoding a security password written in D'ni, the fictional language of the Myst series of games. Solving the puzzle involved figuring out the unusual base 5 and 25 number system, which meant finding a school-house on one of the islands that was being used by the villagers to teach their children. There is a mechanical hangman game in the classroom where one could watch the D'ni numerals come up, and count the number of clicks, extrapolating from what they've learned to pick up the remaining numbers. All of it felt natural, as though you were a detective using all your resources to solve a mystery.


To date, I own 7 copies of Riven:
1. Original 5 CD-Rom release (Cardboard art-sleeves)
2. 5 CD-Rom release (Double Jewel-case)
3. Playstation Release, 5-Discs
4. Ages Beyond MYST - Myst + Riven CD-Rom bundle
5. MYST Anniversary DVD Versions (Includes MYST, Riven, MYST III: Exile)
6. GoG (Good Ol Games Digital Copy)
7. Steam Release Digital Copy

This may seem like a lot, but I own nearly every version of *all* the MYST games. Everyone's gotta collect something, right?




Yes, there were Myst III action figures!


And finally, the MYST Board game.... It's not very good. Basically a 'Competitive Jigsaw Puzzle'

Powered by Coffee

There’s a few things that start off just about every day of my life. The first is a shower, since I like starting the day with a refreshing blast of water in my face.

The second thing is a hot mug of coffee. In fact, (and this may be strange to some of you), but I have a coffee pot that I keep set in my unusually large bathroom. That means that in any given morning, I can step right out of the shower and have a hot mug of coffee waiting for me. What can I say, I really like coffee!

As a young child, I was reviled by the fierce bitter taste of the coffee bean. It was an unpleasant beverage when compared to sweeter fare such as Dr. Pepper or apple juice. Still, as I grew older, I began to lose my taste for the sour and sweet candies I enjoyed most, and began to gravitate towards bitter flavors. Things like unsweetened teas and coffee.

Coffee is a delightful drink. In many ways it’s an adventure with every cup, since coffee tastes different every time I brew up a pot full. This is the nature of extracting a flavor from a living-growing plant that holds a slightly different flavor each and every day of its life and subsequent roasting. I drink it black too. No cream, no sugar, I take it straight. Some people like to put a pinch of salt into their coffee grounds to cut some of the acidity. I’ve recently tried this, but found I prefer the unaltered nakedness of a hot cup of smooth, bitter coffee.

The coffee I tend to drink every morning is Yuban. I really like the smell and taste of that particular South American blend, but there is also a strong factor of nostalgia involved, since that was what my father always brewed up every morning. One of the coffees I really like is the Dunkin Donuts brand. It is usually expensive to buy at the supermarket, and comes in smaller bags, so It is reserved as a rare treat. I have always wanted to try a hot cup of coffee at a Dunkin Donuts franchise, but the closest one to California is in Las Vegas… A little out of the way for morning joe, ya know? (Hey, I rhyme!)

Something I did not know about coffee: Coffee was used during some religious ceremonies in Africa, and during the 17th century, it was banned in some parts of Turkey as part of a political battle.


I typically drink 3-4 cups of coffee in a given morning. That might seem like a lot, but I always picture Fry from Futurama buying 100 $3 cups of coffee in a day with his $300 tax break.