Riven remake

[WallaceChambers]

https://af.gog.com/game/riven?as=1649904300

Spoiler

Cyan has announced a Riven Remake.

 

[Venser]

Hope it has a VR support.

 

[Boleskine]

Can't wait for RealVR Riven 3D: Masterpiece Edition.

But seriously that's awesome news. A Riven remake/remaster has been LONG overdue.

 

[Star Citizen]

I hope all the peeps laid off got compensated for their work, they only kept one dev from the original fan project.

 

[RaggleFraggle]

If nothing else, this will help introduce a new generation to the fascinating multiverse of the D'ni

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

I'm glad to see its been moving forward. As nice as Myst remakes are, I'm willing to bet most players know the island like the back of their hand right now.

 

[manifest]

Putting the cart before the horses; they haven't even ported Myst to UE5 yet.

 

[EyesOnYou]

Cool and what not, but I love too much nostalgic 3D of late 90s/early 00s, so pass.

 

[Darkozric]

Imagine zoomers playing Riven without a walkthrough. I doubt that they can finish it even with a walkthrough.

 

[Tweed]

Yeah, yeah, Pyst remake when?

 

[Boleskine]

Imagine zoomers playing Riven without a walkthrough. I doubt that they can finish it even with a walkthrough.

Finish? They won't make it two minutes into the game before quitting.

"What am I supposed to do!?"
"Where's the map and quest marker!?"
"How do I unlock weapon upgrades!?"
"AND DEAR GOD DOES THIS GAME HAVE A TUTORIAL!?!?!?!?"

 

[Darkozric]

Imagine zoomers playing Riven without a walkthrough. I doubt that they can finish it even with a walkthrough.

Finish? They won't make it two minutes into the game before quitting.

"What am I supposed to do!?"
"Where's the map and quest marker!?"
"How do I unlock weapon upgrades!?"
"AND DEAR GOD DOES THIS GAME HAVE A TUTORIAL!?!?!?!?"

I'm sure they will include an in-game hint system. But even with the hint system another question arises, do zoomers have the attention span to play a game like Riven?

 

[manifest]

Imagine zoomers playing Riven without a walkthrough. I doubt that they can finish it even with a walkthrough.

Finish? They won't make it two minutes into the game before quitting.

"What am I supposed to do!?"
"Where's the map and quest marker!?"
"How do I unlock weapon upgrades!?"
"AND DEAR GOD DOES THIS GAME HAVE A TUTORIAL!?!?!?!?"

I'm sure they will include an in-game hint system. But even with the hint system another question arises, do zoomers have the attention span to play a game like Riven?

Look at the Scorn thread, then count the zoomers.

 

[Jaedar]

Finish? They won't make it two minutes into the game before quitting.

I played Riven fairly close to its release date I think, so I was probably younger than 10. Didn't know english so well and I'm pretty sure I didn't manage to solve a single puzzle. Still have kind of fond memories about it just cause it had really cool graphics and neat art style.

But I don't think you can recreate that kind of "amazing graphics + low system requirements" effect since it relied a lot on the graphics being prerendered.

I do wonder who this is for though. Puzzle games inherently have very low replayability, and I don't think the writing of Riven is noteworthy enough for people to want to reexperience it either. I guess the people who missed it the first time, but... the game still looks pretty good.

 

[Darkozric]

Riven was always special to me. It was 98, one year before my military service when I played it. This shit drove me insane back in the day. When I finished it, it felt like one of my greatest adventure accomplishments.

I wish I could find the notes of my first playthrough since they were fucking hilarious. I replayed it around 10 years ago and it was still great, timeless.

Riven is about loneliness and ambiance, it was never about the writing. You won't replay it for this reason.

A small clip from my second playthrough. Nostalgia must flow.



Fishy

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Imagine zoomers playing Riven without a walkthrough. I doubt that they can finish it even with a walkthrough.

Finish? They won't make it two minutes into the game before quitting.

