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• MYST TRILOGY BOOKS SERIES

"There's definitely a small but ardent group of fans who still make artwork from these video games. "The distinct atmosphere of the games is very Jules Verne-esque," Ando said. "While almost all the Myst games have been re-released to work perfectly on modern computers and you can buy many of them in a couple clicks from Steam or GOG.com, in some respects one of the unseen challenges of this project was getting all of these very specific older versions working together."Īndo has completed several other Myst-related projects, including a mechanical clock that uses the games' unique 25-hour timekeeping system. "Where possible, I've tried to use the best, oldest edition," Ando explained. The book runs the realMyst remake with with modified touchscreen controls, which Ando chose to use because he wanted to include the "best" version in his prop.

Ando had to modify most of the components to make them fit, clipping circuit boards and swapping a few out to utilize every extra millimeter. The guts of the book are a miniaturized desktop computer, a screen and power supply stuffed into a 4.7" space. "But after a couple of months I decided to set the bar as high as I could: all the Myst games, at a smooth framerate, all on the one book! Aim high or don't aim at all." "I originally planned to basically build something like a phone that would only play the first two games," he explained. But as netbooks became more popular, embedded computers evolved smaller and faster, leading Ando to scrap the holograph idea. "The games have helped me through some hard times in my life."Īndo's initial plan was to use a full-color holograph image since it was difficult to build a computer small enough to fit in the book. "I have a medical diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome and Myst is my 'obsession' or 'thing,'" he added. "Ever since I first played the game I wanted a Myst book, but it's literally only in the last year that the advancements in technology has finally made it possible," Ando said. Ando also participated in beta-testing for 2003's Uru: Ages Beyond Myst.

MYST TRILOGY BOOKS SERIES

Even when it was made, the book had very little value."Īndo, has been a fan of the Myst series since its first release in 1993. The book Cyan used is basically a 135-year-old cross between a Reader's Digest & a gossip magazine, and most of the time it only carries snippets of the articles which makes it even less useful. "There's plenty of old books that're essentially worthless as a book. "Most people think that all old books are valuable, but that's not true at all," he added. "I've actually had a lot of feedback from people that are very upset I destroyed an antique book, I didn't expect that reaction. "I basically bought every single book I could find that ticked all the correct boxes. On a second trip to Cyan Worlds in 2009, he again snapped a secret photo of the book, this time concentrating on its binding.Īndo found the copy of Harper's New Monthly, a nearly 5-inch thick leather-bound collection of the magazine's articles that would become his Linking Book, on eBay after scouring the Internet for one in good condition. Players use these Linking Books to transport themselves to other parallel worlds, called Ages.Īndo chose to keep the identity of the prop book secret "so that wouldn't be fighting other fans to find it." The book used as a reference when creating the texture of the virtual book for the game was a volume 54, issue 312 of Harper's New Monthly Magazine. The Myst franchise is a series of adventure games set in fantasy world in which time and inter-dimensional travel is possible. When no one was looking I opened the book to the first page, took a photo & quickly closed it again, all in less than second." "I'd flown all the way from Australia and didn't feel like letting a little sign stop me. "I spent around 5 years hunting down a copy of the book, which is the main reason this project took so long," Ando told Polygon.

While touring Cyan's studio, he found the book on display, a large sign beside is exclaiming "Do not touch" in bold letters. But the physical book used as the model for the book found in-game was a heavily-guarded Cyan secret, something that Ando had been trying to figure out for himself for five years. Ando had been attracted to the idea of re-creating the games' teleporting "Linking Book" in real life, but only complete accuracy would do. When Mike Ando visited Washington-based developer Cyan Worlds in 2006, he was feeling a little bold.Īndo had flown out from his home in Australia for Mysterium, the annual convention for Myst fans.