THE ART OF 3D WORLDS Brave New World: Genesis, Evolution and Revolution of- URU-MOUL-MORE

MASTERWORK REVIEW - MYST ONLINE: URU LIVE
Cyan Worlds/ GameTap
Cyan Worlds Creation of a Stunning Virtual World Sets the Gold Standard in MMO Game Development

All Myst, Riven, D'ni, Uru Myst Online URU Live images, text, sound and music (c) Cyan Worlds, Inc. All rights reserved Myst(r), Riven(r), D'ni(r) Uru(r), respective Logos(r) Cyan Worlds, Inc. No part may be copied or reproduced without express, written permission of Cyan Worlds, Inc.

All the images in this specific article are from the Cyan Worlds Publications and remain fully and solely the property of Cyan Worlds, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Myst Online URU Live (MOUL) was published by GameTap and hosted online on the GameTap site from 2007 thru April 4, 2008. All references and content from the GameTap hosting of MOUL remain copyright GameTap All Rights Reserved.

Photo Credits: Group Picture of Explorers in the City, February 9, 2008, courtesy of CausticSarcasim, View of the Beautiful Halls of Kveer, MOUL, View of Explorers Talking to Dr. Marie Sutherland in Kirel Neighborhood, Ae'gura City, MOUL.

UPDATE July 2008
Cyan Worlds has received the rights to URU MOUL back from GameTap for the purposes of reopenning the game in what they are calling the Myst Online Restoration Experiment. (MORE) This is an exciting new step forward for this remarkable title and may include dynamic content contributed by the player community as well.

UPDATE October 2008
Cyan Worlds has had to put the revival of MOUL on hold until other projects are finished. This is NOT a cancellation but a hold and updates will be posted in the future about a new Timeline.

UPDATE December 2008
Cyan Worlds has announced it will do a provisional open sourcing of URU MOUL to allow the community to continue play with a central Cyan held data set and unknown process for modding.

MOUL Introduced

In 1987, a rancher stumbled across a cavern that led deep underground beneath the New Mexico desert. He found the remains of huge structures and vast complexes buried on the shores of a subterranean lake lit by phosporesecent algae.




The site of the discovery

Further exploration by archaeolgists and scientists discoverd these were the remains of a lost and hitherto totally unkown civilization that had flourished for 10,000 years beneath the surface and then vanished 200 years ago, with no survivors. This culture, the D'ni, possesed and had mastered some unique technologies that allowed them to move instantly from place to place and to discover and colonize new realms and Ages through the use of special books that "linked" two locations and allowed travel between then. The Art of Linking relied on special mastery of the skills to "write" descriptions of these locations and thus reach them. The D'ni also had masterful abilities to construct and maintain massive technology and cities using elemental forces of nature. They had a long and proud history and culture, their own unique spoken and written language and a complex society and recorded history going back thousands of years and beyond their time here on Earth.



A D'ni Linking Book

Records and linkings books were discovered that allowed explorers and scientists and researchers to travel to not only many of the remaining D'ni structures beneath New Mexico, but beyond to other Ages they had colonized, used and developed. Over the years since this remarkable discovery, the restoration of the ruins was directed by a council of scientists called the D'ni Restoration Council, DRC, and they worked to stabalize, restore and open areas for study and for visitors to explore.



The Kadish Gallery in the city of Ae'gura

There were, as there always are, human elements and challenges, personalities clashed, different philosophies developed and split from each other depending on the viewpoint of either preservation, or restoration, and the use of the ruins and discoveries. There was as well a remarkable separate history going back in time hundreds of years involving several families that were partly D'ni and party human from the surface, and their story came to be known and of great interest. In 2004, efforts to open the ruins to wider visitation were attempted but that did not last and the access was shut down. Once again in 2006, this access was attempted and many thousands visited the Cavern as the underground realm has come to be known, mostly to visit one of the cities, Ae'guera, located on a island in the centre of the huge lake that is the center of the subterranean D'ni world.



The City and view of the Arch of Kerath


These visitors have had use of the linking technology of the D'ni and other mechanisms that allow them to see and visit the D'ni structures and Ages. The DRC continued to opperate and oversee this large influx of vistors and continued to work to restore additional areas which were opened up for visitors and research over the entire year of 2007.



Majestic Ruins of the city, Ae'gura

The family mentioned whose history has emerged closely linked with significant events of the D'ni civlization and its Fall had continued to be very important for events in the Cavern, for the daughter of one of the main figures of this family, Yeesha, had evidently remained in the area, travelling by secret ways and means to watch over unfolding events. She was also in touch with an indigenous species of creatures called the Bahro who had the innate ability to link simliar to the linking book technolgy and who had been used for these and other abilities by the D'ni as servants and slaves. The Bahro would be significant in events to come. At this time, the future is uncertain, for the restoration and visitation is to be stopped once again, the visitors, the efforts of the DRC, and the future fate of the vast and enigmatic remains of the D'ni and their culture are at this time unkown.



The city of Ae'gura - view across the Lake to the Cavern

This is the story of URU, born in 2004 by Cyan Worlds, one of the most innovative and remarkable computer game companies that has yet appeared. URU was initially planned to be a multiplayer interactive story based game, allowing players to visit and interact in the game world in a dynamic and presistent very high quality totally free range 3D world, with individual avatars that were capable of complete movement, interaction and use of the environment and free communication thru game devices. The beta phase sponsored by Ubi Soft was cancelled before public release but there were reportedly an estimated 40,000 players interested in joining, and the nascent community that formed in support of this unique game proved indominatble and very strong and they continued to support development, first of the stand alone single player version and Expansion packs released, then the final game in a series of Myszt games that had preceeded and followed URU, and then an online reduced form of the game in what are called Shards, or individual smaller servers and on to the re- release of the game as MOUL or Myst Online URU LIve published by GameTap and Turner Broadcasting in 2007.

This is the story of the most remarkable multiplayer game world ever yet attempted and its evolution and the revolutionary achievements that Cyan has created with their dedication to a remarkable idea and its fulfillment.

The game itself is first and last, a multiplayer experience. The vast game world is freely open and available through stages of personal exploration and solution to each and every player equally. There are no exclusive guilds or castes, no ranking by player success or power or violent domination or conquest. This makes URU and MOUL a remarkable expression of democracy in action, open to players of all ages, backgrounds, walks of life and outlook. There are men, women, and children of all ages playing, and in the communty of thousands that has grown over the years to cover the entire world and region. They mingle in the game daily and were part of the in game story line as it was released in a fully realized and vital way.

The game story is the basis of MOUL, for it is much much more than a beautifully rendered 3D world. It contains and is an expression of a complex and deep history that is the purpose the telling and yet which is the setting for current and ongoing events of all kinds. One of the unique qualities technically was the commitment Cyan made to making it both a complex and fully realized work, i.e. graphically almost perfect in its rendering of a 3 D world with full sound, movement, realistic phsyics,



Beautifully Rendered 3D world

the ability of the avator visitor to run, walk, jump, climb, and use things in the world, but also for the world to be persisent and "seeable" for everyone. This means when anything in the world changes, some one new appears, someone changes something, turns on or off something in a public age, everyone else sees that same changes, i.e. it really does change. This means the game engine and the mechanics of the game need to be constantly re scanning and resetting everything in the game world and responding to all the changes.

This alone is an amazing achievemnt of game technology. Combined with beautifully rendered and textured and conceived environments, the world of MOUL and URU is stunning literaly and has scenes and Ages from all kinds of climates, forms and regions: jungles, artic wastes, wind blown deserts, arid bad lands, rich and lush mountain scenery, mystical alien locations, with living and dynamic creatures and life forms, and everywhere, the ruins and the vast and at times awesome structures, remains, buildings, interiors and cities of the D'ni.





Ahonnay Cathedral and Linking Book

The player is free to discover all of this on their own and to also interact and mingle with the other explorers thorugh use of an interface device called the KI which is a module that each player owns and uses to type text on the screen, to be listed in each Age and area as being present and therefore communicable with, and also there is voice chat available so that each player is fully able to communicate in all areas of the game.

This allows the communty of players to know and be known, in the world of the game and to achieve independence in a remarkable way that literally has to be seen, in a healthy and responsible and safe environment to be understood and enjoyed. This is not a world of vilence and risk and threat of annialiation, but a realm of adventure and fellowship that few of us have experinced in real life let alone in a game.

The story unfolds at the pace of the individual experience. There is a vast literature now on line in various forms, sites, and forums, as the game has been wildly popoular with hundreds of thousands of players over the years and many long lived organizations such as the Guild of Greeters who exist to help new players learn and enjoy this world,



The Warm Welcome of the Guild of Greeters in GOG Hood

the DRC itself has its own very informative and useful information site for info and history,
URU Obsession, and many more. This wider community is available to help players learn about and enjoy the story and as with any living community, many events and in game world activities have evolved and are enyoyed by hundreds, parties, with live music, special events, parades such as the St Patrick's Day Parade, Christmas parties, a choral group who perform professional quality live concerts, races, relays, organized hunts, and major gatherings can and do occur at any time coordinated through the network of forums and real life communication in a manner that is remarkable to witness.

Player Interaction

A very important point to make, the game has been dynamic in many ways, the players interacting with the in game story and characters has changed and altered the path of events. Players directly interact with the story characters, and the story unfolds from their conversations and actions. One of the players who was active in explor-ation and research of the native life forms of the D'ni worlds was taken along on an expedition outside the pods to study events unfolding there and then reported back to the community. Another player was able to meet with one of the DRC scientists and gain access on behalf of the community to the Lake Lighting project allowing players to monitor the progress of the work to raise the light levels of the lake in the Cavern. During the exicitng events of the season, at one point, Yeesha appeared in the neighborhood of one of the players, as a hologram image, an event that stirred much interest and it was possibly due to a long effort of the explorers gathered in that neighborhood to get a message to her through group activity.



Yeesha Image appearing in Sil'ouette's Bevin

So Cyan's goal of creating an interactive dynamic world has succeeded beyond anyone's imagining, and the support has been steady and deep and strong. The challenges have been to match technolgy of game design, and production and online interactive settings with the demands of the game and the massive player base. It is a hugely complex task to produce such a setting and to continually add new material, content and areas, manage the flow of story and community participation and one that pushes the envelope of the possible constantly. The game producer has to estimate the wide range of possible player home systems, i.e entire generations of older and newer computers, internet connections, broadband capacities, international vs national hookups and connectivity and the demands of a high quality envirnment and the downloads required to constantly install newly added material and content on top of all of that.

Each item and action in a complex 3D game world is created by code in the programming. This involves millions of lines of complicated code, plus the hardware delivery of the results. Each new addition or change can and may affect any of these previous codes. So you can imagine the complexity of maintianing live and keeping refreshed and updated such an environment AND having a commitment ot the highest quality of truth to the story, and to the community's highest shared experience, family values and courtesy and fairness in the game environment.

It is the equivelant of writing, producing and permforming the most complex movie you have ever seen, like Gone with the Wind or the russian War and Peace or Saving Private Ryan, BUT the same company is actually inventing the story, AND the world it is told about, Creating not only the characters and creatures but their entire species and races and past histories and doccumenting them AND writing their languages to do so in, and then translating them....and buildling the actual buildings from scratch the movies is filmed in AND making the camersas that film the story, AND overseeing the construction of ALL the theaters that show the movie, plus selling the tickets (though this part is helped by the publishers like UBI SOFT and GAMETAP) AND then overseing the performances to make sure everyone behaves and has a good time, and also continually making NEW movies to show in the same theater about the same story line that are fun and exicitng and at the same time continually upgrading the production facility, the sets, the cast, the camersa, the theaters, and all of it all the same time.



Er'canna, one of the remarkable worlds of the D'ni




Exotic Location in Eder Gira



One of the Beautiful Garden Ages



Mysterious Teledahn Hides Many Secrets



Winter Came Unexpectedly to Eder Delin




Awesome Mountain Vista in MOUL



The Islands of Ahonnay Are Filled with Surprises

So, it is a miracle that URU has achieved what it has. And equally remarkable that Cyan has perservered over many years, that the hundreds of people who have worked on it have kept the story and the game focus at such a high level, and the thousands upon thousands of development hours have created a game that more thousands of players have enjoyed so much.

The best proof is your own experience, so it remains for you to visit this remarkable world while you can, live and on line, as you can at GameTap, or in the off line single player earlier versoin of URU, URU: The Complete Chronicles. It is a remarkable experience and one that is not to be missed.

The game itself and the story that unfolded in MOUL Live this past year exemplilfies the achievments of Cyan and this unique game world. The main city of Ae'gura is a awesomely beautiful place, with vast vistas across the underground lake that surrounds it to the Cavern walls far beyond. You can roam freely amid the silent ruins of the huge buildings the D'ni left behind, standing mute and quiet with the dust of eons about them. This was the setting of stirring events over the past year, events triggered by the efforts of restoration and then the unfolding story that emerged that the Bahro were fighting among themselves and that this war threatened everyone and everything in the present.



Vast and Enigmatic Ruins of the D'ni

In the year of game play of the First Season, the DRC members, the scientists and archaeolgoists in charge of the restoration were directed by a strong new figure, Cate Alexander, a financier of somewhat obscure background. She had a steely and firely nature and ran the restoration with an iron hand. Her shadow fell across the entire effort and she and the other DRC figures would interact with players real time, in very lively discussions, and debates. They would appear at random times, and word would spread through the Cavern via KI and people would gather. After a while the limits of the in game population were reached quickly for such events and a remarkably effective



Kirel-Special Neighborhood for Guild Recruiting

Relayer Corps was created entirely with player resources to relay news and live events to everyone on a subscription list, so in game Wire News Service was born. Other in game player created services much appreciated were the Guild of Greeters, who has excelled at helping new and current players with aid in game, from their own neighborhood and with an excellent website filled with FAQ's and information. Other services are the Cavern Today, a daily news service that posted daily events often as soon as they were happening. As the Guilds were recreated and grew, they have begun to fill their functions as well, the Maintainers began to research and work on creating new player crafted Ages, and other Guilds and groups began to work with research and support of other functions in the cavern.








Cate Alexander, new leader of DRC

Other figures from the past excavation of the city emerged as the year went on, Dr Watson was another strong figure of the past and he returned with news and to interact with the ongoing efforts. Another contreversial in game character Douglas Sharper was active, he was a kind of a game guide,and hunter who dealt with some of the wildlife that at times appears to threaten exploration. Other dramas unfolded and tragedy hit the Cavern when the teen ages daughter of one of the scientists was trapped in a cave in that occured in one of the main city buildlings and after a tortous period of being trapped alive died at the hands of a rogue Bahro.

Finally after the events of the year, and continual restoration and opening of new areas and discoveries, the city was overwhelmed by an attack of air born Bahro battling in the skies and the last major in game story interaction occured when Yeesha, the daughter of a key family deeply tied to D'ni history, appeared to warn explorers that destruction was coming and that all must find a home...and then promised to draw the Bahro away to that all could escape.








A Bahro in a hood







Yeesha and Bahro in Kveer with Explorers


The story unfolded at first dynamically but after a time, during the first season, new content was released in an episodic format, during a week each month. New areas and new in game items were in fact released all through the year,









Explorers receiving linking book for Er'canna

and these included new Ages with complex and intriguing structures and areas to explore and unravel, new environmental pods that the D'ni evidently used to observe and study alien environments, major regions that directly affected activity in the city such as Er'canna a remrkable region that has a D'ni harvesting factory and transport system intact and workable that was devoted to producing special biologic additives to help sustain the lake algae that lit the cavern. Players could help feed the lake algae with special pellets that they had to figure out how to cook and then drop in the lake.

Other complex activites existed apart from the on going story line, that allowed the player to explore and help familiarlize themselves with the game world AND also help in the restoration effort such as the marker hunts which helped calibrate a GPS type orienting device called the Great Zero, a massive achievement of D'ni remnant technology restored by the DRC, located in the centre of the city and that establshed a location for the KI personal device also left over from the D'ni civilzation.



The Mysterious Great Zero

And all during the year and the active life of the gameworld of URU and MOUL, there have continued events, of all kinds, activities involving new and evolving organziations, such as the Guilds which are groups dedicated to specific activities such as maintenace and exploration of ages discovered and opened, communication, mapping and the like, other organizations to study the wildlife,








Unwin, Neghalin Pod





Life in Payiferin Pod Region



The Pods Offer Chance to Study New Exotic Regions


or to promote interst and knowledge of the D'ni language (which can be and is actively written and spoken), literature, history, art, architecture, contests, musical events






Christmas Concert- the Cavern Choir

parties and also an excellent in game feature, orientations daily for new players. There are in game aides called ResEngs, short for Restoration Engineers, and they operate daily to help support explorers and players, being able to help anyone caught in a wall or trapped by some element of the game physically, and they give daily orientation talks on various topics in a beginners area.







Explorers Saying Good-By to Bronson and Dougherra,ResEngs, Beginners Bevin

All about the city proper were neighborhoods that were the homes of the D'ni, and each player is assigned a neighborhood on entry into the game.




Bevin, a Neighorhood in the city of Ae'gura




Party in a Neighborhood

These are homes of a sort, for each player and can be changed or each player can create their own. Each player also has a personal area, called their Relto. This is a island set in a cloud topped region that has a house that is their home away from home, it contains a wardrobe that allows them to fully customize their in game



Interior of Your Relto with Wardrobe and Bookcase

character or avator: change appearance, age, size, sex, hair, and all features, plus standard clothing and clothing items that are found in the game.



Your Relto Home

Also in the Relto is a bookcase that holds the linking books that each player will keep once they find the age or access it. Each age has as well what are called Journey Cloths, that are spaced through out an Age or region and allow the player to return to that point, once the cloth is touched, a sort of mini save game. The Relto is customized by beautiful features that are discoverd as the player advances through the game, through the finding of Relto Pages, each page creates a new feature in the Relto and include special featuers such as a pool and waterfall, beatiful trees including a stately pine and fall color trees, an island with a special setting for lighted jewels found also through out the game, grass, flowers, suns, storms, and much more.

So the progress of a player in MOUL is marked by many things, all of them individual and all of them fully in the control of the player. The player can play alone or together, there are a few areas that require coopration to complete, so people do have to work together, but the fellowhip and the sharing of the game environemnt is indeed one fo the things that makes URU and MOUL a unqiue and remakarkable experience.





Explorers - Great Stair, Ae'gura city



The Future?

This has been a brief overview of the past year and the past years of the development of URU and MOUL. It is a remarkable achievement for Cyan and for game development at large. The revolution that personal computers has wrought on modern life is unparalleled since the invention of moveable type and printed books. And in the larger revolution of the digital age, there are trend setters and visionaries like Cyan that go ahead and make the path for us to follow.

Entertainment and story telling remain essential in our modern times...and the new and surprising, the intriguing and the mysterious help lure us beyond the limits and the demands and walls of our daily lives. This helps maintain the health of our spirit and our dreams.



Kadish Age, a Place of dreams.....

Currently MOUL and URU are going through yet another transformation, for the year of sponsorship by GameTap and Turner are ending on April 4 and URU and MOUL will close for a while. The demands of an online communty social based adventure game are great, and the committment and resources needed to maintain one of the quality of MOUL are equally great. It is an evolution of a trendsetting format, and one that is essential to the health and purpose of gaming in the modern world. There are literally hundreds of contemporary CGI games that are based on violence, domination, conquest, and the most basic instincts of human nature. Cyan and its partners in publishing and supporting URU and walked a differnt and much much more worthwhile path. It is not an easy one, but the value is real and the journey is very worth the effort. There is no way to produce such a game half way or as a pale shadow of its own potential. The Dance is worth the price of its making.



Yeesha Dances in the Rain

Though it will not remove the risks and the angst of caring about the past, present and future of MOUL and URU, one believes what we are seeing are natural growth pains of not only a remarkable universe, that of the D'ni, which intermingles with our own, but we are also seeing the birth of a new game genre, MMOA, Massive Multiplayer Online Adventure. As both, a story and a new game form, there are inevitable birth challenges, as the vision of creative genius does not come along with a complete manual, it takes time, huge effort, dedication and ongoing courage to persevere.

There are a number of remarkable factors which have made the success happen so far, Cyan and the genius of the visionaries there, the community that the story has attracted and the very high standards of compassion, courtesy and mutual respect and fun, and the ongoing support of a number of publishers, and the game world as a whole, and ongoing generations of technology, video, game code, engine and hardware that have made the vision of URU possible.

Those who have been part of the game community over the past years are all of us part of this evolution and revolution - future development will require consideration of the needs of the future on the part of everyone involved and the supportive community as a whole.



What will the Future Bring?

This dynamic game world is constantly evolving, and there are major risks and changes constantly, but the overall fact is that living entities must grow and change, to survive and prosper. They must push the limit of resources and possiblity and then with a vision of the future form, push through and beyond what has been possible. Each new form of URU has seen improvement and much improved chances for the players, to enjoy, to interact, and to be part of a growing dynamic story that is remarkable depth and subtlety, and potential.



Nightfall is a time of peace in Phil Henderson's Relto

The unique features of URU and MOUL are that there is a width and depth of the world that invites and allows all to come in and be part of something that is only partially revealed to any one player and which is unfolding in a way that continues to invite interest and participation. There is great creative potential here, and the forms are evolving.

Among other remarkable self starting events that happen regularly in the Cavern are Tours of the Glyphs that exist and were created it is believed by the Bahro, at least some of them, these are detailed and remarkable original art works and iconic symbols of the history and the story of events in D'ni history and the journey of Yeesha, the daughter of Atrus who figures in many of the Myst games and stories. These tours have been led for years by two very talented and dedicated explorers, Ireenquench and Ti'chelle and they do a marvelous job of expounding on and sharing the history and the depth of the D'ni and the Bahro. This is another remarkable example of the breadth and capacity of the URU world to foster participation and group activity for the Tours are a wonderful sharing of past research and current ideas from all explorers so ably invited by these two remarkable faciltators. There are many examples of self created events, activities and ongoing player interaction that are unqiue among mutliplayer game environments here in MOUL.




Ireenquench and Ti'chelle start another Glyph Tour in Kemo Age

I believe it is important to achieve this persepective and to see how it fits with the needs of the overall picture in order to detach and allow the changes to happen. GameTap did what they could to support the game as did Ubi Soft, and as does Cyan continue to work in its own way, and so do all in the devout player community. For this story and this virtual world is created by the players as much as anyone, this is what makes MOUL special and remarkable and alive, it is about everyone. One of the veteran and long time players, SuperGram, a much respected figure in the game, told me several years ago that URU is not only a game where you play as you (U are U: URU) but it is even more importantly about about US, all of us, where WE are US.

Anybody can visit the city and some of the Ages in the stand alone game, but what gives it the remarkable life in the on line form, is the life of all everyone involved, each and any and all the future explorers who will and may come in the days and years ahead. And the way the game allows all to interact, to contribute and to particpate, each in our own way and style, this is what makes URU and MOUL worth the belief and the effort and the fun today and hopefully to come. This is why it is not just trying to hold on to the past, or preserve something but a creative act of faith to help and support Cyan in what may come. It is incumbent on the game industry to support the hightest potneial for itself not only for success and marketing but for the overall appreciation of the potential for this remarkale new form of entertainment and education that is indeed the medium of the future.

I am convinced that there remains much to be realized and that the forms and the way it will work are in flux now and this is a necesary part of the development process for mutliplayer game environments. It is not enought to just expand the size of the cast of NPC's to hundreds or thousands, and to make the game world huge, the story and the meaning of the game must deepen as well. In MOUL, The city, the Ages and the Cavern need to morph and grow, not just to fit a business model but to find the way to make this kind of digital and virtual world, one of high quality and content, thrive, not just survive. This is NOT a marketplace of digital emmulations of normal commercial exchange or real estate or influence or player points or violence or conflict...it is a new form of community of great courtesy, fun and value...and for that alone it deserves utmost support and belief.

You will see in the Cavern and the Ages labour of love and craft of high artistry. In completing this research summary and article, and moving about and studying it all with a new eye, the eye is informed by the upcoming interval in which the city will be closed for a while. With this clarity, one can see everywhere the hands of the masterful development, the crafters of this remarkable world, and value what Cyan and they achieved.








Rand Miller Co Founder of Cyan with Explorers

There is not another virtual world like this one that I have seen. There is as well potential for the story underlying this world, it is one that resonates with our own challenges in the modern world, global culture faced with dwindling resources and growing challenges......and in the D'ni world there is also much that is unique and for that too there is great value.



Remarkable D'ni Art and Architecture

In terms of the value of play and of the novelty and uniqueness of MOUL, we as people and individuals have a need for exploring, and for the new and challenging to keep our spirits and our hearts alive and vital, without this new and incoming content in our own minds and lives, we wither and become less than we can be and should be, for ourselves and for our loved ones and time and world.

As a new genre, that of Massive Multiplayer Online Adventure, URU and MOUL offer an alternative to much that surrounds us in game forms and current trends. I think it is not only a valid but a much needed alternative and offers perhaps the greatest chance for the medium of CGI graphic 3D games to flourish and grow. There continue to be improvements in the capacity of 3D game worlds to be crafted in great beauty and



The Awesome Scenery of Gahreesen Age


complexity, with full dynamic features and the chance to experience and to explore, to move onself about a virtual world in full physics and with capable and remarkable AI or intelligence on the part of NPC figures and other in game characters. To allow a story to floursh that does not rely on fear, violence and conquest I think is very very needed, for there are many other ways to enjoy life and to achieve self realization of greater value than defeating enemies and conquering resources and territory. MOUL offers such an alternative and for this reason alone is worthy of our support and our faith and encouragement as it finds a new home. I do not denegrate or deny the other forms of games and do not mean to say that no other kind of risk or encounter is not fun or interesting or useful or that these are NOT at all present or worthy of URU and MOUL. Life has risk and danger and no real virutual reality would deny this, and MOUL does not. But there is a focus on other things as being of equal value too, and that makes this world and these possible futures worth much.

So this is a time of change, and evolution and revolution in forms and we can embrace the Wave, dive into the maelstrom and ride the rapids to new and exciting things I think and urge and encourage. I plan to follow MOUL and future possiblities, I believe it is a game of unparalleled merit and value.

Dr Watson's Speech

On September 12, Dr Watson game a significant speech about the future with his throughts for explorers and the events to come:

3:20 PM MDT --
Dr. Watson in Blabbity's hood

Good afternoon.

I've been asked for my advice on many issues since my recent return. I really haven't had time to get caught up on everything that 's been happening here, but I sat down this morning and attempted to come up with some kind of statement on the issues that have been brought to my attention.

First, the Guilds. I've been told that there are folks who are very upset that the DRC are attempting to follow the D'ni lead in taking steps to re-form the Guilds. They say that the Guilds are "bad", that they inevitably lead to Pride. The Guilds are not inherently bad in and of themselves. Those who blame "the Guilds" for the Fall of D'ni have not understood Yeesha's words and have missed her point completely. The Guilds provided stability and structure for the D'ni culture, which allowed their civilization to thrive for tens of thousands of years. The problem with the Guilds in D'ni history is the same thing that's the problem here in the Cavern today: people. More specifically: our Pride. The very lesson that Yeesha has repeatedly attempted to teach us.

We already have our own problems of Pride. We haven't needed the Guilds for that. If things are going to be different this time around, it's up to all of us, including you Explorers, to choose to be more responsible than the D'ni were at the time of the Fall.

Just as the Bahro are finding out right now with their newly-found freedoms - it all comes down to the choices we make. Frankly, from what I've been hearing, there are many Explorers who are not ready for this responsibility. What's the alternative? Learn to work together. Stop complaining when things are not exactly as you'd like them to be. Stop bickering among yourselves. Stop choosing to divide yourselves. There is much more at stake here than our egos. You do have the ability to choose to work together. Make that choice.

As for the Cavern, I was asked yesterday if we should all leave the Cavern, so let me clarify my position. When the Restoration first began, what seems like decades ago, I gave another speech. In that speech, I explained that I felt "Called" here. I said that this Cavern was meant to be inhabited, and that it was our intent to make it habitable once again. (oops, repeating) I said that this Cavern was meant to be inhabited, and that it was our intent to make it habitable once again. I was convinced of it. I was sure that the warnings of Atrus did not apply to those of us from the Surface. I no longer believe that is the case. But do not misunderstand me, I am still drawn here, but now I'm drawn to learn the lessons that this Cavern has to teach me. But I will apply those lessons elsewhere. No longer is it my goal to restore this place with the hope of reinhabiting it. That is where the DRC and I differ in our opinions. Of course, I'm perfectly willing to admit that it may turn out that I am wrong; that they are right. Should we leave, then? No. I think that would be just as grave an error. As I said, this Cavern still has much to teach us.

But what of the Bahro? the conflict that is going on all around us here in the Cavern and in many of the Ages? I've been asked why the "bad" Bahro are attacking us. Is it because they think we're the D'ni? no, I don't think that's the case. In fact, after hearing of the destruction in Negilahn from Douglas Sharper, I think it's clear that the Bahro who have chosen to become bent on destruction are completely indiscriminate about what they destroy. What did the animals around the pods ever do to the Bahro? They clearly weren't killed for food. It seems to be destruction simply for the sake of destruction. Cruelty for the sake of cruelty. they seem to do it just because they can. And the Bahro who killed Wheely, from the description of events that Michael has given me, specifically kept her alive while she was trapped. My only conclusion from that behavior is that it was studying her or toying with her. Which immediately brings to mind the many Bahro who received a very similar treatment from a D’ni man who lived in Noloben named Esher. I'm told the Bahro even specifically attempted to say the word "Noloben" before it attacked her. But what can we do about the "bad" Bahro? Not much. For now, we are protected. The "good" Bahro protecting us have created a grand deception for our peace of mind - an illusion that all is well here in the Cavern and the Ages.

We now know that this is not the case, but how much longer will their protection last? A week? A month? a year? a decade? a century? I have no idea. Funny thing about prophecies... they don't always come with an expiration date. But we have been told that "Destruction is coming." I believe specifically that that destruction is coming to the Cavern, but I could be wrong about that, too. It is entirely possible that the "destruction" is a great deal larger than that. Either way, we need to use the time we are being given to "Find a way. Make a home." How can we do that? That's where the Guilds come in. We have got to work together. It will not happen overnight. It will likely take many years, in fact. But I believe the Guilds are the key.

Yeesha has already been to hundreds of Ages, looking for something, anything, that might help to end the Bahro conflict, or, at the very least, help to protect us from it in case there comes a time when the "good" Bahro are no longer able to. As time passes, it grows increasingly unlikely that anything is going to be found in an Age the D'ni have or had access to. And so, we are going to need new Ages at some point. There are those among the Explorers who may eventually be able to assist in that regard. That is the direction I believe we must take. The Guilds (and even the Explorers who are not interested in joining a Guild) will have to work together: writing, maintaining, mapping, and exploring those new Ages. It is a grand undertaking. And much of it depends on you Explorers, and how well you choose to work together. Will we be up to the challenge? That definitely remains to be seen. I hope we are.

Thank you for your kind attention. "

Dr Watson



An All Guilds Planning Meeting in Kirel, February 2008 Considering the Unknown Future


What Will Come?

It is not known yet what the next iteration or form of URU and MOUL will be. Rand Miller has spoken of efforts that Cyan is making to discuss the rights to MOUL with GAmeTap with a possiblity of Cyan hosting a server for MOUL themselves. Nothing is known at thie time. One way or another, the Ending had not yet been written.




Yeesha in Kveer, End of Season One

One of the players who was present with URU from the beginning of Prologue and up to the present of MOUL, Romer Openfield has said this about the time of change, most eloquently:

"UR URU

The forums are our living history. And like life itself, we have evolved.

The evolution that has taken place, and that we are currently verbalizing quite clearly, involves the gamers and not the game. This is certainly unique -- and an awesome opportunity.

Most of you who are reading this have changed over the past year -- some of you, quite without knowing it. .....

Then, slowly, we turned inward and innovative. Some read the D'ni histories aloud with their hoodmates, others showcased amazing photos, comedy and radio came to life, then more parties and marker quests appeared, pellets were dropped by the millions, new player-created content was glimpsed, and the good news was relayed that MOUL was alive!

It was, indeed, the beginning of a renaissance. And it came at the end of MOUL as we knew it. ........

Now we, the survivors, have come to a place of togetherness in positive and creative pursuit of the game's future. And we have also banded together in nostalgic remembrance of the past tumultuous year and what it meant, both together and alone. As it has been said, "You don't know what you have 'til it's gone."

But, in our case, is that entirely true? Is it gone? No. The game is no longer for us -- it IS us. It will never be gone, but it must evolve, as we have. We have evolved into a true community beyond the content of the game. I don't think you can look back to any event, any form of new content or Age, any story element that is responsible for the evolution of this community and where we are now.

It is not nightfall, it is a dawn. We have awakened to ourselves, with a new perspective on the collective "us" and how we live and breathe and exist within and without this game.

When disaster strikes a community, the people gather amidst the ashes and begin to plan and build again, better than ever. And until that rebuilding happens, they still enjoy the most important part of a community--each other.

A wondrous place to live and play and pray and learn is where we will be, not who we are.

We have evolved to realize these things. This forum brims with our growth. Now, we idealize about the game from hearts and minds that have grown to finally comprehend what it all means. We know what needs to happen to adapt the game to the community.

So, we've changed. What I am hearing from you all is that you don't see our group as subscribers, or residents, or gamers, or explorers anymore. We are providers, builders, owners. We are the futureUR URU

The forums at http://www.mystonline.com are the living history of the MO:UL explorers and devotees.

The evolution that has taken place over the past year has been amazing and human. It was an evolution of the gamers, not the game. This is certainly unique in gamedom.

