Making Parents Play Myst By Skycoaster 4/10/12 When given Myst for the iPad via the iTunes

store, my parents, began their quest into the Ages of Myst on March 23, 2012. The process has been and will be slow, since I have insisted they play together. Theyve agreed to devote at least an hour a week to play, and so far their efforts seem to be rewarding them with reasonable progression, considering how neither has a history of gaming or experience with the sort of logic needed to solve the puzzles contained within Myst. Theyll need a little help. Nothing major, but encouragement, the occasional point in the right direction, and a sense of accomplishment beyond the game, whose ending, while satisfactory, lacks the note of finality theyll be expecting. And while Im sure theyll like the game, Im not sure I can get them to play the much harder and infinitely more intricate sequel Riven. I cant just tell them where to go or what to do. Even now, when theyre just starting to unravel the story and the first fragments of a goal, I feel as though Ive helped them too much already, robbed them of the experience of discovering things themselves. I remind myself that everything theyve done theyve figured out by themselves, but I still wonder if they would have found the crucial note that Atrus left for Catherine if I hadnt guided them between the library and the dock and encouraged them to slow down. Surely they would have, right? Its quite prominent there, I cant believe they Myst it to begin with (see what I did there?). So with that in mind Ive decided that whenever they need a hint or help I will only do so in a fashion respectful of the Myst mindset, that is, with a code or riddle that takes application of logic or critical thinking to unravel. The first such riddle was one they, or rather Dad, didnt solve. It was a Facebook status from March 28 entitled Making Parents Play Myst, Day 1, with a hidden message contained in the capitalized first letter of each word: First Impressions Nebulous, Disorienting. Trying Hints, Even Now, Obviously. Too Evident? Decoded as F-I-N-D T-H-E N-O-T-E When I told Dad about the message, I think he started getting the idea of the kind of thinking required for Myst. I think its clear hell be the one to unravel most of the coded secrets contained within the game, but it takes more than cleverness to achieve the optimal ending, so thats where Mom comes in. Where Dad can crack a code, Mom has more intuition and will be able to deduce where the next clue is

likely lurking. I think shes already found the book with the fireplace codes in it, based on her claiming to have found a book with a bunch of numbers, so in that regard shes made a pretty big leap, one that most players didnt make until one of the brothers told them where to find it. They found the first note with my guidance, and I guess it helps that I didnt have to tell them what they were looking for, and applied it well to the game, figuring out that the strange levers dotting the island were the Marker Switches in question, and that the room by the dock was the forechamber mentioned. I have no idea how long it took them, but they managed to tally all eight Marker Switches around the island, even the yet unreachable one by the clock tower, and entered the number into the imager to retrieve Atrus message. Thats where they are now, trying to figure out what Atrus meant by Tower Rotation. Theyve discovered that the map in the library serves to rotate the tower, but right now Dad believes it serves as a power/electricity router, having apparently found the power station for the rocket ship already. They havent even mentioned the paintings used to open the tower access yet, and Im beginning to think that they might be having problems distinguishing similar but separate objects from one another. Its one of the most concerning issues for me that they didnt recognize that the red and blue books were different, nor have they found that the pages by them can be inserted into the books themselves. Its an important aspect to the story, I wonder how soon theyll discover it. Maybe its the control scheme of the iPad thats hindering them, since on the PC you had no choice but to insert the page you were holding when you clicked on the book. With the iPad maybe you need to drag and drop it. Story, too, is an aspect that seems to be eluding them insofar. When I pressed the point Mom compared it to Lost and Dad talked about the journals in the library like they were written about Myst Island, instead of the other Ages accessible through the linking books. What about that message in the forechamber? Why arent they curious about why Catherine apparently never viewed it? Why dont they wonder what the something terrible was that destroyed so many of the books? And assuming they figure out the red and blue books needing pages, will they connect that the men contained within are the sons of Atrus, brothers Sirrus and Achenar? To encourage them to take notes and more fully immerse themselves I ordered them the only blank Journal of Myst I could find online. It came with the game itself for PC players, along with a pamphlet containing a few hints, but luckily the Journal they got left out the hints since Ive told them to avoid using the iPad versions built-in map/hint system anyway. I guess the makers figured those would be ample substitutes for the Journal when they ported the game to mobile devices, when in reality theyre no replacements at all- youd be far more likely to have a

journal in your possession than a full color map and arbitrarily convenient hints for the mysterious location you just stumbled onto. It kills the immersion, and thats what Myst is all about. Its you in the game, so the game should become your world. So I guess leaving hints for them outside of the real world isnt exactly in that spirit, but at least with mine they have to work to decode them, and I try to arrange them in a way that wont give anything away, but rather just point them in the right direction. My latest one was a numeric code attached to an e-mail thanking them for some very cool pictures from 14 years ago from the first time I visited Los Angeles. I responded with some trivia about Myst and the code: -There are several endings, only one of which is good. The story is over once you reach it, but afterwards you can still play the game if you so desire. You are only truly done with Myst when you start its sequel, Riven, also available for iPad (i.e., guess what you're getting for your birthday next year?) -Technically, it is possible to beat the game (that is, reach the best ending) in under two minutes. This can only be achieved by a player who knows exactly what to do, and the game is designed to prevent new players from stumbling upon the solution accidentally, as the odds of doing so are approximately one in 280 trillion. -The original version came with a special journal for keeping notes and a pamphlet containing a few hints. I guess you guys don't get either. So sorry. If you were to get them by some freak act of charity on behalf of an anonymous third party, however, you probably still shouldn't use the hints. -415(2)2085(3)198916(4)69181920(5) The code is the simple letter-number correspondence with the added layer that while I tell how many letters are in each word (the numbers in parentheses), I dont separate the letters, just the words. It was just a happy coincidence that the phrase I wanted to convey comprised of consecutively larger words: Do The Ship First Raising the sunken ship is, naturally, the easiest task for them at this point, since its clues are the most obvious. Dads already played around with the planetarium, and since theyre close to figuring out the tower rotation theyll definitely get that the dates and times listed in the tower should be entered there. After that, its a simple matter of activating the appropriate constellation markers around the model of the sunken ship. Its also helpful that Stoneship is the simplest age to return from with a red or blue page. Once they find different red and blue pages in the different ages, perhaps theyll realize their significance and more closely investigate the red and blue books. The puzzle box Im making uses the code 1-5-8, which theyll only know when they beat the game. I hope I can get it functional before they get here, though if they havent already beaten the game by then (doubtful at the pace theyre going, though theyll have made significant strides) Ill still be able to demonstrate its mechanics.

In the meantime, they know what it means to me that theyre playing this game. I know it was a gift to Mom, but them playing it is a gift to me. Maybe now theyll understand a few more things about how I think, how I write, and why games are important to me as an art form. 4/19/12 They havent played any since last time. I dont think they figured out the hint. Maybe they arent as into the game as I thought. Moms excuse was that she had a trial to prepare for recently, so I cant fault them. Still, theyre so close to a major breakthrough that will lift the veil over so many new parts of the game... its exciting to think that maybe theyll have done it all by themselves. Nevertheless, I continue to throw subtle hints their way, like the name of the latest game of Scrabble I started with my dad: Sgnitniap egnarts tahw ym Simple enough, just backwards letters: My what strange paintings. This is to suggest further investigation of the paintings inside the library, which are crucial for opening the bookcase tunnel to the tower, where the access keys for the places of protection lie. Again, I dont know if theyve realized that there is more than one painting there, or if theyve even given it so much as a cursory glance. Thats the thing about Myst- its not always obvious whats important and whats not. Maybe theyll get better at discerning critical elements with more practice. If only I could get them to play... Perhaps the e-mail message I plan to send should they fail to make progress on their own will get them playing. Ive designed it so that they can only decipher it together, I just hope I dont have to send it since it gives away quite a bit: For Mom: H-ll-, P-r-nt-! - r---ntl- d----v-r-d ----th-n- -b--t ---r v-r---n -f ---t f-r th- -P-d, -n th-t -h-n --- p--- ---th-n- -p --- h-v- t- dr-- -nd dr-p -t -nt- th- --r--n t- --- -t. Th-- -- d-ff-r-nt -n---h fr-- th- --p-t-r v-r---n, -h-r- -n -t-- l--- - --- ---ld --t---t---ll- b- ---d b- j--t -l----n- -n th- -ppr-pr--tp--nt -n th- --r--n, -n th-- ---- - l---, th-t - f--l -t n------r- t- --p-rt - ---pl- h-nt: R-D T- R-D, BL-- T- BL--. H-pp- ----n-! L-v-, Ph-l For Dad: -e--o, -a-e--s!

