Myst

Karin Wenz, Assistant Professor of English, University of Kassel

The world of Myst is a world of books which is placed on a surrealistic island. To start the game means to open a book. This book teleports the user into the world of Myst. The world of Myst seems to be a deserted island. Inside a library - the central place on this island - we find two books on seperate desks. Each of them functionsas a prison for a person, whose speaking we can hardly understand. The task is to find pages which are missing in these books and to insert them to free both men. Each new page makes their voices clearer, and we can hear them speaking. The pages are scattered over different worlds. The entrances to these worlds are also books which function as interfaces between the island's world and four hidden worlds which are at the same time new temporal spheres. To find these books the user first has to crack codes.We find a book each to teleport us into one of the worlds of Myst and one to bring us back to the library. The very last book teleports us back into the world of Myst and now both imprisoned men can tell us where to find the last page to free them.