I was member of this community from the first day. We expected to be flooded with new game content from the developers. But quickly it was clear that was not going to happen. We moaned about content coming too slowly or not in enough quality. We supported Cyan emotionally, yet we wondered what was amiss with the game we were paying for. Many were let down by the game, left with nothing to do, bored. Our expectations were in orbit. Disappointment during that time pepper the forum. Some quit. The majority didn't.

I think those were the growing pains of our evolution. Then, things changed. We still weren't getting content or new gameplay, but a shift in attitude occurred. Slowly, we turned inward and innovative. We soon found value in doing things for ourselves. The Guilds were born, explorers settled in and read the D'ni histories aloud with their hoodmates, others showcased amazing photos, comedy and radio came to life, then more parties and marker quests appeared, pellets were dropped by the millions, new player-created content was glimpsed, and the good news was relayed that MOUL was alive!

It was, indeed, the beginning of a renaissance. Ironically, it came at the end of MOUL as we knew it.

Now, all of us survivors have come to a place of togetherness in positive and creative pursuit of the game's future. We have banded together in nostalgic remembrance of the past tumultuous year and what it meant, together and alone. And we are working, thinking, planning, and building for a new URU tomorrow.

For the game is no longer for us -- it IS us. We have evolved into a true community beyond the content of the game, and we have taken charge.

It is not nightfall, it is a dawn. We have awakened to ourselves, with a new perspective on the collective "us," and in a dark time it now draws us closer and makes us stronger.

Now, as the place we call home will soon close its doors, we finally know what needs to happen to adapt the game to the community. I am proud and grateful to have found these people and count myself as one of them.

What I am hearing from all the explorers is that they don't see themselves any longer as subscribers, or residents, or gamers, or explorers. They are providers, builders, owners. They are the future. Construction is coming. "

These are a few comments posted on the community forum about the experience of playing MOUL, and there are for each of these hundreds more, it was above all, an experince of people playing with people, as people, and the rich tapestry of in game experience is as remarkable and wonderful to witness as it is difficult to convey in mere words, when it is about a fully relized and relizable 3 D world.



Many thanks to all who have helped me with the overview, and special thanks to Renfield for screenshots of Cate and Flying Bahro, to Wolf for the pic of the Bahro in the Relto, to Greypiffle and MustardJeep for help with the Chronology and timeline, Romer Openfield for his comments and help, to SuperGram who welcomed me to the game early on, for Pappa Smurf for permission to share his comments, and to many many others for help, encouragement and so much more. And above all to the staff and leaders at Cyan who have created this remarkable, unique and dynamic game. And a special word of thanks to the ResEngs who made playing the game so much more fun by their constant presence, kindness, and spirit:

ResEngs: (Game Masters)

Victoria Almond (Tori)
Terry Appling
Taylor Bailey
Aaron (Monarch)Biegalski
Jesse Bronson
Erik Brown
Gary Buddell
Wolf Cowart
Mike Curn
Michael Dogherra
Ben Drechsel
Chris Lambert
B Mathias

Special thanks for the group pictures on explorers in the main plaza of Ae'gura and on the Great Stair taken in the city on February 9, 2008 by CausticSarcasim and Dot.



Explorers Saying Farewell in Phil's Relto to the Second Phase of MOUL


-----------
Comments on the Future of MOUL from MystOnline Community Forum with permission of CrisGer, Pappa Smurf and ....

CrisGer
Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 1782
Location: Colorado, California
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:21 pm — Post subject: Genesis, Evolution and Revolution in MOUL

Though it will not remove the risks and the angst of caring about the past, present and future of MOUL and URU, i believe what we are seeing are natural growth pains of not only a remarkable universe, that of the D'ni, which intermingles with our own, but we are also seeing the birth of a new game genre, MMOA, Massive Multiplayer Online Adventure. As both, a story and a new game form, there are inevitable birth challenges, as the vision of creative genius does not come along with a complete manual, it takes time, huge effort, dedication and ongoing courage to persevere.



Chill Party in Nightime Mintaka - A MMOA in Action

I think there are a number of remarkable factors which have made the success happen so far, Cyan and the genius of the visionaries there, the community that the story has attracted and the very high standards of compassion, courtesy and mutual respect and fun, and the ongoing support of a number of publishers, and the game world as a whole, and ongoing generations of technology, video, game code, engine and hardware that have made the vision of URU possible.

We are all of us part of this evolution and revolution and I really do think this has a chance of continuing but only if we both detach from the immediate fears and embrace the commitment to the needs of the future.

The game world is constantly evolvoing, like the jungle in Negalin, and there are major risks and changes constantly, but the overall fact is that living entities must grow and change, to survive and prosper. They must push the limit of resources and possiblity and then with a vision of the future form, push through and beyond what has been possible.

Each new form of URU has seen improvement and much improved chances for us, the players, to enjoy, to interact, and to be part of a growing dynamic story that is remarkable depth and subtlety, and potential.

The unique features of URU and MOUL are that there is a width and depth of the world that invites and allows all of us to come in and be part of something that is only partially revealed to any one of us, and which is unfolding in a way that continues to invite our interest and participation. There is great creative potential here, and the forms are evolving.

This is why I do not fear the changes upon us now, for they are necessary and a part of growth and development.

I believe it is important to achieve this persepective and to see how it fits with the needs of the overall picture in order to detach and allow the changes to happen. GameTap did what they could as did Ubi Soft, and as does Cyan continue to work in its own way, and so do we all. For this story and this virtual world is ours as much as anyones, this is what makes MOUL special and remarkable and alive, it is all of us. We can any of us visit the city and some of the Ages in the stand alone game, but what gives it the remarkable life is the life of all of us, each and any of us and all the future explorers who will and may come in the days and years ahead. And the way the game allows us all to interact, to contribute and to particpate, each of us in our own way and style, this is what makes URU and MOUL worth the belief and the



Explorers Drilling for the 4th Annual St Patrick's Day Parade with SuperGram



Picture by Ivanova of the Finale of St Pat's Parade 2008 with Greydragon and ReseEngs



Explorers in Green Lining up for St Pat's Parade 2008

effort and the fun today and hopefully to come. This is why it is not just trying to hold on to the past, or preserve something but a creative act of faith to let go now and help and support Cyan in what may come, in whatever form, and to support the guilds and the Maintainers and the others who will keep the forums and the sites and the efforts open in the Exodus, and the Hiegera, and the Interval and the Intermission and the time in between what is now and what will come.

It is tempting to just move on and see this all as an ending, but that does not seem really the accurate or best approach to me, in my humble opinion. I am convinced that there remains much to be realized and that the forms and the way it will work are in flux now and this is a necesary growing pain. The city and the Cavern need to morph and grow, not just to fit a business model but to find the way to make this kind of digital and virtual world, one of high quality and content, thrive, not just survive. This is NOT a marketplace of digital emmulations of normal commercial exchange or real estate or influence or player points or violence or conflict...it is a new form of community of great courtesy, fun and value...and for that alone it deserves our utmost support and belief.

We see around us in the Cavern and the Ages labour of love and craft of high artistry. I have beem moving about and studying it all with a new eye, the eye informed by the upcoming interval in which the city will be closed for a while. With this clarity, i see everywhere the hands of the Makers, the crafters of this remarkable world, and value what they achieved and we have all made possible very very highly. There is not another virtual world like this one, and with this potential for the story underlying this world is one that resonates with our own challenges yet is apart and unique and for that too there is great value. We as people and individuals have a need for exploring, and for the new and challenging to keep our spirits and our hearts alive and vital, without this new and incoming content in our own minds and lives, we wither and become less than we can be and should be, for ourselves and for our loved ones and time and world.

As a new genre, that of Massive Multiplayer Online Adventure, URU and MOUL offer an alternative to much that surrounds us in game forms and current trends. I think it is not only a valid but a much needed alternative and offers perhaps the greatest chance for the medium of CGI graphic 3D games to flourish and grow. There continue to be improvements in the capacity of 3D game worlds to be crafted in great beauty and complexity, with full dynamic features and the chance to experience and to explore, to move onself about a virtual world in full physics and with capable and remarkable AI or intelligence on the part of NPC figures and other in game characters. To allow a story to floursh that does not rely on fear, violence and conquest I think is very very needed, for there are many other ways to enjoy life and to achieve self realization of greater value than defeating enemies and conquering resources and territory. MOUL offers such an alternative and for this reason alone is worthy of our support and our faith and encouragement as it finds a new home. I do not denegrate or deny the other forms of games and do not mean to say that no other kind of risk or encounter is not fun or interesting or useful or that these are NOT at all present or worthy of URU and MOUL. Life has risk and danger and no real virutual reality would deny this, and MOUL does not. But there is a focus on other things as being of equal value too, and that makes this world and these possible futures worth much.

So this is a time of change, and evoltion and revolution in forms and we can embrace the Wave, dive into the maelstrom and ride the rapids to new and exciting things I think and urge and encourage. I hope and plan to stay along for the ride and to try to keep sharing what it is that makes this such a special effort and worthy of our dedication and belief and support in any way that is workable for us.

I think it is also worth to mention that Cyan and the way that they work with the game and its content, and communicate with us the community and work to craft this ongoing experiece is remarkable in itself. They do it with a deft touch and a subtle way that allows the game to have a life of its own, they do not rule the game with an iron hand or just toss it out to us and walk away. They also remain true and commited to their own principles and vision, so there is a compass and a guidance to the overall progress that is at times invisible and within the walls and underneath the world but very real and I think very creative. It allows for change and growth, and for possiblity. At times the silence may appear to be deafening, but in that silence there is the vitality of space and allowance, and creativity. They have been and continue to be candid and share as they can, and work with integrity and honour and I am very respectful of their way even when at times it is a challenge for not knowing what the future may be. That is part of the price of shared creation in my experinece and is part of all our lives, and not unique to this effort. Things of value in life do indeed have a high price, yet they are worth it.

Looking forward to seeing you all on the other side.....

Shorah.

_________________
Ecologic Archeologist
Knowledge is not wisdom, but a good start
--------------------------------------------------------



MOUL First Birthday Party February 2008

CREDITS:

Vision

Director Rand Miller
Executive Producer Blake Lewin

Programming

CTO Mark H. DeForest
Lead Graphics Programmer Bob Zasio
Lead Server Programmer Eric S. Anderson
Engine Programmer Jeff Lundin, Jason M. Calvert, Adam Van Ornum
Senior Tech. Artist, Gameplay Chris Doyle
Tech. Artist, Gameplay Derek Odell, Tye Hooley
Tech. Artist, Sound Implementation Tye Hooley

Art

Art & Visual Design Director Joshua A. Staub
Animation Lead Jason C. Baskett
Artist Austin Thomas, Victoria Brace
Art Lead Eric A. Anderson

Sound and Music

Sound Design Tim Larkin

Concept and Control

D'ni Historian, Design Richard A. Watson

Game Design Lead Ryan Miller

Community Manager Ryan J. Warzecha

Quality Control/Customer Support

Dir. of QC and Cust. Support Lloyd Bell
Sr. QC Lead/CS Lead Greg J. Miranda
QC Lead/Sr. CS Lead Victoria L. Almond
QC & CS Lead/Sr. Web Dev. Karl Johnson
CS Lead Aaron Biegalski, M. Wolf Cowart, Michael Dogherra, Brandon A. Knowles, Kerryn Miller

Customer Support Taylor Bailey, Jesse Bronson, Ben Drechsel, Chris Lambert, Bob Mathias, Emily Norton

QC Tester Bradford Chapman, John Taitingfong, Eliza Wyatt

Administrative Support

President Tony Fryman
Project Manager Mark Dobratz
CFO Mark Klammer
IT Manager David Smith
Maintenance & Eggs Byron R. Heinemann
Office, Accounting Eloise McCloskey

Voice Artists

Zandi David Ogden Stiers
Yeesha Rengin Altay

Musicians

Guitar Eric Engerbretson
Vocalists Friends of Sironka Dance Troupe, Tasha Koontz

Special Acknowledgement

To early Uru Developers Ryan Allred, James Beattie, John M. Biggs, Susan R. Bonds, Colin Bonstead, Chris Brandkamp, Mathew C. Burrack, Gary W. Butcher, Christopher L. Clanin, Terry J. Coolidge, Mark T. Finch, Robert J. Emanuele, Peter Gage, Paul Gallagher, Robert Grace, Mike Hines, Stephen Hoogendyk, Tricia Bland, Brian Kulig, Stephan Martiniere, Matthew B. MacLaurin, Douglas T. McBride, Steve Ogden, Christian Piccolo, Chris J. Purvis, Paul A. Querna, Nathan Reidt, Terry Schmidbauer, Bill Slease, Rod L. Stafford, Mark Stenersen, Adrian Stone, William Stoneham, Brice Tebbs, Mustafa Thamer, Patti VanHeel, Eric G. Votava, Jeff Wilson, Eric R. Warman, Kyle Wilson

Additional Cyan Development

Taylor Bailey, Ocala Bellows, Aaron Biegalski, Bryce J. Biggerstaff, John Brooks, Bryan Bussard, T. Elliot Cannon, Bret Carlson, Tim S. DeWolf, Eric Ellis, Scott Ellwanger, Mark Engberg/Colab, Brad Halpin, Keely Honeywell, Daniel Johnston, Gil Keppler, Brandon A. Knowles, Jeff Oswalt, Ryan B. Persch, Melinda Russell, Thom Schillinger, Micah Sheets, Lee Sheldon, Tyler J. Smith, Craig Voigt, Zachary M. Wellsandt, Maureen Wick

GameTap

GM & SVP GameTap Stuart Snyder
VP of Content Ricardo Sánchez
VP of Marketing David Reid
VP of Technology Eric Diez
Executive Producer Blake Lewin
Dir. of Product Management Cameron Payne
Senior Brand Manager Trent Hershenson
Technology Leslie Brooks, Miomir Arandelovic, Jorge Monteiro, Roberto Monge
Production Manager Roger Faso
Assistant Producer Jake Armstrong, Chanh Tran
QA Manager Andrew Feury
Technical Lead Ryan Burke
Lead Tester Will Armstrong
Tester T.J. Dorsey, Patrick Durbin, Christina Lacey, Jason Markowitz, Nigel O'Rear, Daniel Palacios, Jason Toups, Justin Turner

Special Thanks Eric Large, Ron Meiners, Celia Pearce

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Fron, J., Fullerton, T., Morie, J. & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica) (2007). “The Hegemony of Play.” In Situated Play: Proceedings of Digital Games Research Association 2007 Conference. Tokyo, Japan.

Pearce, C., Ashmore, C. (2007). “Principles of Emergent Design in Online Games: Mermaids Phase 1 Prototype.” SIGGRAPH Sandbox, July 2007.

Fron, J., Fullerton, T., Morie, J. & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica) (2007). “Sustainable Play: Towards A New Games Movement for the Digital Age.” (Reprint) Games & Culture, Volume 2, Number 3, July 2007.

Pearce, C. (2006). “Communities of Play: The Social Construction of Identity in Persistent Online Game Worlds.” Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media. Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Pat Harrigan (eds) Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.

Pearce, C. (2006). “Games as Art: The Aesthetics of Play.” in Fluxus and Legacy, special issue of Visible Language. Ken Friedman and Owen Smith, issue eds; Sharon Poggenpohl, series editor and publisher.

Pearce, C. (2006). “Productive Play: Game Culture from the Bottom Up.” Games & Culture. Volume 1 Issue 1, Winter 2006.

Fron, J., Fullerton, T., Morie, J. & Pearce, C. (aka Ludica) (2005). “Sustainable Play: Towards A New Games Movement for the Digital Age.” Digital Arts & Culture Conference Proceedings, Copenhagen, December 2005.

Pearce, C. (2005). “Theory Wars: An Argument Against Arguments in the so-called Ludology/Narratology Debate.” In Changing Views: Worlds in Play (Digital Games Research Association Conference 2005 Proceedings).

Pearce, C. (2004). “Towards a Game Theory of Game.” In First Person: New Media as Story, Performance and Game. Wardrip-Fruin, N. & Harrigan, P. (eds). Cambridge, MIT Press.

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http://www.mobygames.com/game/myst-online-uru-live
Myst Online: URU Live

Online Links and Sources:

Cyan Worlds
http://www.cyan.com/news/

MystOnline: UrU Live
http://www.mystonline.com/

DRC Home Site
http://www.drcsite.org/home.php

The Guild of Greeters
http://www.guildofgreeters.com/

GameTap
http://www.gametap.com/home/

Mystcommunty.com
http://www.mystcommunity.com/board/

URU Obsession
http://www.uruobsession.com/

The Cavern Today
http://www.thecaverntoday.org/

D'ni Resources
http://forums.guildofgreeters.com/index.php?act=ST&f=17&t=88&st=0#entry375

APPENDICES:

CHRONOLGOY OF MOUL - SEASON ONE

The game story is based on the D'ni backstory and that can be found on many of the community sites, as well as initially on the DRC site and the Guild of Greeters as two of the best authorities.
DRC Home Site
http://drcsite.org/dnifaq.php

Guild of Greeters
http://www.guildofgreeters.com/

The best online resource for the ongoing development of the game is the MystOnline Community site:http://www.mystonline.com/ and the forums there

The game story is summaried in the following information drawn from online sources, and community members and was gathered here in consultation wtih community members including MustardJeep, Greypiffle, and others,



Time line of Events in MOUL: 2007
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The exploration of the city reopens, DRC reappears, led by same crew except for DR Watson.

Cate Alexander appears as new leader and funding person

Various twists and turns re release of new areas, access

The DRC interact routinely with explorers, releasing new Ages and Areas



Dr Marie Sutherland (DRC) meets with Explorers in the city

Eder Ages Released with door puzzle

Pods Appear....and are decyphered using the map and clues



Dereno Pod Offers Intriguing Observations of Aquatic Life

Sharper reappears and starts hunting things, take a trip with Rik outside a pod

Rils involved in story of exploration and they find something killed in a messy way

Wheely story.....and its drama unfolds drawing in huge crowds and showing limits of the current game frame capacity



Memorial to Wheely and her Friend Rose

Michael Engberg disappears

Watchers Pub Release

Er'canna Release and Pellet mechanism initiated

Lake Light Restoration initiated with Pellet drops and presence and then absence of Lake Light Meter

Mintaka Release



Mysterious Mintaka has a dynamic day cycle

Some kind of new wrinkle with the Bahro is evident with possible good Bahro and bad bahro

Bahro appear in the city and approach players very closely, remarkable interactions occur and Bahro are seen on rooftops and in private Reltos and in neighborhoods




Bahro in a Relto

Dr Watson reappears and dialogs with us and meets with Douglas Sharper



Dr Watson in the Watchers' Pub

Access to Ahonnay is a major event, administered by DRC and long lines show player respect for the interface medium

Phil Henderson reappears and discloses much about the Bahro civil war and that he has been with Yeesha



Phil Henderson Visits with Explorers in his Relto

Myst Linking Book Appears in Kveer and Bahro are sighted in Kveer



Explorers lining up to access Link book to Myst

Bahro attacks on city begin and continue for a brief period



Flying Bahro Attacking in the city

Yeehsa appears and has brief encounter and warns us to prepare and draws the Bahro away from the city, both good and bad



Yeesha in Kveer



Yeesha talks to the massed Explorers

Kirel Released

Gulid Pubs Release

Guild System is suggested and a community Guild coordinator is chosen

Guilds start to form and grow

Jalak Released



Jalak Marker Hunt

Cate Alexander Resigns leaves



Cate Informs Explorers in the city of her resignation

Dr Watsom gives a significant speech about the future



Dr Watson giving his speech

DRC leave one by one

The Final message from Laxman and Dr Marie Sutherland, they are leaving for the surface

First Season ends.



Bahro Appear in Ti'chelle's Lower Ahonnay Bahro Cave Easter Sunday March 2008
First Activity of the Bahro in the Cavern, Bahro reappear briefly in Ireenquench's Mintaka Age during the Advanced Glyph Tour




Meaning of these Bahro visits are unknown but some explorers believe it indicates support by the Bahro for continuing Explorer presence in the Cavern.



THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE MYST SERIES

As Presented by GameTap:

The Grand Evolution of Myst

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

September 24, 1993
Designed and directed by brothers Robyn and Rand Miller and developed by Cyan, Inc., Myst is distributed by Broderbund for the Mac. The game sets a new mark as the best-selling video game ever at the time and ushered in the first-person adventure puzzle game genre.

1995
Hyperion Books releases The Book of Atrus, the first book in the Myst series of novels, set in the same universe as the Myst computer games by Cyan. The Book of Ti'ana and The Book of D'ni, the second and third books in the series, are released in 1996 and 1997, respectively.

Making it into the mainstream: In The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror VI, there is a segment in which a 3-D version of Homer Simpson encounters the library from Myst Island.

1997
Broderbund's RedOrb Entertainment division releases Riven, the sequel to Myst. Riven, which is even larger and more beautiful than Myst, is considered the most mind-challenging chapter in the series.

1998
Virgin label releases Myst and Riven soundtracks, by artist Robyn Miller, in the UK.

Selling more than 11 million copies, Myst and its sequels held the title of best-selling computer game of all time throughout much of the 1990s.

2000
Updating the original Myst with the latest technology, realMyst was released featuring realtime 3D graphics. This is the version of Myst that Cyan and the world-famous Miller brothers always wanted to make, but the technology wasn't available at the time. Myst fans could now experience a fully immersive, dynamic world that they could wander through and interact with.

2001
Ubisoft Entertainment Software publishes the third Myst sequel, Myst III: Exile. This game focuses on a new villain whose home world was ruined, so he's out for revenge.

2003
Ubisoft releases Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, the offline version of the planned online game Uru Live, but cancels the online version shortly before it is launched. Since the online version is halted, the offline Uru: Complete Chronicles is released. This special edition includes the original offline game and its two expansion packs, To D'ni and The Path of the Shell, which contain content that had been intended for the online game.

To accompany the game, a soundtrack combining an eclectic collection of various rhrythms, voices, and moods is also released.

2004
Ubisoft releases the fourth installment, Myst IV: Revelation. Myst fans travel through environments pulsing with life to unearth a treacherous scheme involving two of Myst's most sinister villains.

2005
Ubisoft rolls out Myst V: End of Ages, the fifth Myst installment. Players embark on an epic journey into the heart of a shattered empire as the only explorer who can still save it – or destroy it with the wrong choices. Cyan Music Director/Composer Tim Larkin composes the game's original soundtrack with the tell-tale haunting and beautiful sounds that adeptly evoke the Myst series.

2006
GameTap announces it will be publishing Myst Online: Uru Live and opens the door to subscribers to check out the beta version of the game. In conjunction with the beta preview, GameTap launches www.GameTap.com/mystonline, a website that houses videos, podcasts, artwork, forums, wallpaper, game details and a host of other game-related offerings.

February 15th, 2007
GameTap introduces Myst Online: Uru Live, the newest chapter in the Myst story. This title gracefully fuses the social concepts of a traditional massively multiplayer online game with the mystery and problem-solving facets of an adventure game.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Detailed Information on Areas, and Game Progress:

According to the DRC Website, these are the ages released in this order.
Ae'gura Museum
Minkata
Eder Delin
Eder Tsogal
Negilahn
Dereno
Payiferen
Tetsonot
Er'cana
Watcher's Sanctuary
Uran(Myst Library?)

But according to the forums:
In order of release -
Tsogahl
Delin
Negilahn
Dereno
(hood link to treebolisk)
Payiferen
Tetsonot
descent
(user created marker missions)
Minkata
Watcher's Pub
Er'cana
Kierel
Jalak
Guid Pubs
Spyroom - Phil's Relto
Ahnonay
K'veer
Myst

And here is the whole released list

Texana wrote:

Latest Additions
The goodies have been turned on! Take a tour and find your missing stuff

April 4th shutdown
UbiUru shutdown announced February 4th 2004
GT-MO:UL shutdown announced February 4th 2008


Feather Collection
Note: You must do these in order.
Procedure: Type “/get feather” to pick them up and type “/look in pocket” to confirm your collection
Age....................Number........Color
Eder Gira .................7..............Plain
Eder Delin ...............1...............Red
Dereno.....................1...............Blue
Payiferin...................1...............Black
Er’cana.....................1...............Silver
Jalak........................1...............Duck
Ahnonay...................1...............Rukh

For fun: type “/get object” and see the result

Sparklies
Passing through these will generate an altar with a flame on the large Relto Island you get from the fire pit in Cleft. A new one is available each month as the previous one disappears. When you collect them all you get a fireworks display They began to appear January 2007.
Month.............Age..................Location
January.........Gahreesen........The Maintainer's Building; in an alcove in the outer ring.
February........Kadish..............On top of the third pillar
March............Eder Gira..........In the lower pool
April..............Gahreesen.........In the Prisoner's cell
May..............Descent.............On a wall in the main room
June..............Minkata.............In cave #2
July...............Er'cana..............Behind the broken train track support
August..........Jalak.................On top of pillar
September.....Teledahn...........Next to hidden niche
October.........Phil's Relto.........On the dock
November......Great Zero.........On inner staircase balcony
December......Myst Library.......In the center



Other Cool Items
Music player
In the gallery that adds a new song to your Relto music player's playlist
Soccer ball
In Minkata - Out in the desert somewhere near hole #4, the southernmost hole. Traveler says it can be found 30 seconds running due south from cave #4. Just run into the southern sun, shadow vertical behind you.

Great Zero Calibration Marker Locations
Guild of Greeters GZMO locations
http://www.guildofgreeters.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=91&Itemid=38

UO Mission Marker locations
http://www.uruobsession.com/?page=D%60ni%20-%20Rezeero%20CGZM%20Mission%20Guides

Here is a beautiful set of maps showing marker locations.
http://home.comcast.net/~mark_af/urumaps.html

Basic Red and Green Marker Locations
We have found 33 so far.

Great Zero Locations (2):
1 - GZO
1 - GZ - under the stairs

City Proper (19):
1 - Ferry Terminal tunnel
1 - Museum
1 - Gallery
1 - By the Museum
1 - By the Great Curtain
1 - On Stairs past the Hall of Kings
1 - On walkway between the "bridge" and the Hall of Kings
1 - On walkway between the "bridge" and the Library
1 - Inside the Library
1 - By barriers behind the Library
1 - On the stairs between the Concert Hall and Takotah Alley
1 - On the ledge over Takotah Alley Nexus Terminal
1 - In Kahlo Pub rubble
1 - In Kahlo Pub over a table
1 - On the landing of the Great Stair near Kahlo Pub
1 - At the bottom of the Great Stair
1 - At end of Docks
1 - In a crevasse across from Kadish Gallery
1 - On the Rope Bridge

City Links Book (5):
1 - Baron's City Office
1 - Palace Canyon Balcony (Curved)
1 - Palace Rooftop (Rectangular)
2 - Takotah Rooftop

Bevin (7):
1 - Outside the lecture hall
1 - Light Garden
1 - By waterfall
1 - Classroom
1 – Egg room
1 - Classroom Rooftop (via page in Bevin Book)
1 - Bevin Balcony (via page in Bevin Book)


Links to Ages
Books in Relto Bookcase
Age - How Obtained
Ahnonay - Ahnonay Cathedral - On a pedestal
Ahnonay Cathedral- On a pedestal in the Watcher's Pub
Bevin – You begin with this on your bookshelf in Relto
Cleft – Single Pillar in Relto
Dereno - On a pedestal in the Museum of Ae'gura
Eder Gira – In one of the four Relto pillars you get after completing Cleft
Eder Kemo – On a pedestal in Eder Gira – near the waterfall
Er’cana– On a pedestal in the Watcher’s Pub
Gahreesen - In one of the four Relto pillars you get after completing Cleft
Jalak - On a pedestal in the Library of Ae'gura
Kadish - In one of the four Relto pillars you get after completing Cleft
Minkata – On a pedestal in the Library of Ae’gura
Myst - On a pedestal in the library of K'veer
Negilhan– On a pedestal in the Museum of Ae’gura
Nexus – You get this on your bookshelf in Relto after you use a Nexus book
Payiferin– On a pedestal in the Museum of Ae’gura
Relto – You begin with this on your belt
Teledahn – In one of the four Relto pillars you get after completing Cleft
Tetsonot– On a pedestal in the Museum of Ae’gura

Books in Bevin's Bookroom
Eder Delin or
Eder Tsogal
Great Zero Observation
Gahreesen Lite: Just enough of a preview to get your KI
Nexus

Other Info
A fun bug:
Walk up the ropes on your Relto bridge and levitate over the middle island. This is not as dramatic as it used to be, but it still works.

Holiday Goodies:
During the winter holidays there is a Christmas tree in the Baron's City Office and a nice menorah on a table on the Takotah rooftop. They are back again for 2007

During the fall there are pumpkins and harvest materials scattered about in public areas. Usually Eddie morphs into a pumpkin

Hidden Niche in Teledahn:
You can open the hidden shelf in the slave-shroom. You need to be sure the wooden walkway and the metal walkway are down. When the single outer door is up, the hidden shelf is closed, when its down, the hidden shelf is open. The trick is to walk around and open the inner double door and close the outer single door after you walk through all three chambers and fix the walkways. Then you enter the third chamber from the outside walkway and will see the shelf open, with a Bahro Stone to Sharper’s Spy Room. Rumor has it there is another way to get there if you can't get the metal bridge to fall down but I haven't tried this.

Fireflies in Relto
You can get "fireflies" in your Relto by first going to Eder Kemo, getting them to surround you, then linking to Relto. However, you MUST turn RAIN OFF in your Relto before bringing them home.

How to make your Relto tree from Kadish grow. (posted by Tiran)
http://www.urulive.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5595

DRC and other In-game Character KI numbers
http://www.mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9974&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

History Links:
DRC Official IC Forum
http://forums.drcsite.org/viewtopic.php?t=1163

Timeline of Events and Discoveries (John Lynch’s web link)
http://watson.theurulives.com/

Another List (from belford’s siggy)
http://eblong.com/zarf/uru/newfaq.html

UO's Cavern Today with lots of logs
http://www.uruobsession.com/forum/index.php?s=2d149bad873bd35a27742c4c7c96884f&act=SF&f=56

..................................Map Links:
Lots of nice maps
http://www.mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11603
Eder Delin
http://www.dpwr.net/forums/index.php?act=module&module=gallery&cmd=si&img=2541
Minkata
http://www.mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10176
D'ni Map
http://uru.patchallel.com/images/Atrus-Map.jpg
City Instances:
Main instance
Through the nexus - D'ni Ae'gura
Hood Instance
Through your City Links book – This allows you to work on your game without worrying about Ae'gura being too crowded . This is shown in th KI as "city city"

Puzzle Solutions
Eder Delin and Eder Tsogal
These are group puzzles that require a cooperative effort. The solution methodology is the same for both. You get a donut half for each age you solve.
...................Eder Delin
http://www.guildofgreeters.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=39
...................Eder Tsogal
http://www.guildofgreeters.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=86&Itemid=39
...................List of hoods with Eder Delin linking books
http://www.mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9645

Pod Ages:Negilahn, Dereno, Payiferin, and Tetsonot
Each pod age gives you a 1/4 slice of a donut! You just have to wait for the portal to appear, walk through it and claim your prize There are many portal predictors available on the forum. But in general, they follow the time zones that appear on the interactive map in the Museum.
...................Portal Appearance Locations
Negilahn is by the link-in point; the middle floor next to the down-ladder.
Dereno is on the bottom floor next to the left-most window.
Payiferen is on the bottom floor on top of the pod ID number.
Tetsonot is on the middle floor, near the two up-ladders.
...................Portal Prediction Programs
http://www.mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9182
http://www.mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9437


Minkata
This age can be solved alone and you get a single donut.
...................Hints and such
http://www.mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10326

...................Detailed walk though
http://www.guildofgreeters.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=100&Itemid=39

Er'cana
This age can be solved alone. You just need to find and touch the Journey
cloths. You get 1/2 of a donut for this.
http://www.mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11071
...................GoG Walkthrough
http://www.guildofgreeters.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=127&Itemid=39

Ahnonay
This age requires help. I found this nice explanation with good visuals on this forum.

Click to reveal spoiler.
Code to last door in Ahnonay: 32148567

http://www.mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13413

Another nice guide:
http://cubkyle.blogspot.com/

Helpful Links
Guild of Greeter's Library
http://www.guildofgreeters.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=4&id=17&Itemid=28

Uru Obsession's Library
http://www.uruobsession.com/?module=Library

About the Guild System
http://drcsite.org/dnifaq.php#guild

Link to old Goodie List
http://www.mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3748





The Ending Has Not Yet Been Written......



MOUL Overview Article Complied by the author of this blog who has been a member of the URU community since the time of the D'mala Shard and Until URU with the help of many fellow Explorers, forum members and members of the URU and Myst Communities who together make up the essence and the vitality of this remarkable worldspace.



Dr CrisGer (the compiler) and his cat Max


MASTERWORK REVIEW -TOMB RAIDER SERIES - Exotic Worlds of Adventure EIDOS
Eidos
Creating Stunning Visual Worlds in Many Dimensions

All Tomb Raider images, text, sound and music (c) Eidos Interactive All rights reserved No part may be copied or reproduced without express, written permission of Eidos.

All the images in this specific article are from the Eidos Interactive, All Rights Reserved

Since 1996, Eidos Interactive has been creating a remarkable series of adventure action games based on a now legendary British aristo explorer who delves into the secrets of the ages in ever increasingly beautifully rendered 3D worlds. From the earliest blocky sets to the current incredibly detailed and well done worlds of Tomb Raider, I am studying them as prime examples of what the 3D world can do for story telling par excellence.

Lara Croft is called a Tomb Raider, an archaeologist who seeks and delves into ancient sites with an emphasis and often a plot directed search of valuable treasures. In the series, Lara Croft is hired or engaged by some circumstance to follow a path to various places, often aided by her assistants located at her manor in England via phone or radio. She has a former mentor, Dr Von Croy who is at times an evil opponent and other figures appear in the series over time as antagonists and rivals of various kinds, and in one game a thankfully brief and failed attempt was made to find her a male counterpert.