I -ece---y -isco-e-e- some--i-g a-ou- you- -e-sio- o- Mys- -o- --e i-a-, i- --a- w-e- you ick some--i-g u- you -a-e -o --ag a-- --o- i- o--o --e sc-ee- -o use i-. --is is -i--e-e-- e-oug--om --e com-u-e- -e-sio-, w-e-e a- i-em -ike a key wou-- au-oma-ica--y -e use- -y -usc-icki-g o- --e a---o--ia-e -oi-- o- --e sc-ee-, i- --is case a -ock, --a- I -ee- i- -ecessa-y -o im-a-- a sim--e -i--: -E- -O -E-, --UE -O --UE. -a--y Gami-g! -o-e, --iOdd letters taken from Moms, even Letters taken from Dads. When combined: Hello, Parents! I recently discovered something about your version of Myst for the iPad, in that when you pick something up you have to drag and drop it onto the screen to use it. This is different enough from the computer version, where an item like a key would automatically be used by just clicking on the appropriate point on the screen, in this case a lock, that I feel it necessary to impart a simple hint: RED TO RED, BLUE TO BLUE. Happy Gaming! -Love, Phil I wonder how difficult that would be to figure out. It would be obvious that theyd received an incomplete message, but would they realize that they each held half, and how could they most easily and quickly combine the messages? I say theyd figure it out. It would probably take a half hour or so, and granted the hint isnt huge, but it would point them in the right direction regarding the red and blue pages and their respective books, and therefore the requests and fates of Atrus sons. I want to wait a little bit before I send it, though, just to see if they can figure it out on their own. Ill wait until I get another update to send it, but I like this hint. Its cryptic enough to not be obvious but elegant enough to be unscrambled with proper application of critical thinking and collaboration, which are the core concepts Im trying to convey in making them play. Not to mention that it directly mirrors one of the final puzzles in the game, with the two halves of the note instructing how to open the Myst Island vault. I hope theyre smart enough to write that down once they get that far in the game. I was going to tell them about taking screenshots on the iPhone/iPad by pressing Home and Sleep at the same time, but Ive decided against it since taking pictures isnt in the spirit of Myst. Myst IV, yes, but not the original. If they miss the note, well, theyll realize their mistake soon enough, and retracing their steps will just be part of the fun. I predict Dads complaint will be that you can only carry one page at a time, and that you cant take anything else with you. I also bought Myst for myself on Monday, for my iPhone. I was nervous about how it would play on such a small screen, but I was pleasantly surprised: even with only minor modifications/zooms, the game looks and sounds fine. I havent beat it yet, but Ive made it to all the Ages and gotten all the pages from each except the Selenetic, which I realize is the hardest to get to and to come back from. The easiest

is probably Mechanical, now that Ive played it again, though Stoneship and Channelwood arent so bad. Stoneships logic is a bit convoluted, with a key chained tantalizingly out of reach of a lock, only to realize that the key opens a chest (with a key inside) that must be made to float up to the key. I remember feeling so smart when I figured that one out so many years ago. Channelwood doesnt even really have any puzzles, save for the water-power pipes, but its a large and disorienting age so getting lost is the main obstacle. Selenetic just has those annoying sound puzzles, and I wouldnt be surprised if the maze caused Mom and Dad to drop the game for a while. Balancing that out is that Selenetic is probably the most beautiful. It and Channelwood feel the most authentic and complete, while Mechanical and Stoneship feel isolated, unfinished; its hard to believe Atrus when he writes in his journals they once had significant populations of inhabitants, since theyre just so small. I still stand by my hint that they should Do the Ship First, though- I think Stoneships just my favorite of the four Ages. One thing that escaped me in my first playthrough, and that was clearer but still not obvious this time, was that the locations of the red and blue pages in the four surviving Ages were associated with the brothers, red for Sirrus and blue for Achenar. Theres little indication that a particular room belonged to Sirrus or Achenar, save for the occasional letter or video message. It takes a leap of logic, therefore, to grasp the concept that Sirrus was greedy and Achenar was sadistic, and that these undesirable characteristics led to the destruction of so many Ages, the capture of Catherine, and the deception of Atrus, since connecting the brothers with these places takes a higher level of thinking. Realizing that neither can be trusted isnt so hard, since each speaks against the other, but piecing together that theyve committed atrocities in these and other Ages might not come so easily. That will be where Mom comes in, I bet. If they find Sirrus treasure room and Achenars torture chamber in Mechanical, shell be the one to connect the dots there; And theyll have to find those if they want to complete the game, since thats where the pages are in that age, so well just have to see what happens. If they ever get around to playing it, that is. 4/23/12 Success! After some cajoling, theyve picked up the game again, and made some headway, even to the point where my Odds/Evens hint isnt necessary, nor was my backwards Scrabble game title clue since they figured out that the paintings open and close the hidden tunnel behind the bookcase. Im very proud of them also for finding out that you have to drag and drop the red and blue pages to their corresponding books- the iPads control scheme places a new player at a disadvantage in that respect, but now that I think of it, that does seem a tad more realistic, right? On the PC youd just click on the book and the page would suddenly jump in and reattach itself, whereas here you have to make the conscious decision to place the page inside.

And they did it, meaning theyve met Sirrus and Achenar and heard their pleas for red and blue pages. Now comes the interesting part, since as soon as they get a page of any color, theyll be told not to trust the other brother. What will they do? Will they try to get the other side of the story, or will they continue to gather pages of just one color? And whom will they trust? (Once again, I predict complaints that the game only lets the player hold one page at a time). I must refrain from giving any more hints and, as tempting as it may be, even asking questions that could let them on to a secret. Not that my clues have helped them out all that much, but at this point theyre on their own. Theyre just inches from figuring out the secret of the tower rotation, since they know the marker switches turn on the points on the map and will therefore soon realize that certain landmarks produce a red line when the tower is facing them. Still, I wonder if theyll see some of the harder-to-miss parts of the game, like how the access keys are opposite the view when the tower is rotated to face a book, or how the giant redwood is fairly well concealed behind the cabin. But perhaps theyve already found both of these things, and are still working on one thing at a time. They seem to be more intrigued by the game now, since tonight they even skipped The Daily Show to keep playing. Maybe they just wanted to uphold their end of the deal they made with me yesterday (they agreed to play two hours of Myst if I sent Aunt Dorothy my Modern Family spec script), but thats still a pretty big deal that they were so engrossed in the game that they wouldnt stop playing even for one of their favorite shows. I cant wait to see the notes theyve been taking- that should be fascinating. Dad says he and Mom take turns driving, and that they only play together. I wonder who sees more, whos better at putting together the pieces. I also wonder if now theyve got some idea of the plot, since Sirrus mentions his name the first time you talk with him in the red book; Achenar says it but its impossible to make out, though surely its easily deduced that hes the other son of Atrus. These two men are clearly trapped inside these books and need pages to escape- their father has left his wife a message that she never received informing her that one of their sons has destroyed most of his books. Thats enough to get a general idea of whats going on, or at least to develop some theories. They arrive here in Los Angeles in less than two weeks, and if they keep the pace up they might just have the game beaten by then. Honestly, though, I doubt it. Yes, theyre making good time, but unless they put some serious hours in between now and then it doesnt look like theyre on track to figure out that the code to my puzzle box, which is now completed and works like a charm, is 1-5-8. Its a shame, too, since Ive figured out exactly what to put inside it when they arrive: wood burnings. The soldering iron I used to make the locking mechanisms for the box works great for drawing on spare lumber, so Ive started practicing in preparation for decorating the box itself, which Im putting off until Im better. Ive made a nice, if rudimentary, representation of an Umbrella Tree and a more than decent sketch of the picture

Dad took of Bucky, so with time I should be able to make something good for each of them to reward their efforts with Myst. If, that is, they can open the box. If not, I can give each one their stuff for Mothers/Fathers Day. But maybe I shouldnt be rushing them. After all, Myst isnt meant to be played fast. Sure, it can be beaten in two minutes by a player who knows exactly what he or she is doing, but such an action makes no sense in context and isnt rewarding in the slightest; I should know, since after legitimately beating my copy for iPhone I went back and did a speed-run and felt as though Id Myst a whole lot (see what I did there?). No, theyll take their time. Once they start having to grapple with some bona fide puzzles, not just vague clues about where the next hint lies, theyll get into the pace of the game. I shudder to think how long the Selenetic Age will take them- I just hope they dont try that one first! Oh, and I got Riven for iPhone, too, and realized what made it so much more difficult: guesswork is necessary. To beat the game, you have to understand that the hints and clues you can find might only limit the number of possible permutations for a code so much- after that, youre on your own. That being said, the clues do significantly reduce the viable permutations, especially in that one puzzle where it goes from 563100468840000 combinations to a whopping 6, but there is some information youre just not given. I bet people who actually beat it on their own went crazy trying to find that last piece of the puzzle, only to realize how it wasnt necessary and could be solved with some simple guess and check. Even this time I recognized that Id limited my choices in one puzzle from 53130 to 20, and even then the last part to get that down to 1 was findable, but I couldnt remember it from my first time and didnt feel like searching for it, so brute force it was. It probably took less time in the long run. I hope my parents never go for brute force in Myst, since guessing isnt necessary at all in that game (code 158 is one of exactly 281474976710656 different combinations for the fireplace, by the way). It worked for me in Myst IV, though, and that took hundreds of different attempts, so many that when I finally got it Id forgotten why it worked. Then again, the logic behind that game was a little convoluted, so I dont blame myself for going that route. At least I figured it out legitimately, without a guide. In fact, the one time I did use a guide in that game was just to get past some fake difficulty, since the game isnt clear at all about the motions necessary to pet the snake in the correct way to get him off of the canopy rides handle in Haven. It bugs me how unnecessary that puzzle, and indeed the entire age of Haven, were in that game. What a sorry follow-up to Exile, the best game in the series, in my opinion. I doubt my parents will ever play it, though, but honestly Ill be happy if they make it through Riven. Id even settle for the best ending of Myst, but Im optimistic. For now, Ill leave them be, and just make it a surprise for myself to see how well theyve done when they get here next Friday. Until then, Im afraid my writing cannot wait...

