Posted August 26, 2016
Taken to a better place.
UPDATE: Taken by Robyn Miller's amazing <span class="bold">soundtrack</span>? You can now pull it out of the gameworld and let it roam free in yours! It contains 28 tracks, both in mp3 and FLAC, plus all your hopes and dreams.
<span class="bold">Obduction®</span>, the much anticipated first-person puzzle/exploration adventure from the makers of the legendary Myst series, is available now, DRM-free on GOG.com.
A fateful encounter with an organic artifact that fell from the sky transports you to a distant world that feels both completely alien and strangely familiar. As if a slice of Earth lodged itself inside a surreal landscape full of giant pieces of machinery, unknown technology, and strange creatures. While trying to make sense of this mysterious place and your purpose in it, you'll gradually uncover adjacent worlds, harboring their own mysteries and echoes of previous inhabitants.
As a true spiritual successor to <span class="bold">Myst</span>, Obduction® relies on similar storytelling and world-building techniques, so expect FMV actors inside breathtaking environments. The borders of reality, fantasy, and dream often become blurred, but you'll need your powers of perception at full swing in order to overcome the devious puzzles and compelling mysteries of this incredible world - especially if you are experiencing it in overwhelming VR.
Explore and absorb the secrets of an alien landscape full of wonders in <span class="bold">Obduction®</span>, DRM-free on GOG.com.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/yxspyVX_FqA
Q&A with Cyan Worlds
You asked the questions, Cyan gave us the answers. Enjoy!
How did Cyan approach puzzle design for a game like this? Puzzles have changed a lot since Myst came out and in the book From Myst to Riven, Rand spoke about how good puzzles don't feel like puzzles but tasks in the world you are completing; invisible and intuitive. I wonder how you approached puzzle design for this game and whether or not you took inspiration from any new puzzle/adventure games out there? — JoystickJunkie64
We love the idea of removing the player from a familiar situation and putting them in a completely unfamiliar place. In some ways -- and without giving too much away -- Obduction’s game mechanics and puzzle design pull from that, which may remind players of the experience they had playing Myst. With that being said, Obduction is still its own game with a refreshingly different story, and we spent hundreds of hours coming up with puzzles that are both rewarding and challenging to complete, and help progress the player’s understanding of the story at the same time.
With Obduction taking advantage of the latest tech to push amazing visuals, sound, etc, do the puzzles take advantage of this with it being an HD, 3D world to explore? - Mewzard
It has been such a blast working in an engine that supports real-time graphics during gameplay. We have an extremely talented team of artists who have worked so hard to make the environments and puzzles in Obduction look incredible and feel real to the player as they walk around and take in the space they’re in. Since we have also been developing a VR version of the game, we are taking special care in making sure interactable objects/puzzles scale well compared to the player, which ensures that the experience feels as natural and life-like as possible. Overall, the puzzles in Obduction do not shy away from relying on the surrounding environment to tell a story about them, so we hope that our players take time to explore and enjoy the worlds we’ve created.
How difficult will the puzzles in Obduction be, compared to Myst and Riven? Will the game feature an in-game hint system? - Crosmando
The puzzles in Obduction will be difficult, but the solutions are never pulled out of thin air. The puzzles are most akin to Riven, where although they are complex, each solution has a rhyme or reason to it: whether it is something the player observes from the environment they’re in, a number system they’ve learned from the civilization that used to inhabit the area, etc. Our aim in creating each puzzle was to create “A-ha!” moments from our players upon solving them, not moments of sheer frustration and confusions, so we’re hoping that our puzzles will feel as rewarding to the player as they were intended to be.
We will not have an in-game hint system, but we will have a glint system that indicates interactable objects in the game for those who may feel they need a guiding hand or may be overwhelmed by the expanse of our worlds.
Will Obduction reward veteran puzzle players with tougher puzzles or alternate endings? - Pearcinator
There are several different ways to play through Obduction.
We will leave it at that.
How do you deal with the new generations of gamers? - Alex_Gol
We know that the generation of gamers who played and loved Myst are not going to be the only ones playing Obduction. It’s been nearly 23 years since Myst came out and there have been significant shifts of mindsets in the gaming industry since then. Thus, we’ve taken our core principles that made our games so successful in the first place and adapted them to fit new technology, mechanics, and interaction that suit the demand of the gaming industry today. We think that with these new tools and almost a metamorphosis of the way we’ve developed games up until now, Obduction will fuel our player’s sense of imagination, wonder, and exploration -- just like Myst did 23 years ago -- while still remaining relevant and innovative in today’s day and age.
How long is the game? - SolidSnale
Depending on how you play it, Obduction can take 5-20+ hours to complete.
About note-taking and books to read:
As with our previous games, note-taking will be helpful when playing Obduction, although not 100% necessary. We created a new picture-taking and photo-viewing system for Obduction that will alleviate the need to stop the game to jot down some notes. This way, players can remain immersed in the game and look through their picture notes in the in-game menu for reference.
There are plenty of books to read in-game, and some of these books shine more light into the lore behind Obduction. We hope that those texts and other experiences in the game can whet the appetite of players who always seek to know more about the environment they’re in.
Any chance of a third person perspective as well? - Moonbeam
In the spirit of Myst, we are only providing a first-person player perspective in Obduction.
Will there be subtitles or anything like closed captioning in this game? - gwprime
We have subtitles and interface translations for 7 different languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, and Simplified Chinese.
I am really intrigued by a new game coming from Cyan. I see that the game is developed for Windows and Mac. Is a linux version in development plans, too? — igrok
Obduction will have support for Windows at launch and Mac coming soon. Linux will not be supported at release but perhaps will be in a future update to the game.