The Tomb Raider series is a 3D action/adventure epic in which players control Lara from a third person perspective. The in game camera follows Lara as she scales, leaps, runs, explores and swims through detailed locations of many kinds, but mostly ruins and tombs and exotic locations, Paris, London, Japan, Peru, Egypt, and beyond.... overcoming traps, dangers, obstacles and foes both human and creature. Her progress through the levels often means finding ways that Lara can climb, angles where she can use her skills and ability, and sliding blocks and pushing levers to make her way to the end of the level. She has many abilities that you trigger with hot keys and combos that you learn in the tutorial section of each game and over time these controls have evolved into some of the most effective in such game design.

Lara comes armed with a variety of weapons including her famous twin pistols. She can restore her in game "health" in various ways as well. Lara’s foes may include real and mythical creatures, mercenaries, and on occasion humans who are seminal in the plot and evolving story. There are rewards and artifacts that open rewards in the game itself such as back story elements, pictures, outfits for Lara and other goodies.

I have found even in the transitional titles from earlier technology graphically starting with Tomb Raider IV, the lighting and the set design of the Tomb Raider levels is superb, on a level with art in many ways.



Young Lara On Her First Expedition, TR IV

The integration of background and structures, use of texture and construction to create the immersion is very well done throughout the series....



Lara in the Valley of the Kings, TR IV

and gives the player the "in the world" feeling that makes the Tomb Raiders so



Lara in a Tomb, Ghana, TR Legends

believealbe and playable on many levels. I find them aesthecially very beautiful and pleasing to move about in, and from her sumptious home as we explore and get to know it through the series as a form of home base, to the exotic locations, we are led deeper and deeper into the game experience by the lovinly created detailed and luscious visual worlds.



Lara in Croft Manor TR L



Finding Queen Talupa TR L

The settings are more than a arcade for acrobatics, though the action phase of the game has its rigors, the locales and the ambience of the locations is a very important part of the magic of this remarkable series that rises far above that of a mere fast fiction thriller series.



Lara Explores Inca Ruins TRL



Lara in Tokyo

Lara is developed as a character in some interesting ways, she is far more than a femme fatale or a action hero, for over the series, her character is edgy and not always fully viewed in the light, for she moves in the shadows too, and her enigmatic and wry sense of whimsy and risky humour comes out in a variety of ways..so she is an intriguing part of the game experince.



Close up of Lara in TRL



A Darkly Dangerous Lara on the roofs of Tokyo

The challenge with such a series game which has high demands on the abilty of the game engine to allow full movement and also to give the feeling of immersion are great and the way that Edios and the developer Core Design have achieved this are nothing short of miraculous at times. Lara moves fluidly through many locations, and we have the feeling of being right there with her achieved in many subtle ways.



Lara Enters the Louvre TR Angel of Darkness



Lara Lurking in Paris TR AOD

And the overall feeling is one of actual presence in the 3D environment for the main actor which is a combination of YOU as the player and Lara as the subject ...which achieves a high degree of success in the storytelling of the series.



Lara in the Andes TR L

The Longest Journey - Dreamfall: Ragnar's Epic Saga Masterpiece

April Dreams

MASTERWORKS IN GAME DESIGN SERIES

All Images included in this article copyright(c)Funcom, all game titles and content remain copyrighted and all rights reserved (R)(TM) and all products and publications in any current and future media remain the sole property of Funcom. (c).2000 - 2007 .

In 2000, Funcom released to the world what is assuredly one of the lasting masterpieces of CGI game design and literature, The Longest Journey, which was followed by a sequel in 2007, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. Both are based on a story plot line by Ragnar Tornquist, a genius of storytelling and a masterful game designer. It is hard to imagine what artistry and creative vision was gathered to produce two such wonderful games, each having some of the finest elements of current technology and story telling and game play available at their repective times of release.



April begins to learn of the two worlds, Stark and Arcadia

The saga tells of April Ryan's life and adventures in two linked worlds set in a future universe, Stark, science based and modern and a place of vast urban cities, teeming masses, technology rampant and triumphant, the world dominated by the Wire and interconnected in both high tech advantage and vulnerability: and the other world, Arcadia, magical, and spiritual, filled with myth, and mythos, natural beauty, and medevil towns, sailing ships, talking creatures and wonders of all kinds.



April being drawn into a link between Stark and Arcadia....



April's Everyday life in Stark



Her Friends are very much part of the story, april and Charlie in the Fringe Bar



April's Studio at Art School

In the two games people can and do travel between the worlds, with unforseen and remarkable consequences, there are great issues at stake, Balance, Order, Chaos and change in both worlds involving shifts and new techonology and invasions both real and spiritual. Ragnar has given us story figures, heroines and heros equal to the task of carrying these stories.

Both games are fully voiced and the dialogues are one of the wonders and the great treasures of both games, in this hasty and illiterate age, one can marvel and revel in a deep story line, character development, plots and sub plots and wonderful people and creature we get to know and love, hate or fear, and enjoy, above all enjoy.

I played The Longest Journey years before the advent of Dreamfall, and fell in love with its lush and luscious screen images, the beauties of the colours and worlds and the wonders of being able to move with and follow the characters in a 2D-3D mixture, of pre rendered backgrounds, but with wonderful ambient lighting,full sound effects, excellent animations and fully movable characters, really 2 and a half D, and the scale allowed one to feel you were in a vast landscape, and fully involved in the story.



The Beauty of Arcadia, Paradise Lost

April Ryan, the heroine is a vivacious, and highly individual person, an artist, in a bewildering modernistic world that is being driven mad by its power and the angst of the lost souls trapped in high tech prisons of affluence that are slowly killing their dreams and souls.



The Cities of Stark




April Exploring Marcuria, a city in Arcadia



Roper Klack's Castle in Arcadia

She falls into the other world due to her dreams, she is a link between the worlds and both worlds voice their need and pain through her, and she begins a quest for meaning and understanding and to help that takes her on voyages in both worlds and into wonders you will marvel at with her. She meets and works with and against a marvelous array of characters, beings, entities, healers, seers, villans and saviours...and you will not know what will happen any more than she does.



April Learns of the Spirtual History of Aracadia and of the Balance....



Chaos Threatens the Balance



A Mysterious Lady "tells" the story....which continues with.....




Dreamfall: The Longest Journey Part 2



April in Marcuria 10 years later

Dreamfall is the second of three planned stories, though Ragnar is not telling us yet when the third will come, or what form it will take, some word is that it may be episodic. The saga unfolds in Dreamfall ten years later, April has changed, aged and grown in a different path from the April we knew. But we enter the second game through Zoe, a fully new and differnt and also engaging character, this time she is in full 3D, and you can move comopletely freely through the Stark and Arcadia, the two worlds, and enjoy completely realized scenes, speak with and interact with other chracters, do things, move them, and effect changes, and your game play has many choices that will change the story path of the game.



Zoe's Home in future Casablanca



Future Stark is ruled by giant corporations and science still



Arcadia remains different but has its own troubles

There have been vast changes in the 10 years between The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, the super powerful world of Stark experienced a Fall of the net, and everything stopped, space flight is no longer possible it seems and the entire world civilization almost fell. There are hints that it was tied to events in Arcadia, but with the unfolding story, we never really know entirely what is happening. In Arcadia, two invasions have affected Marcuria, first a horde of nomads and then a high tech matriachy modeled on a fundimentalist Caliphate has "liberated" Marchuria, but plans to impose it's own religious oligarchy, and is opposed by rebels including April. Zoe moves between the worlds and thru a world of dreams that is revealed through some of the other characters from the first story......for through this land of dreams some can both travel and affect both worlds, indeed the dreams of each world can threaten the other if the Balance is lost.



The Ruling Dictators of the Conquerer of Arcadia



A traveller from Stark to Arcadia taking the Path of Dreams



A Guardian in the Place of Dreams....

A word of warning, PLEASE reset the x and y axis of the movment defaults, the default settings will drive you nuts, as they did me for some months before I figured it out. they set the exactly opposite of our natural movment pattern, it is a standard ASWD 3D movment pattern but they set it so that if you moved your mouse to the left you went right and if you pushed up you went down. I have no idea why they did this, but many including me were totally frustrated by this, so once you do this you will quickly pick up the controls. There is also some fighting and some stealth sequences where you need to sneak to get by some villans and mosnters, these are a bit touchy but the game itself is far worth the effort, it is beautifully rendered, some of the most beautiful scene setting I have ever seen in any of my game research.



April and Zoe are both remarkable and very different


Zoe is another character of strong will and depth, and she indeed meets April later in the game and they work together and then apart, both retain their own unique personalities.



Zoe moves in both worlds



Zoe in Arcadia

The deep issues of the first game remain and have indeed become more intense and serious, for the worlds both have moved deeper in to the Divide, the crisis that involves the Balance of Order and Chaos that affects all worlds and cultures, and that Ragnar has evoked with great ethos, and skill in both games. I will not spoil the story for any person who enjoys CGI games MUST play both, I insist. You will not regret it, as I will always look to both of these games for the best in game design of their respective publications. Ragnar has proven that story telling and adventure remain key ares for game excellence and there is much we can learn and share in such game literature.



The Old Harbour in Marcuria






April in the place of dreams............



Special Thanks

Special thanks to Karla Munger for help with the screenshots. A further note, both games play on XP, but for The Longest Journey 1 to play well please be sure to get the DVD version with the latest file sets.

Credits

The Longest Journey (2000)

Producer Ragnar Tørnquist
Lead Designers Didrik Tollefsen, Ragnar Tørnquist
Written By Ragnar Tørnquist
Art Director Didrik Tollefsen
Lead Programmer Morten Lode
Programmers Johan Braanen, Rune Espeseth, Jan-Ove Haaland, Bjørn-Eirik Larsen, Morten Lode, Audun Tørnquist
Laidback Staff Johan Braanen, Jan-Ove Haaland, Morten Lode
Installer and Launcher Rune Espeseth, Bjørn-Eirik Larsen, Audun Tørnquist
3D Studio Plug‑Ins Johan Braanen, Kurt Skauen
Translation Tool Rune Espeseth, Morten Lode
Randy Martin Amor, Kurt Skauen, Jesper Hansen, Tore Lode, Jørgen Tvedt, Frank Andrew Stevensen, Fabian Gonzalez, Andreas Bromirski, Lasse Staff Jensen
Sandy Karol Slanina
Character Animation Toolkit Jesper Hansen, Kurt Skauen
Background Artists Tom Gjerde, Karsten Hammer Hansen, Dennis Hansen, Kjetil Hjeldnes, Øyvind Jernskau, David Michaelczyk, Christian Morgan Enger, Vebjørn Strømmen, Didrik Tollefsen
Character Artists Christian Morgan Enger, Iwan Peter Scheer
Facial Animations Anders Finér
Character Animation Renate Andersen, Lars-Petter Anfinsen, Iwan Peter Scheer
Full‑Motion Video Sequences Renate Andersen, Kjetil Hjeldnes, Øyvind Jernskau, Christian Morgan Enger, Amanda Ronai, Iwan Peter Scheer, Rune Spaans, Didrik Tollefsen, Thorolf Tønjum
Audio Director Bjørn Arve Lagim
Music Composed and Performed By Bjørn Arve Lagim
Sound Design Tor Linløkken
Additional Music Tor Linløkken, Morten Sørlie, Didrik Tollefsen
Speech Editing and Processing Bjørn-Eirik Larsen, Tor Linløkken, Morten Sørlie
Additional Design Gaute Godager, Øyvind Jernskau, Henning Solberg
Voice Director Ragnar Tørnquist
Casting Coordinator Synove Lund
Recording Engineer Frank Kulaga
Quality Assurance Manager Henning Solberg
Quality Assurance Steve Reberg, Henning Solberg, Mikael Svenson, Darren Thompson, Alf Yngve
Localization Coordinator Nils Hakon Nordberg
President André Backen
Vice President of Production Gaute Espeland
Marketing Ulf Kristiansen, Marit Lund, Tomas Schreiner
Box Design and Web-Site Tommy Svensson
Manual Design Geir Haugen
Manual Written By Ragnar Tørnquist
Motion Capture Actors Gry Stordahl, Didrik Tollefsen
Special Thanks To Tommy Strand, The Anarchy team, Everybody at Robert Martone Recording Studio in New York
Cast Louis Aguirre (as Cortez and Adrian), Mark Anthony Henry (as Charlie), Madison Arnold (as Frank Minnelli - Stanley - Stickman Willow and Old Sailor), Andrea Bowen (as Young April and Alatien Child), Ralph Byers (as Roper Klacks - Brian Westhouse and Jacob McAllen), Andrew Donnelly (as Burns Flipper and Lorhan), Mary Elaine Monty (as Front Desk Sergeant - The Gribbler and April's Mom), Peter Fernandez (as Minstrum Yerin - Elder Banda - Stickman Wick and Old Alatien Man), Ron Foster (as The Wood Spirit - Tobias Grenset and The Ancient Dragon), Ron Gallop (as Zack Lee - Captured Banda - Stickman Wood and Thin Repairman), Stephanie Garry (as FACT Voice - Colonial Representative and Mickey), Sarah Hamilton (as April Ryan), Cordis Heard (as Innkeeper and Reporter), John Henry Cox (as Freddie Melon - Captain Nebevay - April's Father and Cop), Francesca Longrigg (as Fiona and Tun Luiec), Regina Lund (as April Ryan - Swedish version), Jeff Meller (as Dark People's Emissary - Abnaxus and Maps Merchant), Kevin Merritt (as Gordon and Male Visitor), Julia Murney (as Emma - Young Alatien Woman and Female Visitor), Nicole Orth-Pallavicini (as The White Dragon and The Maerum Queen), Roger Raines (as Crow - Actor Cop and Vanguard Receptionist), Bernard Ramstead (as Tobias Grensret - Norwegian version), Frank Rivers (as Father Raul - Q'aman - Alatien Castle Watch and Vanguard Agent), Finn Schau (as Cortez - Norwegian version), Helen Stenborg (as Old Woman and Alatien Teller), Synnøve Svabø (as April Ryan - Norwegian version), Torsten Wahlund (as Jacob McAllen - Norwegian version), Victor Warren (as Fat Repairman - Lost Banda and Cups Handler)
Production Anthony J. Bond Jr.
Artwork and Design Nicolas Croc, Paul Flewitt, Phil Goldfinch, Jamie Young
Head of QA, Customer Services and IT Mike Holton
Lead Tester Iain Riches
Dutch Localization (R&P Electronic Media)
Project Manager Robert de Wit, Leo Bloem
Marketing Manager Peter de Wit
Coordination Lilian Hogenstijn
Manager NL Adaption Mark Reimerink
Test Manager Guido Combee
Testers R&P Testteam
Cast Bram Bart (Crow - Thin Mechanic - Vanguard Receptionist and Actor), Bram Biesterveld (Male Guest - Freddie Melon and Lorhan), Chilly Dartell (Maerum Queen and White Dragon), Christa Lips (Female Guest - Young April - Alatien Child - Tun Luiec and Fiona), Corrie van de Linden (Innkeeper and Front Desk Sergeant), Dik Riemstra (Stanley and Frank Minnelli), Eric van Sauers (Charlie), Fred Meijer (Wick - Brian Westhouse - Ben-bandu - Young Mole and Roper Klacks), Hero Muller (Dark People's Emissary - April's Father - Adrian and Abnaxus), Huub Dikstaal (Merchant - Artist - Bandu-uta - Captured Mole - Fat Mechanic - Warren - Zack - Spacestation Guard and Vanguard Agent), Jan-Anne Drenth (Old Dragon - Tobias and The Wood Spirit), Jan Elbertse (Captain Nebevay - Homosexual Agent and Willow), Jon van Eerd (Burns Flipper and Alatien Guard), Just Meijer (Alatien Castle Guard and Gordon Halloway), Koos van der Knaap (Cortez), Lucie de Lange (Emma - Young Alatien Woman - Miss Alvane and Old April Ryan), Luk van Mello (Old Alatien Man - Minstrum Yerin and Elder Mole), Marlies Somers (April Ryan), Marloes van de Heuvel (April's Mother and The Gribbler), Mimi Kok (Old Alatien Woman), Reindert van der Naalt (Merchant - Cards Salesman - Umber Ianos and Woody), Rob van Meeberg (Agent at the Lift), Ruud Drupsteen (Q'aman - Guard and Raul), Tanneke Hartzuiker (Reporter - FACT Computers - Colonial Receptionist and Mickey), Wilbert Gieske (Jacob McAllen and Agent on Grendel Avenue)
German Localization (Egmont)
Project Lead Andrea Schweitzer
Marketing Director Frank Delbrügge
Product Manager Julia Legner
Manual Hans Hohmann, Eva Hoogh
Localization Eva Hoogh, Günther Klose
Lecturer Ulrike Keller
Voice Recording Thomas Weicheler
Special Thanks To Hardy Hoogh, Robby M. Mikusch
Cast Sven Bluhm (as Guard), Katja Brügger (as Innkeeper and Front Desk Sergeant), Marc Degener (as Lorhan), Till Demtröder (as Zack Lee - Vanguard Receptionist - Cups Handler and The Keeper), Klaus Dittmann (as Stanley), Kerstin Draeger (as Fiona), Sascha Draeger (as Charlie and Captured Banda), Eckhard Dux (as Willow and Woody), Marion Elskes (as Emma), Sabine Falkenberg (as Mickey and Reporter), Gerhard Garbers (as Umber Ianos and Actor Cop), Ben Hecker (as The Wood Spirit), Martin Heckmann (as Tobias Grensret and Alatien Castle Watch), Marion von Stengel (as FACT Voice and Female Visitor), Klaus-Peter Kaehler (as Fat Repairman), Ingeborg Kallweit (as Ancient Dragon), Wolfgang Kaven (as April's Dad), Joachim Kertzel (as Brian Westhouse and Q'aman), Stephanie Kindermann (as April Ryan), Michaela Kreißler (as Gribbler), Henry König (Lift Cop), Nicolas König (as Gordon and Thin Repairman), Carola Lentzer (as April's Mom), Gabriele Libbach (as The White Dragon and Tun Luiec), Holger Mahlich (as Father Raul and Vanguard Agent), Leonard Mahlich (as Warren), Robert Missler (as Crow - Young Banda and Male Guest), Dietmar Mues (as Jacob McAllen), Sylvie Nogler (as Colonial Shopkeeper and Young Alatien Woman), Hans Petsch (as Old Alatien), Heidi Schaffrath (as The Maerum Queen), Rainer Schmitt (as Captain Nebevay - Map Merchant and Cop), Erik Schäffler (as Burns Flipper and Alatien Guard), Achim Schülke (as Roper Klacks - Minstrum Yerin and Stickman Wick), Horst Stark (as Cortez - Policeman and Guard), Ruben Weichler (as Alatien Child), Thomas Weicheler (as Marcus), Peter Weiß (as Abnaxus and Elder Banda), Verena Wiet (as Old Woman and Old Alatien Woman)
Swedish Actors
April Ryan Regina Lund
Cortez Leif Stålhammer
Q'aman / Stanley / Frank Minnelli / Alatisk slottsvakt Steve Kratz
Jacob McAllen / Karthandlaren / Gammal alatisk man Torsten Wahlund
Minstrum Yerin / Bandaernas ålderman / Umber Ianos Sture Ström
Emma / Ne'ema / Kvinnlig gäst / Reporter Madeleine Elfstrand
April som barn / Sa'ena Elvira Roos
Gordon Halloway / Wick / Manlig gäst Jan Waldekranz
Burns Flipper / Agent Woody Erik Donell
Kapten Nebevay / Homosexuell polis / Willow Anders Ahlbom
Kråkan / Smal reparatör / Alatiervakten Isam / De främsta-receptionist Dick Eriksson
Lady Alvane / Marianernas drottning / Den vita draken / Gammal alatisk kvinna Iréne Lindh
Mörkerfolkets sändebud / Pappa, Vakt / Hisspolis Thomas Roos
Charlie, Koppdribblaren / Bandu-uta / Skådispolis Figge Norling
Brian Westhouse / Den uråldriga draken / Freddie Melon / Tjock reparatör Fredrik Dolk
Warren Leo Hallerstam
Mamma / FACT-röst / Benrime Salmin / Kolonisatörernas representant Denize Karabuda
Abnaxus / Lorhan / Fader Raul Niklas Falk
Tobias / Trädanden Stephan Karlsén
Zack / Ben-bandu / Adrian Ivan Petersson
Mickey / Gribblaren / Polis-receptionist Rachel Mohlin
Tun Luiec / Fiona My Holmsten
2 CD & DVD re-releases
Additional Programming Enno Rehling
Additional Quality Assurance Christoffer Bjørnsti, Nina Louise Sund

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (2007)

Game Director Ragnar Tørnquist
Project Manager Øivind Scharning
Art Director Christer Sveen
Lead Designers Jarl Schjerverud, Henning Solberg
Designers Aleksander Grøndal, Dag Scheve, Torbjørn Sitre (Tobben)
Written By Ragnar Tørnquist, Dag Scheve
Lead Artist Kjetil Hjeldnes
Concept Artists Christer Sveen, Didrik Tollefsen, Gavin Whelan, Sigbjørn Galaen (Siggy), Vebjørn Strømmen
Scene Artists Richard Cawte, Øyvind Jernskau, Dan Cormick, Lee Symes, Mats Tveita, Markus Schille, Pekka Järventaus, Sonia Tyndale
Character Artists Vebjørn Strømmen, Robert Kist
Animators Eigil Jarl Halse, Frode Thorkildsen, Ingvild Oppedal Olsen Ashurst, Maria Skau, Morten Øverlie, Tibor Nagy, Trygve Bjellvåg, William Olsen-Ashurst
Additional Artists Razvan Vacar, Waqas Zia Chaudhry, Thomas Sundfær
Lead Programmers Morten Lode, Christian Tellefsen, Enno Rehling
Programmers Arnleif Mydland, Jorn Jensen, Jørn Are Sjulsen, Knut Johannessen, Morten Brenna, Morten Hustveit, Morten Lied Johansen, Tommy Strand
Audio Director Morten Sørlie
Lead Sound Designer Simon Poole
Music Leon Willett
Additional Music Even Johansen (Universal Publishing), Ingvild Hasund, Morten Sørlie, Octavacat, Simon Poole
Voice Director Ragnar Tørnquist (English version)
Casting and Recording Coordinator Dag Scheve
Additional Dialogue Editing Lee Walker
Assistant Project Manager Anita Dalsrud
CEO Trond Arne Aas
QA Manager Ørjan Mathis Tvedt
Assistant QA Manager Scott Junior
Technical Lead Michael Søvik
QA Testers Anthony Strickland, Brad Berrier, Christoffer Bjørnsti, Dax Hock, Eirik Munthe, Glen Swan, Joseph Levinski, Nina Louise Sund, Rune Valle
Sales, Marketing and Management
Director of Operations Ole Schreiner
Sales & Marketing Director Ove Forseth
Sales & Marketing Annette De Freitas, Terri Perkins
PR and Product Director Jørgen Tharaldsen
Community Manager Craig Morrison
VP Business Development Nicolay Fr. D. Nickelsen
Business Controller Jan Inge Torgersen
CFO Martin Hoff
Special Thanks to Johan Tengå, Vivi Christensen, Geoffrey Higgins, Brian Lee, Funcom US Customer service team
Motion Capture Performers Bjørn-Erik Hytt, Thea Danielsen Fjørtoft, Vilde Jansen
Production Babies Ingvild Mydland, Maren Mary Ashurst
English Voices
Voice Actors Ellie Conrad Leigh (Zoë Castillo), Sarah Hamilton (April Ryan), Gavin O'Connor (Kian), Ralph Byers (Brian Westhouse/Roper Klacks), Jo Dow (Peats/Warden Murron/Dark People), Kwesi Ameayaw (Chawan), Matthew Keenan (Brynn), Mary Healy (Olivia DeMarco), Daryl Alan Reed (Charlie), Jack Angel (Wonkers the Watilla), Wes Parker (The Chinaman), Brian Bloom (Marcus Crozier/The Guardian/Kenji), André Sogliuzzo (Blind Bob), Hadeel Alwash (Na'ane), Anna Savva (Kara/WATI Computer Voice), Iris Quinn (Helena Chang), Michael FitzGerald (Reza Temiz), Patrick FitzSymons (Gabriel Castillo/Spice Merchant), Victor Burke (Damien Cavanaugh), Vanessa Jones (Jama Mbaye), Roger Raines (Crow), Julia Murney (Emma de Vrijer/Dr. Park/Yuriko), Håvard Bakke (Ivar), Alan Stanford (The Vagabond/The Captain), Paul Tylak (Interrogator), Marcus Lamb (Museum Guard), Maryke Hendrickse, Cordis Heard (Benrime Salmin), Ruth McCabe (Crazy Clara), Garrett Lombard (Vamon/Dagdam), David Goodall (Garmon Koumas), Dougie Wallace (Ary Kinryn), Nadine Shenton (Fringe Hostess), Len Firth (Vinnie), Deirdre Donnelly (Minstrum Magda/Obaasan), Louis Gregg (Hiro), Roger Gregg (Elwyn/Male Scientist), Georgia Pearce (Faith), Jenny Maher (The White Dragon/Abya of the Six/Karen), Jade Yourell (Yona of the Six/Sister Sahya/Female Scientist), Doireann Ni Chorrigain (Child Ena/Riko), Hilary Cahill (Maha of the Six/Sela), Javier Fernandez (Manny Chavez)
Additional Voices Susan Zelouf, Pat Kinevane, Annie Ryan, Joe Rooney, Peter Ferris, Ingerborg Raustøl, Petronella Barker, Lena Meieran, Jan Erik Madsen, Anders Ribu, Franklin Adjaye, Susan Winder, Yuke Sun, Kuo Guo, Sirui Ren
Virtuous China Art Team
Character Modellers Wu Yan Wei, Sui Bo, Xu Kun Peng, Xie Hai Tian, Zhang Yu Ya
Level and Object Modellers Sui Bo, Xie Hai Tian, Li Zheng
CEO Gilles Langourieux
Art Director Cheng Yu
Production Director Pan Feng
Recording, Sound Production and Casting
Casting Director for Blindlight Dawn Hershey (C.S.A.)
For Nordubb Morten Karlstad
VO Producer for Blindlight Alexandra Dorris
Voice Director for Blindlight Michael Hack
For Moynihan Russel Studios Paul Lynch
Recording, Sound Production and Casting Airwavesound, Sound Hound Studios
For Voiceover.uk Gary Churcher
For Voicebank.ie Geraldine O'Shea, Katie Molony
For Abe's Audio Abe Udy
For Skyline Studios Luke Hatfield
Recording, Sound Production and Casting (For Nordubb)
Recording and Editing Morten Karlstad
Editing Harald Lindebrekke, Terje Sæther, Ketil Høgseth, Bård Farbu, Morten Lange
Norwegian Voices
Voice Actors Ingeborg Raustøl (Zoe Castillo), Petronella Barker (April Ryan), Ove Christian Owe (Kian), Trond Brænne (Brian Westhouse / Roper Klacks), Nicolai Cleve Broch (Damien Kavanagh), Janne Formoe (Olivia DeMarco), Dagfinn Lyngbø (Marcus / Blinde Bob), Håvard Bakke (Vokteren / Kenji / Vinnie), Nils Vogt (Gabriel Castillo), Samsaya Sampda Sharma (Jama Mbaye), Christian Borge (Benrime Salmin), Mari Maurstad (Helena Chang), Tone Ræstad (Riko), Ida Lind (Minstrum Magda), Katrine Blomstrand (Emma / Sahya / Diane / Maha / Carlita), Unn V. Hol (Gærne Clara / Lucia), Silje Stang (WATI Computer Voice), Marika Enstad (Na'ane/Vitenskapskvinne), Silje Færavåg (Den Hvite Dragen/Abya/Yuriko), Sigrid Huun (Kara/Dr. Park), Benedikte Kruse (Sela/WATI Resepsjonist), Julie Gundersen (Faith), Christoffer Staib (Reza), Anders Bye (Charlie), Sigmund Sæverud (Peats/Garmon Koumas), Magnus Nielsen (Kinamannen), Tommy Karlsen (Ary/Vagabond/Mørkefolk), Hans Rønningen (Crow), Espen Sandvik (Forhørsleder/Kapiteinen/Elwyn/Vitenskapsmann), Steinar Taarn Sande (Murron/Krydderselger), Jon Erling Wevling (Vamon/Dieter/Dagdam), Erik Skøld (Brynn), Ivar Nørve (Wonkers), Øyvind Borgemoen Lyse (Chawan), Jeppe Westerby (Hiro)
Additional Voices Cathrine Bang, Inger Teien, Susanne Paalgard, Klara Døving, Inger Gundersen, Jorunn Thorsheim, Stein Stølen, Anders Reiremo, Hallvard Lydvo, Morten Lange, Erik Schjerven, Geir Morstad, Yuke Sun, Kuo Guo, Sirui Ren, Preben Olram, Helge Winter Larsen, Trond Teigen, Simen Sand
Translation Odd Espen Jensen, Tom Amund Hoff
Empire Interactive
Empire Interactive Rob Noble, Paul Benjamin, David Pain, Chris Matlub, Haydon Farrar, David Cleaveley
Studio Jayshree Mistry, Nicole Smith, Andrew Philp
Micro Application
President Philippe Olivier
Production Director Rémy Poirson
Product Manager François Logeais
Producer Xavier Laisney
Press Relation Sandrine Loegel
Localization Lead Maïté Léon
Localization La Marque Rose
QA Sébastien Aubre, Franck Feuillade, Absolute Quality
Special Thanks Nicolas Gaborieau, Manuel Mas, Julien Dominique, Frédéric Didier, Grégory Jégo, François-Xavier Lair, Caroline Richard
Aspyr Studios
Producer Blaine Christine
Production Coordinator Chance Copeland
Senior Project Manager Kelly Bates
Project Coordinator Patrick Rogers
Lead QA Analyst Dustan Coleman
Assistant QA Lead Analyst/TCR Specialist Andy Cook
QA Analysts Nick Hubble, Amy Lynn, Jon Savinelli, Ty Myrick, Shyla Spurlock, Ryan Stocks, Clement Young, Matthew Claunch
Compatibility Lab Tech Jessie Boyer
Technical Support Jason McClure, Jennifer Becker, Samuel Francisco Morris, Joe Rinaldi, Clint Parker, Haley Lumpkin
Director of Development Glenda Adams
Development Manager Mark Krenek
Director of Production James Hudson
Director of Marketing Leah Heck
Marketing Manager Amity Ponsetti
Technical Marketing Assistant Nestor Hernandez
Creative Program Director Zach Rener
Public Relations Susan Lusty, Lori Mezoff
Marketing Art Director Tyler Schmitt
Graphic Designers Greg Althoff, Devin Cox
Director of QA Tim Attuquayefio
Director of Technical Support Tim Attuquayefio
Quality Assurance Supervisor Matt Scates
Technical Support/Compatibility Lab Manager Andy Brazell
Special Thanks Tim Fuller, Jennifer Becker, Claudia Gauthier, Aaron Whitesell


MASTERWORK REVIEW -GOTHIC III
JoWooD Productions
JoWooD Continues a Remarkable 3D Total World Game Series

All Gothic III images, text, sound and music (c) JoWooD Group All rights reserved


Among the modern developments of 3D Worlds is one of the most detailed and immersive, that of the series developed by the German company JoWooD, the Gothic Series I, II, and III with a sequel in the series underway, IV. These games have evolved into a fantastically detailed world that has dynamic weather, tiime of day changes, and a vast game world of almost mythic proportions, I think it is perhaps not as well known as some such worlds such as Oblivion but equal to any modern world created for CGI gaming in quality and beauty.

You arrive as part of a progression of story, and must travel thru and learn to understand a complex world with many races and areas. You visit at your own choice, a series of sub worlds of alpine woods and mountains, desert a la Arabia of fantasy fame, and must travel thru a vast array of towns, cities, villages, caves and deal with what you find there.



You as You in Gothic III

I found Gothic to be very beautiful as a world and the detail simply stunning. The in game main character that you control has full voice and options for a vast array of skills and abilities which you must master to advance in the game.



Incredibly detailed World of Gothic III


I can only give a glimpse but what a wonderful one it is, of this amazing world and will continue this review soon.



Arabian Gothic

3D Worlds Set in Space and Time

MASTERWORKS IN GAME DESIGN SERIES

Jade Empire Bioware

All Images included in this article copyright(c)Bioware, all game titles and content remain copyrighted and all rights reserved (R) (TM) The Trademark Jade Empire (TM) and all products and publications in any current and future media remain the sole property of Bioware. (c) 1994-2008. Any Concept art included in this article and other articles on this blog remain the sole copyright of the artist unless otherwise included within the copyright of the development project concerned. .

A masterpiece of world making, Jade Empire stands as a marker along the path of style and content development in the progress that the game industry has made in the art of world making. JE is a beautifully crafted and artistic masterpiece with historic foundations that are intriging and make the game much more than a role playing adventure.

The Game follows the path of a young and unkown person, you choose the character, sex and type of your main character with a number of options all based on classical Imperial Chinese history of the Han historic era. The entire game is crafted as a work of art, with a thematic classical Chinese atmopshere which is very pleasing and harmonious for the entire play through. I found it quite intriguing and the philosophy and archane historic and cultural tenets espoused by the game characters true to the Chinese experience and very enjoyable. One does not need to be versed in the Tao or the other past Chinese paths but it makes it even more fun to explore this beautifully rendered world.



