Seeing the Myst Through the Trees

Myst is an enigma. On the rare occasion that a game is remembered more than 10 years after its release gaming public en masse will generally have chosen an extreme stance regarding its quality, whether it be reverence or derision. Myst is the exception to this tradition in that it still tends to invoke strong opinions on both sides of the fence. I thoroughly enjoying the game (Which I just finished playing yesterday). Yet, I can see why the game’s quality is in contention.

Myst is only enjoyable, (and in fact comprehensible) if it approached with the proper mindset. Most games are intended to be played with meta-game thinking. This term, coined to describe bad players in Pen and Paper RPGs, refers to a type of puzzle-solving which differentiates between figuring something out in real life and in an intelligently designed world. For example, there is a physics puzzle in Half-Life 2 that requires the player to raise a ramp in order to jump off of it. The Ramp is lifted by a counterweight that appears not to have been used in ages, as the mechanism holding it breaks upon attempted use. This is already fairly convoluted, and in real life this would almost certainly be an insurmountable obstacle. However, there is a ladder leading up to the top of some large pipes, which have a tight-rope attached to them which in turn leads to a platform which, fortunately, has a very heavy washing machine resting on it. This Maytag happens to be able the correct weight to raise the jump-ramp just enough for use, when it is coaxed onto the counter-weight. The odds of encountering this precise situation in real life approaches zero and few people, should they face this conundrum, would find this particularly obscure solution.

Myst requires a fundamentally different approach. All of the machines in the game were designed in order to be used by people. Of course, the people operating them before the player arrived were the same people who built them, thus instruction manuals are not forthcoming. Fortunately these inventors don’t want to forget important codes or keys, so they have taken note of the more archaic aspects of their machines much to the benefit of the player. Can you figure out what mindset is needed to play Myst? I’ve given you all the clues that you should need. Don’t go to the next paragraph till you have a guess.

The correct answer is this: Meta-Machine thinking. If the player meta-games than the possible solutions to any puzzle will be near infinite. However, if the player assumes that all of the MACHINES were designed than they will have enough clues to figure out how they work. For example (note: I’m about to spoil part of a “puzzle”) There is one “age”, or area as most people call them, which has a number of elevators, but electrical generators. The only other landmark in this area is a windmill. In meta-game terms there could be any number of solutions to this puzzle. However, obviously somebody wanted to use these elevators, there is no sign of a place where a generator might have been and the windmill has no other apparent purpose. Further, the journal about this age made no mention of any power supply. Thereby it is quite evident that the windmill would be used to power the elevators. The means to achieving this is also apparent; the age is predominantly water. Once the player turns on the pipes the waters path is easily followed by listening for its passage through the pipes. Anyone not having noticed the pipes running along the walkways will at this point. This will also lead to the switches that reroute the water wherever it is needed.

**end spoiler**

Myst flows so well that I could continue using that line of logic until the end of the age. Nearly every puzzle in the game can be solved in this way, and those 1 or 2 that cannot are still possible to figure out (and they make perfect sense afterwards). In fact, I am hesitant to even refer to the challenges as puzzles, since each machine really brackets other machines and every portion of the game leads into another.

Myst is intended to be played in a very existential way. Rather than constantly obsessing on how to move forward, it is absolutely vital that the player immerse themselves into the world and think purely in terms of what they have read and seen on the island of Myst. Otherwise the game will quite simply make no sense. This is a rather fortunate trait because the atmosphere of the game is such that it can only really be enjoyed to its full extent if the player is properly engaged with the world. In fact, I urge anyone who plays the game to avoid using guides as much as possible, since Myst is not at all enriched by outside influences, nor does it require them.

As a post-script, I would like to relate an account of the most archaic puzzles I have ever encountered (the game shall remain nameless since I’m quite fond of its sequel). The challenge requires the player to open an electric panel. Why this needs to be done is, in itself absurd, but we have to start somewhere. In order to open the panel the player needs a key which, for no discernable reason, is lodged in the subway train track in another part of town. In order to get the key the player must first take their clothesline off the hook. This causes a blow-up pool ring to fall into the water below. In order to free it, the player feeds the seagulls which help to release the pool ring where it becomes trapped. The player then has to go and find the pool ring next to the café. They also have to release the pressure from a broken valve in order to remove the clamp holding it together. These 3 pieces form a fishing rod. Once a hole is opened in the pool-ring the clamp will slowly close around the key. Then another incomprehensible puzzle begins.

And don’t get me started on Starship Titanic.

Green + Red + Yellow games

(Note: this post will make the most sense if you have actually played Resident Evil 4, though it certainly has value if you have not. I should also mention that I have played through both the Wii and GCN versions on both Normal and Hard difficulty multiple times, with several arbitrary criteria in order to mix the game up. This has culminated in the unlocking of the Hand Cannon in the Wii version. I think you will agree that this gives me some authority on the gameplay and its curiosities.)

Resident Evil 4 is an enigma. It is usually referred to as survival horror, but that hardly describes the intense action that the game puts the player through. However, ResE 4 is only an action game in the broadest terms. It is real time, and the player takes direct control of Leon Kennedy, but the tense and methodical gameplay is a far cry from a typical action game. If I were forced to put Resident Evil 4 into a genre, it would be real time strategy. Ludicrous you say? Please, hear me out.