5/1/12 Theyll be here in three days. Finally, a chance to watch them play in person, and to see their journal notes. From what theyve told me on the phone so far the problem theyre facing now is not being able to understand a word Sirrus and Archenar are saying other than who are you because of the static, and therefore not being able to comprehend their requests for red and blue pages. I pointed out that putting a page of the right color in each book cleared up the static a little bit, enough to let them get at least a few words, and that seemed to get them on the right track in that they know they need to look for more pages. But seriously, the few words you need from the brothers first messages arent that hard to hear: Bring me a red page, I am Sirrus (which could be misunderstood as serious, granted), I must have the blue pages, etc. Personally, I think the Miller brothers did a good job editing the static in those videos to revealing crucial information at the correct pace, so assuming my folks realize the secret to the tower rotation soon theyll be off in another Age, and hopefully finding pages. (I also mentioned that the two Miller Brothers play all the roles in the game, not mentioning that theres only three roles total, but this at least let them see that the man in the blue book was not the same as the man who left the message in the Forechamber, whom they call the Father at the moment despite having seen his name on the note to Catherine; I think when my Dad read it he said Alrus. He thought Achenar and Atrus were the same person in the game, while Mom didnt. Interesting.) It occurred to me the other day that the Ages are arranged in what the Miller brothers must have seen as ascending order of difficulty, going clockwise from the tower rotations starting position: Mechanical, Stoneship, Channelwood, Selenetic. The pages are easiest to come by in Selenetic, ironically, but hardest to find in Channelwood, and actually kind of easy to miss in Mechanical. I wonder which Age theyll go to first, and how long it will take them to get a page and come back. I wonder if theyll even get a page their first time. They know to be on the lookout for them, anyway, and in all but Mechanical theyre in obvious locations. I guess Ill see this weekend, and then later when they get back from wine country. Hopefully theyll be more willing to put in hours when the pace of the game starts picking up. Red lines, guys, notice the tower rotations red lines. Theyre significant, everything in the game is significant! 5/2/12 When Im right, Im right! They figured out the red lines two days ago and are already inside the clock tower, moments away from getting to the Mechanical Age. I dont know if its a coincidence that they happened to start with that one, or if they purposefully went with it since it was the first one in the path of the towers rotation.

If they play on the plane ride out here who knows how far theyll get? How many Ages theyll see, how many pages theyll find, and whom will they trust? Coming across Achenars torture chamber in Mechanical, with the decomposing human skull in the chest, is enough to turn you against him, but what about his note to Sirrus reprimanding him for his extreme greed? What will happen when theyre told not to give the other brother their pages? Will they try to get both sides or will they stick with the first one they pick? (And for the record, I still predict my Dad will complain about the inability to hold more than one page at a time.) It also occurs to me that Mechanical does not have one of the halves of the Myst Vault Instructions. If they go in order, they should find the first half in Stoneship and then the second half in Channelwood (personally, I think the second half has enough information to guess the secret to the vault, or at least find it with a little lucky experimenting). I wonder why the Miller brothers designed it so that the two halves of the note would be found when there was still one more Age to visit? The logic of the playthrough probably goes something like this: my parents would find the two halves, put them together, find the vault and get the white page. Finding nowhere appropriate to put it, they would continue to Selenetic and be forced to drop the page when they pick up the red and/or blue one, at which point they would get the proper information about the fireplace while being told not to open the green book. Now, by then theyll definitely have picked up that the brothers cant both be trusted- they have to pick one or neither. But will they realize that both are evil? Will the presence of the white page alert them? After all, in Channelwood lies an important clue in Achenars recording device, where it is revealed that Sirrus and Achenar are together in whatever scheme they hatched, and that they were only planning to take one page from some man. Will they connect the dots? Will they realize that was the page in question? I realize that the two halves of the note are found in rooms belonging to different brothers; will that affect their judgment, or help them realize the brothers worked together to destroy all but four of the Ages? So many questions, and Im not even playing the game! I wish I were... 5/4/12 The parents are here. AND THEY FORGOT THE JOURNAL. I put up with far too much from them.

But enough of that- their progress, despite their claims to the contrary, has been extraordinary, and watching them play tonight I saw an eagerness, a frustrated obsession, or dare I say an addiction? Most remarkable of all so far: THEY ALREADY FOUND THE WHITE PAGE. How? Well, luck. It seems their strategy for the tower rotation was to turn on each of the Marker Switches as they found them, and once all were on after they reached the clock tower island they experimented with turning them off one-by-one starting with the dock, which of course opened the Myst Island Vault and revealed the single page the brothers took from Atruss Myst book. They promptly lost the page when, as I predicted, they made it to the Mechanical Age and found the red and blue pages. It seems they were playing the entire flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles, and while they made some impressive advancements I cannot help but notice that Mom lets her emotions get the better of her while she plays. She taps and slides around the screen at a frenetic pace, unwilling to accept the fact that this method, as well as not taking detailed notes, is not conducive to an enjoyable Myst experience. She practically begs me for hints, which I of course deny her, beseeching her to keep exploring and let the answers reveal themselves in time, but also to take the time to develop theories and ideas behind the places she uncovers. And what theories they have! They seem to think that they have traveled through time by touching the Mechanical book, since the cog that housed it on Myst Island has a replica in the Age. They found Achenars note to Sirrus, condemning him for his greed, and seem to think that one of the brothers is evil based on the message Atrus (Dad does indeed call him Alrus, mistaking the t for an l) left for Catherine. I chided them at dinner for not asking themselves upon hearing that message why Catherine had apparently not received it- they still arent in the appropriate mindset for the game, apparently, which is why their focus is exactly the opposite of where it should be. I base that last claim on their exploits in the Mechanical Age I witnessed tonight. Theyve found Sirrus and Achenars treasure and torture rooms, respectively, though they, as I predicted, do not associate the rooms with the brothers yet. They also discovered the elevator and even positioned it correctly to ascend to the top floor, Dad recognizing that the middle button stops it halfway up but failing to notice, even with the elevators warning beeps, that if the halfway button is pressed from the top floor that the elevator gives one ample time to jump out before it descends, allowing them to access the fortress rotation controls. Mom knows she has to rotate the fortress somehow, thinking that the other islands around it lead to underground tunnels that she read about in the journal for the Selenetic Age. She thinks it has something to do with the four-symbol code by the half-cog, and wants to know why the Fortress Rotation Simulator isnt actually rotating the fortress.

Ill say that again: Mom wants to know why the Fortress Rotation Simulator isnt actually rotating the fortress. Shes looking so hard shes staring right through it. So instead of investigating the buttons on the mysterious elevator, she and Dad look endlessly through the brothers rooms. Mom says shes looked everywhere, yet she continues to sift through the merely decorative set dressings, becoming more and more frustrated when trying the same thing over and over yields no different results. She also claims they havent found anything new today, and thats certainly not true: I was there when they found Sirrus treasure room and the top floor of the Fortress, where they caught a glimpse of the two levers controlling the actual Fortress Rotation, but they seem to have forgotten them already and instead sequester themselves into one area, seeming to believe theyve exhausted all potential in others without a second thought. Or perhaps theyre just tired. I know I am- I think Ive been awake 40 straight hours now; thesis stuff. After a good nights sleep Im sure theyll realize the leap of logic they need to make- provided, of course, they ever stop looking at Sirrus miniature chessboard. Take notes, Mom! 5/7/12 Dad got through the puzzle box in about 10 seconds. Guess it wasnt as secure as I thought. I probably shouldnt even have let him touch the thing, since he didnt know the combination anyway and guessing it might spoil Myst for him, but at least now Mom has her Mothers Day present, and I even convinced them to try and forget the combination 1-5-8, which I think they did, even if they dont know how it applies to Myst. In that vein, I had to develop an additional charade to keep them from jumping ahead too fast: whereas before they thought I knew the solutions to all the problems in the Mechanical Age (which they finally beat when Dad figured out the trick to the elevator), but now they are under the impression that I havent played any more of the game than they have, since I got Drew and Logan to skip me to the end when I first played it years ago. This isnt totally a lie: I didnt complete the game legitimately all those years ago, and indeed I only completed one age by myself, though it was Stoneship instead of Mechanical. Nevertheless, it is a virtuous lie since now they arent begging me for hints and spoilers, even though Ive since gotten the game for myself and solved all the puzzles, including the correct code to the fireplace. They already found the book of codes, too, and tried one of the 150+ combinations (#5, as it was the first number they copied from the keyboard code in the Selenetic journal) before realizing that it did nothing and that such a brute-force