The player finds themselves training at a remote mountain temple school led by a wise master of the martial arts. Your tutorial period in the game is not onerous and you quickly gain facility in the hand to hand combat and other styles needed to progress in the game. You also have companions and friends that you encounter until you have a quite large party of 8 I believe if memory serves me...and some of them you pick for your immediate in play companions, 2 at a time, with focus on their various attributes and abilities.



You get to know one of your closest companions

There are in game dialog screens that show you what others are saying and give you a chance to reply as you wish, thus the game has a dynamic path that evolves over time and can and does affect your path in the game. Thus this game is quite replayable and has many variations on the story and the direction you can take.

For my main interest of 3D world making this is a beautiful example of artistic style being applied with a wide and thoughtful brush to the entire game experience and it succeeds very well indeed. The scenes are luscious and beautifully rendered in loving detail yet stylistally coherent and true to the overall feeling. You have a chance to become settled into this world in the opening part of the game, as you move about the Temple School meet and talk to your fellow students and your Master and gain the story background you will need for your journey which will take you across the Empire, to the Imperial City and beyond.



The fleeting nature of time and life is emphasized by the beauty of the idyllic School and then the fact that after you leave on a mission......you return to find the entire school destroyed and under attack by enemies that you must then seek out and attempt to subdue in the path of your own awakeneing.....



The game has lovely cut scenes



Cutscene of a flight from a Tibet like temple.....in your own past as an infant

and a deep and intriguing story is woven thru the game play and you gradually discover more about your own past, and the past of the Empire of which you are a tiny part..of vast forces moving in this world and beyond, and indeed you do get to visit Heaven and other spiritual realms in this universe and even talk with some of the Divine Spirits for your life story is bound up in the very web and warp of this universe indeed.

Your journey takes you from the temple school through wilderness and mystic temples....



to a mystic temple with puzzles to solve as you progress...





to teeming villages and towns with a full and varied cast of NPCs with stories and quests to solve, all with well acted spoken dialog, indeed the only charcter with no voice in this game is you......



to the exotic lairs of pirates with stunning vistas across this fabled land...



and we get to visit and explore in detail the amazing Imperial city a vast metropolis with a number of areas all true to historic ancient china and filled with philosophers, princesses, court dignitaries, scoundrels, bandits, and more...even ghosts in the burial tomb district and associated spirits....



The levels and areas are very well designed with many changes of height and direction so that you truly have the feeling of exploring a vast and intriguing world. You get to interact with many of the city's residents, battle in the arena and argue with the Court philosphers which was a favorite of mine....in their Garden Retreat...you eventually end up with the imperial princess as your alternative partner and you can choose a romantic attachment to her or one of your earlier female (or male if your main character is female) companions as this love interest....and you end up at her father's imperial palace.....where you undergo many other suprises and trials.



The Vast and historically accurate Imperial Palace



A Chamber of Testing

You finally come full circle in the story of the game and end up at a mountain monastery very reminiscent of modern Tibet and begin the final phase of your life adventure in this remarkable world....



Mountain Monastary

The overall experience of this wonderful game is of self discovery and self mastery, which are noble and worthy goals, making this quite a remarkable game experience with both depth and value to the play through. The companion system is managed through a series of screens as are your own attributes, attack style and other qualities and skills that you gain in the progress of the game. Overall I rate this game high as an example of a very well crafted world and universe and an enjoyable game experinece. It is not often a game will venture to create Heaven and also show us the path to self enlightment on Earth, so I found this a very interesting and valuable example of the evolution of the 3D game worlds of the modern path of game development.



self development

and Heaven....



Bioware
Jade Empire Team

Executive Producers Ray Muzyka (Chief Executive Officer),
Greg Zeschuk (President)
Project Director Diarmid Clarke
Associate Producer Darcy Pajak
Technical Producer Derek French
Programming Owen Borstad, Steven Hand
Director of Quality Assurance Philip DeRosa
Principal Quality Assurance Lead Jason Leong, Homan Sanaie
Quality Assurance Bruce Venne, Chris Priestly, Stanley Woo, Curtis Knecht
Contract Testers Craig Graff, Jack Lamden, Darren Gilday, Justin Stedman, Arone LeBray, Chris Corfe, Ameet Thandi, Andrea Hussey
Lead Artist Nolan Cunningham
Texture Artists Casey Baldwin, Charlie Wong, Andre Santos, Steve Klit, Mike Hong
Director of Marketing and Business Development Craig Priddle
Marketing Manager Jarrett Lee
PR Coordinator Erik Einsiedel
Web Team Manager Robin Mayne
Graphic Artist Colin Walmsley
Web Developer Jeff Marvin
Web Content Developer Johnn Four
Principal Promotional Artist Michael Sass
Community Manager Jay Watamaniuk
Community Coordinator Chris Priestly
Client Care Specialist Jason Barlow
Director of Legal and Business Services Robert Kallir
Special Thanks Moye Daniel, Jason Barlow, The Jade Empire Team, Kevin Martens, Mike Laidlaw, Everyone at BioWare, past and present, who has contributed to Jade Empire's success. The BioWare fan community for their continued support, Our families!

Jade Empire Xbox Team
Lead Animator Enrique Deo Perez
Game Animation Carman Cheung, Chris Hale, Mark How, Rick Li, John Santos, Jim Jagger, Henrik Vasquez
Lead Cinematics Animator Tony de Waal
Cutscene Art and Animation Jonathan K Cooper, Nick DiLiberto, Paul Dutton, Cristian Enciso, Rod Green, Joel MacMillan, Christopher Mann, Sherridon Routley, Gina Welbourn, Shane Welbourn, Robert Shaw
Director of Animation Steven Gilmour
Motion Capture Performance and Choreography The Smashcut Action Team
Motion Capture At Giant Studios Syncrude Center for Motion and Balance
Art Director Matthew Goldman
Artists Nolan Cunningham, Mike Grills, Shane Hawco, Kevin Hayes, Matthew Park (Joonseo), Eric Poulin, Alex Scott, Shareef Shanawany, Sean Smailes, Jason Spykerman, Rob Sugama, Rion Swanson, Jillian Tamaki, Neil Valeriano, John Samuel Gallagher, Jessicah Mih, Arun Ram-Mohan
Lead Technical Artist Harvey Fong
Technical Artists and Art Tools Programming Ted Chen, Ben Hindle, Lindsay Jorgensen, Suhwan Pak, Kees Rijnen, Steve Runham
Additional Art Dean Andersen, Warren Heise, Tobyn Manthorpe, Matt Rhodes, Mike Spalding, Michael Trottier, Derek Watts, Ryan Blanchard, Mike Leonard
Director of Art David Hibbeln
Contract Artists Grant Arthur, David Cathro, Jeremy Elford, Paul Hodge
Audio and External Resources Producer Shauna Perry
Sound Designers Michael Kent, Michael Peter, Steven Sim
Audio Line Producer Craig Westley
Audio Programming Don Yakielashek
Original Score Jack Wall
Additional Sound Design David Chan, John Henke
Lead Designer Kevin Martens
Lead Cinematics Designer Brad Prince
Cinematics Designers Dusty Everman, James Henley
Lead Technical Designer Georg Zoeller
Technical Designers Jason Booth, Jonathan Epp, Brent Knowles, Emmanuel Lusinchi, Cori May, Aidan Scanlan, Keith Warner, John Winski
Lead Writers Lukas Kristjanson, Mike Laidlaw
Writers Drew Karpyshyn, Peter Thomas, Mac Walters, Brian Kindregan
Editing Jay Turner
Additional Design Rob Bartel, Preston Watamaniuk
Original Language Development Wolf Wikeley
Director of Design James Ohlen
Localization Producer Jenny McKearney
Localization Programming Robert Krajcarski, Kris Tan
Localization Line Producer John Campbell
Producer/Project Director Jim Bishop
Co-Executive Producers and Joint CEOs Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk
Assistant Producer Sheldon Carter
Assistant Technical Producer Keith Soleski
Line Producers Steve Lam (slam), Chris Klassen
Project Scheduling Manager Duane Webb
Lead Programming Mark Darrah
Programming Rob Boyd, Michael Devine, Aaryn Flynn, Neil Flynn, Daniel Hein, Ryan Hoyle, Pat Labine, Adriana Lopez, Daniel Morris, Ernesto Novillo, Jan Sacharuk
Lead Graphics Programming Patrick Chan
Graphics Programming Brook Bakay, Matt Peters
Lead Tools Programming Chris Christou
Tools Programming Marwan Audeh (The Coconut), Jonathan Baldwin, Lee Bererton, Christopher Mihalick, Réjean Poirier, James Redford, Sydney Tang, Jon Thompson, Ryan Warden, Darren Wong
Additional Programming Derek Beland, John Bible, Sophia Chan, Brenon Holmes, Robert Niewia-domski, Timothy Smith, Janice Thoms, Craig Welburn, Peter Woytiuk
Director of Programming Loren Andruko
Tools Programming Lead Don Moar
Graphics Programming Lead Jason Knipe
Quality Assurance Lead Alain Baxter
Quality Assurance Guillaume Bourbonnière, Derrick Collins, Mitchell T. Fujino, Keith Hayward (K2), Rob Henry, Scott Horner, Sam Johnson, Curtis Knecht, Alex Lucas, Bob McCabe, Ryan Plamondon, Chris Priestly (Evil), Ian Stevens-Guille, Bruce Venne, Stanley Woo
Additional Quality Assurance Nathan Frederick, Scott Langevin, Andrew Nobbs
Director of Quality Assurance Philip DeRosa
Contract Testers Steven Deleeuw, Chris Halina, Stephen Ho, Ryan Hrycun, Brian Mills, Sean Molofee, Celest Morris, Kyle Scott, Michael Goldman
Public Relations Lead Teresa Cotesta
Public Relations Specialist Tom Ohle
Promotional Art Todd Grenier, Michael Sass, Colin Walmsley
Web Manager Robin Mayne
Web Developers Johnn Four, Jeff Marvin
Client Care Specialist Jason Barlow
Community Manager Jay Watamaniuk
Director of Marketing Craig Priddle
Director of Finance and Systems Administration Richard Iwaniuk
Director of Business and Legal Services Robert Kallir
Director Of Human Resources Lesley Menzies
Human Resources Manager Mark Kluchky
Senior External Producer Diarmid Clarke
Finance Todd Derechey, Jo-Marie Langkow, Cherie Kleparchuk
Human Resource Coordinators Theresa Baxter, Leanne Korotash
Systems Administration Julian Karst, Nils Kuhnert, Dave McGruther, Craig Miller, Brett Tollefson, Duleepa Wijayawardhana (Dups), Chris Zeschuk
Administrative Assistant Teresa Meester
Receptionist Agnes Kokot Goldman
Lead VO Director Ginny McSwain
VO Direction Robert King, Caroline Livingstone
Casting Services TikiMan Casting
VO Recorded AT Technicolor Sound Services Blackman Productions Inc.
Voice Actors Jocelyn Ahlf, Julien Arnold, April Banigan, Shannon Blanchete, Wes Borg, Andrew Bowen, Victor Brandt, Coralie Cairns, Joey Camen, Clinton Carew, Dominic Catrambone, Cam Clarke, John Cleese, Robert Clinton, Josh Dean, Barry Dennen, Melissa Disney, Jeff Doucette, Terri Douglas, Robin Atkin Downes, Paul Eiding, Carey Feehan, Nathan Fillion, Dave Fouquette, Bartley P. Flynn, Paul Francis, Will Friedel, Karen Gartner, Pamela Gordon, Beth Graham, Kim Mai Guest, Ray Guth, Jeff Haslam, Andy Hirsch, Sherman Howard, John Hudson, Roger L. Jackson, Keith James, Peter Jessop, Danielle Judovits, Michael Keenan, John Kirkpatrick, Charles Klausmeyer, Matt Kloster, David Ley, Tom Lim, Tiffani Mann, David Markus, Gord Marriott, Masasa Moyo, Drew Massey, Mark Meer, Brian Murray, Jeff Page, Holly Palmer, Greg Palmer, David Anthony Pizzuto, Vic Polizos, Chris Postle, Nicky Pugh, Gustavo Rex, RD Robb, Cathleen Rootsaert, Armin Shimerman, George Silagy, Jan Alexandra Smith, Lark Spies, Josh Stamberg, Brian Stepanek, Fred Tatasciore, Simon Templeman, Daniela Vlaskalic, Kari Wahlgren, David Walsh, BJ Ward, Audrey Wasilewski, Stephanie Wolfe
Special Thanks Robbie Bach, Chris Borders, Andrew Flavell, Laura Hamilton, Shane Kim, Frank Klier, William Hodge, Marc Holmes, Laurel Holmes, Casey Hudson, Matthew Kaustinen, Shannon Loftis, Scott Mathews, Peter Moore, Greg Philyaw, Bonnie Ross, Phil Spencer, Ryan Wilkerson, Everyone at Microsoft Corporation who contributed on the Jade Empire project.

LTI Gray Matter
Owner / CEO Michael Livesay
Executive In Charge of Production Daniel R. Chavez
Lead Programmers Jason L. Maynard, Daniel Zahn, Chris Farrar
Programming Mark Fessia, James Ivers, Vinh Tran, Jimmy Tarn, Ben Bayani
Special Thanks Our Friends & Family

2K Games
President Christoph Hartmann
VP Product Development Grégoire Gobbi
VP Business Affairs David Ismailer
VP Sales & Licensing Steve Glickstein
Development Manager Jon Payne
Producer Sean R. Scott
VP Marketing Sarah Anderson
Director of Marketing Thomas Bass
Associate Product Manager Alison Moy
Director of Public Relations Marcelyn Ditter
Media Specialist Larry Stephens
Director of Operations Dorian Rehfield
Art Director, Creative Services Lesley Zinn
Web Manager Gabe Abarcar
Web Designer John Kauderer
Game Analysts Jim Yang, Walt Williams
Strategic Sales and Licensing Manager Paul Crockett
Production Manager Jack Scalici
Quality Assurance Director Lawrence Durham
Quality Assurance Lead Michael Chang
Quality Assurance Senior Tristan Clark
Testers Dimitri Becerra, Griffin Funk, Ian Clark, Larry Bolden, Tyler Harris, Josh Chastain, Karen McOscar, Sean Miller, Kevan Killion, Mark Todd
Network Administrator James Curry
Network Technician/ Product Support Adam Birstock

2K INTERNATIONAL
General Manager Neil Ralley
International PR Director Markus Wilding
International Marketing Director Matthias Wehner
International Product Managers Ben Wyer-Roberts, Lia Tsele
International PR Manager Karl Unterholzner
Localisation Project Lead Marco Angiuoni
Localisation QA Technicians Alessandro Cilano, Nicolas Adam, Karen Rodríguez Anadón, Alessandro Gatti, Sebastian Sparr, Hugo Sieiro, Sebastian Frank, Beatriz Gonzalez, Mirko Stoeckigt, Noelia Gonzalez, Didier Pruvot, Adele Dalena, Terryll Garrison
Mastering Engineer Wayne Boyce
Standards Lead Michael Greening
Standards Testers Eric Lane, Andrew Garrett, Matt Newhouse, Paul Diaz
Special Thanks Marc Berman, Alice Chuang, David Boutry, Scott DeFreitas, David Edwards, Dan Einzig, Steve Glickstein, David Ismailer, Jennifer Kolbe, Jerry Luna, Xenia Mul, Tim Perry, Peter Shin, Drew Smith, Take‑Two Sales, Nan Teh, Natalya Wilson, Peggy Yu
--------------------------------------------------



MASTERWORKS IN GAME DESIGN SERIES

Knights of the Old Republic I Biowar and LucasArts

All Images included in this article copyright(c)LucasArts, Biowar and Obsidian, Origin and EA, all game titles and content remain copyrighted and all rights reserved (R) (TM) The Trademark Star Wars (TM) and all products and publications in any current and future media remain the sole property of LucasArts. (c) 1994-2008. Any Concept art included in this article and other articles on this blog remain the sole copyright of the artist unless otherwise included within the copyright of the development project concerned. .

CGI Game design has seen space simulations and space based game worlds from the very outset of modern game development. Few areas of game design, and publishing have seen more varied and remarkable achievements and some of the greatest masterworks to date in the game design field are in the space game genre.

Some of the finest are those published by LucasArts in the Star Wars series, notably Knights of the Old Republic I, created with Biowar and LucasArts (KOTR I) and Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords, (KOTR II) by LucasArts and Obsidian. Both are remarkable achievements of game design and have vast game worlds and stories that are deeply crafted and woven around believable characters, a moving and carefully crafted game universe and are a credit to both the publishers, developers and the vision of their overall design.



As graphcis engines and capacity of the most modern platforms have continued to evolve the game design possiblities have expanded as well and the designers have met the challenges and pushed the envelope with each new title. These Star Wars titles and a number of newer ones continue this trend, including the Empire at War and an expansion Empire at War: Forces of Corruption. There is as well the possilbity of a new partnership just formed by LucasArts and Biowar, rumors that it might be an online Star Wars title are varied and there are no details at this time.

This series has grown from the eary days of its inception with Dark Forces and with each new title the game engines and the game experience has been improved: modern graphcis and the fullest sense of a well realized game world dates back to Jedi Knight II: Outcase and Jedi Knight III: Academy by which titles the game grapchis have become fully believable and rendered with craft, art and beauty. Vast planetary and deep space scense are well and artfully crafted by these engines, and the player visits large and varied levels and game worlds of huge cities, a vast array of different land types and clilmates, ecologies and planetary worlds. Many of these games have excellent story lines, perhaps the best are the two KOTR I and II titles, for they as much as any of the Star Wars games surpass even the films Lucas has created in presenting a dyanamic and integrated future world of depth and great charisma. There are some wider view games in the genre, Star Wars Battlefront I and II and the Empire at War and its expandsion that are wargaming on a vast scale, yet with intricate and incredible detail in the rendering of the settings, scenes and range of worlds and game areas. There are a number of other remarkable spac sims and space based games that I hope to include in this topic but will begin with the Star Wars titles as being some of the most fully developed in terms of back story, and graphcis engines and detail and some of the most beautiful in content and imagery.

One of the most interesting aspects of the series of Star Wars games is how the game designers have chosen to place the point of view, the path of the player, in each game and series of games. When rendering an entire universe and world view, this choice can make all the difference in a game experience. In some of the earliest games, they were relatively primitive, almost like enhanced arcade games. Textures were rough and blocky and movement problmenatic at times as well. As the game engines improved and the development of the SW universe storyline grew in depth and complexity, the games reflected this in how the player was able to interact with the game storylines. With the Jedi Knight series, the player became able to move freely in the game world, which was often quite large, and beautifully rendered, and many of the games of this type showed great creativity in the level design and in the setttings portrayed.



Fantastic Future City Setting from Jedi Knight III: Jedi Academy

In the most recent titles, the KOTR series and some of the later Jedi Knight titles, the player is able to experience from a personal "you as you" journey through beautfully and fully rendered gameworlds, with great depth of detail and innovation of 3D space creation, with both actual 3D sets and scenes and excellently rendered cutscenes. There are alos the more universal view games such as the Empire at War and its expansion, The Forces of Corruption which allow you to move entire fleets, armies and to visit over 60 planets.

Many of these games includes the capacity to make mods, community created enhancements and the SW community has shown great creativity and energy and support for many of these titles, including remarkable efforts to complete and restore content that was begun but not included in some of the titles, notably KOTR II, major community team projects are working to restore the full range and depth when development limitations of the original publications had dropped out scenes and other important elements. Team Gizka Mod Project to restore major content to KOTR II can be found at: Team Gizka Forum and another team project Team Exile is working on additional significant restoration content for KOTR II at Team Exile Site It is worthy of note that with modern presure for major game development to bring in major profits in the thinking of some short sighted executives, some of the finest game titles get left behind or have their development rushed and pushed before completion. Hopefully this trend will change for the game industry could fall in to the same trap as other publishing industries and become a pale shadow of its own highest potential grinding out pot boilers and cheap knock offs that appeal to the lowest common denominator. Fortunately for some such significant and important game titles, the player communties themselves carry on and either help restore or add to content as is the case with both of the Knights of the Old Republic titles, but especially with KOTR II.

My focus is immediately on the deepest and most developed titles, the KOTR pair and some of the other titles and development projects like Homeworld, Freespace 1 and 2, the Wing Commander series, EVE, ORB, and community based enhancements and mod expansions of many of these as well. What intriges me as a game researcher and designer and developer about the KOTR games is the range of options and story paths that are available and fully developed with complete dialog and character development, game story path divergence and possiblities and the beauty and depth of the game world.

Both these titles have some of the most fully created and realized 3D game worlds that the player can interact with and progress through, both on planetary surfacds, cities, forests, and in space, with a wide and beileable range of interior and exterior spaces, flyable ships and story and plot developments, but overall one of the most amazing things about these games are the visual worlds that you visit and esperience.



The World City of Taris is Beautifully Rendered

You select either a Light or a Dark path, and can gain game progress in either direction with immediate and long range impact on the pace and path of your game play, and your in game character. You also have a party of other characters you can choose to join you and who can if you choose, be the leading characters in any one scene.



Jedi Knights from the Light Path Battle a Dark Jedi Master

The game engine is very well designed, in that you can control movement and also make immediate action choices of both your characters immediate combat or other actions, use of force abilties and use of other elements of your inventory. The player has the option each time you encounter an enemy to engage and which actions to chose, this feature can be changed or activated wtih a hot key as well, but the action is fluid and very easy to manage as you use teh WASD movement keys plus the mouse to control the camera view so you really have excellent action control. As a result the action scenes are seamlessly part of the game story.



Bastilla and Jedi Knights Confront a Dark Jedi Master



I have had to work hard to feel confortable with such technicalities in other game platforms and game titles, in these two titles and in other titles of the Star Wars series these choices, such as use of Force powers, are intuitive and become very comfortable thus making this aspect of the Star Wars Universe and ethos real in a way that the films and more seperated and distant and vicarious experience can never convey. You literally do become part of this concieved universe of George Lucas and his teams, and this makes these games remarkable achievements on any scale of assessment.




The Ebon Hawk, your space cruiser, is your path to the SW Universe

Movemnet is free and well controlled and the 3D world allows your characters full interaction wtih their environment and each other, and a remarkable dialog system allows you to respond in detail to both in game situations that are scripted, i.e. triggered by certain plot events and also by interaction by demand by you, at any time. These responses are fully voiced and the voice acting is some of the best I have ever had the privledge of experiencing. Some of the characters as well are so fully realized that they rank with literature of any genre, and have great impact on how the player empathizes and experiences the game story.



The Main Character in KOTR is a mysterious figure who becomes a Jedi student



Bastilla is a Jedi Mentor for the player - she is a unique and remarkable character

The various planets and worlds of the games are fully rendered with large playable areas both interior and exterior and with a complex range of main and sub plot and quest values. I have rarely seen such care and detail crafting games that are far more than nicely framed shooters or rpg knockoffs. The Star War games form a wide variety of types and the best are some of the finest game publications to date.













The complexities of character "values" and abilities are well organized and the levelling up is some of the smoothest and most intuitive I have seen, not detracting at all from the game play and easily understood with some study. The character can improve skills, Force Abilities and atributed in a well displayed process that allows the player also to manage an unlimited inventory and to equip the in game character and his or her party of companions, by making any of the party the active player and then allowing the player to adjust and control that specific character for game purposes.



The party of companions is aquired as you progress through the game and you have the choice to add any member or not as you wish. The total character party is all accomadated on the Ebon Hawk, the space cruiser you travel thru the game on, and they are selected by you to work with you, you can add two other members at any one time and once you are engaged in some of the more active areas or combat you cannot change or send them back. Each has their own skills and atributes and each can contribute accordingly. They all have complete and complex dialog that changes as you progress through the game, so there is a constant dynamic in your interaction with them and as your character and the gamestory develop.



The companion selection screen

The cutscenes and movies are an essential part of the magic of these titles for they convey the breadth and scope of the universe, allow the player to see the space ships in flight, to follow essential story and plot events and overall though the storyline has some linearity to it, there is great artistry and craft in how the story is unfolded and the character of the player learns of the world we see and experience. The heros and the villans, the Light and the Dark, the evil Sith and the noble Jedi Masters and studnets all come to life painted in 3D action in the cut scenes and in the game flawlessly in both the KOTR titles and many of the other Star Wars games.



The Leviathan, Sith Fleet Flagship



The Dark Jedi Master of KOTR I on the bridge of his Starship the Leviathan.



Departure from Kashyyk, the Wookie Homeworld



Arrival of the Ebon Hawk at Manaan, a Water World



Landing at the secret Jedi Academy

Knights of the Old Republic Development and Production:

BioWare
Core Game Design David Falkner, Steven Gilmour, Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn, James Ohlen, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts

Producer / Project Director Casey Hudson

Executive Producers Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk

Lead Programmers David Falkner, Mark Brockington

Lead Designer James Ohlen
Assistant Lead Designer Preston Watamaniuk

Art Director Derek Watts

Lead Animator Steven Gilmour

Audio Producer David Chan

Lead Tools Programmers Tom Zaplachinski, Darren Wong

Lead Graphics Programmer Jason Knipe

Quality Assurance Lead Scott Langevin

Assistant Producer Nathan Plewes

Programmers Marc Audy, Robert Babiak, Sophia Chan, Howard Chung, Michael Devine, Dan Fessenden, Aaryn Flynn, Andrew Gardner, Ryan Hoyle, Janice Thoms, Craig Welburn

Graphics Programmers John Bible, Patrick Chan, Peter Woytiuk

BioWare Lead Tools Programmer Don Moar

Tools Programmers Owen Borstad, Timothy Smith, Kris Tan, Sydney Tang

BioWare Director of Programming Scott Greig

Additional Programming Brook Bakay, Korin Bampton, Rob Boyd, Brenon Holmes, Stan Melax, Charles Randall, Don Yakielashek

Senior Writer Drew Karpyshyn

Designers Jason Booth, David Gaider, Lukas Kristjanson, Cori May, Andrew Nobbs, Brad Prince, Aidan Scanlan, Peter Thomas, John Winski

Sound Implementation / Additonal Sound Design David Chan, John Henke, Steve Sim

3D Artists Dean Andersen, Nolan Cunningham, Mike Grills, Lindsay Jorgensen, Jessica Mih, Matthew Park, Arun Ram-Mohan, Sean Smailes, Mike Spalding, Jason Spykerman, Michael Trottier

2D Artists Sung Kim, Mike Leonard, Rob Sugama, Rion Swanson
Technical Artists Harvey Fong, Tobyn Manthorpe

3D Visual Effects Artist Alex Scott

2D GUI Art Rob Sugama

Additional Art Matthew Goldman

Concept Art John Samuel Gallagher, Casey Hudson, Sean Smailes, Mike Spalding, Derek Watts

BioWare Director of Concept Art John Samuel Gallagher

BioWare Director of Promotional Art Michael Sass

Promotional Artists Todd Grenier, Michael Sass

In‑Game Animation Carman Cheung, Chris Hale, Mark How, Rick Li, Kees Rijnen, John Santos, Larry Stevens, Henrik Vasquez

Cutscene Director / BioWare Director of Art David Hibbeln
Lead Cutscene Animator Tony de Waal

Pre‑Rendered Cutscene Artists Christopher Mann, Sherridon Routley, Gina Welbourn, Shane Welbourn

In‑Game Cutscene Animators Carman Cheung, Mark How, Rick Li, Kees Rijnen, Larry Stevens, Henrik Vasquez

Quality Assurance Alain Baxter, Derrick Collins, Nathan Frederick, Mitchell T. Fujino, Keith Hayward, Scott Horner, Curtis Knecht, Bob McCabe, Ryan Plamondon, Chris Priestly, Ian Stevens-Guille, Stanley Woo

BioWare Director of Quality Assurance Philip DeRosa

Director of Marketing Scott McLaughlan

Communications Coordinator Teresa Cotesta
Communications Associate Tom Ohle
Communications Manager Brad Grier

Senior Web Developer Robin Mayne
Web Developers Jeff Marvin, Duleepa Wijayawardhana

Community Manager Jay Watamaniuk
Live Team Producer Derek French
Joint CEOs Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk
Director of Finance Richard Iwaniuk
Director of Human Resources Mark Kluchky
Accountant Jo-Marie Langkow
Payroll / Benefits Administrator Kelley Grainger
Human Resources Coordinator Theresa Baxter
Human Resources Assistant Leanne Korotash
Senior Systems Administrators Chris Zeschuk, Craig Miller
Systems Administrators Brett Tollefson, Julian Karst, Nils Kuhnert
Receptionist Agnes Kokot Goldman

Special Thanks Scott Greig, Diarmid Clarke, Jonathan Epp, Chris Christou, Brent Knowles, Kevin Martens, Deo Perez, Keith Warner, Dan Whiteside

LucasArts
Producer Michael Gallo
Assistant Producer Julio Torres
Content Coordinator Justin Lambros
Lead Tester Kip Bunyea
Assistant Lead Tester Adam Goodwin
Testers Nick Dengler, Clay Norman, Tony Christopher, Chris Thomas, Randy Chu, Brandon Hutt, Jason Lee, Ian Parham, James Morris, Sony Green
Compatibility Supervisor / Lead Technical Writer Lynn Taylor

Compatibility Technicians Darryl Cobb, Brian Deksnys, Benjamin Estabrook, Kristie Garber, Kim Jardin, Dan Martinez

Additional Compatibility Testing Michael Blair, Bryan Finoki, Eric Knudson, Scott Taylor

Quality Services Computer Technician John Carsey

Lead Sound Designer Julian Kwasneski
Additional Sound Design Paul Gorman, Todd Davies, Clint Bajakian
Cutscene Mixing Jory K. Prum
Original Star Wars Sound Effects Ben Burtt
Original Music Composed By Jeremy Soule
Original Star Wars Music Composed By John Williams
VO Director Darragh O'Farrell
Senior Voice Editor Cindy F. Wong
Assistant Voice Editors Harrison Deutsch, Coya Elliott
Voice and International Coordinator Jennifer Sloan
Voices Recorded At Screen Music Studios

Cast Jennifer Sloan (Bastila Shan), Raphael Sbarge (Carth Onasi), Rafael Ferrer (Darth Malak), John Cygan (Canderous Ordo), Kristoffer Tabori (HK-47), Kevin Michael Richardson (Jolee Bindo), Courtenay Taylor (Juhani), Cat Taber (Mission Vao), Edward Asner (Master Vrook)

Addtional Voices Provided By André Sogliuzzo, April Stewart, Bill E. Martin, Brian George, Cam Clarke, Carolyn Seymour, Charity James, Charles Dennis, Dan Hagen, Darren Norris, Ethan Phillips, Frank Welker, Gregg Berger, Grey DeLisle, Hillary Huber, J. Karen Thomas, James Horan, Jason Marsden, Jess Harnell, James Kevin Ward, Kevin Schon, Kimberly Brooks, Kristoffer Tabori, Liz Marks, Lloyd Sherr, Michael Gough, Michael Ralph, Nathan Carlson, Neil Kaplan, Neil Ross, Nick Jameson, Patrick Fraley, Patrick Pinney, Paul Amendt, Phil Lamarr, Rino Romano, Robin Atkin Downes, Robin Sachs, Simon Templeman, Steven Jay Blum, Sumalee Montano, Tamara Phillips, Tom Kane

Manager of International Production Darren Hedges
International Producer Bryan Davis
International Lead Tester David Chapman
Director of Marketing Liz Allen
Product Marketing Manager David Zemke
Marketing Coordinator Chris Susen
Public Relations Manager Heather Twist
Public Relations Specialist Alexis Mervin
Internet Community Relations Specialist Ronda Scott
Internet Marketing Jim Passalacqua
Manual Editor Brett Rector
Manual Writers Michael Gallo, James Ohlen, Lukas Kristjanson, Drew Karpyshyn
Manual Cover / Manual 3D Art and Design Gregory Harsh
Director of Sales Meredith Cahill
Sales Coordinator Mike Maguire
Sales Analyst Greg Robles
Channel Marketing Manager Timothy Moore
Channel Marketing Specialist Katy Walden
Director of Sales Operations Jason Horstman
Materials Manager Evelyne Bolling
Manager of Quality Services Paul Purdy
Quality Assurance Supervisor Chip Hinnenberg
Product Support Supervisor Jay Geraci
DVD / CD Burning Goddesses Wendy Kaplan, Kellie Walker
LucasArts I.S. Chris Brody, James Carpenter, John Doak, John von Eichhorn, John Hannon, Daryll Jacobson, Chris McAllister, Gary Pfeiffer, Richard Quinones, Joe Shum, Victor Tancredi-Ballugera, Chad J. Williams
Lucas Licensing Stacy Cheregotis, Chris Gollaher, Kristi Kaufman
Special Thanks Adria Wilson, Andy Alamano, Brent Oster, Brett Schnepf, Camela McLanahan, Candice Gindy, Clint Young, Dan Martinez, Denise Gollaher, Donna Czerwinski, Emily Duval, Haden Blackman, James Miller, Jannett L. Shirley-Paul, Jeff Kliment, John Carsey, Jon Knowles, K.C. Coleman, Karen Chelini, LEC‑RPM, Leland Chee, Lisa Swart, Malcolm Johnson, Mark Barbolak, Mary Bihr, Matthew Urban, Matthew J. Fillbrandt, Mike Nelson, Peggy Ary, Rachel Hardwick, Randall Breen, Reeve S. Thompson, R. J. Berg, Seth J. Steinberg, Shara Miller, Simon Jeffery, Steve Matulac, Tina Carter, Tom McCarthy
Very Special Thanks George Lucas


RESEARCH INTO STAR WARS IMAGERY - 3D Renders

These are some studies I am doing of Star Wars 3D rendering and model construction, ongling as I research the series of Jedi Knight and Knights of the Old Empire games.

