For those who remember the mind-tripping brilliance of Myst and Riven, the developers at Cyan Worlds are returning to their roots and are about unleash a welcome journey to a brand new adventure.
Back in November 2013, Cyan, Inc. posted a project called Obduction on Kickstarter and it quickly met its funding goal, teasing a return to the gameplay mechanic of their phenomenally successful graphic puzzle games, Myst and Riven. Fast forward and last month they released this first teaser trailer showing off what’s to come. Check it out.
As a fan of Myst and Riven, seeing Cyan Worlds tracing back to something visually stunning and world building is amazing. Obduction promises another trippy and immersive adventure experience. Project developers noted:
“The Obduction project will take what Cyan knows about creating deeply immersive worlds and apply it to an entirely new game with fantastic scenery, incredible architecture, compelling story, and exceptional challenges.” (Obduction, Kickstarter)
Obduction–which means the act of drawing or laying over, as a covering–begins with the player’s abduction to an alien world, unknown time and space. Just like Myst, it will require its players to explore everything. The story will be pieced to together one step at a time as clues are found and puzzles are solved. The best part of the Myst experience was being immersed into this new world that seemed like it was waiting for us to discover.
With today’s technology and visual graphics compared to the days of Myst which is more than twenty years ago and what it achieved, there is no doubt that Obduction will be a visual feast. The teaser proves it above all. A note worth mentioning is that Obduction’s Kickstarter also reached the stretch goal for Oculus Rift support, turning this into a true virtual reality experience. It does beg the question as to whether the launch of HTC Vive this year will extend the support capabilities to this new VR device.
Myst and Riven has proven that the creators at Cyan, Inc. are masterminds are world-building and puzzle creation while telling intriguing stories. The only hope might be that the creators will be a little nicer this time around and boggle our minds a bit less with their intricate puzzles, even if we know that we want them to challenge us.
If Obduction stays on track, it will be launching some time in June. We’re excited and already tuning our brains up for the mind-benders sure to be keeping us up to the wee hours when it releases. Are you ready?
Developer: Cyan Worlds