approach would be futile. I only hope that they either truly forgot the puzzle box combination, didnt read it correctly, or dont make the connection until they find the combination when either Sirrus or Achenar tells them, since Id hate to be the reason they missed over half of the game. Feigning ignorance seems to be working, since while theyre in town I can watch them play and, should they get too far offcourse, make seemingly nave suggestions that while not terribly informative will point them in the right direction. Dad says hell just chat with Drew, with whom hes a good Facebook friend, and get him to give him the answers. Im sure hes kidding, but just to be sure I got to Drew first with a Facebook message: Dear Drew, ol buddy ol pal, Got a favor for you: I know youre chummy on Facebook with my Dad, who, along with my Mom, is currently playing Myst on the iPad. Blast from the past, right? Anyway, theyre doing well in the game but at times they get frustrated and beg me for the answers to the puzzles, which I of course deny them, and I told them, perhaps unwisely, that theyre now at the point where I stopped trying and just asked you and Logan to help skip me to the end. Dad says hes just gonna ask you how to beat it now, and though I think hes kidding, PLEASE dont help with the game- torment him mercilessly with the fact that you COULD, sure, but no actual hints- Im trying to vicariously relive the authentic Myst Experience I shouldve had in middle school. Thanks a lot, and congratulations on graduation! -Phil His reply: hahah okay, and thanks! Dad says hell tell Drew, an avowed atheist, that Jesus wants him to help him. That should go over well. But I still wonder if I was like this when I first played the game. At twelve, I made no attempt to unravel a story in this game; I thought it was just for the sake of finding and exploring new worlds (and as it turns out, thats not too far off when alls said and done). But I did manage to get to all of the four main Ages by myself, and fairly quickly, too, though getting back with a page in hand was a different story. With the Mechanical Age I think I figured out the elevator but never realized what it did, and went back to Myst Island in frustration, either by a previous save or just a new game (which is why Im telling my parents not to use the iPad versions bookmark feature, so they wont make the same Mystakes I did (see what I did there?)). Stoneship I beat, and was very proud of myself for doing so- Channelwood I dont remember leaving, though Im pretty sure I found the pages since I remember finding Sirrus message to Achenar about only taking one page- and in Selenetic I made it to the underground maze but never made it out on my own.

In fact, I think one of the major factors in my reaching the ending of Myst, aside from Drew and Logan who only told me the correct fireplace combination, was Mrs. Cooks journal. She lent me her notes in her official Journal of Myst after she beat the game (by herself, probably), and with that I easily found the white page and gave it to Atrus. Before that, I kept trying to give Atrus either the red or blue pages found behind the fireplace, which just led to the bad ending of being trapped in Dni (It occurs to me that Riven could technically occur after Myst even with that ending, but I wonder if Atrus would send someone foolish enough to ignore his warning about being sure to bring the white page with them?). Mrs. Cooks journal included the complete message from the two halves of the page about the Vault, so finding that led me to the ending and let me see the scorch marks left after Atrus destroyed the Red and Blue books. My parents are at Stoneship now and making good progress, now that theyre more aware of the type of logic the game employs: finding the tools for solving a puzzle is easy, its just applying them that takes a higher level of thinking. I dont think theyre fixating on picayune details anymore like in Mechanical, though they are taking time to admire the scenery and impressive set pieces. And man oh man, they finally started taking real notes! It took a frustrating repeat of the clock tower puzzle, alternately pulling and holding levers to align the numbered gears to 2-2-1, which Dad had done before on the plane ride out to L.A. but forgotten how afterwardswhen the puzzle got messed up when Dad accidentally reset it, he and Mom struggled for a while to reconfigure it, and decided to note the process in detail for posterity, realizing that their memories alone werent sufficient. Before that, only a code or a number had been worthy of recording, but after the clock tower incident, and seeing how the stars in the planetarium resemble the constellations in the Stoneship journal when set to the dates in the tower, they decided to keep better records. Seriously, where was their imagination there? Could they really not see that the stars deliberately resembled the leaf, the bug, and the snake? The only one thats hard to determine is the snake, but the other two are incredibly, incredibly obvious, even to me when I was only twelve. And even if they didnt see the pattern right away, how could they not make the connection? Theyre given dates, which they know plug into the planetarium (Mom is still convinced the game has something to do with time-travel because of this, thinking that each Age is the same location but a different time period. Actually, that kind of makes sense for Mechanical and Stoneship, but they might have a hard time substantiating that theory in Channelwood or Selenetic, since their geography is radically different), which give them star patterns, which resembled the constellations in the book, which match the patterns on the eight columns around the ship model! They saw all these elements but made no effort to act on the obvious relation between them until I pointed them in the right direction by mentioning that the star pattern of the bug was symmetrical, probably deliberately so. From there, they took some time to plug in the other dates and draw all three star patterns, which led to them finally activating the correct columns (which they now think are the Marker Switches, since theres

eight of both. Getting the Vault Note will correct that, if they ever find it). That raised the ship, to much excitement. Dad figured out the chest/key puzzle pretty easily, knowing that he needed to make it float and figuring out the water pumps automatically, though I had to mention that the spigot was open before they closed it to keep water from coming back in. This led to the room with the generator, which Mom did not recognize as such but Dad instinctively cranked, fully charging the battery. This lit the passages down to Sirruss and Achenars rooms, though when I left them they had only explored the former, finding the red page among his hoarded treasures. They also, and Im just so proud of them for this, found the telescope on top of the stairs and marked, actually MARKED, without me telling them, the degrees of several prominent features around the Age (I also told Mom how proud of her I was that she compared the grandiose dcor in the Pantages Theater to the visuals in Myst when we saw Billy Elliot yesterday- it was on par with Dad automatically thinking of possible Portal placements on the white walls of the Tri-Cities Airport). These landmarks included the two off-center spires of the ship and, most importantly, the lighthouse beacon, which hopefully theyll connect with the compass when they see it in the hidden chamber off of the two passageways to the brothers rooms. I remember being so excited when I figured that puzzle out; I even used the calculator on the old Gateway 2000 (or did we have the Dell by then? I seem to remember playing Orpheos Curse at around the same time, so that would be Gateway, but maybe we upgraded before I started playing Myst) to figure out which switch around the compasss perimeter would have favorable results instead of blacking out everything and activating the siren (Im sure Mom and Dad will love that one), and was so relieved when instead of being plunged into darkness the underwater lamps turned on, allowing me to see in the ships underwater cabin to retrieve and use the Myst book hidden in the table. I dont know if they realize that there are two passageways down from the two halves of the fractured ship in the Age, or if they realize that the ship is in two pieces- Mom confesses, and I agree, that her spatial recognition isnt too great, and she gets disoriented easily, and Dads had some problems with distinguishing separate objects in Portal, too, so it may take some for them to grasp that aspect of the Age and find Achenars room and the hidden passage. Boy, Channelwoods gonna drive them insane, its so nonlinear... I hope they have the foresight to make a map, or even copy it from the Channelwood journal before they go, though that may be hoping for too much. Mom keeps asking how close to the end they are. I of course profess not to know, but in reality theyre not even halfway there. Id estimated the total time needed to complete the game at twenty hours, and she thinks theyve been at it longer than that, which I disbelieve completely- Id say theyre just now approaching ten hours of true gametime, so theyre actually going at a pretty good pace. How well they can maintain it has yet to be seen, as getting to the remaining two Ages is looking to be problematic. Apparently it was Mom that got the boiler lit in the cabin, since she suggested they actually strike the match; that almost makes up for the Fortress

Rotation Simulator fiasco (almost). They turned the boiler all the way up, which means they heard the sound of the tree rising up, but they mustve disregarded it since they havent mentioned anything, and of course they werent taking notes back then, despite my supplications. I hope they mess around with it when they get back from Stoneship and realize the effects raising and lowering the temperature have. As for opening the rocket and getting to Selenetic... um, that could take a while. Dad found one of the circuit breakers on the electric tower, but the other one is hidden pretty well so I dont know how long itll take for him to figure out how to set the generators power to the rocket to 59 volts. Once inside they should pretty easily get the keyboard puzzle, since they found the piano diagram in the Selenetic journal, but thats just a really intricate Age, so getting back from it could be quite an ordeal. Im also waiting for their verdict on Sirrus and Achenar. At this point Dad thinks Sirrus is evil (correct) and Achenar is crazy (correct), but happily they both think theyll have to choose one or the other in the end. What will they do when presented with the green book to Dni? Will they open it, ignoring the brothers false warnings that its a trap? And will they understand that the statuses of the Ages is the result of the brothers lust for riches and power, Sirrus embodying the former and Achenar the latter, as evinced by the state of their rooms and the clues left around the Ages? That Im not so sure about- when alls said and done, Mom and Dad are bright, and would have to be to work as a lawyer and a social worker, respectively. But neither is terribly logical and both seem to be having trouble with memory lately, Dad being zero for three with the Myst Journal, the picture of his bull he said hed e-mail me for my continuing experiments with pyrography, and the story I wrote in high school I Saw It Coming for my personal archives. Helping to preserve or even develop their cognition and retention for their sakes (and mine, admittedly) was one of the foremost things I had in mind when I got them the game, but watching them play in these early levels I cant help but think of Sherlock Holmes most common complaint to Watson: You see, but you do not observe. During the more frustrating moments of playing with them Im even more tempted to echo Sherlock Holmess condescension in Benedict Cumberbachs words: Dear God, what is it like in your funny little brains? It must be so boring! But thats unfair of me to say. After all, while the puzzles are obvious to one familiar with the solutions, theyre not so obvious to a newcomer. I wonder if Id be saying the same thing if we were all playing some game for the first time (The 7th Guest, perhaps?) And its not like theyre not trying. In fact, the problem may be theyre trying too hard- Dad concocted a strange hypothesis connecting the Forechamber to the Columns based on the gold discs in the Imager, an idea which Mom correctly pointed out was too much of a stretch, but interesting nonetheless (This was probably based on the fact that due to a bug of some sort the imager doesnt work properly at this point in the game- the proper Marker Switch Diagram wouldnt come up no matter how many times we entered code 47, so he assumed the circles at the bottom of the Imager were the Marker Switches in diagram form, when in reality theyre supposed to be the hologram projectors).

