Here's an idea which I think Cyan would do...
We all know Uru was a big failure because Cyan couldn't keep paying for the
serves and bandwidth when so few signed up.
The problem with playing Myst online is that you generally play it by yourself
or with a friend/spouse or someone else. And you usually sit together at the
computer (or as me - connect it to the projector in the living room).
So what's in between then? Well, a personal Uru server, of course! I know they
released Uru as a personal server some time ago, I haven't tried it. I think it
was more of a "We don't know what to do. Here, play with this" kind of thing.
But a problem me and my friend is experiencing is that it's hard toi find time
to visit each other to play myst games with family and job taking way too much
precious Myst playing time away
So, what if Uru was revived, but not as an online service. I buy a copy of the
game, install it on my computer and then I can host a Myst game - and invite
other players to play with me.
The huge difference is that for this personal server, I would invite friends to
play Myst with me - not to play Myst on my Myst server - i.e. they wouldn't be
playing seperately.
So, this would mean that this version needs to support:
Live in-game audio for discussion, and a chat mode.
A crucial part of any Myst game - to discuss and talk about the puzzles.
Individual mode
Each player has a character of his/her own and can walk around with the group -
and some puzzle might be easier to solve when you have multiple people (think
pressure plates and time puzzles). IN this mode, players can't walk away too
far from the group, or will be transported to it automatically or manually
(i.e. if you get left behind a closing door or just get lost).
Master mode
But for convenience, a player can be set as Master player, and a mode can be
invoked in the other characters disappaer and everyone is watching one
character, or in first-person mode. This is the "transport mode" or the
"discussion mode" where discussion about the various puzzles take place.
Individual mode is more for solving puzzles. The role of being master can be
passed to any player in the group.
Note and screenshot mode (or rather - collaboration mode)
All notes found in the game isn't left on the table it was lying on, but rather
collected into a form of inventory, which each player has access to and can
look at. Savegames are saved on the server and can only be invoked by the one
who is hosting the game. This is a full-screen mode that has the inventory,
screenshots, notes and books sorted into "views" or tabs or something like
that. This view also have all the players in a top frame and a text chat for
sending information.
So, it's a cooperative playing experience. Maybe there would be a limit of four
players per server, including the one who hosts it. Mostly, only two would use
it I assume. There shouldn't be any puzzles that REQUIRE more than one players,
but some that benefit from it.
And, just as Uru, new Ages and puzzles would be created all the time, and
instead of a monthly payment to play on Cyans servers, new additions are
downloadable (and paid for) from within the game in the collaboration "room".
The players connect to the server, enter the collaboration room where a new
book is found on a pillar, but it's translucent. We open it and can read about
it, and when we place the hand on the panel the world is downloaded to the
server and then distributed to the clients (which get to borrow the servers
license, but can't play it offline unless they also pay for it). All of this
should take place inside the game and not through menues.
Any thoughts? I think it would be a great idea and Cyan could keep making money
for as long as they produce small Ages with puzzles. If they're smart they
incorporate parts of much bigger puzzles in the various smaller Ages - so each
six months a huge new Age (which is a lot more expensive, but includes all
other smaller ages) is released which needs information from the smaller ages
to be completed. This would cater to both the ones who want to play the latest
Age all the time and those who wait for something more substantial is released.
Long post, and pretty few readers here, but at least I got to say it
--
Sandman[.net]
"Apple beat Wintel to market with 64 bit personal computers"
- Edwin
FAQ
Search
Profile
Private Messages
Log in/Register/Password
