Those of you who are old enough may remember back in 1993 a revolutionary new computer game was released - MYST. Back then it used the Mac's Hypercard and Quicktime, with 3D modelling and rendering software Stratavision. Simple yet effective (more background info here).
As far as today's interactive media is concerned, the original MYST was pretty low tech. When I consider this it becomes clear that pretty much anyone with an intermediate knowledge of Flash and Actionscript could produce a comparable game today.
What set MYST apart then wasn't the technology, but the creativity with which the technology was used.
And this is what I keep trying to get my students to understand. It isn't all about being able to use the software, loads of people can do that. It is about the thinking, the ideas and the creativity.
That is why we emphasise the design process over the final outcome.
Of course later versions of MYST are a lot more complex than the original in 1993, but the ideas, the thinking and the creativity is still what drives the process, even if the technology has changed.
As demonstrated in this making of video...
The Making Of Myst Iii Exile via Noolmusic.com
2 comments:
I always wanted to play MYST.
I played it, but never completed it. I found I just wasn't willing to spend enough time solving it. For it's time it was really cutting edge. I played on a PowerMac so got it the way the designers intended.
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