Myst Is Becoming A TV Series

News
By Kevin Parrish
published

Variety reports that Legendary Pictures has signed a deal with Washington-based Cyan Worlds to bring the popular game Myst to the small screen. The deal was made with Legendary's TV and Digital Media division, which has yet to determine if the series will be offered digitally through Netflix or Hulu Plus, or through traditional network TV.

According to the report, creators Rand and Robyn Miller are taking advantage of the TV deal to create a companion game to "expand plot points" on a number of platforms including desktop and mobile. Currently, they're working on Obduction, a real-time, first-person adventure powered by Epic's Unreal Engine 4 that draws on what made Myst and Riven so popular.

Published by Brøderbund, Myst made its debut on CD-ROM back in 1993 for Mac OS and then found its way onto Windows PC, the original PlayStation, the Sega Saturn, Panasonic's 3DO, the Atari Jaguar and more. Myst was a huge hit and remained at the top of the PC gaming chart until The Sims dethroned Myst's position in 2002.

Myst is a first-person adventure game that relies on puzzles and beautifully-rendered backdrops to set the scene. The game has sold more than 15 million copies and was followed by Riven in 1997, Myst III: Exile in 2001, Myst IV: Revelation in 2004, and Myst V: End of Ages in 2005. There are also a number of console and PC remakes as well as a version of Myst for iOS. There are even several novels based on the series.

"Cyan's goal in working with Legendary is not just to create a compelling TV drama but to develop a true transmedia product that will include a companion video game that extends the story across both media," Blake Lewin, the vice president of business development at Cyan, told VentureBeat. "With 70 percent of tablet owners using their device while watching TV, Cyan sees the potential to push the boundaries of interactive storytelling to a new level."

Could Myst become another Lost-style series on TV? In Myst, players assume the role of the Stranger, who uses a book to travel to the island of Myst. There he must interact with the world to find clues and additional books that help tell the backstory and lead the player to other "Ages" (realms). That said, we could so see this TV show appearing on the SyFy channel.

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Kevin Parrish
14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • TechyInAZ
    No way! I used to play those games when I was a kid. That's funny.

    Hope the TV series is just as good as it's puzzles.
    Reply
  • Ramshot
    Insta hit. I loved that series for PC. Bring it
    Reply
  • usertests
    I'd try to watch it if it featured a reimagining of some of the original music.
    Reply
  • FloKid
    I thought, "the series is going to be made in Unreal Engine 4."
    Reply
  • agnickolov
    I'm pretty sure the first Myst did not originally appear on Windows for PC - it appeared on DOS for PC instead.
    Reply
  • gaborbarla
    15 million copies in the nineties for a game? How do you drop a ball like that?
    Reply
  • COLGeek
    While Myst was visually stunning, at that time, it simply won't make it today as a game or a TV show. It is simply too slow for an audience with zero attention span. Flop, at best, regardless of venue.
    Reply
  • Haravikk
    How… why… what? I mean come-on, it's a game that thrives on creating a haunting, lonely atmosphere with puzzles to solve, often through a lot of thought, reading, exploration or just plain frustrating trial and error, how in the hell are you supposed to adapt that to a TV series? My money's on it either being boring, stupid or both.

    They really just want to cash in on the Myst name, probably to make something a bit like Lost. A mysterious steam-punk style series could be great, but if they force it to have the Myst name then it's probably just going to alienate fans and make other people wonder why they should watch it as soon as they find out it was a video game, just seems like a really bad idea.
    Reply
  • wishtar
    Some of you seem to be confused by this. The Myst and Riven games are only a small part of the "Myst Universe'. There are also three novels that tell of the D'ni society who are masters of 'The Art'. There's plenty of material for a TV series. There were plans for a movie a number of years ago but it never happened.
    Reply
  • Darkbreeze
    I disagree. Not everybody want to watch tv or movies that are ALWAYS about shooting, killing, hacking or dead things that walk around. Those things are all ok in the proper context and amount, but I think there is plenty of room for something off the path a bit. Consider as well that "based on" rarely means "same as" or even "alike". It's likely they would add a higher level of interaction with other individuals and possibly some action to invigorate the plot. It could work. Maybe not for everybody, but I don't know of anything other than air that everybody can agree on being a good thing. There's probably even some folks that would say something against air too, yes, the kind you breathe.
    Reply