Myst IV: Revelation is a 2004 adventure video game, the fourth game in the Myst series, created and released by Ubisoft. Like Myst III: Exile, Revelation uses computer-generated images and digital video, but it also includes 3D effects that change as the player interacts with the game for more realistic visuals. The story continues from the original Myst. The player is called by Atrus, a man who writes special books to create links to other worlds called Ages. About twenty years earlier, Atrus’s two sons nearly destroyed all of his books and were punished by being locked away. Atrus now wants to know if his sons have changed during their imprisonment. The player visits each brother’s prison to try to rescue Atrus’s daughter, Yeesha, from their plan.
Creating Revelation took more than three years, with up to 80 workers at Ubisoft helping develop the game. Musician Peter Gabriel provided his voice and a song for the game’s audio, and the music was written by Jack Wall, who also composed the soundtrack for Exile. Most people who reviewed the game gave it positive feedback, praising the visuals, sound, and puzzles. However, some publications, like Computer Gaming World, criticized the way players controlled the game. Revelation is the last Myst game to use both computer-generated backgrounds and full-motion video. The final game in the series, End of Ages, uses real-time 3D graphics throughout.
Gameplay
Myst IV: Revelation is an adventure game that includes puzzles. Players explore special places called Ages using a mouse or keyboard. They solve puzzles and learn the story by moving through these areas. Players cannot move freely in each Age; instead, they travel by clicking on specific spots called "nodes." At these nodes, players can look around in any direction. The game also has a feature called "Zip" mode, which lets players quickly move between areas they have already visited. These areas are shown as small pictures, making it easier to travel across Ages.
The mouse cursor gives players hints about how to move or interact with objects. The cursor looks like a hand and changes shape depending on what the player is pointing at. For example, if the player wants to move in a direction, the cursor points in that direction. If the player can see an object more closely, the cursor changes to a hand holding a magnifying glass. Clicking and dragging the cursor lets the player push, pull, or tap objects.
The game includes tools to help solve puzzles and learn the story. Early in the game, players get a camera to take pictures of clues. They can also use an on-screen journal to write down notes instead of writing on paper, as in earlier games. Much of the story is shown through flashbacks that happen when players touch an amulet, which can show memories linked to objects. The camera, journal, amulet, and "Zip" mode are all found in a menu at the bottom of the screen.
Plot
Atrus invites the player to his home in Tomahna to ask for help. Atrus writes special books that connect to different worlds called Ages. Twenty years ago, his sons, Sirrus and Achenar, destroyed his library on Myst. They trapped their parents to take the wealth from Atrus's Ages. The player helped save Atrus, who had trapped his sons using traps meant for thieves. Atrus's wife, Catherine, hopes that after twenty years, his sons have finally stopped doing wrong. Atrus is unsure if they have changed and wants the player to act as a fair judge. After being knocked unconscious by an explosion, the player discovers that Yeesha, Atrus's daughter, has disappeared.
The player searches for Yeesha by visiting the prison Ages of Spire and Haven. On Spire, Sirrus used his scientific knowledge to make explosives. He broke free from his prison and escaped. His journals show he feels no regret for his past actions. In Haven, the player finds that Sirrus has also freed Achenar. Unlike his brother, Achenar has started to live peacefully with nature and regrets his past crimes. The player then travels to Serenia, where Achenar is holding a "Life Stone." Achenar tells the player that Sirrus is dangerous and has captured Yeesha. He also reveals that he kept a journal from twenty years ago hidden on an island and warns the player not to let Atrus find them. Achenar's journal explains that he and Sirrus planned to trap their mother, Catherine, on Riven. They intended to use a "Memory Chamber," a large flower-like structure that stores memories of the dead, to control Atrus's body and take his knowledge of writing. The Life Stone powers the Memory Chambers, and the one currently in use is in danger of collapsing.
Later, the player finds Sirrus in an underwater harvester used to collect memory globes. Sirrus destroys the harvester and flees to an old, abandoned Memory Chamber. There, he tells the player that Achenar is the one who did wrong and asks the player to find Atrus and bring him to Serenia to fix things.
The player discovers that the old Memory Chamber's door is locked with a special color-code combination. To solve this, the player goes to the active Memory Chamber and asks the Serenian Protectors for help. They say the answers can be found in their "mirror realm," called Dream. The player obtains a "spirit guide" and enters Dream. The guide tells the player to speak with the Ancestors, the spirits of Serenians who have died and had their memories preserved, to bring them into harmony. After restoring the Ancestors' harmony, the player learns the color-code combination.
Returning to the real world, the player enters the old Memory Chamber and finds Yeesha tied to a chair. She begs to be freed using a silver lever. At that moment, Achenar arrives with a crossbow and the Life Stone. He warns that Sirrus used the Memory Chamber to erase Yeesha's memories and transfer his own into her body. Achenar points to an amber lever, which can reverse the mind-transfer.
The ending depends on the player's actions. If the player waits too long, Yeesha (who is actually Sirrus) will use the crossbow to kill Achenar and the player. If the player pulls the silver lever, Yeesha (controlled by Sirrus) will kill Achenar and the player. In the good ending, the player pulls the amber lever, reversing the mind-transfer. However, the old Memory Chamber becomes unstable. Achenar tells the player to return to Dream to fix Yeesha's memories while he uses the Life Stone to stabilize the chamber, which poisons him.
In Dream, the player encounters a monstrous creature representing Sirrus's Dream-form, which is attached to Yeesha's essence and prevents her from returning to her body. Without a spirit guide, Sirrus clings to Yeesha to avoid being lost forever. He keeps Yeesha's memories jumbled to stay connected. The player restores Yeesha's memories, freeing her from Sirrus's control. Sirrus's Dream-form is destroyed by the waves of Dream, killing him. The player wakes to find Achenar, who has died from poisoning, confirming the mind-transfer was reversed. The player returns to Tomahna to meet Atrus, who says Catherine has taken Yeesha to Tay, the "rebel Age" used to evacuate people from Riven. Atrus notes that while his sons are gone, his daughter is now safe.