Most real time strategy games rely heavily on decisions about troop allocations and placement. Similarly, ResE 4 rewards those who are in the right place at the right time and using the right gun, not just those who have the best aim. This is reflected in the relatively small change in difficulty between the Wii and console versions. In a game that requires precise aiming above all else, the controller of the PS2 and Game cube would pale in comparison to the intuitive Wiimote. In fact, aiming can become virtually impossible for several seconds if you make a mistake in either version of the game. Yet neither is punishingly difficult, so long as the player continues to outmaneuver the hoards of infected. A good ResE4 player will spend more time running than shooting. For this reason, one could easily argue that Resident Evil 4 has stayed true to its roots as a survival horror game.

Survival horror games place most of their emphasis on careful use of ammunition and constant motion. These are very important elements of ResE 4. As previously discussed, running from enemies to gain a better vantage point is vital to beating the game. Ammo conservation is altered from a problem of limited supplies to that of the sheer number of targets. It is important to choose shots carefully, taking into account the weapon in use. For example, the Pistol is useful when surrounded so long as the player never fires off more than a few shots, while shotgun ammo should usually be expended only when a large number of enemies have moved together. Of course, unless the player aims correctly they could easily spend the entire game searching for ammo and health. It is vital that players are able to aim effectively and fairly quickly and so it is quite apparent that ResE4 should qualify as an action game.

Action game is a very broad category. However, the general aspects that define an action game are some form of combat, gameplay that requires control of both character movement and a weapon. They are always set in real time and almost universally require the player to repeatedly use their reflexes, think on their feet and recognize patterns in enemy behavior. All of these features are present in ResE 4, with a constant emphasis on quick reflexes, aiming and pattern abuse.

Resident Evil 4 is an enigma. It is in fact a blending of the best elements of action, survival horror and strategy. Many (if not most) modern classics either combine elements in a flowing way or create entirely gameplay. GTA, MGS, God of War, Half-Life: these all combine several genres to the point where it is not immediately apparent that no single genre can really do them justice. This is the main reason that the genre “action game” exists. It is a repository for those games which do not conform to any real standard. It is a shame that we have been wedged into the mentality that games can be fit into categories. This probably isn’t good for creativity, at least the term “Doom Clone” contained the admition of borrowed ideas.

That said, one cannot help but love Duke Nukem and Sonic, among other games which have rather obvious roots.

Homeopothy For Headwounds

It is a curious factor of any combat-oriented video game that, universally, the player is forced to endure the most absurd odds and yet still survives to defeat whichever force it is that drives the game. How does one person survive 20 hours of constant combat, alone against a planet of enemies? How does one person succeed in destroying machines which are clearly designed with the ability of destroying armies, let alone a single person? How does a small squad of people fight an entire world of monsters, which attack relentlessly whenever the comforts of home are abandoned? The answer lies in the most absurd of all gaming conventions. Not the magic bag, nor the ridiculous accuracy of the crosshair. No, the reason that players always beat the computer at its own game is that ultimate concession to mistakes.

The health pack.

Call it a med kit, a healing spell, a regenerative shield or an energy orb if you like; they all provide the same basic service of compensating for player errors. The central idea is identical to that of endless arcade games, in the sense that the player is allowed to make a number of mistakes equal to the number of quarters they have with them. In fact, if someone had infallible ability than they could play through any video game without needing any health packs. In the same way a player could play Missile Command for months without needing more than a single quarter. In the real world there is no physical law that prevents a single person from killing thousands of trained and armed soldiers, it’s just absurdly unlikely that someone would do this without making a mistake (which would, of course, mean death).

The recent popularity of regenerative health bars has shifted the emphasis slightly. Regenerative health only punishes strings of errors, whereas a single misstep is quickly rendered irrelevant. This has certainly led to smoother transitions between areas, since there is no longer a need for the added distraction of finding an actual health pack. However, most game designers still seemed attached to standard health meters and they can hardly be blamed for it. After all, health pack game design has served us quite well until now. I personally do hope that we see more regenerative health bars, but that doesn’t mean that it should wholly replace the old standby.

The philosophy of game design through forgiveness may be considered “wussy” by someone who has played through Ikaruga, but in reality it is absolutely necessary component of the video game’s acceptance into popular culture. Take as an example Street Fighter 2; this arcade game was absurdly popular for a few years, but once the veterans asserted themselves it was virtually impossible for any newcomer to properly learn how to play. For a modern example we can use Counter-Strike. It takes a substantial amount of dedication to even approach the skill level of the average CS player, simply because they have been playing for so many years. The advantage that online games have is that it is always possible to find a “n00b server” which is more amenable to inexperienced players.

If single player games were always as hard to progress in as Street Fighter 2, then very few people would play them. Imagine if Half-Life was as difficult as Contra. That would be a horrible loss, since a fantastic experience would become un-available to most people. Further, all of the effort put in by the game designers would have gone to waste as only the most dedicated would be able to see their work.

I have spent my entire time here essentially praising health pack mentality, but I do want to say that it is unusual that alternatives have not arisen. For example, there is no FPS that provides a realistic but low level of difficulty. True, games such as Condemned: Criminal Origins provide realistic damage but, of course, Condemned contains health packs. It is strange that game designers are so hesitant to make single encounters more intimate and detailed rather than throwing oh so many enemies at us.