Myst and the Textness of Text

What happens when simple text becomes only one of the many instruments of information circulation?

Well, what happens in Myst?

A few things happen. For one, one might suddenly pay attention to the textness of the text and its inherent properties. In Myst, for example, information is accessed through both note and spoken form.



Why isn't all the information, say, in spoken form?

Or more importantly, why are notes in note form?

For one thing, simple text calls attention to its own archaic and primitive nature. After all, in this world (the world of Myst) in which information is found in sounds, talking books, and images, why would you ever need to actually write words again?

At the same time, the use of simple text in Myst is not accidental (and this is just one of the many reasons Myst is so brilliant). The texts, or rather, the various notes and conventional books found throughout the world of Myst, are traditional forms of expression. Most significantly, they are trustworthy. Conventional text becomes the only form of information that is stable and concrete within Myst.