Anyway, I must have more confidence in them; theyve impressed me before, and they may defy my expectations if theyre willing to put in the time, and if Mom ever learns the proper way to navigate the game with touches and swipes on the iPad screen. Plus, I wonder if, with my limited knowledge of Java programming, I could make a Myst-style game... 5/20/12 Unbelievable. Un-be-frickin-lievable. I dont know how they managed to do it, but Mom and Dad have completely subverted the intended path of play for Myst. Their first, and probably most flagrant, premature discovery was the white page in the vault by the dock. They had no idea what to do with it and it vanished back into the vault, which is now closed, when they picked up another page, and as of now they have no idea how to open it, turning all the marker switches on and then turning the one by the dock off. I almost considered interfering in the game by deliberately turning off a Marker Switch unbeknownst to them, just to try to ensure they didnt accidentally stumble upon it again and found it legitimately, but this wasnt necessary, as theyve left the Marker Switch by the cogs off and arent likely to go up there again. And yet, maybe dumb luck might be the only way they will be able to find it, since in a very interesting twist, THEY MISSED THE FIRST HALF OF THE VAULT NOTE! They made it through Stoneship, Mom working out the telescope/compass connection and finding the Myst book hidden in the table when the underwater lamps were turned on, with Dad being the first to realize that the ship was in two sections around the rock and the paths down led to two different rooms- he even surmised that the rooms belonged to the two brothers, and correctly identified which room belonged to which brother! I was worried they wouldnt make that connection, but theyve got it in their minds now. But in looking through Achenars room, where the first half of the note is hidden, they arrived at the chest of drawers and, after playing with the Rose/Skull Hologram for a while, they began opening drawers, revealing various maps hidden within. I have no idea how it happened, but they managed to skip the one drawer of six that contained one of the most vital clues in the entire game. I was tempted to tell them that theyd skipped one, but I decided against it. Dad would say its because I enjoy watching them suffer while playing through the game, but my intentions arent malicious, I swear. For one, Im still maintaining the charade that Im totally unaware of the games secrets, even though by this point I know them fairly well, so that when I do suggest something I can do so in a way that doesnt seem to give away anything (and its working, by the way- Dad still thinks nothing Ive said has helped, as he articulated during the Selenetic Age, which Ill get

to later). For another, the whole point of this was to have them get an authentic puzzle game experience, meaning that Ill help them take baby steps, but for the really important stuff they have to get it themselves and what they miss, they miss. Lastly, the other half of the note is practically unmissable (gee, that sounds an awful lot like what I said about this half...), and honestly, since theyve already stumbled upon the vault once, it should be enough. After all, Ive looked into it and the majority of the information is in the second half of the note, I suppose since its supposed to be found last. Maybe mom and dad will think that the second half is all there is and fill in the missing information since they already have some idea of where to find the page. Regardless, they missed it, and well just have to see where that leads. Anyway, they did make it out of Stoneship and returned both pages to the books in the library, then proceeded to get stuck again. We were staying in Yosemite National Park when they reached this, the halfway point of the game (Just a thought: Sirrus mentioned there were only two more pages, yet he knows he needs three more? Maybe he meant two more in other Ages, trying to put off the page in the fireplace so he could win the player over and convince them not to open the green book until he was able to speak as clearly as possible through the static). And while I drove back to LA for a final week of classes at AFI, they took one last loop around California with trips to San Francisco and Big Sur, where they saw a whole beachload of elephant seals, and during which time they couldnt find their way off of Myst Island again. I sort of slipped up before I left Yosemite and told them that the next age they were going to was one of the easier ones and that Mom should drive through it. Dad saw through this and asked me how I knew that if I hadnt played the game in 11 years, to which I answered that I had looked back on it since then but only in passing. That seemed to keep my bluff safe, so when they returned to LA for the final two nights of their vacation I was ready to help them get to Channelwood. The only problem was, they didnt go to Channelwood- they went to Selenetic! The rocket ships has weighed heavily on them the entire game, since from the beginning its been the most obviously inaccessible area and one of the only locked doors where a solution is not even remotely apparent. Theyd found the tower rotation clue, 59 volts, long ago, but in trying to apply it theyd blown the circuit breakers between the generators and the rocket. Dad found one of them a long time ago but didnt know what it did, since when he tried it before there was still too much power in the generators. I prompted him to return when all the generators were off and he realized its true function, and upon returning to the generator room the Power to Ship gauge was working again. I did have to suggest they figure out exactly how much power each button allotted, but they did the math by themselves and were thrilled to find the door to the ship open. When confronted with the keyboard and the note-sliders, their attention to the details in the librarys journals truly paid off since they remembered the keyboard

diagram written inside and, with some trial and error and a few hummed pitches, they found their way into Selenetic. Dad always lets Mom bring them into the new Age, or Era as they call it, still believing that each Age is a representation of the same island at a different point in time. I wonder how long it will be before they realize this is not the case- both of them seem to cling to a theory once theyve got it in their heads, and it doesnt serve them well. The prime example of this is their tower rotation hypothesis, that rotating the tower to face a landmark on the island supplies power/electricity to that point, when there is nothing in the game to suggest this. I tried to talk them out of it and they seem to have recanted, recognizing that the tower rotation serves only to relay messages concerning how to access the books, but Im still concerned with how obstinate they are when it comes to holding on to matters of pure speculation. Like Sherlock Holmes said, change the theory to match the facts, not the other way around. Hopefully theyll realize this when the true meaning of the game is revealed: I keep telling them I look forward to the moment when they realize what the game is really about, and that it can be summed up in one word. So, on Selenetic, they proceeded to find the five symbols, not seeming to connect that the sounds around each (or most, I dont know about the obelisk) of them seemed to be connected to the symbols. They did register that the things above each symbol were microphones, something even I hadnt realized, and Dad wisely had each one of the switches turned on. He wasnt able to find the fifth symbol, the water drops, walking straight past it each time, but Mom found it with relative ease. Thats one of the problems I think Dad is having with the game: he gets turned around very easily and doesnt take time to really register where he is. Walking around Selenetic must have been very disorienting for him, since multiple times hed walk down the same path thinking he was heading in a completely different direction, only to become frustrated when he found himself back where he had started. Mom has problems with spatial reasoning as well, but her main issue aside from fixating on unimportant minutia is that she gets frustrated a lot more easily, so shes less willing to find her bearings when she gets lost or confused. She also keeps saying that she cant play the game, that she doesnt think it was designed for people like her, and when confronted with a puzzle with seemingly infinite combinations, shes too hesitant to try any of them (this is known in the gaming world as the Quicksand Box syndrome, where, as Tycho from the webcomic Penny Arcade describes it, When given the opportunity to do everything, [one] tend[s] to do nothing). Yet invariably five minutes after the peak of her complaints she finds herself making a breakthrough. In Mechanical it was finding the treasure/torture rooms, in Stoneship it was finding the Myst book hidden in the table, and here in Selenetic it was rotating each of the five satellite dishes over the control panel on the island in the middle of the crater to face the appropriate location as indicated by the symbols: water to water, fissure to fissure, clock to clock, etc. I wanted them to reach the Mazerunner before they left for home, so I innocuously suggested that they focus the dishes so there was no interference, and that they note the order the sounds were played in when the Sigma button was pressed. With that in mind, they quickly realized the sounds themselves were the code to be dialed into the door at the beginning of the

