[PlantPerson]

We're getting close now! Find out why destiny is stupid, how cuteness can be a hindrance to puzzle solutions, and that Kadish was the greatest magician of all time. Or something like that. Click the following link, wait fifteen minutes, and the Path of the Shell review will appear. (If you're lucky it might not take that long.) Click!

Next time, End of Ages (assuming I can get Esher to stop talking long enough to write the review).

[A'Reandal]

Great once again! I'm going to miss these when you run out of games.

(...wait 15 minutes...) haha

Quote

...there’s something truly absurd about a game in which the solution to the puzzle is to leave your computer while the puzzle solves itself. (About half of my notes for this essay were prepared during this period.)

[Johnraka]

A, on 12 February 2013 - 02:44 PM, said:

Great once again! I'm going to miss these when you run out of games.

(...wait 15 minutes...) haha

Quote

...there’s something truly absurd about a game in which the solution to the puzzle is to leave your computer while the puzzle solves itself. (About half of my notes for this essay were prepared during this period.)

Yeh, loved this essay too - in fact they have all been brilliant but this one is by far the best and so 'on the money'.

[Shinkansen]

Quote

Here’s the problem: When this series got started, it presented players with a universe in which there was exactly one form of magic: the Art. The series used that as a mechanic to travel to other worlds.

Prophecy is another matter entirely. To prophesy is to see the future. To see the future is to establish a universe in which pretty much anything is possible, because it becomes possible to know anything. Introducing prophecy where it did not previously exist implies that your universe no longer follows any rules at all.

This quote pretty much sum up everything I don't like about the "2nd Generation" of Myst, from Myst IV onwards. Before Myst IV, the games were pretty much bounded by, if not reality, their own consistent internal rules. There was, of course, Catherine's various manipulations of the Art, but those were explained as bending the rules, not breaking them, as Yeesha seems to do.
In a way, it reminds me of the 2009 Star Trek film. Although the film is a good enough movie on its own, it decides to throw away and kill 30 years of established world-building for the sake of entertainment.
URU, especially TPotS, (as well as Myst V) is similar.
Having a character "break the rules", as it were, might be interesting if done well, but given that Yeesha just shows up and basically says "everything you have known is wrong and I'm right, follow me," sort of rubs me the wrong way.

Quote

We watched the demise of the DRC and learned that following Yeesha is the one true path because every other option is evil for some reason. So we’ll keep following Yeesha, why not.

This is why I think I like the "evil Yeesha" theory so much. We're given little reason to follow Yeesha aside from the fact that Zandi told us and that she's Atrus' daughter. Even then, using somewhat-skewed logic, we shouldn't trust Yeesha exactly because she's Atrus' daughter: Aitrus=good, Gehn=evil, Atrus=good, Sirrus&Achenar=evil, so therefore Yeesha=evil. I think with a bit more characterisation and more explanation as to whatever the heck it is Yeesha is doing the whole URU/Bahro thing could have been pulled off well.
Or having Yeesha be another Kadish-like "deceiver" would have been interesting, but I digress.

Quote

I never noticed this detail (see image below) before this recent playthrough. Any ideas about why there’s a drawing of the Fissure in Er’cana? (You can find this by following the broken train track until you see a niche in the canyon wall.)

As far as I can remember, you can actually touch the fissure painting and link to the upper area of where you drop the bread pellets.

Quote

I suspect that his show was tongue-in-cheek at best, and that he was more interested in showmanship and attention than the fulfilment of prophecies.

Kadish Trollesa?

Quote

Seeing it oriented this suddenly makes it uncomfortably Freudian.

I laughed. Now I feel bad.

[PlantPerson]

I'm tickled to be getting such a nice response to this one. If you have any specific thoughts on it I'd like to hear them, as I intend to go back and improve the preceding reviews. Feedback about what elements of these you like best would be appreciated.

Incidentally, I'm not kidding about using the timed puzzle to write my notes. I literally clicked the lever and then went in the other room with my notebook. (I distinctly remember reading the Star Trek The Next Generation Technical Manual the first time I played it.) As for the pellet baking and cave waiting, I skipped those parts this time.

Shinkansen:
Agreed about Star Trek 2009, although taken by itself I think it's still a pretty mediocre film. But Uru, sad to say, is a mediocre game, so maybe it's a pretty good comparison.

I guess I have to go back and touch the painting now... didn't try that.

