As requested by Mih, I've reposted my article here:
Many people today are familiar with online multiplayer games such as World of Warcraft (WoW), the Sims, There.com or Second Life. In many ways these games become a new reality for many of the users who frequent these virtual worlds.
Myst is a game that started out as a stand alone game. The aim of Myst is vague to those who enjoy the more in your face interaction of the first person shooter (FPS) or other action type video game. For me, Myst was the perfect escape from reality when I needed a little vacation from studies and work. The music was soothing, the scenery though static was calming and almost dreamlike, and the puzzles were incorporated into each world or "age" in a way that kept me interested and actively involved. The storyline of Myst was one I could understand... almost a parable of sorts. You as the explorer must figure out what you needed to do and who to trust.
While looking information up on Myst, I discovered a large underground community of fans interested in this surreal adventure game that up till I randomly bought it I had never heard of. Through this group I came to know the ins and outs of interacting online. I found a community of liked-minded people who enjoyed quiet pursuits of reading and writing... archeology and the art of discovering new worlds aswell as creating our own worlds through the inspiration of Myst's ethereal imagery. I also made strong friendships that have lasted the test of time, distance and some face to face interaction.
Myst to me was a world all it's own. A place I could escape to on my own and be alone. I didn't mind the character interactions with Atrus, his sons: Achenar and Sirrus or those of other characters in the various incarnations of Myst, Riven, Exile and the other sequels. I was happiest when I found a place in each game to turn my attentions to and feel the happy solace of peace and quiet. In Myst it was the singing stones in Selentic... in Riven the forest and docks of the Rivenese Village... The places were peaceful and I could feel like I was really there. No people to bother me and few interruptions. It was a nice escape.
Then I heard about URU. The community was abuzz with questions and curiosity about actually seeing D'ni, the ancient city never seen but only read of in the three books Rand Miller and his brothers at Cyanworlds had written. To see the cleft of Atrus' youth or the towering mass of K'Veer would just be a dream come true! Everyone including myself was agog with this news. There was also mention of an online version of the game. Initially, I did not see any use in playing with people in URU anymore than I had felt the need to play with others in the previous games. The idea of Myst had come to mean to many in the community, not just myself, to be a personal experience. It didn't seem right to some fans that it would be disrupted by having people other than your own avatar exploring the city. As much as I liked the idea of playing with my friends, it wasn't what I really thought would work with this kind of game.
When Uru Prologue was release as a public beta in 2002 / 2003 I didn't immediately jump into the fray to get in. I didn't try hard to get into Beta as I had dialup and figured it wasn't worth the effort if my connection was slow. I was content figuring things out in the offline version on my own or using the occasional hint or spoiler from the guidebook or online forum. My interaction with others in URU wasn't important to me. I wanted to experience this game as I had the other games... alone. I had little experience with Multiplayer Role Playing Games (MPRPGs). I didn't think having people exploring with me ingame would benefit my experience with Uru... of course... anyone can be wrong.
I didn't expect to get stuck in URU as much as I did. I did what I could but in the end I asked a friend for help. He told me "get online and I'll show you." I couldn't fathom how this was going to work out but I joined the URU site and connected my game to the net. Dialup was slow and cumbersome and yet I felt a kind of excitement I hadn't felt before. I had never played any sort of real "online" community game at that time and didn't know what to expect. Once the game loaded and I created my avatar and finally loaded Uru Live, my ideas of playing alone soon ended. I finished the initial puzzle, made it to my home age (Relto) and linked where I was told to get the communicator (the KI) so my friend could help me with the game.
From the beginning of this little adventure in URU I was bowled over with excitement. I couldn't wait to see everything that I could in this online world and when I knew my friends were coming to meet me I got more excited. My ideas of exploration alone versus exploring with friends changed in a heartbeat. I didn't see myself playing URU offline as much as I had expected. I did nearly everything related to the game on Prologue with my friends new and old. It was the best experience I'd ever had with any kind of game. I felt like I had it all, till the day Uru went away.
I missed the last day of Uru Prologue... I was saddened as was the online Myst community. People began to write stories, create art, make images through photoshop showing their friends and themselves still exploring URU together although they were now apart. Going into URU offline was now depressing to me. Where I initially thought I would dislike people joining me in this online world, I now missed the interaction with my friends. It was a sad day for the Myst community. As a gift, Cyanworlds gave the fans the first expansion pack To Dni free to replace the world we had lost. With this new expansion pack fans were finally able to explore the city of Aegura and wander through places we'd only read of. Soon Cyanworlds was selling a new expansion pack called Path of the Shell in which we were given far more content to explore.
Yet this was not the end of the dream... A new gift was on the horizon as new sequels to Myst were being released. This gift was called Until Uru. This was a user run version of Uru. It was the same content found in Uru Prologue but now fans were able to control the game in ways we hadn't been able to in the past. Many fans created their own servers called "Shards" where other fans could link in and join URU online as if Prologue had returned. Some shards were faster than others while some had more options than others. It all depended on the skills of the person maintaining the shard. People could once again run through the city of Aegura and join their friends in games of hide and go seek in the forests of Kadish. It was a miracle for those of us who had lost an online world and to those who had never seen Prologue.
Until Uru was not a true replacement for URU Live / Prologue. It was never meant to be more than a temporary solace to those of us who missed the online interactions with friends. As a temporary world it was never meant to last forever. In just the last 2 weeks, Until Uru was closed down. Apparently I was one of the last people to roam it's silent halls. I had no clue that it was to be shut down that very night, but I ran around a random shard and played in the silent city. There wasn't anything new but it felt like home. I wanted to see things that people did with this world created by two brothers. I wanted to see how people had made it a home by making this world their own.
Still, this is not the ending. It has yet to be written by fans or Cyanworlds. Myst Online is the newest incarnation of Uru Live. It has been given a new life to breath and live in the hearts of fans old and new. It has been given a new lease on life and a new chance to enchant those who have explored the depths of D'ni and those who are only beginning to gain an inkling as to what these worlds are. It will begin slowly like a seed in the earth. The seed will grow... the roots will take shape... a tree will grow and soon it will emerge.
If you feel the need to follow the call, you need only journey as far as the desert bird which flies over head.
~L~
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