All content from Star Wars (TM) is copyright (c) Lucasfilms Ltd 1977-2008. All story characters, scenes, themes and settings from the Star Wars films, games and product lines are (TM) LucasFilms Ltd, LucasArts and related companies: Raven, Biowar, Obsidian in any and all forms current and yet to be developed in all media and mediums.



Shuttle to Taris



Sunet on Korriban



Inspecting the Death Star



Stranded on Hoth



Twilight on Tatooine



Exploring Hell on Wheels

Planetary Image courtesy of K. Munger (c) copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved



Departure from Shalimar Space Port



X Wing Taking off



Do Not try this at home

Combining 2D and 3D in Game Design

I am working currently to research game engines that can combine both 2D and 3D images in both the setting and the game world, and I hope to be able to bring to life in game development some the focus on light and beauty that I have pursued in my art as a painter. For this purpose, there is an entire generation of remarkable new game engines that take full advantage of advances in both display tech and software and coding languages and tools of all kinds. Currently I am working with Wintermute on the suggestion of a very kind master of game design and story creation, and am finding it a joy to work with. I am including some of images from an current game design project that uses this combination of 2D and 3D as examples of what is possible. River Dreaming

I will also include in this article new developments and resources for game engines and other design aspects of this work.

Something that I seek in working with highly visual game settings is to create the mood and feeling of immersion, of a special time and place, and how life is made up of moments that can change not only our lives but our view of life itself. We can never really know what wonders or surprises wait, and for a story to bring that to life is a special way to share that.
>















Dancing for the Joy of the Sea

Resources

Wintermute Engine Development Kit is a set of tools for creating and running graphical
“point&click” adventure games, both traditional 2D ones and modern 2.5D games (3D characters on 2D backgrounds). The kit includes the runtime interpreter (Wintermute Engine, or WME) and GUI editors for managing and creating the game content (WME tools) as well as the documentation, demonstrational data and prefabricated templates.
website: http://dead-code.org/home/
You will need Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. which is needed for other tools and softwares too.
some of the most popular indie engines are:Torque Game Engine TV3D SDK 6 3DGameStudio C4 Engine Unity Cipher 3Impact Beyond Virtual Deep Creator Darkbasic Pro

Nebula Device ttp://nebuladevice.cubik.org/: The Nebula Device is an open source realtime 3D game engine developed by German game studio Radon Labs. It is written in C++ and scriptable through Tcl/Tk and Lua, with support for Python, Java, and the full suite of .NET-capable languages pending. It supports DirectX 9, but work on support for OpenGL is ongoing. It runs on Windows, with ports being done to Linux and Mac OS X.

DX Studio 1.31 http://www.worldweaver.com/ The DX Studio™ system comprises of both a fully functional real-time 3D engine, and easy to use 2D and 3D editors. You can build rapid
prototypes of user interfaces or games in minutes, or complete interactive applications ready for deployment. Documents can run full-screen or inside other documents (as a COM / ActiveX control) and supports interactive menus, scenes, 'boned' animated characters and inter-document communication over a network. here is a list of some of the free and commercial ones:

Free Engines

Agar (engine) - High end app for 2D and 3D computer games Allegro library - Free crossplatform C/C++ game programming library, has full functionality for
graphics, sounds, input, timers, both fixed or floating point, 3d, compressed datafile and a GUI. Axiom Engine - A fork containing the core of the OGRE graphics engine
Open GL
Haaf's Game Engine - Game Engine that is 2D Hardware Accelerated
Baja Engine - High quality game engine
Boom - A port of the Doom source code from TeamTNT
Build engine - A First person shooter engine runs Duke Nukem 3D
Cadabra 3D Engine - and easy game 3D engine devl tool.
Catmother - A BSD-licensed engine from a company that open sources their engine when they quit business.
Crystal Space - A general framework for developing 3D applications and also an extension of this, Crystal Entity Layer
Cube - primitive but effective engine used to create a fps community game successor to this by the same people is Sauerbraten Engine.
DarkPlaces - One of the best gratis Quake engines
Delta3d - Integrates other well-known free software projects into an easy-to-use API
DGD - An object-oriented programmable MUD engine
Doom engine - The open source software engine first used for Doom and Doom II and Eternity
Doom 3 engine - Used by the games Doom 3, Quake 4, Prey, Quake Wars
Engine - A source port of the DM engine and GZDoom - open source port from the Doom engine based on ZDoom
DXFramework - A simple, teaching format 2D/3D DirectX-based game engine for Visual Studio
DX Studio - Real-time professional 3D engine and editing suite Worldweaver Ltd see notes above.
Eclipse - A 2D MMORPG engine(Open source)
Elysium Source - A 2D online game engine done with VB6
Epee Engine -Is an 2D/3D open source cross platform graphics engine for entry level programmers.
Exult - A free software remake of the Ultima VII game engn.
FIFE - A free software 2D ISO engine supporting the assets of Fallout 1 & 2
Game Blender - A sub-set out of Blender game maker.
Game Maker - Object-oriented game development software come with drag-and-drop interface and its own scripting.
GQ - A Quake engine that wiht features drawn fromTomazQuake and DarkPlaces
Genesis3D - AWINdows real-time 3D engine
GemRB - A free impl of the Infinity Engine
Irrlicht Engine - A cross-platform simplified 3D graphics engine.
Multiverse Network - multiplayer platform, with server, client, and tools. Gratis for devel and
individual use--revenue sharing if there is commercial deployment). for MMOG
Nebula Device - A realtime 3D game engine German game studio Radon Labs.
OctLight - A Java game engine with scene-graph and renders on top of Lightweight Java Game
Library (LWJGL) using OpenGL
Open Game Engine is an open source library that puts together game making elements
OGRE Engine (OGRE3D ) - Obj.-oriented graphics rendering engine. Online RPG Maker - Online RPG/2D engine comes with scripting. Panda3D Engine - Rapid development engine based on Python
Pentagram - A project to create a game engine that is capable of running Ultima VIII: Pagan
PlayerWorlds - a simple, and widely used 2D Online RPG Engine.
PLIB - A game engine - includes 3D, Audio, Music, GUI, Window manager and is portable
Linux/Windows/MacOSX.
ProQuake - A modified Quake engine
Quake II engine - The original free software Quake II engine from Id Software
Quake III engine - The original free software Quake III engine from Id Software
Reality Factory - A free open-source game engine that is intended for non-programmers and is
built on the Genesis3d Graphic Engine. RealmForge - An open-source game engine for the Microsoft .NET Framework, predecessor to
Visual3D.NET
Sauerbraten - A upgraded engine forked from the Cube engine
Sonic Robo Blast 2 - A heavily modified Doom Legacy engine for a 3D platform fan-fiction game of the same name.
Stratagus - A cross-platform real time strategy game engine
Toi - 0.9.2 is out, looks pretty cool....http://www.toi3d.com/A 3d game engine currently in
development with promises of both MMO and single player capabilities.
vbGORE - Open-source online RPG engine in Visual Basic 6 (2d via 3d hybrid engine).
Well of Souls - A 2D engine with scripting in QUEST and a visual world editor.
Yake - a component-based, object-oriented, partially generic engine written in C++
Zak Engine - An easy to use 2D games engine using DirectX 8.1 and 9 . sprites, tiles maps, sound and music in several formats, scripting (AngelScript), and particle systems.

Commercial Engines

Arcane Engine - Wolfpack Studios for Shadowbane
Aurora Engine - For Role-playing games Blade3D - NextGen engine layerd on top of Microsoft XNA.
BRender - A real-time 3D graphics engine for computer games, simulators and graphic tools
C4 Engine - Next Gen engine by Eric Lengyel
Coldstone game engine - a veteran suite for Mac/Win for RPG - adventure-style games
CryENGINE, CryENGINE2 - The game engine used for the first-person shooter computer game Far Cry.
and it successor CryEngine 2 being used for Crysis, very cool graphics and a great editor, dont
know the cost, but prob not cheap to get a license.
Dagor Engine 3 - cross-platform game engine with3D, physics, game logic, AI, good toolset for
content
Deep Creator - 3D engine
EAGL (EA Graphics Library) - A cross-platform graphics engine used by Electronic Arts in EA
Sports titles.
Earth-4 Engine - The graphics engine used in Earth 2160
Electron engine - Obsidian Entertainment uses this in Neverwinter Nights 2, build on Aurora
engine
euphoria - A real-time motion synthesis engine by NaturalMotion
Gamebryo - A cross-platform 3D computer graphics engine coded in C++
Havok (software)[1] - Very High-tech cross platform (PC, PS3, Xbox 360 etc) middleware Engine. IMUSE - Specifically designed to synchronize music with visual action
KjAPI - A C++ technology to create games and 3D applications PC only I think.
Lithtech - Quake style alternative. and Lithtech Juipter Ex - used byMonolith to create the game F.E.A.R 360, free range full 3D, full motion.
Medusa (game engine) - A C++ 3D game engine made by Palestar and used in the DarkSpace MMO. Has world simulation, single tool version control, asset realisation, cross-platform fit with
integrated client/server net sys.
morpheme - A graphically-authorable animation engine from NaturalMotion .
Odyssey Engine - Used to create three dimensional computer role-playing games, used Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Power Render - A general purpose software development kit for games and 3D visualization
Reality Engine - 3D game engine by Artificial Studios
RelentENGINE - A next-generation FPS engine supporting massive interactive environments, uses shader model 3.
RenderWare - A very popular 3D API and graphics rendering engine
Retribution Engine -FPs Engine
Revolution3D - A 3D engine by X-Dream Project
SAGE engine - Used to create real-time strategy games
SCUMM engine - Used in LucasArts graphical adventure games
Torque Game Engine Advanced - A next-generation 3D game engine support modern GPU hardware and shaders.
TOSHI - A fourth generation cross platform game engine from Blue Tongue Entertainment Truevision3d - A 3D game engine DirectX API
Unigine - Cross-platform middleware has nice graphics
Unity (game engine) - sweet and smooth 3d gen.
Unreal engine - many swear by this one. and Vengeance engine - Unreal 2/2.5
3DGame Studio - http://www.3dgamestudio.com/
Vision Game Engine - A commercial gen used in tons of titles by companies like T2, Atari, Neowiz and Threewave. Available for PC, Xbox, Xbox360 and PS3 - http://www.trinigy.de/
Visual3D.NET - 3D platform and visual development environment built upon Microsoft .NET 2.0 and
XNA Framework for PC, Xbox 360, Win Mobile C#, Visual Basic, J#, C++.NET, JScript.NET,
IronPython, also has visual scripting.
Virtools - A 3D engine high-level devel, game prototyping rapid devel. Win, Mac, Xb, PSP
White Engine - Square-Enix's proprietary 7th gen engine for their PS3 projects.
Zero - 3D game engine in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Battlefront, and Star Wars:
Battlefront II Maz 3D Game Engine - Designed by Students C++ &

Work In Progress: Building A 3D Digital World

The hope lingers that we may find each of us, a special place, a door may open, an hidden path reveal a land of quiet beauty that we have seen in dreams or maybe glimpsed far off, sought, known of, yet never yet found......so as my world appears, via the almost magical modern technology of 3D softwares, it is showing me itself, a tree, a path, a vista, at a time, and at the same time perhaps I am journeying into the mystery that lies in each of our hearts, and seldom on our modern and hasty world has voice.

Work continues as time and energy allow on my 3D world, which now comprises some 3000 cells, and tens of thousands of trees, veg elements, structures, landscape features, texture details, and some aspects of dynamic weather, active wildlife, birds capable of flight, fish in the sea, and a series of interconnected maps in a level in progress of production. My goal is a fully integrated dynamic world, with both 24 hour day changes, weather changes, and seasonal changes for the visitor to enjoy. There may be both a free roam natural version and a story line version, the scripting and creation of the natural world continues and the background and devel. for the storyline also, but with other projects I have had little time to do major updates, but wanted to post some more screenshots of my world for visitors to enjoy.



I continue to study and research cutting edge CGI tech and potential for inclusion in my project and am actively involved in several on line and large communities centred around several leading game titles, including the Myst Cyan series which is about to re launch URU, with all that this wonderful game promises, and also the Elder Scrolls community with study of both Morrowind, and the Bethesda's latest release Oblivion and the modding and development for these by a very large international community of fans and supporters. It is a very interesting time and subject and I am enjoying seeing what potential 3D and CGI graphics have for art and artistic creations of the future with full motion, sound, and interaction for the viewer.

Over the past twenty years, dynamically interactive graphic games and other CGI programs have brought a new form of literature and potentially, of art, to viewers and has great untapped potential I feel. I have been looking carefully at the development and history of such creations which range from superb works of great imagination and excellence such as the Myst series by Cyan Worlds, and some of the early albiet much more primiitve graphically classics like the Legends of Kyrandia and works of that ilk by Westwood, Sierra and Lucas Arts, mid to late 1990's works such as The Longest Journey, Syberia, Broken Sword and others and now modern games of all genres which often have very fine engines and graphics but may lack in the content area. This has been a fascinating study for this all has happened very fast, in terms of how a new medium is developed. I feel that content is still catching up with the technical capacities of the technology, but I remain hopeful for there are many many bright and creative people coming into the CGI world, and joining those many more already there doing this remarkable work.

My hope is to possibly bring some of the focus that I have given in my own past work in painting and art to this new medium, but I have no real sense yet of what may come from this all. I keep experimenting and studying what has been done and what may be possible or in development in all genres of CGI.

I also continue to study the potential for mulitple path versioning and dynamic self generating story tree algorythmns in game and also to help interface between stored libaries of visual source and dynamic spinning inside the image. Thanks for visiting. None of the work shown here of mine is of a commercial nature nor are any of the images or the development intended for profit, but are an expression of my creative vision and interest in furthering the boundaries of art.

RIVEN- Masterwork In Interactive World Making

MASTERWORK REVIEW - RIVEN - Unique Masterpiece of World Story Making
Cyan Worlds



RIVEN - The MYST Saga Begun: A Masterpiece of Game and Art



All Myst, Riven, D'ni, Uru images, text, sound and music (c) Cyan Worlds, Inc. All rights reserved Myst(r), Riven(r), D'ni(r) Uru(r), respective Logos(r) Cyan Worlds, Inc. No part may be copied or reproduced without express, written permission of Cyan Worlds, Inc.

All the images in this specific article are from the Cyan Worlds Publications and remain fully and solely the property of Cyan Worlds, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Cyan Worlds continued their epic world making that began with the release of MYST with the making of the still ummatched RIVEN, which crafts and creates a world with prerendered 2D images that conveys a feeling of 3D in point and click beyond what most full 3D engines achieve with all the tools of most modern tech. RIVEN remains a deep, wide and immense universe of imagery and ambience, feeling and enigmatic and remarkable vision. It took four years in the crafting and is without a doubt one of the enduring masterpieces of game design and art. RIVEN was created by Robyn Miller and Richard Vander Wend, and produced by Rand Miller and a dedicated team at Cyan over a period of years, for they created not just the game itself, but wove the story of the world and the culture within it, complete with a language, cultural motifs and vital and living people and characters and their story that wraps it all with meaning and life.

The story is woven with a subtle touch that begins with an encounter in cut scene with an unknown figure speaking in an unknown language, and from there the intensity and the mysteries of the journey into RIVEN accelearate and do not slow down for the entire time you are in the game.



The Path You Follow into the remarkable world of RIVEN

The exploration of RIVEN involves your in game character, who you never see, but who you play as 'you' moving through a pristine, crisp and brilliant world of islets and islands linked by bridges, an remarkable maglev ariel rail car, that takes you on a cut scene fully alive moving and exciting ride across the ocean from island to island.........and the dynamics of the game story are remarkable in that they are non linear within a range of choices that seem, when you are first exploring the world, unlimited. You can progress in a number of ways among the five islands and two ages that are in the gameworld and the story is one that you have to solve in order to progress.





The range of environments in RIVEN is remarkable, and you slowly become aware that you are moving into an entirely new universe, not just an exotic location, as you progress visiting temple like structures of unknown origin, a jungle clad island with a jewel like secret lagoon complete with cliff hanging village at its centre and you continue to discover powerful and beautifully rendered items, settings, scenes and story elements.




The paths themselves are rendered with equisite complete detail, more detailed and empathetic than even the most powerful photography can evoke, it is hard to describe but there is an overarching "realness" of being that RIVEN conveys and you are truly drawn into the screen as you advance in this journey. Detail itself can be a cold eye, but in RIVEN you are wrapped in a sense of total reality and depth of field that is achieved by a highly skilled use of setting, change of level, movement through imaging and masterful texture and landscape modeling and world making. Though one moves by navigating from screen to screen, with some options to look up or down, you never feel trapped or constrained by this due to the value and integrity of the inner vision of this remarkable world.

There is very well done ambient sound and the music track is rich and tonally opulent, entrancing, and fully integral with the feeling of each setting, this environmental artistry embues and wraps this world in every detail. This empathy and world creating feeling comes from the depth of the work that created this digital envirnment.

Riven contains over 4,000 fully-rendered scenes and 1,000 QuickTime movies for a total of over 3 hours of potential annmations that are woven into the story as you progress. Some of the scenes reportedly took over an hour to render on Cyan's SGI Indigo Workstations of which they used 13. When RIVEN was created, the various islands in the story were the largest wireframe models created. A single Riven island was made up about two and a half million triangles.

The primary modeling and animation program used in Riven was SoftImage 3D, with LumeShaders creating the effects for moving and still water, beautifully rendered clouds, and very detailed surface textures and effect. SoftImage 3D was created for use for SGI (Silicon Graphics Indigo) Workstations. Alias was used for rendering,
DeBabelizer and PhotoShop for texture editing/compositing/touchups, Media Cleaner Pro for movie compression and HyperCard for prototyping the game/exporting data files to the publisher for final formatting.

In contract, MYST was made with much more simple geometry and low texture resolutions that relied on high contrast between light and shadow. The renders for Myst were displayed from a palette of only 256 colors, which, though beautifully chosen, expressed a more limited tonal range. The screens had 543x332 pixels, taking up approximately three quarters of the screen. All the images and animations were modeled and rendered on six Macintosh Quadras using StrataVision 3d from Strata, Inc.
Softwares used ere HyperCard (Apple), Think Pascal (Symantec, Photoshop, Premier both by (Adobe), Illustrator (Adobe), Painter (Fractal Design) and Morph (Gryphon Software)

HyperCard was colorized using a proprietary version of Symplex System's HyperTint, written by John Miller.

The differnce is seen in the comparisons below of images from the two games.

Images from MYST



Myst Island



A Secret Spring

Riven Images





It is this difference that represents both a great increase in technical range but also a great commitment on the part of the creators, the Millers and the Cyan staff to the story and the depth of the world that is shown in it. This was more than just production to meet a project goal, it was art and story combined for their own sake, and for the benefit of the player and the viewer for the joy of the work. This is to Cyan's great credit and this regard for quality, depth and values more than sales has continued to set Cyan title above and beyond almost everything else created in CGI games.



You are free to choose your own path through RIVEN, and therefore the story is more than linear, it is personal and one of discovery and surprise, just as real as our daily lives and within the context of the RIVEN universe and world, as exciting as anything you may encounter.

One of the remarkable features of the RIVEN journey is the evocation of the complex and complete ecology of this world, there are animated creatures, insects, and settings rich with jungle forest, plants, and a full feeling of a foreign and unkown universe teeming and vital with life. There is also a deep story and world that you glimpse and then learn more about as you progress, but the way the story unfolds, you do not feel like someone is "presenting" or displaying a story, you rather feel that you glean hints, tips, and bits here and there that weave themselves into awareness of the overall plot just as happens in real life. I would venture to say that this game creates a realer Real feeling than many of the most modern 2008 variety of hyper kinetic super photographic thrillers. There is about RIVEN a sense of inevitablity, and solidity, yet you encounter an increasing sense of risk and crisis as the story unfolds from the very first cut scenes with a narration by Atrus.



Story Journey into the Unknown

I think one of the most significant aspects of RIVEN even more than the visual and dynamic nature of the game world, is the story depth. A story to invite us into the realm of tales needs to have an invitaiotn to follow, to eiscover and for us to feel



Catherine in Peril

care about the outcome. In RIVEN, I was compelled to continue and enthralled by the hints, the twists, the suprises and the risk of the tale. This is not a static arena of simplistic attacks and contests, rather it is a window on a world that we want to knwo more about, and people that we encounter with the same feeling as in real life.



You are at Risk in RIVEN too

These characters in RIVEN these are real people for their world and we are invited to be part of what they face and what is happening to them. Even though we only may glimpse some of them and some scenes, I have rarely felt so involved and so intrigued by what I saw and heard and felt.

You encounter a range of images and actual creatures that tell and hint at the story and the cultures you encounter and that you must understand to succeed in your journey. Some images you encounter become real very soon, and that congruence is needed to decypher key hints and to unlock the path of your journey forward, though I emphacize that the progress can be in a variety of ways. And the story is authentic, Robyn Miller and Richard Van Der Wend worked long and hard to craft the history and culture and this crafting later grew deeper and wider as the world it implied continued to be deveoped in the games to follow, in the Myst series.



A Strange Creature Depicted in an Altar....



Becomes very real as the story continues.








Some of the remarkable RIVEN life

There are complex problems and puzzles to be solved but they are woven deeply into the journey that you take as you move thru the settings and into the story. There are dramatic challenges and you as the in game character encounter sudden events that completely redirect you at times, yet you as you have to find the way to the outcome that you may wish for, and there are several possible endings that can occur. You are as much at risk as the characters in the story and the voice acting and evocation of these in game characters is beautifully done, not over played yet fully evoked, and very believable.

In the end I believe that RIVEN will remain a classic and a creation that fully achieves the promise of both its story and of the technology that makes it possible. I cannot express well enough for my own feelings how much I enjoyed moving thru the scenes in this game, the visceral pleasure and the thrill I got from discovering a new vista or looking for something and finding it, or figuring out the solution, often quite different from expectations, that will allow me as the in game me to progress and continue the journey.



Unparalleled Ambience and Sense of Place


I would say that RIVEN is both an adventure story and a world in the making. This world that was begun in Myst and continued on thru the entire series of Myst games up to Myst V and then was expanded greatly in URU ONline and Myst Online URU LIve is one that continues to evolve. But it was born here, in Myst initially but most fully in the earliest form here in RIVEN. I am very glad that this game was created for it shows what CGI interactive non linear game stories can achieve when design, depth and detail combine to create a masterpiece.


Credits

Designers Robyn Miller, Richard Vander Wende
Directors Robyn Miller, Richard Vander Wende
Producer Rand Miller
Production Managers Tony Fryman, Matt O'Hara
Lead Programmer and D'ni Historian Richard A. Watson
CG Production Director Joshua A. Staub
CG Artists/Animators Joshua A. Staub, Jason C. Baskett, Michael Bostick, Tony Davidson, Jeremy Engleman, Robert Grace, Tim Greenberg, Robin Higgin-Foley, Bret St. Clair
CG Technical Director Karl Stiefvater, Shaders by Lume Inc.
Additional CG Animation Patrick Faille, Eric Vignola
Compositing and Additional CG World Assembly Michael Sheets
Effects Programming Engineer Mark H. DeForest
Post Production Engineer Ryan Miller
Additional Programming Ryan Miller
Gameplay Design Joshua A. Staub, Richard A. Watson, Rand Miller, Robyn Miller, Richard Vander Wende
Lead Sound Designer Tim Larkin
Sound Design and Live Action Foley and Mix Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, O'Donnell/Salvatori Music
Music Composer and Producer Robyn Miller
Music Sampling Engineer Chris Brandkamp
Additional Sound Design John Binder, Chris Brandkamp, Brian W. Jennings, Mark Devos, Paul Heitsch, Jeff Krajewski, Sean Richards
Live Action Segments Writers and Directors Tim Greenberg, Richard Vander Wende
Cast Micah Biggs (Village Boy), Tony Framan (Gehn's Scribe), Sheila Goold (Catherine), John Keston (Gehn), Rand Miller (Atrus), Ryan Miller (Moeity Scout), Vicente Ramos (Gehn's Guard), Christine Steele (Nelah), Kate Vander Wende (Leira [Keta]), Sydney Wakan (Girl in Jungle), Ernie Whitecloud (Moiety Prisoner)
Voiceover Talent Rengin Altay (Catherine)
Assistant Production Managers Ralph Marsh, Bonnie Staub
Systems Administrator John M. Biggs
Additional Production Managment Dennis Leahy
CG Technical Assistant Eric Arnold
Journals Written by Tim Greenberg, Richard Vander Wende
Catherine's Journal by Mary Anderson
Casting Assistance Belinda Hunt, Kinslee Miller, Ryan Miller
Costume Designer Catherine Hunt
D'ni Background Model (from Myst) Chuck Carter
Gate Room Illustrations Richard Downs
Wigs Joyce Degenfelder
Additional Props Robert Bovil, Cour Dain, Joseph Fisher, Gaye Gardner, Studio 7
Additional Cyan Support Chris Brandkamp, Dale Carlson, Heather Ferguson-Gady, Byron R. Heinemann, Mark Klammer, Jeff Oswaldt
Lead Programmers Ben Ceschi, Allan Young
Application Programmers Frankie Ford, Samir Ramji, Ed Rose
Programming Directors Jeffrey Charvat, Grace Kim
Executive Publisher Laurie Strand
Senior Production Manager Dennis Leahy
Additional Sound Designer Brian Walker
Sound Processing Ralph Marsh
Video Processing Scott Aronian
QuickTime Programmer Mike Foulger
Systems Programmers Glenn Axworthy, Bob Gulian, Scott Henderson, Michael Zacks
Production Tools Programmers Esteban Ahn, Andrew Kay, Peter Van Gorder
Installer Programmers Fred Campbell, Kent Daniels
MMX Programmer David H. Frank
Senior Marketing Manager Bruce Friedricks, Pilar Cloud Shân Savage
Marketing Coordinators Valerie Schuldheisz, Deanne Waltz
Retail Merchandising Lisa Dawson
Web Site Coordination Angie Simas
Quality Assurance Team Leaders Juan Manuel Torres, Warren Yamashita, Jeffrey Zemrak
Quality Assurance Core Team Sean Hamilton Alexander, Inga Pedersen, Julia Thiel, Jennifer Winter
Quality Assurance Managment Kirk Roulston, Rodrigo Silveira, Erik Spencer
Documentation Review Inga Pedersen, Anne Sete, Karen Lamoreux
Quality Assurance Automated Testing Lead Barry Burris, Mike Taber
Special Thanks Joyce Anderson, Joe Boyd, Jeff Clayton, Carol Dickason, Mike Dooley, Kenneth Goldstein, Jim Goodkind, Dana Henry, Kerry Huffman, Wendy Johnson, Deanna Jordt, David Kessler, Hendryk Lasak, Sue Olsen, Sher Ripley, Michael Salvadore, Richard Seaman, Ted Simon, Dabney Standley, M. W. Mantle, Lisa Ward, Harry Wilker, Jeanne Winding, Eric Winkler, Carlos Zubiate, Rod haden, Dennis Leahy, Laurie Strand, Masami Maeda, Kiharu Yoshida, John Miller, Symplex Systems, Kass Kapsiak, Katie Fisher, Rhode Island Historical Society, The City of Santa Fe, Net‑Tel, Wesley Morris, Debbie Miller, Kinslee Miller, Kerryn Miller, Kara Miller, Mary Beth Miller, Alexander Miller, Grace Miller, Abraham Miller, Kate Vander Wende, Helen Vander Wende, Evie Vander Wende, Kenneth Goldstein, Michael Salvadore, Ted Simon, Sabine Duvall, Mary Ann Caminero, Brøderbund Sales Forces, Berkeley Sound Artists, Frankel & Company, Organic Online Inc., RD/Fox Advertising, Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising
PVR Crew Director of Photography Steve Kotton
Live Action Production Manager Renee Jensen
Gaffer Mike Van Dine
Grip Alex Robinson
Ultimate Operator Sprague Anderson
Audio Robert Tachories
Videotape Operators Wayne Cory, Jeff Piccinni
Make‑Up Joeann Edmonds, Nancie Marsalis
Wardrobe Assistant Pamela Buss
Live Action Continuity Pat Burke, David Van Woert
Live Action Editor Michael Albanese, Aldo DiVergilio
Assistant Editor Vince Oresman
Digital Video Capture J. Anthony Ruffo, Derek Gatlin
Operations Manager Steve Manke
Post‑Production Coordinator Laurie Lamson
Live Action by PVR
German Voices Reiner Schöne (as Gehn), Bettina Spier (as Katharina), Kai Wulff (as Atrus)
Sky in Gehns Era Matte World Digital
Costumes Kauffman‑Davis Studios, Seattle Opera
Set and Props Seattle Opera
Production Manager Matt O'Hara
Lead Sound Design Tim Larkin
Public Relations Connors Communications, Rebecca Lester, Adrian Price
QA Lead Mike Taber, Barry Burris
MPEG 2 Audio Compression QDesign Corporation
Photography Assistant James Pusch
Voice Recording North by Northwest Productions
Additonal Sound Design for O'Donnell/Salvatore Music Paul Heitsch, John Binder, Mark Devos, Brian W. Jennings, Sean Richards, Jeff Krajewski, Fuse Music and Design
Localization
Lead Localization Anja McClellan
Localization Voice Recording Brian Walker
Localization Programming and Graphics XeoDesign Inc.
Lead Production Manager Nicole Lazzaro
Product Manager and Programming Richard Corley
Art Coordinator John Doyle
Artists Troy Daniels, John Doyle
German Voiceover Talents Directing Charles de Vries
Recording Score One
Recording Technique Al Johnson
Translation Maren Taylor
Synchronization Andreas Reinl
QA Lead Juan Manuel Torres

MASTERWORK REVIEW - MYST ONLINE: URU LIVE
Cyan Worlds/ GameTap

URU - Amazing and Unique Digital World Reborn




All Myst, Riven, D'ni, Uru images, text, sound and music (c) Cyan Worlds, Inc. All rights reserved Myst(r), Riven(r), D'ni(r) Uru(r), respective Logos(r) Cyan Worlds, Inc. No part may be copied or reproduced without express, written permission of Cyan Worlds, Inc.

All the images in this specific article are from the Cyan Worlds Publications and remain fully and solely the property of Cyan Worlds, Inc., All Rights Reserved.


CYAN Worlds, one of the most remarkable and unique CGI design firms in the industry ever has been given a second chance at the trend setting and remarkable world that they launched with URU several years ago. It was intended as a multi player universe that could be visited in the course of a single player game or as part of a community effort that had a tremendous potential for being both beautiful graphically to visit and experience and also revolutionary in the way that the environment and the depth and range of the immersive experience could widen and be dynamic on many levels. They worked for many years to craft and fashion this work of art, truly unique among digital creations to date, and while it was essentially still in beta testing, the publisher at the time decided that there was insufficent support in the wider community and the effort was shelved. Now, with backing from Turner and GameTap, URU will have a second life, and the remarkable subterranean city, built on an immense scale and lying on an island in a lake 3 miles deep in the earth, with a 10,000 year history, and only depopulated by a deadly event some 300 years ago, the city and the world that it implies will once again live and be dynamic as its makers intended. It was unveiled early this year, 2007, and I believe that many who have never played computer games before will join in. From all over the world, past and current supporters of URU and the Myst series that Cyan created are signing up. It is a dawn of a remarkable new age in computer and graphics design and game creation.

There is a loyal and creative community among players and appreciatiors of the Myst series, itself as a series perhaps the highest achievement to date by any game designer for both art, and craft....and now a growing audience world wide is coming to sign up for the revived and finally alive Myst Online URU Live from Cyan and GameTap.

The potential for immersive and dynamic experience is virtually unlimited as the designers, writers, coders and artists at Cyan, under the inspired leadership of Rand Miller, of the original brother team that founded Myst and Cyan work to release URU in December. They all seem among the best and brightest of what the digital revolution has come to offer in the way of vision and acumen to utilize the revolution that the comptuer has been in our lives over the past 30 years. As the technology has improved for both displays, controls and actual CPU's, the art and depth of games and other digital creations has at times faded and failed to rise to the abilities of the technology itself. Among the pioneers, Cyan had quietly continued to develop some of the finest talent and design potential and now they will have a chance to lead once again.


From an Age from the Expansions to URU Complete Chronicles: Path of the Shell
The orginal single player version of URU published by Ubi Soft




A View of the the city of Ae'gura from URU
A View of the Library and the Staircase approaching it.

I cannot fully describe to you the beauties of the world that you can visit in URU, the vast and silent ruins of a huge urban culture equal to Rome at its glory, and buried both in the earth, and in obscurity to protect the culture of the D'ni and the high levels of technolgy and energy mastery that rivals our own of modern times. These people, called the D'ni, had their own language, culture and vast vision of life, and their history, as revealed in tantalizing glimpses, offers many lessons and portents for our own seemingly vastly powerful world civilization. History is filled with great cultures that have risen and indeed at the peak of their powers fallen often from hubris and weakness within, rather than to enemies from without.
The D'ni were challenged by cultural questions of the role of individuals within their culture and their relation to the Ages and worlds that they were able to access through a remarkable "linking" technology that allowed them to both visit and alter other accesible universes or Ages. In the end, apparently from the evidence revealed so far, they fell from division within. This story offers much for a modern person to consider, as well as to enjoy, for the story is about to come back to life and new exploration will be possible, both for individuals and for groups playing simutaneously and in concert with one another.

The realms of the D'ni include worlds or Ages that they access through a high art of "book writing" that creates links from this world to these other ages, that may already exist, but they find them by the art of writing about them. Here we see the genius of the Millers' and Cyan staff imagination, for we never know if this is a potential that lies within the words themselves, and the power of code or if this is all a description of something that truly exists and we must continue our journey to find the truth, or many truths, and there are complications and different views of this history as well among the explorers and scientists that are art of the story and in the game, working to excavate and explore this vast lost realm.

