Riven
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| Riven | |
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| Developer(s) | Cyan, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Red Orb |
| Release date(s) | October 29, 1997 (PC) |
| Genre | Graphic adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Kids to Adults (K-A) |
| Platform(s) | PC, PlayStation, Mac OS, Saturn |
Riven is the sequel to the highly successful computer game Myst. It was distributed initially on five compact discs, and was later released on a single DVD-ROM, along with a 14 minute long making-of video. The Myst style of gameplay in which the user clicked on objects in prerendered still frames and videos was maintained in this sequel; however, it was enhanced by many animated scenes. It is widely regarded by players of Myst and other adventure games to be the most difficult game in the Myst franchise.
Riven is also the name of the Age in which the majority of the game Riven is spent. In the Myst story line, this Age was the fifth Age written by Gehn, father of Atrus. Like all of Gehn's ages, Riven is unstable and doomed to die. Gehn coldly refers to it as simply "The Fifth Age."
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Story
Although Riven is the sequel to Myst, it also serves as a very fitting sequel to the novel Myst: The Book of Atrus, as it ties up many of the loose ends left hanging at the end of the novel. Riven starts right where Myst left off, in the basement of K'veer in D'ni where Atrus was imprisoned at the end of Myst. Once again, the player plays the role of the Stranger, Atrus's friend. Atrus needs the Stranger's help. His wife Catherine is trapped on the age of Riven, an age written by his mad father Gehn. Gehn has proclaimed himself God of Riven, and rules over its inhabitants. Atrus needs the Stranger to link to Riven and free Catherine, but he cannot risk Gehn being allowed to escape Riven in the process. Therefore, Atrus equips the Stranger with a trap book, a linking book that appears to link back to D'ni, but actually links to a prison age where there is no way out. Atrus tells the Stranger that s/he must trap Gehn in this book, find Catherine, and then "signal" him. Without much more explanation, Atrus sends the Stranger into the dying world of Riven to accomplish these tasks.
Hints of D'ni
Riven expands to and is based on the ultimate past and historical background of Myst, fully described in the three books.
The game contains a great deal of information on the culture and language of D'ni. The D'ni language was first used in this game, both in written form and (poorly) spoken by Cho, a Rivenese person trained to speak basic D'ni phrases. The system of D'ni numbers is also introduced in the game, and it is necessary for the player to learn and read D'ni numbers to complete the game. There is also a system of symbols used for describing colors that the player must learn and apply to solve a puzzle.
Ages
Unlike Myst, the point of the game is not to travel to Ages, solve puzzles, return to the hub and then go on. Almost all of the action takes place on Riven, and on its five islands. Solving puzzles in order to access all of the islands through bridges and maglevs, covers the main part of the action.
But of course as a Myst series game, the player will find linking books, that will let him/her link to some other worlds.
The game includes the following 'Ages':
- D'ni (K'veer), the starting Age. Nothing to do there, only the game's introduction.
- Riven proper, or Gehn's 5th Age, where the main adventure takes place
- Gehn's 233rd Age, Gehn's headquarters
- Tay, or the Moiety Rebel's Age.
See Ages of Riven for descriptions.
Riven in the rest of the Myst franchise
A large part of the novel Myst: The Book of Atrus takes place on Riven. The Book is chronologically set roughly 20 years before the events in Myst. Riven, as a game, could be considered as a sequel to the Book of Atrus in a sense that closure comes to the inhabitants and protagonists.
The Riven Descriptive Book appears in Tomahna at the start of Myst III: Exile, but the Gateway Image is black, suggesting Riven has been completely destroyed by the time of Exile (about ten years after the events in Riven). The Book is labelled with the D'ni numeral 'Five' (this is the first time the Book's cover is clearly seen with the exceptions of those seen throughout the game of Riven), as Atrus is continually writing in the book during the games of Myst and Riven).
Imagery from Riven reappears in places in realMYST and Uru.
External links
- Official Riven Website (http://www.riven.com/)
Fan sites
- esD'ni - Spanish fan site (http://www.esdni.tk)
- DutchMYSTCommunity - Dutch fan site (http://www.dutchmystcommunity.com)