Development
When Mattel Interactive still owned the rights to the Myst series, the development of Myst IV was assigned to DreamForge Entertainment, the creators of the game Sanitarium. DreamForge was chosen to create Myst III: Exile before Presto Studios. DreamForge’s version of Myst used real-time graphics and was two years into development and 20% complete when Ubisoft, which had acquired the rights to the series, canceled the project and decided to restart development internally.
According to Geneviève Lord, the producer of Revelation, the story of the two brothers was originally planned for Myst III. However, due to time constraints and to avoid interfering with DreamForge’s ongoing work on Myst, the plot was delayed. The story was later redeveloped when Ubisoft began creating Myst IV. Cyan, the developer of Myst and Riven, provided Ubisoft with specific rules to follow, but allowed the team to create new ideas while staying true to the Myst series’ lore.
The development of Revelation took over three years and involved more than 80 employees. Early in the project, the team decided to use pre-rendered graphics, matching the style of earlier Myst games. This was difficult for the studio, as it had no prior experience with pre-rendered games, requiring them to hire over 50 new employees with relevant skills. Production began before the artistic direction and tools were fully prepared, leading to poor communication and a strained relationship between designers, programmers, and modelers during most of the project.
Revelation improved upon the pre-rendered technology used in Myst, Riven, and Exile by using its "ALIVE" engine to animate nearly everything in the game. For example, water animations are fully rendered for each location, trees sway in the wind, and clouds move in the sky. Wildlife includes creatures that move through the environment and interact with the player. The game also includes real-time effects such as lens flares, dynamic lighting, and an optional focal blur. Like the original Myst, the game uses live actors in video sequences. There are over 70 minutes of video, and players can look around and interact with the video while it plays. Revelation was the first game in the series to be released on DVD-ROM at launch; a CD-ROM version was not made because it would have required 12 discs. Riven was released on DVD-ROM later, after its initial 5-CD version. Exile was later released on DVD-ROM as part of the 10th Anniversary collection.
“It is important to me to fully understand the game before creating any music. For Exile, I read all three books, replayed Myst and Riven, studied the new story, and spent days listening to the soundtracks and taking detailed notes to identify key themes. Revelation was the same,” said Jack Wall.
Jack Wall composed, conducted, and produced the music for Revelation. This was his second game score, following his work on Myst III: Exile. Wall was originally a sound engineer and producer, and he said composing music was a natural next step in his career. The success of Exile’s score led to Wall being hired to create Revelation’s music with a budget of $100,000—double the amount he had used for Exile.
Wall reused, reorchestrated, and expanded themes from previous Myst composers, such as Robyn Miller. For example, he used Atrus’ Theme from Riven and the brothers’ leitmotifs from the original Myst game. Wall said the Myst universe and story allowed him to write music with styles that Western audiences are less familiar with. Revelation’s score was inspired by Eastern European music that Wall enjoyed in the 1990s.
In addition to Jack Wall’s score, the game includes a song by Peter Gabriel titled “Curtains,” originally a B-side from Gabriel’s single “Big Time.” Gabriel also provided a voiceover for the game.
Reception
Revelation received positive reviews from critics. It scored 82 out of 100 on Metacritic and 82% on GameRankings. The Xbox version of the game had lower scores than the computer version. The computer version of Revelation was sixth on the NPD Group’s sales chart for the week of October 3–9, and it dropped to tenth the following week. The game ranked 92nd in September and 12th in October. By August 2006, it sold between 100,000 and 400,000 copies in the United States. At that time, all Myst games released in the 2000s had sold 1.6 million copies in the country.
Like earlier Myst games, the visuals and interactivity of Revelation were praised. Reviewers noted that small animations made the scenery feel more alive. Greg Kasavin of GameSpot said these additions made scenes feel like real places instead of just pictures. The music and sound design, created by Jack Wall, were also highly praised. The in-game camera and notes system were well-received. PC Zone said Ubisoft, the game’s developer, created one of the most polished games the reviewer had ever seen, even after the less successful game Uru: Ages Beyond Myst.
Some reviewers pointed out issues with gameplay that remained unchanged from older Myst titles. Computer Gaming World said players had to search for small areas where actions could happen. A reviewer from The Houston Chronicle found moving between different parts of the game tedious. Others noted that slow cursor animations made searching for actions frustrating. Many sources mentioned the game required strong computer hardware, including a DVD-ROM drive and more than 7 gigabytes of storage space. Charles Herold of The New York Times criticized the music, calling it "tediously literal."
Revelation was the last Myst game to use prerendered graphics or full-motion video. Cyan Worlds, the original creators of Myst and Riven, used real-time graphics for the next game in the series, Myst V: End of Ages, which was announced as the final game in the series.
Revelation won the 2004 "Best Adventure Game" awards from GameSpot and GameSpy. It was also a runner-up in these categories from Computer Gaming World and IGN, losing to In Memoriam and Sid Meier’s Pirates!. The game was nominated for awards including "Best Original Music," "Best Sound Effects," "Best Story," and "Best Graphics, Artistic" by GameSpot, and "Best Original Music" by Computer Games Magazine. GameSpot’s editors called Revelation "a highly traditional adventure game that embodies nearly all the virtues of this classic genre." Myst IV was nominated for "Computer Action/Adventure Game of the Year" at the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. In 2011, Adventure Gamers listed Myst IV as the 40th-best adventure game ever released.