I cannot encourage you enough to visit and exprience this beautiful world and world of vistas, places, people, and events that will enthrall and enchant, intrigue and mystify you.

The vast horizons, deep secrets, mystery and marvels of an ancient people lie silent but not unreachable, quiet but not without life, vast yet you can reach them, and I urge you to do so.

Begin the journey, for none of us knows where it will take us, thanks to Cyan, and their vision and courage.

Visit http://www.gametap.com/home/myst/index.html to learn more and see images of this remarkable creation.

Images from URU presented here are with gracious permission of Cyan Worlds. All Myst, Riven, D'ni, Uru images, text, sound and music (c) Copyright Cyan Worlds, Inc. All rights reserved Myst(r), Riven(r), D'ni(r) Uru(r), respective Logos(r) Cyan Worlds, Inc. No part may be copied or reproduced without express, written permission of Cyan Worlds, Inc. I am working to ensure that I can get the right copyright and Reserved Marks to post on my blog so pictures may take some time.

Personal Notes:

You play in URU as an avatar or digital image of yourself, at first this took some getting used to, as did the movement keys which are somewhat different from the standard WASD 3D game keys, but they do work well and comfortably and become intuitive over a short time and you will, I think come to enjoy and like them. You can choose either 3D person or first person view and I found I switched between them.

You must first work your way through the "Ages" of the world of the D'ni, these are Realities or world that they discovered and travelled to and from using special books that "link" or teleport the viewer to and from those places. You must solve mysteries, puzzles and mazes to proceed and the story of the D'ni universe and the archeologists from the surface who re discovered it is revealed as you progress. You have your own "personal" age called your Relto Age, which is a mystic island set in a sea of clouds which has a small house with your own linking books, which are placed there as you progress through the game. These include links to the great underground realm of the D'ni and the ruined cities therein. You will also see and be able to talk live with other explorers in the new URU online, which is now live as of March 2007 through an exclusive publishing arrangement with GameTap and Turner.



Your Mysterious Relto Age

Hope these details help, URU is a remarkable and quite wonderful experience and the community involved with it is very kind and helpful.

Cyan had planned to have URU be a live and multiplayer environment and it was one of the first of its kind in original form. This was put on hold after beta testing, they had planned continual new content and developments and a chance for players and explorers to dynamically interact and progress with the story.

Update: March 2007

Cyan has released Myst Online URU Live through GameTap and Turner, it is now available live for a monthly subscription at: www.GameTap.com

You can find information and help at:

http://www.mystonline.com

D'ni Restoration Council
http://drcsite.org/

community sites
http://www.mystcommunity.com
http://www.uruobsession.com
http://www.guildofgreeters.com
http://www.thecaverntoday.com
http://www.cyanworlds.com/

Enjoy.


CREDITS: Staff at Cyan Worlds Who worked on and Contributed to URU

Graphics, Core Architecture
Mark T. Finch
Python, Interface
Mark H. DeForest
Network, Game Servers
Mustafa Thamer
Network, Systems
Robert J. Emanuele
Tools, Physics
Colin Bonstead
Camera, Voice, Logic
Chris J. Purvis
Avatar, Animations
Bob Zasio
Database, Game Servers
Eric S. Anderson
Scripting, Interface
Jeff Lundin
Audio
Jason M. Calvert
Interface, Audio
Mathew C. Burrack
Avatar, Physics
Matthew B. MacLaurin
Tools
Paul A. Querna
Systems
Harvey Chapman
World Wiring
Technical Art Lead
Douglas T. McBride
Technical Artist
Chris Doyle, Adam Van Ornum
Art
Art Director
Joshua A. Staub
Animation Lead
Jason C. Baskett
Artist
Eric R. Warman, Austin Thomas, Victoria Brace, Gary W. Butcher, Terry J. Coolidge
Art Lead
Eric A. Anderson, Steve Ogden, Mike Hines
Avatar Lead
Rod L. Stafford
Artist, Designer
Stephen Hoogendyk
Animator, Artist
Jeff Wilson
Avatar
Mark Stenersen
Sound and Music
Music, Sound Design
Tim Larkin
Sound Design, Wiring
Christopher L. Clanin
Control Freaks
Director
Rand Miller
Producer, CTO
Brice Tebbs
Quality Assurance
QA Lead Engineer
Eric G. Votava
QA Manager
Lloyd Bell
Test Lead
Ryan B. Persch, Greg J. Miranda
Tester
Micah Sheets, Victoria L. Almond, Aaron Biegalski, Bryce J. Biggerstaff, Tim S. DeWolf, Brandon A. Knowles, Bryan Bussard, Derek Odell, Zachary M. Wellsandt, Tyler J. Smith
Concept and Control
D'ni Historian, Design
Richard A. Watson
Game Design Lead
Ryan Miller
Live Content Director
Bill Slease
Art Design Director
Stephan Martiniere
Web, Tech Writer
Patti VanHeel
Live Content Analyst
Ryan J. Warzecha
Administrative Support
President
Tony Fryman
Project Manager
Mark Dobratz
Co‑Producer
Susan R. Bonds
VP Business Affairs
Chris Brandkamp
Systems Manager
John M. Biggs
CFO
Mark Klammer
Maintenance & Eggs
Byron R. Heinemann
Office, Accounting
Eloise McCloskey
Additional Development
Tech. Artist
Peter Gage
CG Artist
William Stoneham, Nathan Reidt, Brian Kulig, Terry Schmidbauer, Craig Voigt
Programmer
James Beattie, Ryan Allred, Paul Gallagher, Kyle Wilson, Adrian Stone, Eric Ellis, Brad Halpin
Designer
Christian Piccolo, Robert Grace, T. Elliot Cannon
Communications
Jeff Oswalt
Admin. Assistant
Tricia Bland
QA
John Brooks
QA Intern
Scott Ellwanger
Design Intern
Bret Carlson
Independent Contractors
Design
Ocala Bellows
Architectural Design
Mark Engberg/Colab
Art Design
Thom Schillinger, Gil Keppler
Story Design
Lee Sheldon
Voice Artists
Zandi
David Ogden Stiers
Yeesha
Rengin Altay
Hifi‑genie Productions (French)
Bernard Bollet (Atrus), Nathalie Homs (Yeesha), Antoine Tomé (Zandi)
Partnertrans. (German)
Stefan Schleberger (Atrus), Susanne Dobrusskin (Yeesha), Karl Heinz Tafel (Zandi)
Betafix Services, S.L. (Spanish)
Juanjo López (Atrus), Pilar Santigosa (Yeesha), Manuel Billido (Zandi)
Orange Studio - Bologna (Italian)
Dario Oppido (Atrus), Grazia Verasani (Yeesha), Lello Lombardi (Zandi)
Musicians
Guitar
Eric Engerbretson
Vocalists
Friends of Sironka Dance Troupe
Vocalist
Tasha Koontz
Premier Explorers
Rico
Richard Warman
IMForeman
Michael J. Jones
Dr. Greer
J. Patrick Greer
Rivenchan
Melinda Russell
BlasterCalm
Catherine Reymond
Additional Testing
Robyn Miller, Alexander Miller, Kevin Bishopp, Jody Bishopp, Adam Breeden, David Clarke, Travis Hanson, Jason Hanson, Lloyd Woodall, Paul O'Russa, Mark VanDyke
Teaser Video Production
Director
David Jankowski
Editing
Julien Milaire
SFX Design
Antoine Douadi
Sound
Manu Bachet
SFX and Mix
Manu BachetSound
Voice Recording
Sylvain-Luc Brunet
Production Assistant
Anne Langourieux
Producer
Jean-Marc Broyer
Exec. Producer
Karen Vernimmen (Ubi Sound Studio France)
Special Thanks
Preafter
Jeff Zandi
Ubisoft
Yves Guillemot, Gilles Langourieux, Joe Ybarra, Sébastien Puel
Ubisoft
Jean-Marc Broyer
SunSoft
Masami Maeda
Special Thanks
Spouses & Families, Jeff Shelby, Dan Adler, Chuck Hirsch, Arnoldo Roman, Michelle et all, Out West Expresso
Dana, Debbie, Eloise
The Guild of Caterers
Uru Beta Testers
Hoofnmouth Ahearn, Paulus Kienhuis, (M‑CD) Kruille, .Nebula., [DgN] Ophidian, [FnS]‑NeO, [UsMCc]TimeMaster, John Mansi (Cuzin), ‑=RTM=‑Xphuzz, 4elementi, Lanny Heidbreder (75th), 9rin, A. Beland, A. Marschner, A. Leimeroth, A. C. Bolen, Aaron A. Douglas, Aaron Bond, Aaron Holdiman, Aaron J. Williams, Aaron Jeter, Aaron Obst, Aaron Peech, Aaron Richardson, Aaron Viviano, abay, Abyssus_j, Adam Blinkinsop, Adam Clemas, Adam Contini, Adam Cyr, Adam Eldred, Adam from EpiKGaming.com, Adam Glasgall, Adam Kerekes, Adam Kline, Adam May, Adam Nash, Adam Nitsch, Adam Polgar, Aaron Light (Oldbushie), Adam Rodrigues, Addison, Adel Shafir (Ayli), Adi Segal, Adrian Anderson, Adrian Kempf, Adriano Ferreira, Aethelwyrd, aGeMo, Aidan Mowat, Akino Taurus, Akiva Atwood, Al Kessel (The Hammer), Alain Robert, Alan Shultz (Cheeto), Alan Bayley, Alan Peng, Alan Sweeney, Alan Usry, Alanthor Morcane, Albert Mata, Alberto Montanola (Al'm/y), Albezuno, Alecco Iamadre, Alex Mercatali, Alex Black, Alex Ferreira, Alex Ford, Alex Hammond, Alex MacLaurin, Alex Manuk, Alex Rivadeneira, Alex Wrobel, Alex Wyckmans, Louise Carreau, Alison O'Konski, AlisonW, Allen Armstrong, Amanda Yarch, Anael Ferraz de Carvalho, AnaJoao, Anastas Semenov, Anders Meurk, Anders Johansson, Anders Lunde, Andre Wahlgren (Nikobo), Andre Carvalho Gusmao, Andre F. Ouellette, Andre Hempel, Andre Moraes, Andre Nauta, Andrea Smith, Andreas Magnusson, Andreas Reber, Andreas Reichinger (a.k.a. AZT), Andrei Pascu, Andrevan, Andrew Presti (Aramat), Andrew Chernauskas (Deg), Andrew Brittin (Kahlis), Andrew Hockman (Sledge), Andrew Fonk (SniperX0), Andrew Beal, Andrew Crawford, Andrew Erickson, Andrew Fader, Andrew J. Bonham, Andrew J. Coutermarsh, Andrew King, Andrew Klotz, Andrew Lefchak, Andrew M. Ouimet, Andrew Matecha, Andrew Nyberg, Andrew Penick, Andrew Stone, AndromAK, Andy Mann, Andy Powell, Anette Flyborg, Angela Atwood (Arkaya), Angela J. Wiseman, Angela Werner, Angelo Drappa, Angus Thermopile, Anita Ackerman, Anitalula, Anja, Ann Carlsson, Anna Holub (Jokergirl), Anne Brady, Ann-Marie Ratcliffe (a.k.a. Elkestra), Antangil, Anthony Collins, Anthony Pierini, Anthony Rappazzo, Anton W, Antoney Calistes, Antonio Arias, Antonioni de Freitas Vieria, April Leach, Arcamis, Areche, Arian Alexis Kalapis Serchoweic (S3V3N), Ariela Palombi, Arliman, Armando Paredes, Arroyo Bribiesca, Aron G. Sebastian, Arowin, Artha, Arthur van Rooijen, asa160, Astrin EarthenFury, Athena Pinne, Audrey Mozdzen, Aurelie Blanche, Aurelien Vandoorine, Austin Storm, Awaking, Axel Toelke, B. Hammond, Balroq, Barry Duty Jr., Barry Zabo, Barton J. Hodges, Becky Ohl, Bedrael, Beennuked, Ben Cochran (Bricriu), Ben Ceschi, Ben Evans, Ben Frazer, Ben Glotzhober, Ben Harrell, Ben Merrills, Ben Purbrick, Ben Smith, Ben Williams, Benjamin Bender (Mehitabel), Benjamin Jonasch, Benjamin N. Rubin, Benjamin Schrauwen, Benoit Seguin, BenoitB, Benoit-Joan Clariana-Roig, BenOne, Bernard Tey (grizzley), Bernd-Roland Fromm, BF Mako, bibble, Bigestlee, Bilbo62, Bill Case, Bill Dunford, Bill Ferris, Bill Leonard, Bill Neves, Bill Power, Bill Pratt, Bill Umberger, Billy Berghammer, Billy Nasopoulos, binhqx, Bishop, Bjorn Bertilsson, Bjorn Olav Samdal, Blaise Duszynski, Blake Skinner, Blithe, Blucom, Blue Max, bluMunky2003, bMartes, Bob Elwonger, Bob Gates, Bob LeBlanc (IOS1000), Bob Stimson, BongoBunki, Booksmith, Boomerang, Braando, Brad Vehse, Brandon Leger (Miranoff), Brandon Boehling, Brandon Foster, Brandon Newendorp, Brandon Ostby, Brandon Rockefeller, Brandon Strong, Brandon Walton, Brandy Tanner McIntosh, Brendan K. Callahan, Brendan Malone, Brendan Mathis, Brendon M. BuPane, brenternet, Brenton Loeffelman, Brett Carel, Brett Morris, Brett Williams, Brian Doyle (Falhawk), Brian Wilson (Yarr), Brian Baker, Brian Bommarito, Brian Dellon, Brian Dishaw, Brian Fioca, Brian Fitzgerald, Brian Fleming, Brian Gardner, Brian Hagan, Brian O'Malley, Brian Petty, Brian Smith, Brian Stoffer, Brian Tan, Brian Taylor, BridgetAG, Briley Hooper, Brock, Brook Grewcock (a.k.a. koorb), Bruce Haley, Bruno Hirtzmann (Akhu), Bruno Lalonde, Brutus, Bryan G. Stevens II, Bryan Siemon, Bryan Wu, Bryce Penberthy, brykMantra, Bryon Stevenson, Bryson Osborne, buckminster, Büke Yolaçan, Bupractor, Burkhard Rexin, Byron Blandino, Byron Tsang, C. Pontoriero, C.O.N.D.O.R., Caerthann, CAGrayWolf, Caleb Clarke, Carl deWiele, Carl Ihrig, Carl Parks, Carlitoxxi, Carole Eigsti, Carolyn E. Blake, Carolyn Ross, Carrie Schaffner, Casey Laski, Casey Stokes, Casey Williams, CaspeR, Castiz, Catherine Reymond, Cathryn Newcombe, Cathi-Jo McCoy, CaZiNoJo_aka_RR_Caz, Cdmin, Cédric Frantz, Celt751, Chad Hanway, Chad Bailey, Chadwick Smith, Charles D'Andrea, Charles A. Filion, Charles J. Edwards, Charles Jackson, Charles O'Donovan, Charles R. Bonn, Charles-Étienne Théberge, Charlie Bossi, Charlie Mauck, ChasingTail, Cheryl McAfee (Aidan), Chirag Fifadra, Chordok, Chris Williamson (Data), Chris Testroet (Leftbrained), Chris Enderle (Timon), Chris Angelini, Chris Asbil, Christian Bradley, Chris Burgan, Chris Centen, Chris Coyne, Chris Curwick, Chris Fontana (DeFonze), Chris Fullman, Chris Gatton, Chris Hammerberg, Chris Jones-Gill, Chris Kirwan, Chris M. Kelly, Chris Mackey, Chris Maroglou, Chris McHenry, Chris Schenk, Christopher Short, Chris Stalzer, Christer Bermar, Christer Holm, Christian A. Meade, Christian Greiner, Christian Hjalmarsson, Christian Kunz, Christian Lukowics, Christian Westman, Christine M. LaCount, Christophe Corvisier (Roy22), Christopher Swogger (DarkFalcon), Christopher Lott (Industrious), Christopher Haufschild (Phane), Christopher Levine (simulacra), Christopher A. Parrinello, Christopher B. Fite, Christopher Berry, Christopher Bir, Christopher Bradshaw, Christopher Cole, Christopher E. Tenney, Christopher G. Stanton, Christopher Kugler, Christopher M. Hill, Christopher Norman, Christopher P. McGee, Christopher Popp, Christopher Repotski, Christopher S. Tomcho, Christopher Tanner, Christopher Watson, Chuck Fisher, Chuck Malcolm, Chuck Tewksbury, Claude Petro, Claudia Ruiz, Clayton Jones, Clinton D. Keepin, Clooger, Cody Thurber, Colin Ahlfeld, Colin McGuire, Colin Monro, Collin Simon, Computerfreak23, Connor Petersen, Conrad Tyson, Conrad Venn, Corien Bennink, Cory Barron, Cory Borsella, Cory J. Coddington, Costas Lambrou, Craig Kibby, Craig Prall, Craig Stutts, Creeping Monkey, cretin, Cris Zulueta, Crispeto, Christian Grozavu, Crovax, Crygeon Signe, Cubby_Br, CubbyJr26, CULT_IVATOR, Curt Allen, D. Pease, DaDungeon, Daffy, Dagmara Spiette, Daina Dajevskis, D'Airyair, DaisyMae, Dale Colbert, Dale J. Berry, DamarTyr, Damian Lewis, Damien Estep, Damien Katzmark, Dan Patrick, Dan Barletta, Dan Eakins (Eltheras), Dan Favel, Dan Furst, Dan Heideman, Dan Luxenberg, Dan Serbicki, Dan Smethurst, Dane Bettis, Dane Toffler, Dani Howarth (dugchugger), Daniel Eriksson (Yggdrasill), Daniel B. Navarrete, Daniel Baker, Daniel Crabb, Daniel Kim, Daniel G. Ovadia, Daniel Graham, Daniel J. Bounds, Daniel James Saylors, Daniel M. Pach, Daniel Mitchell, Daniel Perry, Daniel C. Schmidt, Daniel Spangler, Daniel Starr, Daniel Swift, Daniel Tynan, Daniel W. Barineau (Groo), Daniela DiOrazio, Danielle Gisman, Dan'ni, Danny Rollitt, Darby Hoover, Darkam, Darkbouda, DarkIceV, DarkMan, Darline Stacy, Darrell Estabrook, Darren Vallance, Darrin Mison, Darryl, Davadruide, Dave Gow, Dave Hill, Dave Wragg, David Collazo (LLJKSoviet), David Abitbol, David Biggerstaff, David Boone, David Buck, David C. Griffin Sr., David Carta, David Coolidge, David de Boer, David E. Dorman Jr., David G. Wilson III, David Glazier, David Grant, David Green, David H. Frank, David Kim, David Luger, David Marquis, David Peters, David Robinson, David Ross Edwards, David Rutan, David Schilling, David Schloss, David Schwab, David Wiklund, David Zizza, D. B. White, Deb Cormier, Deb Crosby, Deborah Craig, Deborah DeLong, Debra Johnson, Del Clarkson, Demian Clements, Dennis Plöger, Dennis Porter, Derek Carlin, Derek Luker, Derek Schatel, Derrek Newell, DezMonyc, Dezran, Dezzy, Dheque, Di Arruda (Dysis), Diana Jones, Diane Camerlo (Linnet), Diego Segadora, Digital_Signal_X, Dileilah Galinar, Diocletian Victor Madadayo, Dirk Parrack, Dirk Sprinke, D. M. Howard (aka ThePhotoDoctor), DocBoberman, Domahreh, Don Andrew Nguyen, Donald J. Merrick, Dongwhan Kim, Donny Redmond, Dorlun, Doug McNabb, Doug Murray, Doug Thompson, Douglas Souter (John Drake), Douglas Carney, Douglas Rarey, Douglas Thigpen, Douglas Whitten, Dovah, dpfaff, Dreamless, Drew Davidson, Drew Kempa, Drum18, DrumMath, D'stin Sparks, Duke Walls, Durhai, Dustin Kost, Dylan Richards, E. F. Link, Ed Rogers, Ed Halbert, Ed Matuskey, Edav Stenos, Edax, Eddie Brega, EdioSonic, Eduardo dos Santos Janiszewski, Eduardo Martinez, Edward Allen, Edward Cline, Edward Herbulock, Elaria, elementfiftyfour, Eli Hall (Tripp), Elion Caplan, Elisabeth Bedi, Ellen W. (D'nisis), Elov Anderson, Empire, Ender, Enes Sopovic (Zepophan), Enrique Delgado, EnViZiBlE, Enzo Paolini, equitus, Ereinion Apanonar, Ereth‑Ahkbe, Eric Mulryan (Numeric), Eric S. Anderson (Genus3041), Eric Arts, Eric Bellemon, Eric Chabarot, Eric Coperine, Eric Elfert, Eric Julien, Eric Lambourg, Eric Lecomte, Eric Martinez, Eric Michaud, Eric Nettle, Eric P. Allison, Eric Palmér, Eric Thompson, Eric Walter, Erich Conner, Erik Anderson, Erik Ekengren, Erik Hedlund, Erik Johnson, Erik Kops, Erik Larsson, Erik Nelson, Erik Peterson, Erin Hope Blockley, Ernst Lanser, Ervin Nazim, Esibuilt, Etali, Ethan Pemble, Everett James Lamb, Ewout. Brogt, Ex'cited, ExiledMystMan, Fabian Körner, Fabian Thum, Fabio Moratti, Fabio Hofnik, FARAN, FatTyler, Félix Ménard, Felix Van de Maele, Ferrell Travis Riley III, Figtoria, Florian Steurer, Forever, Francis Naud, Francis Roch, Francis Theoret, Francisco M. Ross, François Grégoire, Frank D. Nicodem Jr., FratRat, Fred Schell, Frederic Hutow, Fredrik Dittlau, Frodo, G. Elems, G. Elzner, Gábor Németh, Gabriel Bauman, Gabriel Harrison, Gabriel Hovatter, Galen Stolee, Gareth Hughes, Gareth Williamson, Garth'ilk, Gary Budell, Gary Nelson, Gary Magginetti, Gary Raines, GatorQue, Gava Matteo, Gavin Doughtie, Geneviève Laberge, Gengis, Geoff Rowland, Georg Mayer, Georgo, Gerald Henseler, Gérard Touvron, Gerben de Oude, Gerd Westendorp, Gergely Bényi, Gerren, Gerret, Ges Fischer, Geslo, ghobii, Gianluca Mastrantonio, Giannis Tsekos, Giovanni Bellistrella, Giovanni Del Prete, Gita Lal, Giuseppe Carrino Neto, Glen Wright, Gonçalo Santos, Gordon F. Currie, Gordon Strauch, Grady E. Brown, Graham Everett, Graham Larue, Graham Paterson, Graphite, Greg Gilbert, Greg Atkinson, Greg Cignavitch, Greg Dean, Greg Noullet, Greg Schaeffer, Greg Sharp, Greg Sicard, Greg Spivey, Gregor Brunmar, Gregor Thill, Gregory Allen Mefford, Gregory Champoux, Gregory Gore, Gregory Munson, Grembler Barghest, Gretch, Greu, Grey Mouser, GreyPanther, Groopy, Gryphon MacThoy, guanna, Guildsman Drak, Guillaume Uys, Guiun, Gunnar Dietz, Gunnar Steincke, Gunzilla, Gurke McVickers, Gus Mastrapa, Gustav Dreyer, Guy Morey, Guy Sprackland, Guy Thomas, GXServer, Haas Colby (MySTyK), Hadorak, Hadrien Bardet, Hannu Paajanen (Jadesl), Hans von der Crone (Lapino), Hans Larsson, Hans-Günter Thiel, Harden Viers, Harpy Hui, Harrison Pink, Heathyre Ward, Heimdall, hendryk, Henk van der Leek, Henrik Johansson (Vextor), Henry C. M. Sayer, Hervé Stauffer (shelter), Hesky Fisher, Hidekazu Yamahata, Hiroaki Uchiyama, Hirokazu Tanaka, hirunsr, Hitcher, Holofernia, Hooch, Horenstein, HotFox, Huckster, Ian Gazzotti (Atrus), Ian Stedman (Saxx), Ian Edwards, Ian Ryan, Ian Thompson, Ian W. Parker, Ian Welsh (Rabbitslayer), Idfri‑Trima, IdleAl, Igor Frolov (Stinger), iiano, Imotep, Ingo Sobolewski, Isaac Liao, Isaac Swirvman, Ivan Kazachenko, J. Fogelberg, J. Patrick Greer, J. J. Hardie, J. R. Raith, Jacek Grebski, jacen, Jack Mystery, Jack Degenstein, Jack Shepler Jr., Jack Stevens, Jack Thompson, Jack W. Palmer, Jackie M. Ramsey, Jaclyn Borovoy (Thalisa), Jacob Edkin, Jacque Franco, Jacques J. Ranger (Tzakol), Jacques Jones, Jad, Jade Siniscalchi, Jaeson Wilda, Jake Lenahan, Jake T., jakko, Jakob Gidlund, James Scholl, James Deck (Clayton), James Hargis (Hargabyte), James Schoenberg (JamesSF), James Barratt, James Blanchard, James Bostick, James Brannon Eismon, James Clement, James Connor, James E. Whedon, James Earl Smith, James Frykman, James Hattox, James Henson, James Hrenak, James J. Cheeseman, James M. Malone Jr., James Marion, James R. Weinhart, James S. Hegarty, James T. Provost, James Tauber, James V. Gibson, James Young, Jamezeo Taylorian, Jamie Winsor (infrared), Jamie Eckman, Jamie Eleck Hill, Jamie Matts, Jan Almberger, Jan Dzierzak, Jan Humble, Jana Gillespie (Estrelle), Janet Burress (Pepsi), Janice Bub, Janne Tengvall, Jannis Segebrecht, Janus Borner, jany23, janzi, Jared B. Luther, Jared Cook, Jared Vanderhyde, Jared White, Jason Baxley, Jason Bowman (JBhypno), Jason Bradley (Queue), Jason Cragg, Jason Deschenes, Jason Dupree, Jason Gallagher, Jason Hurd, Jason Marchi, Jason Padgett, Jason Schoenher, Jason Steele, Jason Touchette, Jason Trent, Jason Zsiba, Jasper van der Hoeven, Jay Friot (Chojin), Jay Heidenreich, Jay Slater, Jaye Marie, JayGlitch, Jean-Michel Bertho, Jeb Collins, Jed Duty, Jeff Hood (Varrimus), Jeff Badgett, Jeff Hamilton, Jeff Hardee, Jeff Hitchin, Jeff Jackson, Jeff Kelly, Jeff LeBlanc, Jeff Mossop, Jeff Ousley, Jeff Pierson, Jeffrey Seamster, Jeff Valentino, Jeffrey Bixler, Jeffrey Flexer, Jeffry J.J. van Berkum, Jemma Morrison, Jennifer Rose, Jennifer Wilda, Jenny Hennegar, Jens Fleiter (Mc Fly), Jens Oliver Elsaesser, Jens Strandell, Jere J. Mammino, Jerle, Jeremy Ervin, Jeremy Flores, Jeremy James, Jeremy Jason Justice, Jeremy Lambert, Jeremy Little, Jeremy White, Jeremy Wright (Frog), Jerome Castagnetto, Jérôme Laroche, Jerry Huhmarniemi, Jerry LaBauve, Jerry Rocklin, Jerry Wise, Jesper Hansen, Jesper Johag, Jesper Moeslund, Jesse McGuay (Turin), Jesse B. Freeman, Jesse Lowe, Jesse Moreno, Jesse Peterson, Jessibell, Jessica Bradley, Jessie James Marker, Jean F. Bibeau, Jim Buckett, Jim Carrillo, Jim Chesson, Jim Dodd, Jim Pallo, Jim Thompson, Jim van Eeckhoven, Jimmy Boone, Jimmy Liljenquist, Jimmy Roach, J'Naas, Joakim Jader, Joe Paul, Joe Beavers, Joe Bell, Joe Campbell, Joe Diehl, Joe Downs, Joe LaFerlita, Joe Markert, Joe Pontani, Joel Naticchioni, Joey West, Johan MacLeod, Johan Bondeson, Johan Sylwander
Ubisoft
Ubi.com General Manager (World)
Gilles Langourieux
VP of Production
Joe Ybarra
Producer
Sébastien Puel, Erik Zwerling
Associate Producer
Jean-Christophe Pelletier
Sr. Game Analyst
Patricia A. Pizer
Game Analyst
Pierre Rivest
Community Manager
Katherine E. Postma
Special Thanks to
Jean-Marc Broyer
CCR Team
CCR Lead
Marc-Alexandre Plouffe
CCR
Jason Di Valerio, Jessica Fortin, Simon Cuccioletta
Customer Care Managers
In‑Game
Daniel Germain
Online (ubi.com)
Michael Morehouse
Graphic Artist
Karine Renaud
Web Integrator
Michel Gauthier
Web Designer
Karine Martel
Ubisoft Quality Assurance
QA Lead
Sylvie Tremblay
Tester
Gabriel Dubuc, Jean-Francois Giguere, Martin Michaud, Véronique Fortin, Lyne Archambault, Jean-Sebastien Primeau, Jean-Sebastien Charbonneau, Martin Hamel, Pierre-Yves Savard, Patrick Melanson, Marc Thonon, Martin Amos, Yannick Gervais, Francois Arguin
Network and Systems
Group Manager
Andrej Todosic
Operations Manager
Ludwig Gamache
Sr. Software Engineer
Andy McCurdy
Systems Architect
Denis Bertrand, Wei-Tang Huang
Sr. Systems Architect / Test Lead
Shane Akhgar
Network Administrator (Europe)
Eric Garrigues
Programmer
Jose Covatta
Billing System
Lead Developer
Serge Menard
Developer
Perry Stathopoulos
Lead DBA
Sebastien Hinse
Lead Tester
Stephanie Cassie
Admin Billing System Developer
Frank Zhang
Development Manager
Olivier Paris
Europe
Lead Community Manager
Gregory Champoux
Comm. Manager (Germany)
Waldemar Lindemann
Director of Marketing
Ian Chambers
General Manager
Diane Peyredieu
North America
Director of Marketing
John Billington
Lead Community Manager
Ron Meiners
Community Manager
Sam Copur
Marketing Manager
Mark Goodrich
Business Manager
Brenda Panagrossi
General Manager
Jason Rubinstein
Web Site
Producer
Matt Johan, Joe Toledo, David Macachor
Localisation
Localisation Manager
Coralie Martin
Localisation Project Manager
Loïc Jacolin
German Localisation
Eberhard Schmidt
Translations
French
Xavier Kemmlein
Legal (Audio)
"Burn you up, Burn you down" performed by
Peter Gabriel
"Burn you up, Burn you down" written by
Peter Gabriel, Neil Sparkes, Karl Wallinger
"Burn you up, Burn you down" published by
Real World Music Limited/Universal Music Limited
Executive Director Ubi Music
Didier Lord
Legal (Tools)
Bink Video
RAD Game Tools Inc.
FaceGen Modeller 2.1
Singular Inversions Inc.
Artbeats Digital Film Library
Artbeats
Havok
Telekinesys Research Limited
Open Source Licensees
OpenSSL
The Apache Software Foundation
Free Type Project
David Turner, Robert Wilhelm, Werner Lemberg
Python
Python Software Foundation
Boost
CrystalClear Software
OggVorbis
Xiph.Org Foundation
Speex
Jean-Marc Vlin, Xiph.Org Foundation
LibJpeg
Glenn Randers-Pehrson
zLib
Jean-loup Gailly, Mark Adler
Other Games
In addition to this game, the following people are listed as working on other games. No more than 25 people are listed here, even if there are more than 25 people who have also worked on other games.
Yves Guillemot, 89 other gamesCoralie Martin, 70 other gamesDave Hill, 51 other gamesErik Johnson, 39 other gamesSylvain-Luc Brunet, 35 other gamesDidier Lord, 33 other gamesDavid Green, 33 other gamesJames Young, 29 other gamesBrian Smith, 27 other gamesLloyd Bell, 25 other gamesKaren Vernimmen, 23 other gamesJoe Ybarra, 23 other gamesDavid Turner, 22 other gamesKarl Heinz Tafel, 21 other gamesJeff Wilson, 20 other gamesChristian Bradley, 18 other gamesManu Bachet, 18 other gamesMasami Maeda, 16 other gamesJohn Brooks, 16 other gamesChristopher Watson, 16 other gamesMark Adler, 16 other gamesJean-loup Gailly, 16 other gamesTim Larkin, 15 other gamesDavid Kim, 15 other gamesLoïc Jacolin, 14 other games
Collaborations
People who have worked on this game have also collaborated on the creation of the following games:
Myst V: End of Ages, a group of 55 peopleReal MYST, a group of 47 peopleShadowbane, a group of 30 peopleTom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, a group of 19 peopleMyst V: End of Ages (Limited Edition), a group of 19 peopleRiven: The Sequel to Myst, a group of 19 peopleTom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, a group of 18 peopleFar Cry: Instincts - Predator, a group of 17 peopleFar Cry, a group of 17 peopleTom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, a group of 16 peoplePrince of Persia: The Two Thrones, a group of 15 peopleFar Cry: Instincts - Evolution, a group of 13 peopleFar Cry: Instincts, a group of 12 peopleMyst IV: Revelation, a group of 12 peoplePeter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, a group of 11 peopleCold Fear, a group of 11 peopleDark Messiah of Might & Magic, a group of 10 peopleXIII, a group of 10 peopleOpen Season, a group of 10 people187: Ride or Die, a group of 9 peopleHeroes of Might and Magic V, a group of 9 peopleRayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, a group of 9 peopleTom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield, a group of 9 peoplePrince of Persia: Warrior Within, a group of 9 peopleAlexander, a group of 8 people

New Digital Paintings......Living Light...