[Talashar]

The only magic that bothers me in Uru is the linking without books. The idea of using books to travel to other worlds is a powerful one that can't really be replaced by floating symbols and automatic linking zones, and it makes Yeesha and the Bahro come off as somewhat dull in comparison with the stylish D'ni bibliomaniacs.

The other aspects of Yeesha's powers, like linking within Ages or making it rain, are all perfectly logical consequences of linking theory as it's been established from the beginning. Nor do I have a problem with prophecy, which has been around since the Book of D'ni and I actually thought was well done here. I disagree that we're necessarily supposed to believe what we're told about Yeesha being right (in Path of the Shell she strikes me as being rather ambiguous), and at least in theory further expansions would have continued to explore her character and the future of D'ni.

The main issue I have with Path of the Shell is that it continues Uru's depressing trend towards story/puzzle separation. In Ages Beyond Myst the player is set on an arbitrary quest (touching journey cloths), but learns things along the way and actually accomplishes something in the end. In Path of the Shell, the player is set on an arbitrary quest, learns a few things, and accomplishes nothing. In the new Ages of Myst Online, the player is set on several arbitrary quests, learns nothing, and accomplishes nothing. But I try not to think about Myst Online.

[Capella]

I agree with Talashar that I'm not sure we're supposed to believe Yeesha is the Grower of prophecy. In fact, I think it would be far more narratively interesting for her to be just as false as Kadish. That she could criticize the D'ni for their blind pride, and then subscribe to the theory that she was their fulfillment. That in the end, she was just as self-important, as delusional, as wrong and meddling, as her brothers.

[I'mNotCheating...]

I'm enjoying each successive essay more and more. Thanks for taking the time to write them!

[Shinkansen]

Just reread all of them today. I seemed to have missed the URU: ABM one, so that was a plus. I kind of like your characterisation of the DRC/Yeesha conflict as one between a bunch of pencil-pushing bureaucrats and an amoral mystic who thinks she's the messiah.

[PlantPerson]

Shinkansen, on 28 February 2013 - 05:07 PM, said:

Just reread all of them today. I seemed to have missed the URU: ABM one, so that was a plus. I kind of like your characterisation of the DRC/Yeesha conflict as one between a bunch of pencil-pushing bureaucrats and an amoral mystic who thinks she's the messiah.

I'm probably going to edit and/or expand all of these once the whole series is finished, so any thoughts you might have after revisiting the first ones would be appreciated.

Myst V is coming soon, hopefully. An upgrade to my computer is pending and in the meantime I wiped all the hard drives (don't ask why... it was a moment of weakness) so I'm probably not going to play it until I have everything up and running again. In the meantime I'm playing Half-Life, which I'd never played before. It's interesting but playing it for more than fifteen minutes or so makes me jittery. Don't know if I'll write anything about that.

[Capella]

You've brought up some great critiques of the series during this essay project - for example, I'm thinking of the way women are backgrounded and/or poorly included. What would you say some of the biggest concerns are?

[PlantPerson]

I'd say my ultimate goals with these are to highlight what works well, to constructively criticize what doesn't, and to learn something while doing so. Certainly I think this series includes far more good than bad (otherwise I'd never care enough to bother with this) and I want to highlight what elements are acting to make the series enjoyable and/or interesting. On the other side, I want to show what could have been done better, especially the more subtle problems (such as the feminist criticisms), and where feasible suggest alternative approaches. Finally, the lessons learned should be presented in such a way as to provide useful guidelines to other content creators, be they game-makers, writers, cartoonists, whatever. So, think of it as a celebration, an examination, and a lesson.

[PlantPerson]

Good news for all... my new PC is all in one piece and I started playing Myst V today, so review is forthcoming. Bad news: the higher your resolution, the more creepy-looking Yeesha is.

[PlantPerson]

Well, it's all over. Check out the Myst V review, in which you will learn that Rime is better than Taghira, explore definitively why Esher is so annoying, and help Yeesha take an online quiz called "Which Twin Peaks character are you?".

A quick note for those of you who comment on the blog itself: your comments WILL be posted, but I only check the moderation queue every couple of days, so don't worry if it doesn't appear right away.

Next: A few more thoughts coming down the pike. Patience!

[Capella]

Quote

There’s an implication, one never voiced outright but nonetheless in evidence, that the freedom of the Bahro means that the Art will no longer work.

