Riven
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| Riven {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Cyan, Inc. {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | October 29, 1997 (PC) |
| Genre(s) | Graphic adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | PC, PS1, Mac OS, Sega Saturn {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Games and their Ages
Miscellaneous
Riven is the sequel to the highly successful computer game Myst. Directed by Robyn Miller and Richard Vander Wende and produced by Rand Miller, Riven was distributed initially on five compact discs and later released on a single DVD-ROM with a 14 minute making-of video. The Myst style of gameplay in which the player clicked on objects within prerendered still images and videos was maintained in this sequel, however it was enhanced with many animated scenes. It is widely regarded by players of Myst and other adventure games to be the most beautiful and difficult game in the Myst franchise. A book called From Myst To Riven chronicled the game's development after unexpected mainstream success with Myst.
Riven is also the name of the Age in which the majority of the game takes place. In the Myst storyline this was the fifth Age written by Gehn, father of Atrus, and like all of Gehn's Ages is unstable and doomed to die. Gehn coldly refers to it as simply "The Fifth Age."
"Riven" is actually an English word meaning "violently divided, split or torn apart". This is applicable to the Age, which has been torn apart by its instabilities and physically split into five separate islands.
The name "Riven" could also be interpreted as having some connections with the number five. The word has five letters in it. In addition, the "V" in "Riven" is slightly larger then the other letters in the word when seen in-game or on its box art to show its emphasis. "V" is the Roman numeral for five.
Contents |
Story
Although Riven is the sequel to Myst it also serves as a very fitting sequel to the novel Myst: The Book of Atrus, tying up many loose ends. 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. The player once again takes the role of the Stranger, Atrus's friend. Atrus needs the Stranger's help, as his wife Catherine is trapped on the Age of Riven, written by his mad father Gehn who has proclaimed himself God of Riven and rules over its inhabitants.
Because Atrus needs the Stranger to link to Riven, free Catherine, and trap Gehn, he equips the Stranger with a Trap Book, a book that "appears to be a linking book back into D'ni" but is "actually a one man prison." Atrus tells the Stranger that s/he must trap Gehn in this book, find Catherine, and then "signal" him, and without much more explanation sends the Stranger into the dying world of Riven to accomplish these tasks.
The stranger proceeds to accomplish the tasks set by Atrus. Catherine is found on a small island in the 5th age only accessible by Linking book from Gehn's 233rd age (headquarters). Catherine is released and Atrus is summoned. Whilst summoning Atrus the 5th age begins to collapse. Catherine and Atrus escape into another age and the Stranger falls into the void.
The ending of the game is short and anticlimactic. According to Miller brothers, the original scripted ending is much longer and difficult.
Alternate ending
If the player fails to trap Gehn before opening the Star Fissure, Atrus simply arrives and asks the player where Catherine and the book are. In this alternative ending, a dawning horror appears on his face as Atrus says, “I don’t understand!” “You never did!” cries Gehn, appearing behind him with a guard. As the world crumbles, Atrus is killed by a blowgun dart. Gehn retrieves the Linking Book—his gateway back to D’ni and freedom—and then walks close to the player, smiling. “I don’t know what you thought you were doing,” he says, vastly amused, “but… thank you!” Gesturing with the book, he adds, “I finally am… free...”Template:Ref
Hints of D'ni
Riven is based on and expands the ultimate past and historical background of Myst, fully described in the two books (the third is Riven's sequel). Other than language there is other information available to the player. Items such as Gehn's journal and his book in the laboratory explain more of Gehn's past and his relationship with his wife, Keta.
The game introduces 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 spoken by characters (poorly by Cho, a Rivenese person trained to speak basic D'ni phrases). The system of D'ni numerals and a system of symbols used for describing colors are also introduced, and it is necessary for the player to learn and apply them to complete the game.
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 its five islands. Most of the action consists of solving puzzles in order to access all of the islands through bridges and maglevs. Riven being a game in the Myst series, the player will find linking books which let him/her link to other worlds.
Riven includes the following Ages:
- D'ni (K'veer), the starting Age. There is nothing to do there, only the game's introduction.
- Riven, or Gehn's 5th Age, where the main adventure takes place.
- Gehn's 233rd Age, Gehn's headquarters.
- Tay, or the Moiety Rebels' 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. As a game, Riven could be considered a sequel to the Book of Atrus, providing closure to the inhabitants and protagonists.
The Riven Descriptive Book appears in Tomahna at the start of Myst III: Exile, but the black Gateway Image suggests Riven has been completely destroyed by that time (about ten years after the events in Riven). The Book is labelled with the D'ni numeral Five, the first time the descriptive book's cover is clearly seen (not including the linking books seen throughout the game of Riven), as Atrus is continually writing in the book during the Myst and Riven games.
Imagery and objects from Riven (most notably the Moiety dagger and the star fissure telescope) reappear in places in realMYST, Uru and Myst V.
References
External links
- Official Riven Website
- Robyn Miller's Official Website
- Robyn Miller's Blog
- Richard Vander Wende's Official Website
- Rand Miller's Blog
- Laura Miller's Salon review of Riven
- (D)Riven - Wired Magazine's 1997 article about the creation of Riven
- Template:Moby gamefr:Riven
it:Riven- il seguito di Myst nl:Riven sv:Riven: The Sequel to Myst