Riven
A point-and-click sequel set on a crumbling world.
Riven: The Sequel to Myst is a 1997 adventure game from Cyan Productions, published by Red Orb Entertainment for Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. As the follow-up to 1993's Myst, it is the second game in the Myst series. It became the best-selling game of 1997, moving 1.5 million copies within a year, and earned critical praise for its puzzles and immersive quality.
The story picks up after the first game. Having rescued Atrus from his sons, the player is now asked by him to free his wife, Catherine, from his power-hungry father, Gehn. Almost the entire game takes place on the Age of Riven, a world crumbling under Gehn's destructive rule. Development began soon after Myst's success and took over three years. To create a distinct visual style, director Robyn Miller and his brother, producer Rand Miller, brought in production designer Richard Vander Wende as a co-director. Broderbund spent millions on advertising the release. The game later received ports to the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Pocket PC, iOS, and Android.
Critics praised Riven, with Salon calling it near the level of art. Reviewers highlighted the puzzles and immersive gameplay, though publications like Edge noted that the point-and-click format limited the experience. After the game shipped, Robyn Miller left Cyan to start his own studio, ending the brothers' professional partnership. Rand remained at Cyan, working on Myst-related projects such as *The Myst Reader* and the real-time rendered *Uru: Ages Beyond Myst*. The next series entry, *Myst III: Exile*, was developed by Presto Studios and published by Ubisoft. A remake of Riven, featuring fully explorable 3D environments and virtual reality support, was released in June 2024.
**Gameplay**
Like its predecessor, Riven is a first-person point-and-click adventure. Players explore immersive environments shown as a series of computer-generated stills, clicking to move or interact with objects. By operating mechanical devices and deciphering codes and symbols found in the world, they can eventually reach a vaguely explained goal. To navigate, the player clicks in the direction they want to walk or turn. The cursor changes depending on its position and what it hovers over—for example, a pointing finger near the screen edge indicates a turn. It also changes to show when switches can be toggled, items dragged, or objects picked up.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Riven: The Sequel to Myst
- Developer
- Cyan ProductionsPlayStation and Saturn versions developed by Sunsoft
- Director
- Robyn Miller / Richard Vander Wende
- Producer
- Rand Miller
- Programmer
- Richard A. Watson
- Composer
- Robyn Miller
- Series
- Myst
- Platforms
- Mac OS, Windows, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Pocket PC, iOS, Android
- Genre
- Graphic adventure
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Riven's story continues where Myst and its companion novel, The Book of Atrus, left off. Atrus knows the ancient art of creating linking books that serve as portals to other worlds known as Ages. He needs the player's help to free his wife Catherine, held hostage on her home Age of Riven by Gehn, Atrus' manipulative father and self-declared ruler of Riven. The player is equipped with a trap book and must navigate the five islands of Riven, encountering Catherine, Gehn, and the Moeity rebels. The game's ending varies based on the player's actions, with the canonical ending involving tricking Gehn into the prison book and helping the Rivenese people evacuate.
Development began in 1993 after Myst's success, spanning more than three years with a crew expanded from four people to a much larger team. The Millers recruited production designer Richard Vander Wende as co-director to create a visual style distinct from Myst. The game's world was originally to be called Equiquay. The first stage of development was creating puzzles integrated smoothly into the areas. Vander Wende, who had worked at ILM and Walt Disney Feature Animation, contributed an edgier vision that made the game dramatically different from its predecessor.
Riven is a point-and-click adventure played from a first-person perspective, with the player exploring environments depicted through computer-generated stills. Navigation uses mouse clicks, with the cursor changing appearance to indicate possible actions. The game features an optional Zip Mode for skipping to already-explored areas. Riven has more complex and numerous puzzles than Myst, set in a larger virtual world across five islands. The volcanic landscape is bestrewn with mechanical, Victorian-style artifacts such as elevators, pipes, levers, and roller coaster-like transports.
Reader's Guide
Riven was praised by reviewers, with the magazine Salon proclaiming that the game approaches the level of art. Critics positively noted the puzzles and immersive experience of the gameplay, though publications such as Edge felt that the nature of point-and-click gameplay limited the title heavily. The game was the best-selling title of 1997, selling 1.5 million copies in one year. After the game's release, Robyn Miller left Cyan to form his own development studio, ending the professional partnership of the two brothers. Rand stayed at Cyan and continued to work on Myst-related products including The Myst Reader and the real-time rendered game Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. The next entry in the Myst series, Myst III: Exile, was developed by Presto Studios and published by Ubisoft. A remake of the game, recreating the world in fully explorable 3D and supporting virtual reality, was released in June 2024.
Did You Know?
- Riven had a budget between US$5 and $10 million, more than ten times the cost of developing Myst.
- Many textures were accumulated during a three-day trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
- A remake of Riven in fully explorable 3D with virtual reality support was released in June 2024.
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