Robyn (left) and Rand Miller as Sirrus and Alchenar in Myst.
UPDATE 1/98 -- Since this article was written, Cyan has released Riven, the sequel to Myst. Cyan used HyperCard to create Riven and to test the gameplay. Broderbund (the distributor) then converted it to a proprietary application for the runtime. For more information about Riven, see my other web site -- the Riven Unofficial Home Page.
yst is one of the most successful computer games ever made. It has
sold more than two million copies and grossed over $100 million -- more
than many blockbuster movies.
By the way, it was made with HyperCard.
Myst didn't come from one of the software
giants. It was made by Cyan, a small
software company in Spokane, Washington, owned by two brothers -- Rand
and Robyn Miller. Myst is their most famous creation, but it's actually
just the latest in a series of highly-acclaimed HyperCard games from Cyan.
~~~~~~
Robyn and Rand Miller grew up in a religious family.
Their father, Ron, was a nondenominational preacher and their family made
frequent moves as he served in various churches around the country.
Rand, the oldest of four children, spent his
high school years in Albuquerque. After school he'd walk to the science
building at the nearby University of New Mexico. He'd swipe computer passwords
from the trash so he could hack into the system and play Lunar Lander.
He went on to attend college there and then moved to Texas to work as a
computer programmer at a bank.
Robyn, seven year younger than Rand, enjoyed
painting, playing guitar, and drawing pictures of fantasy lands, but wasn't
interested in computer games. "I was always dying and having to start
over," he said, "What fun was that?"
Rand had an idea for an interactive childrens'
storybook. "There wasn't a lot of high-quality stuff for kids out
there at the time and I thought HyperCard was a perfect vehicle to provide
it." He asked Robyn to illustrate it. "Rand wrote to me with
his idea (I was in Seattle and he was in Texas)," Robyn said, "and
I sat down with HyperCard and never looked back. This world just kind of
emerged."
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Myst is Copyright ©1993 Cyan, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Myst Æ is a registered trademark of Cyan, Inc.
The Manhole and Cosmic Osmo are trademarks of Cyan, Inc.
Spelunx is a trademark of Cyan, Inc. and Broderbund, Inc.