Myst

Myst is a first-person adventure and puzzle game created by brothers Robyn and Rand Miller at Cyan and published by Brøderbund in 1993. It launched first on the Macintosh, built in part with HyperCard, and was soon ported to Windows, where it reached a much larger audience.

The game places the player on a deserted island called Myst with no instructions and no on-screen character. Progress comes from exploring pre-rendered still images, clicking to move from view to view, and solving environmental puzzles. Special books on the island act as gateways to other worlds, called Ages, each with its own setting and puzzles. Piecing together the puzzles gradually reveals the story of Atrus, his wife Catherine, and their sons Sirrus and Achenar, and forces the player to decide whom to trust.

Myst was a landmark commercial success. It became the best-selling PC game of the 1990s and held that position for years until The Sims overtook it, and it is often credited with helping drive adoption of CD-ROM drives in home computers because its pre-rendered visuals and audio depended on the format's storage. Its deliberate pace and image-based interface also drew debate about what adventure games should be.

The game spawned a series of sequels beginning with Riven, along with novels and remakes. Updated versions include realMyst, which rebuilt the world in real-time 3D, and a 2020 remake released on PC, consoles, and in virtual reality. Original discs are inexpensive, but the modern remakes are the most accessible way to play today.