age and, after I pointed out that Dad had wrongly positioned one of the sliders, they reached the Mazerunner, blue page in hand. And thats where they are today. They played on the plane ride back but havent been able to figure out the logic behind the puzzle, that the noises made at each rotation point correspond to the directions theyre supposed to go to reach the Myst book. They also think that the Myst book is actually in the fountain on top of the grassy knoll on the surface, since thats where Atrus said he left it initially in the Selenetic journal, and that they somehow have to drain it to get the book. In theory, the vigorous note-taking player is supposed to be able to get the key to the Mazerunner almost instantly, since he or she will have marked the sounds made by the Fortress Rotation (Simulator or Genuine) in the Mechanical Age that indicate which direction the fortress is facing: a bing for north, a fsshh for east, a dong for south, and a whirr for west, which can be combined to indicate the secondary directions, and the same sounds correspond to the same directions here. This key is also deductable from the Mazerunner itself, since you start out with north being your only direction and get the bing from that, then a whirr indicates that of your two options west is best, since south would only take you back to where you were, then east and east which gives you the fsshh leaving only the dong for south, so you have what each one means. I only wonder how long it will take them to realize that the sounds are significant. Maybe when theyre both able to hear the game theyll get closer to the answer (their headphone splitter wasnt working properly on the plane so only one of them was able to hear- I wonder who it was? Maybe they each took one earbud from a single pair). Still, though, sound is the pervading motif in the Age- it took them sound from the keyboard to get there, the natural sounds of the Age opened the door to the Mazerunner, and now sounds are the key to navigating through the labyrinth- youd think theyd be in the mindset that sound would be their guide. Sure, I didnt exactly realize it the moment I got in this subterranean vessel (Mom thinks its a submarine, and it does kind of look like the Yellow Submarine, but theres no indication its ever underwater), but I recall not actually giving that part of Selenetic much thought, since the visuals in the Mazerunner werent as impressive as other parts of the game. I did beat it with the notes from Mrs. Cooks Myst journal, just following the path shed traced in a map of the whole maze (I dont recall if shed figured out the sound/direction connection). Maybe Mom and Dad will make a map too and just solve it by brute force, a perfectly legitimate, if less efficient, solution. If not, well, then theyll probably be stuck down there for a while. And I say let them sweat down there. Theyll get it eventually, and theyll probably slap themselves for missing it- the answers to most Myst puzzles tend to hide in plain sight (or sound) like that. But if it takes them a little while to get it, then so be it- itll be a good balance to the help Dad doesnt think Ive been giving them. Trust me, if I hadnt been looking over their shoulders and making a few little comments every now and then, they would still be in the Mechanical Age trying to figure out what to do with that elevator. The important thing right now is that they both think

they did it by themselves, and depending on whether I let them read this journal or not, it might just stay that way. So, well see what happens. Since theyve left LA now theyre bound to beat the game without me there, so they are officially on their own. I did tell them that this wasnt the easy age I had in mind, since they skipped Channelwood in favor of Selenetic, but they had to face it eventually if they want to beat the game. They came close to discovering Channelwood, Mom mistaking the piston-tree for the grassy knoll, still thinking time travel has something to do with the game, and failing to notice the elevator a distance up the trees trunk. Since the cabin with the boiler is the only thing on the island that hasnt been used to reach an Age yet, hopefully thats where theyll go when they get back from Selenetic, and turning off the boiler and hearing the noise the tree makes when it rises and falls should be their next step. And actually, this order might make things more interesting plot-wise, since now theyll come across Sirrus message to Achenar in his video recorder as one of the last things they see in the game, one of the only clues the player gets that the brothers are in cahoots and that neither should be trusted. Theyll also get the second half of the Vault Note just before the finale, and with any luck they should find the white page again and bring it to Atrus. Im so very eager to see what they do when presented with the final choice: Red, Blue, or Green? Whom to trust? What to do? Why to do it? And what, WHAT, is Myst really about? 5/31/12 Let them sweat down there, I said. Well, I got what I asked for, and sure enough, theyre still down there, trying to work out how to get out of the maze. They didnt even realize that it was a maze until I told them so, Dad thinking it was more of a transit system. No sir; its a 37-hub maze in which they are very, very lost. Funny how for all this talk about pointing them in the right direction, here thats the last thing Id be able to do lest I give away the answer. But I did give them a small hint (devilishly cryptic, as I called it). They recognized that the sounds bing, fsshh, whirr, and dong, had something to do with the puzzle, though they couldnt figure it out even when they took my advice and started making a map (which theyve only completed to seven hubs so far), and I think I may have figured out why. Theres an additional layer to this puzzle that complicates the matter further, needlessly in my opinion: On the right track, the sounds correspond to the direction that will bring the player closer to the end of the line and the book, but if you ever get off of the main track, the sounds correspond to the direction that takes you to the nearest dead-end, and once you reach that theres no sound at all. I remember when I got stuck at this part when I was 12 that some hubs had sounds and some didnt, but I never put it together that the silent ones were the dead ends, let alone that the sounds corresponded to directions and that they pointed the player in the right direction only under certain conditions.

Its definitely the hardest part of the game. Perhaps the Miller Brothers hadnt quite gotten the hang of puzzle-making yet when they conceived of this one- this is their first game for adults, after all. And yet there is a certain logic to it, frail though it may be- after all, Atrus meant the Mazerunner to be solvable only to those who knew how to navigate it, and the code was easy enough to deduce for someone who knows what to look (or listen) for, but hed want to throw off anyone else and so he put in the additional hubs to disorient anyone who didnt know what to do. That way theyd be down there for quite a while, probably solving it by brute-force if they never got the conditional logic down, or if theyd never been to Mechanical, which has the same sounds for the same directions. Come to think of it, I think the Miller Brothers did know what they were doing. After all, the game rewards dedication to note-taking, something I endlessly implored my parents to do in Mechanical, and yet they didnt listen... But I took pity on them. They were getting desperate, once again looking to wild, unsupported theories rather than focusing on deriving a pattern from what was right under their noses. Dad believed that the water in the pool on the grassy knoll (where both of them surmised the Myst book resided) had gone down once they opened the door to the Mazerunner (it hadnt, and Ive confirmed it). Mom believed the path taken by the Mazerunner corresponded to something on the surface of the Age (it didnt, and I told her so). So to get them going, I devised the aforementioned devilishly cryptic clue, which I gave to them over the phone: What are the sounds of news? If all goes well, they will recognize that the letters in news are all seen in the directions of the Mazerunners compass readout, N, E, W, and S. That, hopefully, will lead them to connect that each direction has its own sound. I told them to write it down, so maybe seeing the words and the letters will help them unravel my Mystical clue (see what I did there?). Im nervous about them getting off of the main path and reaching a dead-end, since that might make them scrap the correct idea about which sound corresponds to which direction. But if all else fails, theyve got their map, so theyll reach the end sooner or later. What I am looking forward to is revealing that they could have solved the whole thing in about five minutes if they had just been taking notes the whole time. Once theyve gotten both pages back from Selenetic, Ill tell them to go back to Mechanical and play around with Moms beloved Fortress Rotation Simulator, where theyll hear the same sounds that will have been driving them crazy for weeks. I can almost hear their exasperated reactions now- it will be glorious. 6/4/12 They made it out of the maze tonight, using the brute force solution, though when I talked to Dad he seemed to just fall short of realizing that the noises corresponded to directions. I guess my hint was too cryptic. I almost goofed and told Dad that the

maze randomly resets itself each time they go back to the age, but I realized I couldnt back that up and confessed that I mustve been thinking about Riven, which really does have several randomized puzzles. I think Dads onto me, since after my recollections and shockingly accurate predictions about their locations he asked if Id been playing the game, but I chalked it up to remembering from when they played it with me when they were out in California. Again, a necessary lie- its important to keep up the faade. Also interesting is that when they got back from the maze, they thought theyd put the page in the book but instead they had only opened the book to reveal Achenars previous message (the one he gives when only two pages have been put in) and forgotten to drag the page to the book itself, assuming it had happened on its own since the page disappears from the screen during the video. I realized this when Dad found his way back to Selenetic, or the Maze Age, as theyve come to call it (though its the proper name for the age, the word Selenetic doesnt actually appear in the game), and touching the red page produced the humming noise that accompanies a page being replaced in a book or placed back in its hiding spot in the Ages- this meant that the page they were holding had gone back to its original spot, and confirming that the blue page was back by the pool of water confirmed my suspicions. Theyre lucky I heard it over the phone, no? So now they have to go back through the maze again, following their map, which should get them there quickly, and then do it again to retrieve the red page for real. And then, only then, do I get to guide them to the Mechanical Age (or Gear World, as they call it- they also call Stoneship Ship Land, just to complete the nickname trifecta. I can only assume assume theyll call Channelwood Tree Ville) to show them how the directional noises were right in front of them for the longest time. If only theyd taken better notes. Hee hee. Seriously, why wont they take notes? Getting back from Selenetic they didnt even remember how to return to get the other page, completely forgetting that it had something to do with the rocket ship. Sure, it had been a while since theyd had to arrange the musical sliders to activate the linking window, but again, had they written it down to begin with they would have remembered in an instant, wouldnt they? Stubborn parents. After theyve gotten each of the third pages back, and after I show them the Mechanical Age noises, Ive vowed to maintain complete silence regarding hints or pointers, no matter how cryptic. Theyll have to figure out how to get to Channelwood, how to find the pages, and how to get back all on their own, and when it comes to that theyll have the big decision to make. Red or Blue? Sirrus or Achenar? Greed or Sadism? The beauty of the game is that before you can refuse both you have to choose one or the other. Which will be more appealing, or less repugnant, to them? Will they find the missing Myst page? Will the information on the second half of the Vault Access page be enough? And when alls said and done... will they have liked it?

