“We raised $1 million and that was enough to get a substantial part of the game done, and then we put quite a bit of our own money into the project from profits generated from selling mobile versions of our own game,” Miller says. Not every game was successful, which meant there was no way for this new game to be developed without the help of gamers. Miller reflects that over the years, his company has had some ups and downs.

The new game, which is not a sequel to Myst, was literally kickstarted through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. Cyan Worlds is also offering the classic point-and-click controls for the more casual gamer, while more experienced gamers can explore the 3D world the traditional way. Miller notes that Obduction follows the same gameplay pattern as Myst, which means the story and the environments that are revealed are part of the reward for playing. Just like in Myst, once you find your place, you have choices to make towards the end of things.” You uncover why you’re there and what it all means. “We’ve gone less for a sterile alien spaceship with scalpels and more of an organic feeling with an object that whisks you away to a strange place that’s juxtaposed with pieces of Earth from different time pieces with a very alien landscape. “The idea is if you were abducted, what would that feel like?” Miller explains. Now the Miller brothers are back with a brand new adventure called Obduction, which will make its gameplay debut at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) this week in San Francisco. The overall Myst franchise sold over 12 million copies. Riven, the sequel to Myst, sold another 4.5 million copies. The original Myst sold over six million copies and held the title of bestselling PC game ever until Electronic Arts released The Sims in 2002. That resonated with a more mainstream audience that hadn’t previously used the PC to play anything by Solitaire. But the idea of being dropped into a world that you weren’t sure what you could do, or why you were there, and without the stress of killing things or leveling up-it worked for whatever reason.” “It surprised us because we were a couple of brothers in a garage, and we thought some people would like it. “ Myst resonated with people and connected with a broader audience,” says Rand Miller, co-founder of Cyan Worlds.

Obduction kickstarter download