Where was this implied?

[PlantPerson]

Capella, on 07 April 2013 - 03:57 PM, said:

Quote

There’s an implication, one never voiced outright but nonetheless in evidence, that the freedom of the Bahro means that the Art will no longer work.

Where was this implied?

I guess I partly inferred it from the title, but I think it was elsewhere too. Come to think of it, I wonder if this isn't just my own imagination playing tricks on me. I'll see if I can make a stronger case for it and if not I'll take it out in the final revision. Did anyone else interpret it this way?

[A'Reandal]

Quote

His speeches are so transparently worthless that the player begins to dread his frequent appearances, becoming hesitant of moving anywhere for fear that he’ll appear and start talking.

Yep! That perfectly describes how I felt playing the game.

[Gehn, lord of ages]

PlantPerson, on 07 April 2013 - 05:59 PM, said:

Capella, on 07 April 2013 - 03:57 PM, said:

Quote

There’s an implication, one never voiced outright but nonetheless in evidence, that the freedom of the Bahro means that the Art will no longer work.

Where was this implied?

I guess I partly inferred it from the title, but I think it was elsewhere too. Come to think of it, I wonder if this isn't just my own imagination playing tricks on me. I'll see if I can make a stronger case for it and if not I'll take it out in the final revision. Did anyone else interpret it this way?

I did. The bahro were sort of clearly tied to a lot of power (see: Tablet - along with various crackpot theories about the ink, how Esher links using bahro skin, etc.) that was important to the D'ni, and "End of Ages"... it made sense, although I don't think anyone directly suggested it in game. With Uru Live activities canonically after Myst V, it's clearly debunked there - but it seemed very reasonable in the situation when Myst V came out.

A, on 08 April 2013 - 02:18 PM, said:

Quote

His speeches are so transparently worthless that the player begins to dread his frequent appearances, becoming hesitant of moving anywhere for fear that he’ll appear and start talking.

Yep! That perfectly describes how I felt playing the game.

Especially when your computer pauses slightly right before his speech loads up, so you can always tell when he's coming.

Quote

The Bahro can and do travel everywhere else, so I figured it wouldn’t be a problem.

It's been awhile since I've played the game, but didn't we see the exception to that already with Noloben lab?

"It is safe here. They are afraid. They will not come here. The snake binds them - prevents them from linking... Did you know that the full power of the Bahro is restrained by the Tablet? Did Yeesha tell you that? Did you know that they will not come near anything with the symbol of the snake? " - Esher

It's not really emphasized (even a snake symbol over the book itself in K'veer would have been a timely reminder), but we are told that Esher can prevent the arrival of the bahro.

[Shinkansen]

You reminded me that I need to watch Twin Peaks at some point.

But anyway, very nice (almost) conclusion to your essay series. I think you basically captured the essence of why Myst V is a very frustrating game for me. In all seriousness, it does really represent a missed opportunity. In many ways it feels (as you point out)that Cyan was trying to get out one final product before they went under. Does that excuse a less-than-satisfactory product? I don't know. Myst V ultimately could not have aspired to anything more than above average given the series it had to end, but it is unsatisfactory and an unfitting end to the series. There are still some enjoyable and memorable moments, but on the whole it feels more like a half-baked URU expansion than the conclusion to one of the best video game series in recent memory.

A bit like the last twenty minuets of Mass Effect 3 in a way.

[PlantPerson]

Following my computer upgrade there's not much of a hesitation before Esher appears now, but there's still the disconcerting transition where the camera gallops across the landscape in order to stand in just the right spot.

Gehn, lord of ages, on 08 April 2013 - 09:19 PM, said:

It's not really emphasized (even a snake symbol over the book itself in K'veer would have been a timely reminder), but we are told that Esher can prevent the arrival of the bahro.

A snake symbol on the book would have been a great idea...beyond that there's not really any indication at all that the Bahro are unwilling to go to Myst. While it's true that they won't go to Esher's lab, I am somewhat skeptical of the explanation that it's the snake that keeps them away. More likely they won't go there because they associate it with, you know, being dissected alive. (It wasn't until just now that I realized that "the snake binds them" refers to the symbol on the easel and not to the curvatures of the tunnel.)

And yes, I would recommend Twin Peaks to any Myst fan. I actually meant to start a thread about it on here...maybe I should anyway.