UPDATE: Taken by Robyn Miller's amazing <span class="bold">soundtrack</span>? You can now pull it out of the gameworld and let it roam free in yours! It contains 28 tracks, both in mp3 and FLAC, plus all your hopes and dreams.
<span class="bold">Obduction®</span>, the much anticipated first-person puzzle/exploration adventure from the makers of the legendary Myst series, is available now, DRM-free on GOG.com.
A fateful encounter with an organic artifact that fell from the sky transports you to a distant world that feels both completely alien and strangely familiar. As if a slice of Earth lodged itself inside a surreal landscape full of giant pieces of machinery, unknown technology, and strange creatures. While trying to make sense of this mysterious place and your purpose in it, you'll gradually uncover adjacent worlds, harboring their own mysteries and echoes of previous inhabitants.
As a true spiritual successor to <span class="bold">Myst</span>, Obduction® relies on similar storytelling and world-building techniques, so expect FMV actors inside breathtaking environments. The borders of reality, fantasy, and dream often become blurred, but you'll need your powers of perception at full swing in order to overcome the devious puzzles and compelling mysteries of this incredible world - especially if you are experiencing it in overwhelming VR.
Explore and absorb the secrets of an alien landscape full of wonders in <span class="bold">Obduction®</span>, DRM-free on GOG.com.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/yxspyVX_FqA
Q&A with Cyan Worlds
You asked the questions, Cyan gave us the answers. Enjoy!
How did Cyan approach puzzle design for a game like this? Puzzles have changed a lot since Myst came out and in the book From Myst to Riven, Rand spoke about how good puzzles don't feel like puzzles but tasks in the world you are completing; invisible and intuitive. I wonder how you approached puzzle design for this game and whether or not you took inspiration from any new puzzle/adventure games out there? — JoystickJunkie64
We love the idea of removing the player from a familiar situation and putting them in a completely unfamiliar place. In some ways -- and without giving too much away -- Obduction’s game mechanics and puzzle design pull from that, which may remind players of the experience they had playing Myst. With that being said, Obduction is still its own game with a refreshingly different story, and we spent hundreds of hours coming up with puzzles that are both rewarding and challenging to complete, and help progress the player’s understanding of the story at the same time.
With Obduction taking advantage of the latest tech to push amazing visuals, sound, etc, do the puzzles take advantage of this with it being an HD, 3D world to explore? - Mewzard
It has been such a blast working in an engine that supports real-time graphics during gameplay. We have an extremely talented team of artists who have worked so hard to make the environments and puzzles in Obduction look incredible and feel real to the player as they walk around and take in the space they’re in. Since we have also been developing a VR version of the game, we are taking special care in making sure interactable objects/puzzles scale well compared to the player, which ensures that the experience feels as natural and life-like as possible. Overall, the puzzles in Obduction do not shy away from relying on the surrounding environment to tell a story about them, so we hope that our players take time to explore and enjoy the worlds we’ve created.
How difficult will the puzzles in Obduction be, compared to Myst and Riven? Will the game feature an in-game hint system? - Crosmando
The puzzles in Obduction will be difficult, but the solutions are never pulled out of thin air. The puzzles are most akin to Riven, where although they are complex, each solution has a rhyme or reason to it: whether it is something the player observes from the environment they’re in, a number system they’ve learned from the civilization that used to inhabit the area, etc. Our aim in creating each puzzle was to create “A-ha!” moments from our players upon solving them, not moments of sheer frustration and confusions, so we’re hoping that our puzzles will feel as rewarding to the player as they were intended to be.
We will not have an in-game hint system, but we will have a glint system that indicates interactable objects in the game for those who may feel they need a guiding hand or may be overwhelmed by the expanse of our worlds.
Will Obduction reward veteran puzzle players with tougher puzzles or alternate endings? - Pearcinator
There are several different ways to play through Obduction.
We will leave it at that.
How do you deal with the new generations of gamers? - Alex_Gol
We know that the generation of gamers who played and loved Myst are not going to be the only ones playing Obduction. It’s been nearly 23 years since Myst came out and there have been significant shifts of mindsets in the gaming industry since then. Thus, we’ve taken our core principles that made our games so successful in the first place and adapted them to fit new technology, mechanics, and interaction that suit the demand of the gaming industry today. We think that with these new tools and almost a metamorphosis of the way we’ve developed games up until now, Obduction will fuel our player’s sense of imagination, wonder, and exploration -- just like Myst did 23 years ago -- while still remaining relevant and innovative in today’s day and age.
How long is the game? - SolidSnale
Depending on how you play it, Obduction can take 5-20+ hours to complete.
About note-taking and books to read:
As with our previous games, note-taking will be helpful when playing Obduction, although not 100% necessary. We created a new picture-taking and photo-viewing system for Obduction that will alleviate the need to stop the game to jot down some notes. This way, players can remain immersed in the game and look through their picture notes in the in-game menu for reference.
There are plenty of books to read in-game, and some of these books shine more light into the lore behind Obduction. We hope that those texts and other experiences in the game can whet the appetite of players who always seek to know more about the environment they’re in.
Any chance of a third person perspective as well? - Moonbeam
In the spirit of Myst, we are only providing a first-person player perspective in Obduction.
Will there be subtitles or anything like closed captioning in this game? - gwprime
We have subtitles and interface translations for 7 different languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, and Simplified Chinese.
I am really intrigued by a new game coming from Cyan. I see that the game is developed for Windows and Mac. Is a linux version in development plans, too? — igrok
Obduction will have support for Windows at launch and Mac coming soon. Linux will not be supported at release but perhaps will be in a future update to the game.
Post edited August 26, 2016 by maladr0Id