"What am I supposed to do!?"
"Where's the map and quest marker!?"
"How do I unlock weapon upgrades!?"
"AND DEAR GOD DOES THIS GAME HAVE A TUTORIAL!?!?!?!?"

"This game is boring, all you ever do is just randomly click on things until something happens!"
Scratch that, they'd probably be playing it on a Xbox...

Finish? They won't make it two minutes into the game before quitting.

I played Riven fairly close to its release date I think, so I was probably younger than 10. Didn't know english so well and I'm pretty sure I didn't manage to solve a single puzzle. Still have kind of fond memories about it just cause it had really cool graphics and neat art style.

But I don't think you can recreate that kind of "amazing graphics + low system requirements" effect since it relied a lot on the graphics being prerendered.

I do wonder who this is for though. Puzzle games inherently have very low replayability, and I don't think the writing of Riven is noteworthy enough for people to want to reexperience it either. I guess the people who missed it the first time, but... the game still looks pretty good.

Same as every other remaster? People who don't quite play it as often as we do, or even at all, but have memories of it from when they were a kid, and for whom this would be a great nostalgic experience. Bear in mind a lot of people tend to put games from 25+ years ago that aren't their favorites on a backlog, assuming they're even interested in playing something that old at all. Or that people who aren't replaying these titles every three years tend to forget most of the puzzles.
For the rest of us, I imagine its just so we can see what they can do now, and maybe replay it. While Myst aged really well, Riven looked photo-realistic the last time I checked, it was just really low resolution. Plus I'm sure VR support is going to be included, which means you could actually walk across Riven now, which might just be worth the cost of admission.

 

[Modron]

Imagine zoomers playing Riven without a walkthrough. I doubt that they can finish it even with a walkthrough.

Imagine codexers playing an RPG without a map oh wait they complained about that endlessly in the Underrail thread.

 

[catfood]

I'm interested how they will implement the change to 3D movements since in the original game there were some clues that you would only be able to convey through fixed screens, like for example that break in the wall of a cave that looked like a frog from a specific angle.

 

[Darkozric]

While Myst aged really well, Riven looked photo-realistic the last time I checked, it was just really low resolution.

Riven looks fine even by today's standards. As I've previously said it's timeless. Myst did not age well in terms of gameplay, Myst is the inferior game here. It was ok, but it felt like you're messing with stuff in an Amusement Park.
In contrast, Riven's islands were interconnected and coherent. It's the epitome of thinking, and it's probably the only game that is based on the premise that 99% of people just see stuff but do not notice them.
And in this game one who cannot observe, but simply sees, and is unable to perceive what he/she sees, cannot perceive and distinguish the difference. One simply cannot exist.

In this game, I think that the words of the great Dutch artist M.C. Escher fit perfectly: "I doubt if the public will ever understand, let alone appreciate, the amount of mental gymnastics that has preceded the construction of such an image"

 

[Darkozric]

 

[Arryosha]

What's the next best game in the franchise after Riven? I only played Riven and Myst (and Obduction).

 

[Darkozric]

What's the next best game in the franchise after Riven? I only played Riven and Myst (and Obduction).

Myst 3 is also good. It's similar to the first game, with different worlds, starring the amazing Brad Dourif as Saavedro.

Also you should definitely try Uru. One of the richest and most interesting worlds with great ambiance and lore. Its puzzles leave behind many other titles easily.

You can still play Uru online but it's not necessary, the GOG version Uru: Complete Chronicles is also playable, removing some online cooperative parts.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

What's the next best game in the franchise after Riven? I only played Riven and Myst (and Obduction).

I second Myst 3. It feels like a very tight experience, with nothing about it being bad. It also has the most interesting set of endings.

The fourth game is interesting. Its by far the one with the most focus on story, and it retcons some of the story elements of Myst. That said, it has one of the most tedious puzzles in the series, and that's after they patched it to be less crap. I haven't really played the final two games in the series yet, but as I understand, it goes Uru then Myst V.

 

[Darkozric]

cheering for a lever being pulled

 

[Paladino]

It may be old news, but Cyan is working on a remake.