6/13/12 Okay, so it wasnt immensely satisfying revealing the secret of the Mazerunner, since neither parent had even thought for a moment about writing down the sounds made by Moms precious Fortress Rotation Simulator, but they did recognize why the sounds were what they were, and that the answer had been right in front of them the whole time. Hopefully theyll be more cautious in Riven- sound figures in that game, too (hint, hint)! So they solved the maze twice more and got both pages back to the brothers, meaning only one Age remains: Channelwood. I had been slightly worried that they would once again be at a loss for how to leave the hub island of Myst and venture into a new Age, but thankfully Dad realized that the only thing on the island that hadnt yet played any part in concealing a book was the cabin with the boiler and the tree, and remembering that the tower rotation line turned red when pointed towards the tree, he knew it significant and began trying to unravel its secrets, even in a post-Bonnaroo haze. He realized that turning the boiler down released pressure and, hearing the noise from outside, ran out and saw that the tree was sinking into the ground with every hiss, and that a small platform was carved into the tree. When I left them they hadnt figured out what to do with this, though Dad was trying to see if he could ride the platform down into the ground somehow- Mom had the good idea to count the times the tree rises and falls so they could gauge the platforms position without having to leave the valve, though really they could just turn it all the way up, wait until it stops rising, then turn it all the way down and run outside with plenty of time to spare. Regardless, theyre very close to entering a new Age. Or maybe they have already, if theyve played more since I last checked in. I think theyll like Channelwood- as I said before, it feels like the most complete Age, and its beautiful to boot. Hopefully with their experience in the Mazerunner will lead them to create diagrams and/or maps for the water pipes and treehouses, since they can be a bit disorienting. Finding the book in that Age isnt hard compared to finding the pages, and of course with the pages comes the shocking revelation that NEITHER brother can be trusted, as well as the second half of the Myst Vault Note. So much to look forward to in these next few play sessions! I listened to them over the phone as they placed the fourth pages in the red and blue books, hearing Sirrus and Achenar pleading once again not to free the other brother, but when I asked them whom they trusted more they had no idea. I guess it didnt come across that the decadent parts of the ages were more Sirrus speciality, while the more grim aspects were Achenars. I think the Miller brothers definitely intend for us to trust Sirrus more, assuming we pick up on that, until we see Sirrus message to Achenarbut will they know what it means, what it refers to? They know they have to make a choice soon, so which will it be? I know they wont leave the Age without first finding both pages and discussing which one to bring back to some extent. Maybe

Achenars giant bear trap and god-complex-revealing messages will dissuade them from returning the blue one. Sirrus, however, has that knife under his bed... wonder what theyll think of that? I just hope they get it right the first time. Getting trapped in either of the books or in Dni is really demoralizing, even if you know its coming, and reloading from an earlier save feels cheap, though I dont think that would bother them quite as much as it would me. The prospect of being trapped forever is just so horrifying, I wonder how they would take it- would they assume thats just how the game ends? The credits do roll after the bad endings in the iPad version- would they feel inclined to go back and try something different? Will they have a bookmark near the crucial point, or will they have to retrace a significant portion of the game? So many questions. But thats just part of the game, I suppose. When they start Riven there will undoubtedly be exponentially more such questions since the game is far more immense and complex. Its good for them, though, to be challenged like this, and for them to start seeing things with the mindset of a gamer, which I feel is a good way to approach real-world obstacles since a gamer is willing to experiment but ultimately seeks a path of elegance and efficiency. Ive decided, therefore, that they shall play at least one game to completion per year for the rest of their lives, with me picking the games and guiding them through (though they have to beat it on their own). Myst was a good place to start (technically Dads got a lot of Portal experience under his belt, though he has yet to beat the second one), and the sequel will be a good continuation, but what next? I could send my PS2 home with Exile in 2014 and let them play that, but maybe theyll be tired of Myst-like puzzle games by then. RPGs like Final Fantasy VII are too time-consuming, repetitive (I can only imagine Dads frustration at the endless random encounters), and confusing (Mom would have a conniption trying to understand Materia), and action games are too violent for Mom. Ooh, how about Limbo? Its nice and short, I bet theyd appreciate that, plus its hauntingly brilliant and beautiful with cold hard logic mixed in with deep but subtle emotion. The whole trial-by-death aspect of the thing might be a little frustrating for them, but it could be worse- I couldve given them Super Meat Boy or VVVVVV. Whatever, thats two years from now. Ill find something that they can relate to that will still enhance their perception of the world of gaming. Right now, I need to focus on their progress through the world of Myst. Theyve come so far, and the end is just ahead- a crucial juncture, and a very difficult decision, awaits... 6/19/12 The ending approaches... they did indeed make it into Channelwood (or treehouse land, as they call it, pretty close to what I thought theyd name it) and have figured out how to operate the elevators by diverting the water supply with the switches on the pipes. Theyve only explored the first and second levels so far, not having found how to reach the top treehouses. I didnt ask if theyve found the Myst book yet, but I

wouldnt be surprised- if they know about the waterpower then they might have raised the bridge and extended the pipe to get the water to the correct elevator. Thats not really much of a puzzle, just a natural progression that shouldnt be a problem. Getting to the top level is a little more subtle, but theyll get it- they have to find the lever to open the doors to the spiral staircase so they can move between the first and second levels without using an elevator, then route the water to the motor below the elevator by the spiral staircase so they can ride it from the second to the third level, where theyll find the pages, the second half of the note... and Sirrus message to Achenar. Its exciting to think that everything crucial to them reaching the best ending of the game lies just above them. I keep urging them to start thinking about whom they trust, but they dont seem to have any clue so far- they do know, from the messages the brothers gave after the third pages, that each brother claims the other is guilty of something, though Achenar is the only one that claims their father is dead at his brothers hand. My biggest fear is that theyll pick a brother, get his message about the fireplace and code 158, then find the two pages and the green book but decide that before they do anything they want to hear what the other brother has to say and give him the page they found in the fireplace... which automatically completes the book and traps them inside, freeing the brother within and locking them into a rather disturbing ending. Not to mention that theyll have to go all the way back to the last place they bookmarked, which as far as I know is before the Mazerunner when I saved their progress for them since that part is a little glitchy on my iPhone version- maybe theyve bookmarked since, I dont know. I should tell them to save their progress. In fact, hold on a second... ...Okay, Im back. I sent them both transcripts of the most recent messages from Sirrus and Achenar for their records, and, as an added twist, I requested that when the time comes to make the choice, Mom be the one to do it- after all, it technically is her game for her iPad. I specifically emphasized the emotional significance of the ending so that hopefully theyll recognize the need to bookmark right before anything crucial, even though I didnt say it outright. Just keeping them on their toes. 6/30/12 10:59 PM Im here live with both parents as they initiate what could and should be their final session with their first of many birthday-gift video games, Myst. Mom is taking the wheel first, while Dad, who has been driving all day to reach our current location of Chautauqua, New York, checks his e-mail and plays a few games of Scrabble, though Mom is already starting to get frustrated- apparently the water power pipes puzzle was done primarily by Dad, who, at the moment, is still playing Scrabble and is telling Mom to chill. They work so well together.

11:09 PM Dad has taken it upon himself to get Myst running while Mom looks at a picture on his computer. 11:11 PM Mom has resumed driving with Dad in the passenger seat. They are on the second level of the treehouse but returning to the pumphouse under the windmill. 11:22 PM Rather than seeking the secrets of the upper levels of the Age, the parents have proceeded to start unraveling the Myst-eries (see what I did there?) of the other elevator, the one that leads to the Myst book. Undoubtedly theyll be happy to find a way out of the Age, but disappointed that they are no closer to finding either page. Dad keeps mentioning how they should be diagramming the pipes and treehouses, but so far he has yet to touch pen to paper. 11:43 PM After saying three times how they should have been diagramming the whole thing, Dad has finally begun to map the world, with Mom driving hastily. They should find the... oops, nevermind, theyre too tired, theyre going to bed. Well try again later. 7/01/12 10:11 PM And, were back! Mom at the wheel and Dad making a map, they press on. Today, Mom revealed that she officially believes the father to be dead, with one of the brothers responsible. Dad joked that he thought blue was good and red was bad, but based solely on how red states vote Romney. 10:14 PM Mom is finally starting to slow down from her usual frenetic pace, but mapping is going slowly. Theyve had to return to the windmill/pumphouse several times to regain their bearings. 10:17 PM Dad has made a Myst-ake (See what I did there? Or is this joke making you Pyst off?) on the map. Mom realized it and is trying to correct him, though they dont know where the error is. 10:19 PM Theyve figured out how to divert power to the elevator leading to the Myst book. Stand by. 10:26 PM Theyre back in the treehouses. Dad only thinks there are three of them and does not wish to explore there anymore. Mom correctly thinks that the spiral staircase is not