Paintings in Light and 3D

After 38 years of working in two dimentions, I am finding that creating with 3D software the visions that have hitherto escaped me can become a reality. It is a great joy to see the light fall across the forms of the models and scenes I can create, and be able to in an instant arrange and adjust what before would be iimpossible to do within a single work.



Tiffany at the Open Door
Summertime

Mixed Media, figure in 3D, Obj and Rag Doll modelled in Poser 6.0, props and Obj., placed on oil painting background 1992 - 2007.



The Wings of Morning - Dancing for the Joy



Blessing of the Moon
3D Image created in Poser

Homeword Bound
Obj, model in 3D Studio Max, Texture in Maya, Poser 6.0, Photoshop CS

Visions of an Artist's Life

Entirely 3D scene, figures, obj. props, textures, lighting in Maya
Poser 6.0, 5.0, zBrush, Photoshop CS



Exploring Lepis Magna, - Travels with Max
Figures and Obj. Props, Rendered in Maya and Poser 6.0, Photoshop CS

Lunch on the Terrace - Summer on the Cote d'Azu
Entirely 3D Image, Poser 6.0, Obj. Props, Original Oil Painting Background




The Thrill of Flying Never Fades for Max and I
Figures Modelled in 3D Studio Max, Obj. props, Poser 6.0 and Photoshop CS

Self Portrait Mapped onto figure

Blessing the Sacred Sprng

Mixed Media, Poser 6.0, Photoshop CS, ZBrush2



Notes on 3D Design and Creative work by a 2D Artist :)

Grapic CGI imagery and modern software rendering allow a revolution in image creation and along with reserach into interactive game design and development, a comprehensive approach requires a researcher to study and develop skills in image creation, mapping, framing, rendering and building in the relevant 3D platforms: ZBrush, Maya, 3D Studio Max, Bryce, Blender, World Maker, in game editors such as the SandBox of CryEngine from Crytek, TESS from Bethesda for Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, and figure rendering software such as Poser. These images are from this development study and research.

enjoy.....

Queen of the Four Wind
Render in Poser, Bryce, Obj. Modelled and Framed in Associated Platforms. 2006.
































Memories of Ancient Days - Painting in Illyrium
Foreground Figure, Textures, and Obj. Props, Poser 6.0, Bryce, Maya, Photoshop CS

RESOURCES FOR GAME RESEARCH

NEW HORIZONS – COMPUTER GAME DESIGN

Immersive Adventure and Experiential Games

History and Development of Innovative Computer Games with Emphasis on Myst Like Interactive Graphic Adventures

Christopher Gerlach, M.A. C.F.A. OXON COMPILER
August 2005 – April 2007

(This is ongoing research and contains quotations and original material from many sources, and these are included here for research and comparative purposes only, this is NOT a final publication as full permissions have not been secured for all matieral included. I am the complier and have included items of interest to my own directions of thought about gaming and the CGI industry and future)

"To my mind, present day computer games of the MYST class are ….. the most recent examples of a long tradition of works designed for the mind's eye -- the sharpest "virtual reality" of them all..."
Charles Cameron

These are selections from ongoing research from my study of interactive graphic games focusing on the ways that dynamic graphic imagery can extend and enhance personal vision in many ways. This is ongoing research, and as such, embodies my thoughts and feelings from my study of gaming today, and it changes as my understanding and experience with the different genres change and as the games industry itself expands and grows as do all human endevours. I am not an expert in any aspect of games design or development, just a very interested student and an artist looking at the work of other artists in a very interesting new medium that is very much part of our lives.

Introduction

The development of efficient and affordable personal computers has been a revolution in not only technology but also communication, education, entertainment, and creativity. All of these aspects of the IT revolution of the past 40 years also have made the use of personal computers and CGI one of the newest realms of dreaming, visioning and having fun. Games are one of the most beautiful expressions of our love of mystery, adventure and the flame of life that is in each of us.

Each of us, I offer, creates our own reality from the world around us, and we share our created worlds with each other to a greater or lesser degree as we live out our lives. It is this sharing that makes up the incredibly rich tapestry of life for each of us, for our relationships and families, and for our society.

So we are each of us a unique “instance” of beings that move among each other and our world, at times awake and aware and at other times, entranced and enraptured in the magic of dreams of our own making or that others tell us or show us or share with us.

Games and literature, music, art, have always held this special magic for us, and offer us not only escape but a chance to become more fully ourselves, realized in both the waking and walking world and the inner worlds of our minds’ and hearts’ eyes and feelings. We need to dream and to play as much as any other form of expression and sustenance, and without our dreams, life becomes a narrowing prison of hopelessness and fear.

So the search for the horizon, and for new horizons in games and through computer gaming offers much for the artist, the visionary, and seeker, the hermit and the hero in all of us. It was to understand and to vision along the narrow edge, the vast space of this fr0ntier that I began some years ago studying and playing computer games, when I could, experiencing the very first ones, on up to the present time of 2005 and beyond.

I had been doing wider research into the perils and pathology of our times in other disciplines and fell into this area almost by accident, but it was a happy accident for my study of games has returned a sense of meaning and context that more academic research into psychology, anthropology, ecology, history, physics, and other disciplines had clouded for me. I found not answers but clearer questions in my quest among the myriad genres of CGI games over the past forty years, as well as have met some wonderful, warm, intriguing and exciting people in all walks of life and all areas of the gaming world. Some of their thoughts and words are shared here along with mine and together I hope we can find a synthesis and a
Way through to the horizons that lie ahead.

Visions Made Real

As more and more modern individuals are forced to lead increasingly urban and high pressure lives, many slower and more naturally paced chances for people to experience, consider and relate to their own personal reality and their own personality development are lost. The development of some unique and advanced ahead of their time games has led to my research into the impact some Immersive and Experiential Titles, among them the Cyan Worlds Myst series. I now hope that this high quality genre will continue to develop, for many have had some concerns over the popularity of much lower quality, egregiously simplistic game trends, the impact of gratuitous fantasy based violence and aggression motifs found in film, TV and video-popular music culture have concerned many. The importance of higher end quality titles can be important for maintaining sanity and personal expression, and help us be happy and ourselves.

After a lot of study and thought about this, I found that the games and game designers and gamers that play the games were not the cause of the society wide problems we worry about. Indeed the games offer sometimes a way through to better lives, and a justifiable and very necessary release from that very life that some feel is “threatened” by game imagery and story lines. In the history and development of games all genres and subjects have been expressed, but in the end, they are games, windows on and from the world, and the window is clouded or clear not of itself, but by the viewer. And a house and or a life without windows is a cell, a prison, and a place of no hope. So games offer, as stories and arts have always offered, a way through and a path beyond what may be limited and limiting in our lives and times. Let us explore this world of gaming together.




SECTION I
Theory of Gaming

Gaming and the development of computer games is a continuation of the narrative traditions of all literature, prose, poetry and other forms of story telling and re enactment. In the modern crisis of personal reality being impinged upon and dominated by mass society and steadily degrading daily life, in the area of quality of life issues, such release for individual angst and personal dreams and hopes and aspirations becomes even more essential and central than it has been historically throughout recorded history.

The use of the computer generated dynamic imagery offers much in the way of interaction by the viewer and indeed draws the viewer into a more and more dynamic and interactive environment with ongoing work by designers and developers to create games that stimulate and involve not only the emotions and the innate "literature" of cultural stories, but also the intelligence and the intellect of the participant. This is progressing as AI or Artificial Intelligence in various forms become available for the coding of modern computer game creations.

"the fundamental qualities that make a good game have remained unchanged and elusive. Consumers still flock to buy original, addictive, and fun games, leaving many flashy products with million-dollar budgets languishing in the $9.99 bin. These costly failures demonstrate that the consumer does not desire a cinematic experience, but rather a quality gaming experience." from ;-Sid Meier, game designer.

"There's a conflict between interactivity and storytelling: Most people imagine there's a spectrum between conventional written stories on one side and total interactivity on the other. But I believe that what you really have are two safe havens separated by a pit of hell that can absorb endless amounts of time, skill, and resources. " -Walter Freitag, game designer.

Developing a Game

The designers must consider the way a story unfolds and the potential for interaction by the player, this will involve certain basic principles of the environment of the game and its back story:

Sequence
Computer games are dynamic over other forms of literature, as they can change and be altered by the gamer and the game play, they are non-linear / multicultural, meaning that they differ from narratives because they can have different sequences. But it does seem reasonable to claim that narratives are sequences evoking a sense of destiny, of events that are intended or seem to want to lead to each other. Roland Barthes says that narrative is the language of destiny. "the mainspring of narrative is ... what comes after being read in narrative as what is caused by." It is partly however to escape this cause and effect inevitability that people play games, to try to escape the seemingly imprisoned nature of their real lives. This freedom can be enhanced by intelligent narrative and enlightened game design.

Sequence matters in narratives, and the famed translatability of narratives between different media does presuppose fixed sequences. While you can recognize similarities between printed stories and their forms evolved in other media, you clearly can't deduct the story of Star Wars from Star Wars the game. There are limitations to narrative and how a sequence evolves. If you start playing a game that requires knowledge that is gained over many pages of a book, you must have some sort of brief or "informed awareness" from the game at the outset.

Unlike the fixed sequence of the narrative, Games seem to be based upon the relative freedom of the player, on the players' possibility of influencing the course of action, and it is this freedom, power as it were, that is a great source of appeal to modern gamers, often frustrated by the strictures and limitations of modern life, and often denied essential and first hand experience, such as craft of the hands, creating or harvesting, and living in a more directly experienced way.

Time
There are some very interesting temporal differences between games and narratives as in Gerard Genette's book Narrative Discourse- Narrative is a ... "double temporal sequence" There is the time of the thing told and the time of the narrative (the time of the signified and the time of the signifier). This duality not only renders possible all the temporal distortions that happen in narratives...(such as "years passed" etc) More basically, it invites us to consider that one of the functions of narrative is to invent one time scheme in terms of another time scheme.

It tells us something interesting about the narrative - it presents two different times, interacting. In the traditional view of the narrative, you differentiate the story and the discourse. Reading a story, you mentally construct a storyline from the discourse presented to you, in order of your discovery of it as the story unfolds. Certain essential facts may not be revealed at first, and need to be discovered, sought out, looked for, even guessed at, if they are hidden or intrinsic. So we get time of the narrated, time of the narration and time of the reading, or in the case of a game the time spent by the gamer as it unfolds.

But if we play a game like Doom, these temporal distances are clearly not present. You can press the control key, a gun fired, and this will affect what's happening on the screen. What you see on the screen isn't past or future, but present, and the impact we have seeing things happen, monsters die, etc, is a large part of the basic and most elementary appeal to players, often juveniles or adolescents who are quite often frustrated by restrictions imposed by age, life choice ranges, and or familial or societal dysfunction. So the three times, the time of the narrated, time of the narration and time of the reading are expressed in a game, and every time you have interactivity, either direct or implied.

Equivalently, and as a consequence of the interactivity, games do not use the temporal possibilities of the story/discourse pair. You don't get flashbacks or flash forwards while playing Doom, because such variations would preclude the interactivity: In a game, you are not able to first play a scene in the present, and then jump to an earlier point on the time line and have interactivity there. Because the first scene would then be determined by whatever the player does earlier on the time line. This would be a paradox.

The story/discourse pair is in other words meaningless in the computer game. The computer game simply doesn't have an active dualism like that.

If we go back to the Christian Metz quote, it seems quite clear that the computer game doesn't "invent one time scheme" from another time scheme. Which could indicate that it is not really narrative.

3. Narrative frames
On the other hand, most computer games do feature some kind of narrative framing. Take Space Invaders.

When we are urged to "play Space Invaders", it does imply a minimal story. The concept of invasion presupposes a time before the invasion, and from the 1950's science fiction it draws upon, we just know that these aliens are evil and should be disposed off. So there is a story, and from the title screen we know all of it: Earth attacked, Earth freed from the alien menace. This is the basic mode of the classical action game: A clichéd story with a well-known ending, and a game that actually never reaches that ending, it just gets harder and harder.

Development of Myst Type Adventure Games

The advances have been quite remarkable and even spectacular in some genres of gaming, and the Myst genre which is the main focus of my research especially, raises questions of the art of game design. This may be an uncommon topic, because with a few exceptions, games have had other aims and qualities. But for the few that do rise to the level of literature and art, this is a valid topic and starting off place for discussing the Myst phenomenon.

Ralph Koster on Games and the Medium and the Message

“To my mind, all arts are based around communicating something. They use a particular medium to communicate within the constraints of that medium, and often what is communicated is, in fact, thoughts about the medium itself (in other words, a formalist approach to arts--much modern art falls in this category). The medium shapes the nature of the message, of course, but the message can be representational, impressionistic, narrative, emotional, intellectual, or whatever else. Some art forms are solo, and some are collaborative (and they can all be made collaborative to an extent, I believe). And some media are actually the result of the collaboration of specialists in many different media, working together to present a work that is incomplete without the use of multiple media within it. Film is one such medium. And video games is another.

The video game requires the collaboration of a number of disciplines, some of them more technical than others. Yet to say that it is less of an art because it requires the engineering discipline of programming code is to also denigrate something like film, which has an enormously high level of technical competence required. (It's also to ignore the level of technical competence required for things like learning color theory or mixing paints, or constructing sentences or paragraphs, but that's another story).

One of the most common points I hear about why video games are not an art form is that they are just for fun. They are just entertainment. But most music is also just entertainment, and most novels are read just for fun, and most movies are mere escapism, and yes, even most pretty pictures are just pretty pictures. The fact that most games are merely entertainment does not mean that this is all they are doomed to be.

Mere entertainment becomes art when the communicative element in the work is either novel or exceptionally well done. It really is that simple. It has the power to alter how people perceive the world around them. And it's hard to imagine a medium more powerful in that regard than video games, where you are presented with interactivity and a virtual world that reacts to your choices. This is a medium with amazing potential, though I must admit that it suffers on the abstract level in a way that simpler media do not (film has many of the same issues though).

Right now, the vast majority of games don't really have anything to say. Some do, though. It's worth wondering, I think, why so many of the games and game designers that are considered legends are those with something to say. Nobody can deny that there is a clear artistic vision behind the work of say, Will Wright, Shigeru Miyamoto, Sid Meier, Peter Molyneux, or Richard Garriott. And it's not just about entertainment. There are subtexts and implicit messages, and sometimes overt preaching, in these games. And, yes, sometimes they might be artistic failures as a result. On the other hand, notice how much scorn gets heaped on games that are perceived as mere clones or knockoffs. The public already discusses and treats games as an art form, and uses the same standards of judgment for them as they do for films or novels or any other artistic medium. They just aren't comfortable with considering them to be art.

The challenge for game designers, of course, is whether to decide to pursue the possibilities of the medium. I'm not worried about the relative lack of this right now -- the medium is still very much in its infancy. One can hope that it can learn from the lessons of other artistic disciplines, but even if it doesn't, we're still basically in the Stone Age as far as designing interactive experiences goes. And the state of the art is not going to improve unless we have a decent means of evaluating what it is. Even though folks like Chris Crawford have been pushing this perspective for many years, I'm sure many game developers don't feel that video games are an art form.

Basically, videogames aren't going to improve as art and fulfill their potential until more people recognize that they are art, and are willing to discuss them as art. And that means that, eventually, we must gain a critique of the form.

Game design is an art and a craft, and like all arts and crafts, it has techniques and approaches, and that implies that it can support a criticism; said criticism exists though it is not very sophisticated. Mud design is also an art and a craft, and it also has techniques and approaches, but there is no criticism, no self-evaluation, no standards defined, no study of what has gone before. And without self-critique, it cannot improve except in fits and starts. If this genre is to evolve into more than game design, which I firmly believe it has already begun to do, then it will have to support at least the critical apparatus of game design, and preferably the critical apparatus of many disciplines that most people do not bother to link: server design, and writing, and hypertextual theory, and art (for graphics are coming and will dominate, it's not worth fighting over), and psychology and sociology... Game designers today generally do not know even the short history of computer game design; we must as a community educate ourselves and each other if we want the community and its art and craft to grow.”

The Myst Phenomenon

At times of technological and media advance, sometimes the actual literature which is produced by and for a medium or media advances past what the current awareness and understanding of the public and even the programmers and the industry members can totally understand. In the case of the Cyan Worlds Myst series, this continues to be true, I feel. The potential of the personal computer and computers in general to revolutionize advanced calculations of all kinds and personal experience and access to the world has changed greatly. Among these changes is the potential for computer generated imagery with its dynamic, motion capacities, graphics abilities to recreate reality in all forms, with sound and interactivity, to create an immersive environment and a deep experience. Few designers and even fewer game developers and publishers have responded to these potentials to the degree that Cyan, and its founders Rand and Robyn Miller did, and which Rand and the creative wizards of Cyan continue to do in 2006. The standards for innovation, and quality, utilization of the full range of abilities of CG design and depth of game conceptualization and manifestation, the fulfillment of the promise of the PC that Cyan has achieved remain industry standards of excellence. In research and analysis the Myst series offers many insights to the potential and capacities of the computer game in principle and execution.

The Myst Synthesis

The history of the Myst phenomenon started in a garage in Oregon, and has reached far beyond. The company that Rand and Robyn Miller created continues to find ways to push the envelope and the horizons of gaming in ways that are subtle, beautiful and exciting. The game series grew around and through a story that expresses history and achievement by a race called the D’ni who lived in a subterranean world and realm three miles beneath the New Mexico desert. Their cities and remains were found after their fall, from an internal civil conflict in the modern sense, but figures within the story, specifically Atrus and his family figured large in the D’ni world over the past centuries and the games up to the current Cyan project, URU, told aspects of that story.

I want to emphasize that I have no personal first hand knowledge of Cyan or the staff or their philosphy or intents other than from reading articles and the literature available. I tend to do my own research obliquely, and from a distance, for one, I am shy and it is quite hard for me to think my own thoughts from too close a perspective. And I respect the privacy of those engaged in game design, it is a personal journey and quest that I understand as a painter and an artist most of my own life, and I have no right to intrude on the process of others. But my interest in the subject has led to this research and my thoughts expressed here. Just understand, I am not an authority and speak only from my own perspective and the perspective gained from some years of careful study of games from their earliest forms, and from looking carefully at the Myst series and spending time among the forums and the community of fans and players of them as well.
As Cyan developed the series, the story appears to have expanded and grew in scale and vision to become a word unto itself and a world that was happily joined by thousands of gamers around the world of all ages, and backgrounds. With a hiatus of several years, the final current project, URU was started and then put on hold and finally is due for release this month, December 2006.
What has made the Myst series and the myst like games so unique in gaming literature is that there is a personal quest that the player can experience without the often found threats of death in game, costs of building up or leveling up and the complexities that make many simulations and MMORPG’s so strenuous and unplayable for many who could enjoy CGI gaming. The Myst series challenges the player through puzzles, contextual and integrated story challenges and draws the player deeper into an affinity and an affiliation with the game events with a light yet sure touch. I found that each of the series of the original Myst games, starting with Myst, and progressing through RIVEN, Exile, Revelation and End of Ages and finally URU had its own unique characteristics but were overall entrancing visually, and offered much for a wide range of players.

In the final and current release of URU Live, it appears the player will be involved in both the story line and a large community on line of other players in a dynamic world that will have ongoing new content and an expanding game play on all levels. It is perhaps the first time that multi player gaming has been moved into a new direction that contains both the fullest 3D game world and also one of the most developed and sophisticated game story lines I have seen. The aspects of gaming described in this paper are all expressed to varying degrees in the Myst games for they represent the ultimate in game design and technical balance, for the Cyan games consider both the actual game play and the meaning of the story in a integrated and sophisticated synthesis.

As our world moves more and more into the widening lattice of the internet and integrated exchanges of all kinds, the Myst games and Cyan’s design philosophy and directions expresses as few mediums can this new world we live in.

The danger of impersonal and indirect latices like the internet and modern life is that as communication that is indirect and remote becomes more and more the norm and easier, we become separated not only from each other, but from ourselves. We lack engagment and direct contact with life and experince and our fellows. We become isolated and alone and lonely in ways not even we ourselves may realize. But an invitation to a shared journey can bring us together thru those same means of remote communication and the internet and the shared experinces of a game like MOUL can bring us back together, with each other, and with ourselves.

And there is a delicacy and a subtly in the Myst games that allows a player to experience things on his or her own time and life framework, on a personal scale, and so the Myst games are in a way a return to reality as well as an escape from it. We all really live our own lives in our own moving bubble of space and time, and though we touch, and share and exchange in a thousand ways with each other each day, we are born, live and die alone. It is the ways we can see our reflection in each others eyes and in games such as URU and Myst, and the others that we find ourselves, as much as in introspection and self reflection. It is enough I feel to describe these remarkable games obliquely as I have rather than dissecting them individually or doing more detailed examination for that is amply done in many places already. My goal and interest was to see how the Myst games fit into the overall development of gaming and games and how Cyan and it’s gifted staff and leaders may be finding the way to the new Horizons that I have been looking for in the world of gaming.

Versioning and Instancing

One of the unique challenges for URU and the new generation of games that will employ all the potential of multi player communities and try to also include depth and dynamic story lines will be that of creating a game play that is individual, yet allows shared experinece and an overall theme and story line. The challenges of creating a workable and playable 3D world that has liveable frame rates are great. Though we are now seeing new generations of faster and more capable computers, millions of users will not posses the latest and greatest platforms. So the challenge of allowing numbers of players to interact at the same time that connectivity and data flow is allowable is a major one.

URU promises to be a very interesting test of this potential, and along with it, the questions of dynamic content and story line offer the new theory of dynamic versioning, and Random Real Time events and story trees to be explored as never before. In a real way, the technology preceded the design concepts for story integration, at least until Cyan began their work and development of their dynamic universe. It will be intriguing to see how this all plays out, and the stakes are high, for there are risks inherent in launching revolutionary games in the current game industry environment which is widely pursuing known goals and re hashing old themes and titles over and over. But along with the risks there are potentially great rewards, for at the cutting edge, the diamonds of new discovery are found, and honed into their new shapes, and I will watch with great interest as URU launches and the new Horizons are explored.

Another issue is that of player added modifications, a successful way for fans and players to feel involved with and to individually adjust their playing experinece. This is a senstive area as it is one path that MOUL and URU may take, but it will require very close suprvision by Cyan for this is not just another shooting gallery with nice sets, but a complex and very deep story based world. There is no room for random exploits and ego based grandstanding if the gameworld of URU and MOUL is to maintain its integrity. This will require some careful coordination on the part of Cyan and careful vetting of any player created materials. There is ample room in the game story itself and the way that multiplayer and community involvement is possible, for individual players to have a very rich game play experince, but it takes time for a new player to understand and learn the history and the ambience of the game story. This is true for any potential publisher and distributor for the game, as there is a development curve essential and vital for MOUL's fullest potential to be reached, and interrupting or limiting that development can cripple or handicap the game and prevent it reaching the depth and success that I feel is otherwise assured.

Myst Like Games

Characteristics of this Genre:

-1st person perspective/third person perspective or both.
-Solitary adventuring with limited character interaction and limited or no dialogue.
-multi player gaming possible with partial or full dialog for some formats.
-Puzzles at least or nearly as important as plot with plot often subtle or part of the discovery process.
-Limited or no inventory.
-Node-based movement with 2D graphics from slide-show (eg. Myst) to panned pre-rendered graphics (eg. Myst Exile) on up to full 3D graphics and game worlds such as
URU Live.
-An Immersive environment which often utilizes the latest Graphics/Video/Audio and processing resources available in order to enhance game play.
-Some possibilities of Mods and community involvement, with potential for more.

These games vary in quality, game play, story line, and the overall experience available, but most do contain aspects of both immersion and also role playing. Though the role playing genre is a separate one, the entire experience of leaving this current real world reality and entering into a game experience is a role play no matter what the context of the game. In the daily and “normal” reality we all share beliefs and rationality are often repressed or suspended. This can and often does create conflicts and deep stress in us all. In a game, we are excused from this paradox, and inner conflict, and one can then "play" at being in a different time, place, universe, and the like. The risks are limited, as one is playing in another universe, and there is no personal danger of injury or loss of life to the player, but there is an emotional investment in the engaged in experience. and this also includes an intellectual component which varies with the degree of believe-ablity and the subtilty and depth of the game design.

So it is the realm of game design and concept as much as the technical achievements of the code and the actual hardware display that the personal encounter with the game title is fulfilled, - or not. So the study of the MYST genre here is focused on the game experience, and the potential for the CG format to allow and enhance life quality for the gamer beyond "winning".

Myst Like Games: Story Based Interactive Graphic Adventures

This is a list of some current and recent titles that evoke an immersive environment often including challenges both in game play and in developing the player's understanding of the in game environment in order to access further game areas or to succeed or progress in the course of the unfolding game time line:

THE MYST GAMES
--------------------------------
Myst (1993 Cyan)
Myst Masterpiece Edition (Myst 'Enhanced':1994 Cyan)
RealMyst (Realtime 3D Edition of Myst: 2000 Cyan)
Riven (1997 Cyan)
Myst III Exile (Presto 2001)
Myst IV Revelation (Ubisoft Montreal 2004)
URU Complete Chronicles (Cyan 2004) (3D)
Myst V End of Ages (Cyan 2005) (3D)
URU Live (Q4 Release 2006) w/ GameTap

THE MYST-LIKE GAMES
------------------------
Alida
Amber
Amerzone
Aura
Beyond Time
Castle (MAC-only)
Celtica
Chaos: A Fantasy Adventure
Comer
Cracking the Conspiracy
Crystal Key1
Crystal Key
Dark Fall I
Dark Fall II (Lights Out)
Derek
Drowned God
Entombed
Forgotten, The
Frankenstein (Through the Eyes of the Monster)
Golden Gate
Isis
Longest Journey (in some aspects)
Lightbringer (Cydonia)
Lighthouse
Martian Chronicles, The
Milo
Mirage
Morpheus
Mummy, Tomb of the Pharoah
Nacah
NetZone
Nightfall (MAC-only)
Obsidian
Qin
Reah
Rama
Rhem
Rhem I
Rhem II
Riddle of the Sphinx
Riddle of the Sphinx II (The Omega Stone)
Schizm
Schizm II (Mysterious Journey II) (3D)
Secrets of the Luxor
Sentinel (3D)
Shivers
Shivers II
Starship Titanic
Timelapse
Timescape
Titanic, Dare to Discover
Zork Nemesis

BORDERLINE MYST-LIKE or CROSSOVER GAMES
------------------------------------------------
7th Guest, The
11th Hour, The
Alice - An Interactive Museum
Arrival, The
Atlantis The Lost Tales
Beyond Atlantis
Bioscopia
Blackstone Chronicles, The
Capri (A Quiet Weekend In)
Chemicus
Connections
Crystal Key
Eastern Mind
Egypt (Tomb of the Pharaoh)
Egypt II (The Heliopolis Prophecy)
Egyptian Prophecy, The
Faust, Seven Games of the Soul
Gadget
Gord
JourneyMan Project 1
JourneyMan Project 2 (Buried in Time)
JourneyMan Project 3 (Legacy of Time)
L-Zone
Mystery of the Nautilus
Necronomicon
Noir, A Shadowy Thriller
Physicus
Pompeii, The Legend of Vesuvius
Sacred Amulet, The (aka Aztec)
SPQR (The Empire's Darkest Hour)
Titanic Adventure Out of Time
Versailles 1685
Welcome To The Future

PUZZLE GAMES
----------------------
Cassandra Galleries
Jewels of the Oracle
Jewels II (Gems of Darkness)
Labyrinth of Time
Magnetic
Pandora's Box
Safecracker
Xiama

A Chronoligy of Game History

The following section is drawn from many sources, including Wikpedia which has an excellent history of gaming, from my own research now spanning 8 years of study and ongoing interaction with other game researchers, reviewers and game communities of many different genres. This is a vey exicitng time to be involved in the growth and flourishing of an entire new medium, media and literature filled with wonderfully interesting and interested people, dedicated to their own expression and to furthering the expression of the work of all.

SECTION II
HISTORY OF GAME DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN

Although the history of computer and video games spans almost five decades, computer and video games themselves did not become part of the popular culture until the late 1970s. Often the potential of each succeeding generation of hardware was not guessed or realized by the designers until after some far sighted and creative people had tried out or come up with the next step in the interaction of soft ware and hardware.

Early years
Three people are cited as the inventor of video or dynamic graphic produced games utilizing computing mechanics and capacities for rapid calculation and generation and alteration of screen imagery - a game played against a video game. The first television engineer Ralph Baer, who conceived the idea of an interactive television while employed by Loral Electronics in 1951 in Bronx, New York. No game was produced because his employer rejected the design, but he continued this early work 15 years later.

A.S. Douglas developed OXO, a graphical version tic-tac-toe, in 1952 at the University of Cambridge in order to demonstrate his thesis on human-computer interaction. It was played on the archaic EDSAC computer, which used a cathode ray tube for a visual display. In spite of its technological antiquity, the game is still playable on an emulator available on the Internet. OXO is the first known and extant graphical game to run on a computer. Other has likely been developed and never publicized or become widely known.

Many attribute the invention of the video game to William Higinbotham, who in 1958 created a game called Tennis For Two on an oscilloscope to entertain visitors at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. Unlike Pong and similar early games, Tennis For Two shows a tennis court from the side. The ball is affected by gravity and must be played over the net. The game is played with two bulky controllers each equipped with a knob for trajectory and a button for firing the ball over the net. Tennis For Two was exhibited for two seasons before its dismantling in 1959. It was extremely popular with visiting students and children especially.

The 1960s

Many of the first computer games were set up on university mainframes in the United States and were developed by individual users who programmed them in their idle time. However, the limited accessibility of early hardware meant that these games were few and easily forgotten by posterity. I myself knew of a very early form of Star Trek
developed by the student programmers at the main frame at UC Berkeley in the early days and which survived hidden in the back files for years until the 1970's.

In 1961, a group of students at MIT, including Steve Russell, programmed a game called Spacewar on their new DEC PDP-1. The game pitted two human players against each other, each controlling a space ship capable of firing missiles. A black hole in the center created a large gravitational field and another source of hazard. This game was soon distributed with new DEC computers and traded throughout primitive cyberspace. Presented at the MIT Science Open House in 1962, it was the first widely available and influential game.

One of the developers of Multics, Ken Thompson, continued to develop operating system after AT&T stopped funding it. His work focused on development of the OS for the GE-645 mainframe. He actually wanted to play a game he was writing called Space Travel. Though the game was never released commercially (and apparently costing $75 per go on the mainframe), the game's development led to the invention of the UNIX operating system.

In 1966, Ralph Baer (then at Sanders Associates) created a simple video game called Chase that displayed on a standard crt television set. Baer continued development, and in 1968 he had a prototype that could play several different games, including versions of table tennis and target shooting. Under Baer, Bill Harrison developed a useable light gun and, with Bill Rusch, created video games in 1967.

The 1970s

In 1971 Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney created a coin-operated arcade version of Spacewar called Computer Space. Nutting Associates bought the game, hired Bushnell, and manufactured 1,500 Computer Space machines. The game was not a success because many people found it difficult to play.

As Bushnell felt he did not receive enough pay by licensing games to manufacturers, he started his own company Atari, in 1972. The first arcade video game with wide success was Pong, released the same year. The game is loosely based on ping-pong, or table tennis: two players each control a "paddle" which has the freedom to move up and down at their end of the "court". A ball is "served" from the center of the court and as the ball moves towards their side of the court each player must maneuver their bat to hit the ball back to their opponent. Atari sold 19,000 Pong machines, and soon many imitators followed. arcade video game craze had begun.

University mainframe game development continued to accelerate in the early 1970's, although the game designers of the time saw the activity as a hobby, not the start of an industry. There were at least two major distribution networks for the student game designers of this time:

(1) - The PLATO System supported Control Data Corporation under the support of William Norris largely running on mainframe computers.

(2) - The DECUS software sharing system run by Digital Equipment Corporation for schools and other institutions utilizing DEC computers such as the PDP-10.

The gaming traditions in the early 1970's ran independently in parallel on these two separate systems, since any given school typically had access to only one brand of hardware and one supply of shared games.

Highlights of this period, in chronological order, include:

In 1971 Don Daglow wrote the first computer baseball game on mainframe while he was a student at Pomona College. Players could manage individual games or simulate an entire season. Daglow went on to team with programmer Eddie Dombrower to design Earl Weaver Baseball, published by Electronic Arts in 1987, which was the first commercial computer game to simulate a full season. Daglow also wrote one of several popular early Star Trek games for the PDP-10 during 1971-72.

In 1972 Gregory Yob wrote "Hunt the Wumpus" for the PDP-10, a hide-and-seek game, though it could be considered the first text adventure. Yob wrote it in reaction to existing hide-and-seek games such as Hurkle, Mugwump, and Snark.

In 1975, Will Crowther wrote the first text adventure game as we would recognize it today, Adventure (originally called ADVENT, and later Colossal Cave). It was programmed in Fortran for the PDP-10. The player controls the game through simple sentence-like text commands and receives descriptive text as output. So the interactive game genre had its start, albeit it was only text with very few graphic image components as this area developed, and they were very primitive at that. This was still a type of activity limited to mostly computer "geeks" or those knowledgeable about such matters and willing to spend the time and money to be able to access them, again mostly in college and university environments.

