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Myst Developer Takes to Kickstarter to Fund New Game Obduction

Cyan, the video game studio which produced the groundbreaking PC game Myst two decades ago, is seeking to crowd-fund a new game called Obduction on Kickstarter.

October 18, 2013
Cyan Obduction

Cyan, the video game studio which produced the groundbreaking PC game Myst two decades ago, is seeking to crowd-fund a new game called Obduction on Kickstarter.

The studio is seeking $1.1 million to produce Obduction, described on the game's Kickstarter page as "an all-new, real-time, first-person adventure that harkens back to the spirit" of Myst and its 1997 sequel, Riven.

"This year marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of Myst, one of the best-selling computer games in history. The Myst name is widely recognized as uniquely defining a new kind of gaming—amazingly immersive worlds where the point is to understand your environment rather than test your reflexes," the Mead, Wash.-based game studio writes in its Kickstarter pitch.

"The Obduction project will take what Cyan knows about creating deeply immersive worlds and apply it to an entirely new game with fantastic scenery, incredible architecture, compelling story, and exceptional challenges."

The game will begin when a "curious, organic artifact drops from the sky and inexplicably whisks you away across the universes to who-knows-where (or when, or why)," according to the developers. Players will then explore a visually arresting open world, solving puzzles in a search for answers in the style of Myst and Riven.

Obduction, if it is produced, will be created with Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 for the Windows and Mac platforms. As of Friday evening, Cyan had raised a little more than $340,000 from more than 6,300 backers with 28 days to go on its Kickstarter.

Cyan is offering its investors access to exclusive backer forums where it will make Obduction's development process "transparent and accessible," with supporters given the chance to "interact directly with the creators, read behind-the-scenes blog posts about the ins and outs of the game's development, and stay current with our overall progress."

Cyan Obduction

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Damon Poeter

Damon Poeter got his start in journalism working for the English-language daily newspaper The Nation in Bangkok, Thailand. He covered everything from local news to sports and entertainment before settling on technology in the mid-2000s. Prior to joining PCMag, Damon worked at CRN and the Gilroy Dispatch. He has also written for the San Francisco Chronicle and Japan Times, among other newspapers and periodicals.

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