an elevator, though they do not get that the door to the staircase is locked. Mom correctly thinks the staircase is a way down from the second level. 10:31 PM Dads main problem is that he does not recognize that two of the pipes converge again after splitting. 10:36 PM Mom thinks there are two elevators. Dad thought there were three, but corrected himself when he saw that the spiral was just a door. 10:42 PM They had it, but they lost it. 10:43 PM Wait a minute, they got it again! Theyre about to find the Myst book... hold on, it seems like Dad thinks water has to be going to the bridge generator even when its not on. 10:44 PM Okay, theyre proofreading the map, Dad driving and Mom with the pen. Looks like they figured out the pipes rejoin at one point, the intersection with no valve. 10:56 PM Mom had successfully mapped the pipes and walkways when she began complaining that they hadnt done anything that night. I counted backwards from ten and sure enough, they had found the book before I was done. Thats how it goes, isnt it? Mom complains about the game being too hard for her, and invariably, INVARIABLY, they discover something new within moments. They went back to Myst, pageless, and I showed them the map that was in the Channelwood journal the whole time. Again, taking notes would have saved them so much time and frustration (as would not just playing this with me at night, when theyre tired and frustrated). Dad has forgotten how to get back to that Age, but remembered when I suggested, once again, that they review their notes. They have realized they must return to that Age once more and find the pages, and that is where they stopped tonight. Stay tuned. 7/2/12 3:57 PM Dad has begun what is hopefully the final session, while Mom finishes up a phone call. They agreed to play once during the afternoon so they wouldnt be so tired. Dad has begun by reviewing the Channelwood journal in the library, since the map they worked so hard to make yesterday was already there. I dont know if it will help them, but once they return to the Age they should quickly realize that the

treehouses they currently believe to be empty and pointless actually hold the secret to the spiral staircase, and therefore the pages. 4:10 PM Dad started outside but couldnt see the screen well enough in the sunlight, so weve moved back inside. He has begun drawing a new map. Mom is still on the phone. 4:12 PM Dad has stopped redrawing the map, as Mom is here now and has told him that the map is fine. She wants Dad to go back up the elevator where they found the book to see if there is anything else there. 4:19 PM One of the most significant landmarks theyre using is The Big Tree, which they identify as the first tree that sits in front of a valve. It seems to be helping them get oriented. Theyve just returned to the second level and are looking for the spiral staircase. Hope they find the lever... 4:22 PM Well, they didnt find the lever right away, but they did realize that the elevator by the spiral goes up. Dads looking for a way out- maybe hell stumble upon the lever while theyre looking... 4:27 PM Nope, they walked right past the lever. Theyve returned to the surface and are back to manipulating valves. 4:37 PM Interesting, they know that directing the water still plays some role, but figuring out what would require them to focus on something else, namely finding the lever that opens the door to the spiral staircase. Hopefully, theyll soon return to the second level and explore there some more. 4:47 PM Dads gone to change clothes from after waterskiiing. Mom asked for a hint, and instead, I gave her advice: search the places youve been the least. This got her thinking of the treehouses that theyd rushed through and now has her looking through the second levels. 4:49 PM Mom thinks theyve been up to the second level a lot, so theres nothing worth seeing. I wonder why she doesnt apply that same logic to the surface level? 4:50 PM Asked Mom why she doesnt make a map of the treehouses. Seems like shes about to try it.

4:59 PM They found the lever. From here, the game is nearly done. Its time to end this once and for all. They are redirecting water to the second level elevator by the spiral and are about to discover a hell of a lot about the brothers and their deceit against their father. 5:04 PM They found Achenars messenger and his bear trap but havent listened to any of the messages besides Sirrus. Why did they skip the first three buttons? 5:08 PM Okay, they found the other three messages of Achenar speaking to his subjects as a god. What impression of Achenar is this giving them? Also, they cant seem to find the red page, since they havent yet realized that Sirrus room is behind the elevator. 5:10 PM They found Sirrus room, and the red page! Please, PLEASE dont miss the second half of the note. 5:13 PM They found the second half of the note... and are disregarding it. They arent even writing anything down. 5:14 PM Once again, I besought them to take notes. They seem to think the half-note about the vault is unimportant. 5:29 PM They got the hint about the note and recorded it. Mom filled in a good part of the missing information, though they did not get that the whole note is telling you to turn all the marker switches ON. They chose the blue page. Makes no difference, but I did get them to save. I think theyre apprehensive about the ending... whats going to happen? Will they trust the sons, or go with their gut and open the green book? 5:41 PM They returned to Myst and listened to Achenars final plea, getting the code 158 and finding the book of patterns. Time for dinner and a symphony, to be continued. 10:19 PM The final stretch. Mom is now copying the fireplace pattern. She wants to do that before anything else, like getting the red page from Channelwood.

10:22 PM They have turned the fireplace and found the book and pages contained therein. Mom wisely ignored Achenars plea not to open the green book and they are now listening to the fathers speech. 10:26 PM The speech was interrupted by a blender, and unfortunately is cannot be repeated, but they got the idea. Dad is looking for the page, based on the half-note that they found in Channelwood, and they know its somewhere by the dock, but they cant get the vault to open again, even though they found the white page once before on accident. Stand by... 10:29 PM Dad is going around Myst turning all the Marker Switches off. This might take a while... 10:32 PM Dad has expressed how disappointed he is that the game isnt over yet. 10:44 PM I told them theyve already found the vault. Have they really forgotten the white page? 10:46 PM Told them that the vault does not fit a person. 10:47 PM Dad remembers the white page. He has hypothesized that the area beneath the marker switch is the vault. 10:53 PM Mom figured out the missing information from the half-note and told Dad to turn all the marker switches on, then turn the one at the dock off, revealing the white page, effectively ending the game. Dad is now entering the code into the fireplace and bringing Atrus the page he needs to be freed. 10:57 PM Watching the ending now. Atrus has vanished and is now reappearing. 11:02 PM Its over. I never really realized how emotional the ending is. You struggle and you claw your way through mind-bending puzzles in a land from which you cannot escape, and in which you have no place. You slowly lose

confidence in the only two people youve found in the otherwise abandoned worlds, who constantly beg of you to help them at the expense of leaving the other imprisoned in an empty void of a prison, claiming him to be a monster, the ravager of entire populations and the murderer of their father- a dilemma of conscience like no other. Inaction cant serve you, since your explorations of the island and its Ages, beautiful though they may be, still confine and isolate you, and so eventually you are forced to make a decision. To move ahead, you must risk everything on one of the brothers, whose character you know cannot be fully trusted. You must make yourself vulnerable to betrayal and accept the consequences of that action. And then, after taking this plunge from which there may be no resurfacing, a reversal arises: Their father is alive! Trapped, but alive nonetheless, and also in need of your help. Do you believe his story, that both of his sons are wicked and that you must bring him the White Page to free him? His version of events seems to match reality most closely, so you decide to help him. And he destroys the books. From that endpoint, the entire point of the game was to enable a father to kill his sons. And so it is you that has become the betrayer of the ones who enabled you to come so far, that drove you to explore and discover beyond the confines of the island. Wicked though they may have been, without them there would have been no escape from this age- your dependence on them for your own salvation, as well as their fathers desperation and impulsiveness in doling out their punishments, are not easy to accept. Nor is the notion that Atrus will someday require more of you, and that you may have no choice but to accept if you wish to right an even more chilling wrong. He is the last thing you see before the credits, tragically writing away in an enormous book, which he can never cease to do lest he lose his wife forever, but in doing so he also keeps her captor alive as well. Such is the power of storytelling in video games: that moral choices are thrust upon the player as the protagonist, and completion by necessity requires him to come to distrust the only other characters in the game, meaning he must enter into a state of uncertainty and moral ambiguity to reach the best ending, which requires turning his back on those he must presume to be guilty. Its not just a judgment, its an execution, and a shocking burden the player is saddled with in the end. I explained as much as I could about stuff they had missed: the intended path of play, the half of the note they had Myst (see what I did there?), the greed vs. sadism dynamic between the two brothers, and the moral dilemma the character is faced with and the consequences they are left with in the end. I even showed them one of the bad endings (Achenar being freed), and, as a preview for next March, the intro to Riven on Youtube. Surely, they must be ecstatic.

I guess they did about as well as I could expect. Dad seemed the most immersed, not surprising since he has much more gaming experience. Mom, on the other hand, kept insisting that the game is beyond her, that she cannot figure out the puzzles, yet time and time again she proved herself wrong with a revelation that occurred invariably within a minute of a plea to be handed the answer to a given problem, only to return to frustration and annoyance when faced with the next hurdle. This cycle, unfortunately, was not broken- if only she would realize how well she did. She need only review the pages of this journal to see how much progress she made despite her frustrations. Perhaps I was nave to think it would be a video game that would bolster her confidence, and that pushing her, impatiently, would prompt her to inspiration, but I cant help but think that maybe it did some good. Maybe having it finished and behind her, just one more mountain climbed, will remind her of what she is truly capable of overcoming. Oh, by the way,the word was writing. It may seem overly romantic, but its not a bad mindset for a writer to hold. After all, isnt Myst just what I do? Write links to whole new worlds, unraveling the connections between dimensions and bridging them together? The journals in the Myst Library call writing The Art, that putting pen to paper quite literally transforms the fabric of reality to unlock passages to new worlds, new Ages. So sooner or later, they have to understand that their visits to the strange and fantastic worlds they are linking to are the product of an author writing bridges to them. What an awesome concept, that books and writing have the power to transport us to anywhere we can imagine simply by laying your hand on the page; but its a humble concept as well, with the caveat that the author doesnt actually create these worlds, but only builds a link to the pre-existing Age. Thats a concept at least one man, Atrus foe, waiting for him in Riven, could not grasp....