In 1976 Daglow, then a student at Claremont Graduate University, wrote what may be the first Computer Role Playing Game, "Dungeon". The game ran on PDP-10 mainframes, and was an unlicensed implementation of the new role playing game Dungeons and Dragons, and described the movements of a multi-player party through a monster-inhabited dungeon. Players chose what actions to take in combat and where to move each character in the party, which made the game very slow to play by today's standards. Characters earned experience points and gained skills as their "level" grew, as in D & D. Although the game was nominally played entirely in text, it was also the first game to use "line of sight graphics displays." In this case the graphics consisted of top-down dungeon maps that showed the portions of the playfield that the party had seen, allowing for light or darkness, the different vision of elves and dwarves, etc.

This advancement was possible because earlier games typically printed the game status for the player on teletype machines or a line printer, at speeds ranging from 10 to 30 characters per second with a rat-a-tat-tat sound as a metal ball or belt with characters was pressed against the paper through an inked ribbon by a hammer. By the mid-1970's many university computer terminals had switched to CRT screens, which could be refreshed with text in a few seconds instead of a minute or more.

At about the same time, the D & D first appeared on the PLATO system CDC computers on other colleges.

The Zork, started in 1977, was written Dave Lebling, Marc Blank, Tim Anderson, and Bruce Daniels. Unlike other early game designers, the Zork team recognized the potential to move these games to the new personal computers and make money from their work, and they founded text adventure publisher Infocom in 1979. The company had a string of text adventure hits until the format was supplanted by graphic adventures in the mid-1980's, and the company was later sold to Activision. In a classic case of one designer inspiring another, Lebling was a member of the same D&D group as Wil Crowther, but not at the same time. Lebling has been quoted as saying "I think I actually replaced him when we dropped out. Zork was 'derived' from Advent in that we played Advent, liked it, wished it were better, and tried to do a 'better' one. There was no code borrowed, or anything like that, and we didn't meet either Crowther or Woods until much later."

Exidy's Death Race (1976) sparked the first controversy over gratuitous violence in a video game, because the object of the game was to run over "gremlins"-who looked more like pedestrians-with a car. The controversy increased public awareness of video games and has never ceased to be debated.

The first home video games (1972-1977)

1972 also saw the release of the first video game console for the home market, the Magnavox Odyssey. Built using mainly analog electronics, it was based on Ralph Baer's earlier work and licensed from his employer. The console was connected to a home television set. It was not a large success, although other companies with similar products (including Atari) had to pay a licensing fee for some time. It wasn't until Atari's home version of Pong (at first under the Sears Tele-Games label) in Christmas of 1975 that home video games really took off. The success of Pong sparked hundreds of clone games, including Coleco Telstar, which went on to be a success in its own right, with over a dozen models.

Early handheld games

The first portable handheld electronic game was Tic Tac Toe, made in 1972 by a company called Waco. The display consisted of a grid of nine buttons, that could turn red or green when pushed. The handheld game console with interchangeable cartridges was Microvision designed by Smith Engineering, and distributed and sold Milton-Bradley in 1979. Crippled by a small, fragile LCD display and a very narrow selection of games, it was discontinued two years later. Although neither would prove popular, they paved the way for more advanced single-game handhelds, often simply called LED games" or LCD games" depending on their display system.

Mattel's 1977 LED electronic football game ushered in a short golden age of LED handheld games, especially sports games. At first composed of simple arrangements of LED bulbs, later games incorporated vacuum- VFD displays allowing for detailed graphics in bright colors. The heyday of LED and VFD would last until the early 80s, when LCD technology became cheap and durable enough to be a viable alternative.

Dawn of a golden age

The arcade game industry entered its Golden Age in 1978 with the release Space Invaders by Taito. This game was a runaway blockbuster hit that inspired dozens of manufacturers to enter the market and produce their own video games. The Golden Age was marked by a prevalence of arcades and new color arcade games that continued until the 1980s of the 1990s.

Also in 1978, Atari released Asteroids, its biggest best-seller. It replaced the game as the number one arcade hit. Color arcade games became more popular in 1979 and 1980.

Other arcade classics of the late 1970s include Night Driver, Galaxian, and Breakout.

Gaming on home computers

While the fruit of development in early video games appeared mainly (for the consumer) in video arcades and home consoles, the rapidly evolving home computers of the 1970s and 80s allowed their owners to program simple games. Hobbyist groups for the new computers soon formed and game software followed.

Soon many of these games (at first clones of mainframe classics such as Star Trek, and then later clones of popular arcade games) were being distributed through a variety of channels, such as printing the game's source code in books (such as David Ahl's Basic Computer Games), magazines (Creative Computing), and newsletters, which allowed users to type in the code for themselves. Early game designers like Crowther, Daglow and Yob would find the computer code for their games -- which they had never thought to copyright -- published in books and magazines, with their names removed from the listing. Early home computers from Apple, Commodore, Tandy and others had many games that people typed in.

Another distribution channel was the physical mailing and selling of floppy disks, cassette tapes and ROM cartridges. Soon a small cottage industry was formed, with amateur programmers selling disks in plastic bags put on the shelves of local shops, or sent through the mail. Richard Garriott distributed several copies of his 1980 computer role-playing game Akalabeth in plastic bags before the game was published.

Early 8-bit home consoles (1977-1983)

Video games were found cartridges in the second generation of home video games. Programs were no hard-coded into chips, but loaded into memory from storage and executed on general- microprocessors. Rather than being confined to a small selection of games included in the box, consumers could now amass libraries of game cartridges. Early cartridges were 2k ROMs, although this amount slowly grew over time to 16 kb.

In the game consoles, high RAM prices at the time limited the memory capacity of the systems to a tiny amount, often less than a Kilobyte.

The Fairchild VES was the world's first cartridge-based video game console. It was released by Fairchild Semiconductor in August 1976. When Atari released their VCS the next year, Fairchild quickly re-named it to Fairchild Channel F.

In 1977, Atari released its cartridge-based console called the Video Computer System (VCS), later Atari 2600. Nine games were designed and released for the holiday season. It would quickly become by far the most popular of all the early consoles.

In Magnavox released its cartridge-based console, Odyssey 2, in the United States and Canada Philips Electronics released this same game console as the Philips G7000 in many European countries. Although it never became as popular as Atari, it managed to sell several million units through 1983.

In 1979 Activision was created by disgruntled former Atari programmers. It was the third-party developer of video games.

More powerful consoles followed like Intellivision Colecovision. Unique among home systems of the time was Vectrex, the only one to vector graphics.

The popularity of early consoles was strongly influenced by their ports of arcade games. The 2600 was the first with Space Invaders, and the Colecovision had with Donkey Kong.

The 1980s

In the early 1980s, the computer gaming industry experienced its first major growing pains. Publishing houses appeared, some being honest businesses (and in rare cases such as Activision and Electronic Arts (now EA), successfully surviving to this day), and perhaps just as many being fly-by-night operations that were quick to rip off developers. While a significant number of early 80s games were simple clones of existing arcade titles, the low entry costs of the personal computer allowed for many bold, unique games, a legacy that continues to this day. The primary gaming computer of the 1980s emerged in 1982: the Commodore 64. Possessing some of the best graphics and sound of its day, yet put out at a bargain price, it quickly gained a huge share of the market.

The Golden age of arcade games reached its full steam in the 1980s, with many technically innovative and genre-defining games in the first few years of the decade. Defender(1980) established the scrolling shooter and was the first to have events taking place outside the player's view, displayed by a radar view showing a map of the whole playfield. Battlezone(1980) used vector graphics to create the first true three-dimensional game world Pole Position(1982) used sprite-based, pseudo-3D graphics when it pioneered the "rear-view racer format" where the player's view is behind and above the vehicle, looking forward along the road with the horizon in sight. The style would remain in wide use even after true 3D graphics became standard for racing games Pac-Man(1980) was the first game to achieve widespread popularity in mainstream culture and the first game character to be popular in his own right Dragon's Lair(1983) was the first laserdisc game, and introduced full-motion video to video games.

With Adventure establishing the genre, the release of Zork in 1980 further popularized text adventure games in home computers and established developer Infocom's dominance in the field. As these early computers often lacked graphical capabilities, text adventures proved successful. When affordable computers started catching up to and surpassing the graphics of consoles in the late 1980s, the games' popularity waned in favor of graphic adventures and other genres. The text adventure would eventually be known as interactive fiction and a small dedicated following has kept the genre going, with new releases being nearly all free.

Also published in 1980 was Roberta Williams' Mystery House, for the Apple II. It was the first graphic adventure on home computers. Graphics consisted entirely of static monochrome drawings, and the interface still used the typed commands of text adventures. It proved very popular at the time, and she and husband Ken went on to found Sierra On-Line, a major producer of adventure games. Mystery House remains largely forgotten today.

In September of 1982, the Commodore 64 was released to the public. It found initial success because it was marketed and priced aggressively. It had a BASIC programming environment and advanced graphic and sound capabilities for its time, similar to the Colecovision console. It would become the most popular home computer of its day and the best-selling single computer model of all time.

By the middle of 1983, the video game industry crashes.

The true modern adventure game would be born with the Sierra King's Quest series in 1984. It featured color graphics and a third person perspective. An on-screen player-controlled character could be moved behind and in front of objects on a 2D background drawn in perspective, creating the illusion of pseudo-3D space. Commands were still entered via text. Lucasarts would do away with this last vestige feature of text adventures when its 1987 adventure Maniac Mansion built with its SCUMM system allowed a point-and-click interface. Sierra and other game companies quickly followed with their own mouse-driven games. For more on the history of adventures games, see Adventure games, history of

The personal computer became a viable gaming platform PC/AT in 1984. The new 16-color EGA display standard allowed its graphics to approach the quality seen in popular home computers like the Commodore 64. Sound however, was still only the crude bleeps of PC speakers. The primitive 4-color CGA graphics of previous models had limited the PC's appeal to home users, but not to the business segment, where the PC had found most of its success so far.

Snipes is a text-mode networked computer game that was created in 1983 by SuperSet software to test a new PC based computer network and demonstrate its capabilities. Snipes is officially credited as being the original inspiration for Novell Netware. It was the first network application ever written and is recognized to be the precursor of multi-player games such Doom and Quake. In 1983, Drew Major and Kyle Powell probably played the world's first deathmatch over-the-network with Snipes.

The Apple Macintosh also arrived at this time. It lacked the color capabilities of the earlier Apple II, but the operating system support for the GUI attracted developers of some interesting games (e.g. Lode Runner) even before color returned in 1987 with the Mac II.

In computer gaming, the later 1980s are primarily the story of the United Kingdom's rise to prominence. The market in the U.K. was well positioned for this task: personal computer users were offered a smooth scale of power versus price, from the ZX Spectrum up to the Amiga, developers and publishers were in close enough proximity to offer each other support, and the NES made less of an impact than it did in the United States.

The arrival of the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga in 1985 was the beginning of a new era of 16-bit machines. For many users they were too expensive until later in the decade, at which point advances in the IBM PC's open platform had caused the IBM PC compatibles to become comparably powerful at a lower cost than their competitors. The VGA standard developed for IBM's new PS/2 line in 1987 gave the PC the potential for 256-color graphics. This was a big jump ahead of most 8-bit home computers but still lagging behind platforms with built-in sound and graphics hardware like the Amiga, causing an odd trend around '89-91 towards developing to a seemingly inferior machine. Thus while both the ST and Amiga were host to many technically excellent games, their time of prominence proved to be shorter than that of the 8-bit machines, which saw new ports well into the 80s and even the 90s.

AdLib set an early defacto standard for sound cards in 1987, with its card based on the Yamaha YM3812 sound chip. This would last until the introduction of Creative Labs' Sound Blaster in 1989, which took the chip and added new features while remaining compatible with AdLib cards, and creating a new defacto standard. However, many games would still support these and rarer cards like the Roland MT-32, which has a greatly superior sound quality not surpassed until very recently with some of the Audigy series, and Disney Sound Source into the early 90s. The initial high cost of sound cards meant they would not find widespread use until the 1990s. There is now a bewildering array of various sound cards available but this variety was slow in coming.

Shareware gaming first appeared in the late 1980s, but its big successes came in the 1990s.

Bulletin Board Systems and early online gaming

Dial up bulletin board systems were popular in the 1980s, and sometimes used for online game playing. The earliest such systems, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, had a crude plain-text interface, but later systems made use of terminal-control codes (the so-called ANSI art, which included the use of IBM-PC-specific characters not actually part of an ANSI standard) to get a pseudo-graphical interface. Some BBS s offered access to various games which were playable through such an interface, ranging from text adventures to gambling games like blackjack (generally played for "points" rather than real money). On multiuser BBSs (where more than one person could be online at once), there were sometimes games allowing the different users to interact with one another; some such games of the fantasy role-playing variety were known MUDs, for "multi-user dungeons".

Commercial online services also arose during this decade, starting with a plain-text interface similar to BBSs (but operated on large mainframe computers permitting larger numbers of users to be online at once), and moving by the end of the decade to fully-graphical environments using software specific to each personal computer platform. Popular text-based services included CompuServe, The Source, and GEnie, while platform-specific graphical services included Quantum Link for the Commodore 64, AppleLink for the Apple II and Macintosh, and PC Link for the IBM PC, all of which were run by the company which eventually became America Online; and a competing service, Prodigy. Interactive games were a feature of these services, though until 1987 they used text-based displays, not graphics.

Handheld LCD games

The success of the Nintendo Game & Watch LCD handhelds starting in 1980 spurred dozens of other game and toy companies to make their own portable games, many being copies of Game & Watch titles or adaptations of popular arcade games. Improving LCD technology meant the new handhelds could be more reliable and consume less batteries than LED or VFD games, most only needing watch batteries. They were also much smaller than most LED handhelds, small enough to fit in a pocket.

8-bit era, or 'Post-crash/Late' 8-bit era (1985-1989)

8-bit era

In 1984, the computer gaming market took over from the console market following the crash of that year; computers offered equal gaming ability and since their simple design allowed games to take complete command of the hardware after power-on, they were nearly as simple to start playing with as consoles.

In 1985, the North American video game console market was revived with Nintendo's release of its 8-bit console, the Famicom in the United States under the name Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was bundled with Super Mario Bros. and suddenly became a success. The NES dominated the North American market until the rise of the next generation of consoles in the early 1990s. Other markets were not as heavily dominated, allowing other consoles to find an audience like the PC Engine in Japan and the Sega Master System in Europe and Brazil. At this time, Squaresoft was struggling and Hironobu Sakaguchi decided to make their final game a fantasy role-playing game, and the Final Fantasy series was born. Final Fantasy saved Squaresoft from bankruptcy.

In the new consoles, the gamepad took over joysticks, paddles, and keypads as the default game controller included with the system. The gamepad design of an 8 direction D-pad with 2 or more action buttons became the standard.

In 1988 Nintendo published their first issue of Nintendo Power Magazine.

The 1990s

If the 1980s were about the rise of the industry, the 1990s were about its maturing into a Hollywood like landscape of ever-increasing budgets and increasingly consolidated publishers, with the losers being driven out of the business. Some of the best early companies, like Westwood and even Sierra were swallowed up with their best titles being picked over and designers and the people who had done the creative work shut out or lost in the shuffle. As this happens, the wide variety of games that existed in the 1980s appears to fade away, with the larger corporations desiring to maximize profitability of "units" rather than supporting quality and depth of the gaming potential and experience and focus on financial gain mainly, and lower risk.

This trend appears to be continuing into the 2000's unfortunately with even book publishing and all other media being hit by this decline of quality and knowledge in company leadership and increasing agglomeration and loss of diversity.

With the increasing computing power and decreasing cost of processors like Intel 386, 486, and Motorola 68000, the 1990s saw the rise of 3D graphics, as well as " multimedia" capabilities through sound cards and CD-ROMs.

In the early 1990s, shareware (long demo) distribution was a popular method of publishing games for smaller developers, including then-fledgling companies such as Apogee (now 3D Realms), Epic Megagames (now Epic Games), and id Software. It gave consumers the chance to try a portion of the game, usually restricted to the game's complete first section or "episode", before purchasing the rest of the adventure. Racks of games on single 5 1/4" and later 3.5" floppy disks were common in many stores, often only costing a few dollars each. Since the shareware versions were essentially free, the cost only needed to cover the disk and minimal packaging. As the increasing size of games in the mid-90s made them impractical to fit on floppies, and retail publishers and developers began to earnestly mimic the practice, shareware games were replaced by shorter demos (often only one or two levels), distributed free on CDs with gaming magazines and over the internet.

Shareware was also the distribution method of choice of early modern first-person shooters (FPS) like Wolfenstein 3D and the unpleasant violence based and quite simplistic Doom which included a series of Doom I, Doom II, and Final Doom, with numerous player created MODS, numbering in the thousands. This began a trend of players working with authorized or illicit editors for the most popular games and the rise of gaming communities based on these leading titles which has continued to the modern day.. Following Doom, the retail publishers and developers began to earnestly mimic the practice of offering demos, which had the effect of reducing shareware's appeal for the rest of the decade. During this time, the increasing computing power of personal computers began to allow rudimentary 3D graphics. 1993's Doom in particular was largely responsible for defining the genre and setting it apart from other first-person perspective games. The term FPS (first person shooter) has generally come to refer to games where the player has full control over a (usually humanoid) character and can interact directly with the environment; almost always centering around the act of aiming and shooting with multiple styles of weapons and limited ammunition.

1992 saw the release of real-time strategy (RTS) game Dune 2, which had been preceded by Dune I. It was by no means the first in the genre (that being 1984's Ancient Art of War), but it set the standard game mechanics for later blockbuster RTS games like Warcraft and Command and Conquer. The RTS is characterized by an overhead view, a "mini-map", and the control of both the economic and military aspects of an army. The rivalry between the two styles of RTS play - WarCraft style, which used GUIs accessed once a building was selected, and C&C style, which allowed construction of any unit from within a permanently visible menu - continued into the start of the next millennium.

Alone in the Dark (1992) planted the seeds of what would become known as the survival horror genre. It established the formula that would later flourish on CD-ROM based consoles, with games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

Adventure games continued to evolve, from the remarkable and well designed Westwood Legends of Kyrandia Series, with Sierra's King's Quest series, and LucasFilms'/LucasArts' Monkey Island series bringing graphical interaction and the creation of the concept of "point-and-click" gaming. Many of this period of Adventure Games included considerable in game text, and dialog, which brought back the use of text in a new form and re engaged the player in ways that were not addressed in the mere action and violence more simplistic products.

This led to a remarkable and up to this point, unique combination of both game innovation and technical possibilities of the new graphics capacities of the constantly evolving IT industry and CG development: Cyan Worlds and the Myst series. Myst and its sequels Riven, Exile, Uru, (originally intended as an on line interactive group experience but later releases as add ons to the game), Revelation and the latest and last of the series End of Ages, Myst V: inspired an entire new style of interactive, dynamic, immersion puzzle-based adventure games. Published in 1993, Myst itself was one of the first computer games to make full use of the new high-capacity CD-ROM storage format. It and Riven and the sequels utilize the high end of the graphics capabilities of modern computers, and bring the story lines of the games into full player encounter, with evocative sound tracks, deep background and game world sets. Myst went on to remain the best-selling game of all time for much of the decade, and was one "killer apps" that made CD-ROM drives standard features on PCs. Despite Myst's mainstream success, the increased popularity of action-based and real-time games led adventure games and simulation games, both mainstays of computer games in earlier decades, to begin to fade into obscurity.

In 1996, 3dfx released the Voodoo chipset, leading to the first affordable 3D accelerator cards for personal computers. These devoted 3D rendering daughter cards performed most of computation required for rendering higher-resolution, more-detailed three-dimensional graphics, allowing for more-detailed graphics than would be possible if the CPU were required to handle both game logic and graphical tasks. First-person shooter games (notably Quake) were among the first to take advantage of this new technology. While other games would also make use of it, the FPS would become the chief driving force behind the development of new 3D hardware, as well as the yardstick by which its performance would be measured, usually quantified as the number of frames per second rendered for a particular scene in a particular game.

Several other, less-mainstream, genres were created in this decade. Looking Glass Studios' Thief and its sequel were the first to coin the term "first person sneaker", although it is questionable whether they are the first "first person stealth" games. Turn-based strategy progressed further, with the Heroes of Might and Magic (HOMM) series (from 3DO) luring many main-stream gamers into this complex genre.

The 90s also saw the beginnings of internet gaming, with MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons) in the early years. Id Software's 1996 game Quake pioneered play over the internet in first-person shooters. Internet multiplayer capability became a defacto requirement in almost all FPS games. Other genres also began to offer online play, including RTS games like Microsoft's Age of Empires, Blizzard's WarCrafts II and III, and turn-based games such as Heroes of Might and Magic. MMORPGs (Massively Multiplay Online Roleplaying Games), such as Ultima Online and EverQuest freed users from the limited number of simultaneous players in other games and brought the MUD concept of persistent worlds to graphical multiplayer games. Developments in web browser plugins like Java and Macromedia Flash allowed for simple browser-based games. These are small single player or multiplayer games that can be quickly downloaded and played from within a web browser without installation. Their most popular use is for puzzle games, classic arcade games, and multiplayer card and board games.

Gamers in the 90s began to take part actively once sufficient numbers of gamer became knowledgeable about programming and computers and their potential, (often at an increasingly younger age), with the creation of modifications (or "mods") for popular games. It is sometimes accepted that one of the earliest mods was Castle Smurfenstein, for Castle Wolfenstein. Eventually, game designers realized that custom content increased the lifespan of their games, and so began to allow and encourage the creation of mods. Doom was the first game to see a huge literature of player created add ons or mods, with literally thousands still in on line libraries maintained by individuals and also by id games itself. Half-Life saw the similar creation of mods with a squad-based shooter entitled CounterStrike. Since CounterStrike, many games have encouraged the creation of custom content. Other examples include Unreal Tournament, which allowed players to import 3dsmax scenes to use as character models, and Maxis's, The Sims, for which players could create custom objects.

Few new genres have been created since the advent of the FPS and RTS, with the possible exception of the third-person shooter. Games such as Grand Theft Auto III, Splinter Cell, Enter The Matrix and Hitman all use a third-person camera perspective but are otherwise very similar to their first-person counterparts. These more recent productions are more and more violent and simplistic and abusive, and show a sad trend in most recent game design trends to totally ignore the impact gaming has on the players, especially younger and more impressionable ones. Fortunately wider interest and concern has arisen over this troubling issue and indeed widespread and very appropriate outcry occurred recently when it was discovered that a recent release of the Grand Theft series has pornographic material hidden within it that minor age gamers could access. It appears necessary that some form of more active control may be necessary for some of the gaming genres.

Decline of arcades

With the 16-bit and 32-bit consoles, home video games began to approach the level of graphics seen in arcade games. By this time, arcades had earned a reputation for being seedy, unsafe places. An increasing number of players would wait for popular arcade games to be ported to consoles rather than going out. Arcades had a last hurrah in the early 90s with Street Fighter II and the one-on-one fighting game genre it founded. As patronage of arcades declined, many fortunately closed. Classic coin-operated games have become largely the province of dedicated hobbyists. The gap left by the old corner arcades was partly filled by large amusement centers dedicated to providing clean, safe environments and expensive game control systems not available to home users. These are usually based on sports like skiing or cycling, as well as rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution, which have carved out a large slice of the pie.

Handhelds come of age

In 1989, Nintendo released the Game Boy, the first handheld console since the ill-fated Microvision ten years before. The design team headed by Gumpei Yokoi had also been responsible for the Game & Watch systems. Included with the system was Tetris, a popular puzzle game. Several rival handhelds also made their debut around that time, including the Sega Game Gear and Atari Lynx. Although most other systems were more technologically advanced, they were hampered by higher battery consumption and less third-party developer support. While some of the other systems remained in production until the mid-90s, the Game Boy remained at the top spot in sales throughout its lifespan.

1994
Nintendo released the Super Game Boy, an adapter for the Super NES which allowed Game Boy games to be played in the console.

16-bit era (1989-1994)

History of video games (16-bit era)

The North American market was dominated by the Genesis early on after its debut in 1989, with the Nintendo Super NES proving a strong, roughly equal rival in 1991. The NEC TurboGrafx 16 was the first 16-bit system to be marketed in the region, but did not achieve a large following, partly due to a limited library of English games and effective marketing from Sega.

The intense competition of this time was also a period of disputed marketing. The Turbographx 16 was billed as the first 16-bit system but the central processor was an 8-bit HuC6280, with only its HuC6260 graphics processor being a true 16-bit chip. Sega used the term Blast Processing to describe the simple fact that its CPU ran at a higher clock speed than the SNES (7.67MHz vs 3.58 MHz).

In Japan, the PC Engine's (Turbografx 16) 1987 success against the Famicom and CD drive peripheral allowed it to fend off the Mega Drive(Genesis) in 1988, which never really caught on to the same degree as outside Japan. The PC Engine eventually lost out to the Super Famicom, but retained enough of a userbase to support new games well into the late 1990s.

CD-ROM drives were first seen in this generation, as add-ons for the PC Engine in 1988 and the Megadrive in 1991. Basic 3D graphics entered the mainstream with flat-shaded polygons enabled by additional processors in game cartridges like Virtual Racing and Starfox. MYST and the following series was one of the first major titles in the literature to fully utilize the potential of the vast memory capacity(for the time) over the pre existing systems.

SNK's Neo-Geo was the most expensive console by a wide margin when it was released in 1990, and would remain so for years. It was also capable of 2D graphics in a quality level years ahead of other consoles. The reason for this was that it contained the same hardware that was found in SNK's arcade games. This was the first time since the home Pong machines that a true-to-the-arcade experience could be had at home.

32-bit / 64-bit era (1995 - 1999)

History of Computer games (32-bit era)

In 1994-1995, Sega released Sega Saturn and Sony made its debut to the video gaming scene with the PlayStation. Both consoles using 32-bit technology, the door was open for 3D games.

After many delays, Nintendo released its 64-bit console, the Nintendo 64 in 1996, selling more than 1.5 million units in only three months. The flagship title, Super Mario 64, became a defining title for 3D platformer games.

Parappa the Rapper popularized rhythm, or music video games in Japan with its 1996 debut on the PlayStation. Subsequent music and dance games like Beatmania and Dance Dance Revolution became ubiquitous attractions in Japanese arcades. They became known as Bemani games, the name derived from Beatmania. While Parappa, DDR, and other games found a cult following when brought to North America, music games would not gain a wide audience in the market until the next decade.

Other milestone games of the era include Rare's Nintendo 64 title GoldenEye 007 (1997), which was critically acclaimed for actually being a good movie-licensed game as well as the first good FPS on a console, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998), Nintendo's 3D debut for the Legend of Zelda adventure game series.

Nintendo's choice to use cartridges instead of CD-ROMs for the Nintendo 64, unique among the consoles of this period, proved to have negative consequences. In particular, SquareSoft, which had released all previous games in its Final Fantasy series for Nintendo consoles, now turned to the PlayStation, Final Fantasy VII (1997) was a huge success, establishing the popularity of role-playing games in the west and making the PlayStation the primary console for the genre.

By the end of this period, Sony had dethroned Nintendo, the PlayStation outselling the Nintendo 64. The Saturn was successful in Japan but a failure in North America, leaving Sega outside of the main competition.

The 2000s

DVD-ROM-based (aka 128-bit era) (1999 - 2004)

128-bit era

1999

Sega released the Dreamcast.
Connectix Corporation released the Virtual Game Station, a successful PlayStation emulator. Sony went to court to dispute the legality of the system, but Connectix won. The Bleem company released Bleem!, another PlayStation emulator.

2000

Sony released the PlayStation 2. The Sims was released. It was an instant hit and became a rapidly selling game, surpassing Myst in units sold, but not in quality and
Innovation.

2001

Nintendo released the GameCube and the successor to the Game Boy Color, the Game Boy Advance.

Microsoft entered the videogame console industry by releasing its new home console, the Xbox. Its flagship game Halo: Combat Evolved, was also available at the system's launch.

Sega announced they would discontinue the Dreamcast and no longer manufacture hardware.

2002

Sega became a third-party developer for Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft.

2003

Infogrames, owner of the Atari intellectual properties, changed its name to Atari.
Seventh-generation (2004 - present)

2004

Nintendo released a brand new type of portable handheld console, the Nintendo DS.
Sony announces the PSP. Japanese launch of the PSP in December 2004.

2005
Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) is released to the US market on March 24.
Microsoft announces Xbox 360.

Nintendo reveals early details of the Nintendo Revolution.

2006
New Consol Units Released (Add details)
Impact of Vista, 64bit, etc discuss
Revival of Adventure Gaming possible with new companies and titles that push the edge of game design and graphics possibilities such as Theseis, like Dreamfall by FunCom could have been, and advances such as Crytek’s Crysis, Cyan’s URU Live, etc.

2007

Consol wars continue, with varying experiences but the fragile hope that good content will continue instead of repetitions villians, wars of good and evil, alien invasion, etc are my concern and hope for the future. URU Live launches early in 2007 with the advent of Myst Online URU Live through a promising partnership of Cyan Worlds and GameTap. Bethesda releases another official expansion of Oblivion, the MMORPG's evolve with Jade Empire with remarkable graphics and a deeper story line than many, and Second Life and other on line worlds evolve and there is the threat of major corporations openning sponsored and advetising focused worlds as well. The world of gaming continues to evolve.

Summary

In general, though the personal computing systems available and affordable for the average user are vastly better than anything available before, the quality and originality of the games seems to be in a decline. Frankly the degree of violence and mindless action appears to reflect an increasingly equivalent decline throughout modern society, not only among the young but at other age levels as well. The potential for computer games remains to be an educative, intelligence and developmental enhancement, but the future more and more lies in the hands of huge conglomerate corporations that have been misled by shallow marketing experts into focusing on profits in the short term and units sold. It lies with the innovators and creative leaders such as Cyan and in previous times Westwood, and Lucas Arts, and at times, Sierra, to continue to explore and push at the edges of the envelope in what computer gaming is capable of, and what the gamer can learn to like as well as think they want.

I feel, IMHO, that efforts to control or limit content in gaming are as limited in promise and realism as efforts to enforce by fiat or law social morals and levels of civility and compassion. The very best guides to taste and values will be quality and support of humane and compassionate content, by example. There will always be repetitious action oriented and gratuituous games as there are stories based on such in all media, written and filmed. Entertainment and tale telling has always had a wide range of genres. I focus by choice on what I feel is the highest and more artistic area, that of interactive story driven graphic games as that is my own interest and I feel the finest area that games can and do contribute towards. These will see the flourishing and support of the finer qualiteis in the player as well as in the literature. These are the elements of empathy with a character or story line, joy in visual and musical and aesthetic experinece and these resonate with the higher elements of our own natures. Such elements of a mature and developed person, at any age, come from within, and cannot be successfully long enforced from without with any degree of freedom remaining in the individual or the society.

True, some popular games show a large degree of reliance on repetitious violence, (Doom, Quake, Halo, Grand Theft Auto, the war sims, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, ) and aggression, and hyper activity for success in the game. But that is a symptom of society and its dis-ease, not the cause of that dis-ease. It is a result of fractured families, alientated and anguished individuals of all ages, lowered levels of quality of life at all levels of modern society, focus on material and superficial goals and aims, and the massive effort to train and indoctrinate modern people into being mindless consumers and willing sheep following the trends dictated by industry and media.

Games reflect their time, as does Art and Music, Theatre and Dance and Literature, and so many of our other cultural realms. My hope in this research into CGI game history and development is to track the changes and see how form has affected content and visa versa. The opportunity always exists to place into a game quality in content, game play and story, no matter what the genre or format of the game. This has always been true of all literature, both oral and written, and games are truly a new branch of literature that has dynamics that no other form of cultural expression has allowed before and also are accessible to a wider age and economic range outside of societal context than any other expressive medium. So games offer a truly unique and very revealing look at both our selves and our society and cultural state on many levels.


There will always be creative geniuses in this remarkable field, and it is hoped that they will continue to receive the funding and the support that development and innovation offers and allows.

IN CLOSING

We live in exciting times when our technology and our capabilities can run ahead of our understanding of what to do with them. We can ask of ourselves, what we can become as individuals and a society using the fullest potential of both our craft, technos and our own inherent intelligence? We all have unique powers of observation and distillation and understanding, and an equally unique and personal world of emotions, hopes, aspirations, fears, dreams and desires. What can games help us be and remember and become?

To live from the heart with computer game design may sound like an anachronism, but it offers some food for thought. Most games do not seem to appeal directly to the heart, though at times they can and do evoke emotions of all kinds. But it is the interaction of both sides of the mind that occurs in gaming, and this interaction involves both analog (appearance and feeling) and digital (mind, logos, coding, higher conception) in the mix. The limits we see currently, the failures of both game design and the game industry to keep up and promote the highest values in the games literature are not unchangeable and they are not new or unique to our most modern examples. This struggle between the quality of the art, and lure of the profit and perceived value for investment is an old old story for any medium, art form or time in history for literature of any kind.

In our hopes for quality as well as innovation and glitz, we can start with individual choice on the part of the designer, the developer, the critic and the publicist, and the industry analyst and go from there to awareness on the part of the us, as the public, for ourselves, and for our children, and for our society. This research continues on from this paper with this hope and vision.

“One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games -- and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive values. …Meditation, [Prayer} is the way to the heart..."
Carl Jung

So, from my heart and my own forms of prayer which can at times be playing a game……., I ask you, what can you, what can we do to bring to gaming what inspires, delights and intrigues, as well as what excites, entrances and amazes us and our fellow gamers.

Chris Gerlach
2006

One of my most respected collegues in games research has published a excellent analysis of game content and its relation to societal issues, Karla Munger, and the links for these remarkable findings is at:

Violence and Ratings and Regs - Oh My!

http://www.justadventure.com/articles/ViolenceRatingsRegs/VRR_toc.shtm

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http://www.adventure-treff.de/artikel/interviews/cedric_orvoine_e.php

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http://www.gameboomers.com/interviews/BenoitSokal.htm

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