History Trivia / Myst

** ShrugOfGod: RAWA also frequently point out that if fans disagree with anything he say they are [[FanonDiscontinuity free to disregard it]].

* TropeNamer: Creator/DouglasAdams coined the term "BeautifulVoid" in his review of the game.

* FollowTheLeader: Kicked off a slew of first-person adventure puzzle games. Even on Wiki/ThisVeryWiki, see how many 1990s adventure games are called "''Myst''-like". For example: ''VideoGame/AtlantisTheLostTales'', ''VideoGame/BlueLacuna'', ''VideoGame/DustATaleOfTheWiredWest'', ''VideoGame/GadgetPastAsFuture'', ''VideoGame/LighthouseTheDarkBeing'', ''VideoGame/{{Manhunter}}'', ''VideoGame/MissionCritical'', ''VideoGame/{{Obsidian}}'', ''VideoGame/TheDameWasLoaded'', ''VideoGame/TheTaleOfOrpheosCurse'', ''VideoGame/TheWitness'', ''VideoGame/{{Timelapse}}'', ''VideoGame/AlidaTheEnigmaticGiant'', ''VideoGame/TheCrystalKey'', ''VideoGame/{{Morpheus}}'', ''VideoGame/ZorkNemesis''.

* KillerApp: Originally, it was one of the selling points of the Mac. And when it was finally ported to the PC, PC owners actually bought a sound card and a CD-ROM drive along with the game (the latter was necessary as the game only came on CD-ROM, the former was necessary to enjoy the game fully since a typical PC of the era had no built in sampled audio capabilities- also, sound cards of the era included a built in proprietary pre-IDE controller, which is actually necessary for adding a CD-ROM drive to a PC because IDE CD-ROM drives weren't developed yet and all CD-ROM drives of the era only had either the SCSI interface or a non-IDE proprietary interface). It also caused PC owners to buy a mouse and a copy of Windows if their PC was old enough to not come with it. In other words, it was the killer app that nudged the PC towards the built in audio and multimedia path that it is following today. Most CD-ROM titles prior to Myst sold poorly due to PC owners' mindset (that sound and CD-ROM drives were unnecessary luxuries) of the period. Additionally, many CD-ROM releases of the type were simply {{Compilation Rerelease}}s or "enhanced" re-releases of existing games that were also sold on floppy that didn't really offer anything new. ''Myst'' was one of the first games to be released exclusively on CD, had full-motion video, and had smashing reviews that coaxed computer owners to check it out.

* FollowTheLeader: Kicked off a slew of first-person adventure puzzle games. Even on ThisVeryWiki, see how many 1990s adventure games are called "''Myst''-like". For example: ''VideoGame/AtlantisTheLostTales'', ''VideoGame/BlueLacuna'', ''VideoGame/DustATaleOfTheWiredWest'', ''VideoGame/GadgetPastAsFuture'', ''VideoGame/LighthouseTheDarkBeing'', ''VideoGame/{{Manhunter}}'', ''VideoGame/MissionCritical'', ''VideoGame/{{Obsidian}}'', ''VideoGame/TheDameWasLoaded'', ''VideoGame/TheTaleOfOrpheosCurse'', ''VideoGame/TheWitness'', ''VideoGame/{{Timelapse}}'', ''VideoGame/AlidaTheEnigmaticGiant'', ''VideoGame/TheCrystalKey'', ''VideoGame/{{Morpheus}}'', ''VideoGame/ZorkNemesis''.

* KillerApp: Originally, it was one of the selling points of the Mac. And when it was finally ported to the PC, PC owners actually bought a sound card and a CD-ROM drive along with the game (the latter was necessary as the game only came on CD-ROM, the former was necessary to enjoy the game fully since a typical PC of the era had no built in sampled audio capabilities- also, sound cards of the era included a built in proprietary pre-IDE controller, which is actually necessary for adding a CD-ROM drive to a PC because IDE CD-ROM drives weren't developed yet and all CD-ROM drives of the era only had either the SCSI interface or a non-IDE proprietary interface). It also caused PC owners to buy a mouse and a copy of Windows if their PC was old enough to not come with it. In other words, it was the killer app that nudged the PC towards the built in audio and multimedia path that it is following today. Most CD-ROM titles prior to Myst sold poorly due to PC owners' mindset (that sound and CD-ROM drives were unnecessary luxuries) of the period. Additionally, many CD-ROM releases of the type were simply {{CompilationRerelease}}s or "enhanced" re-releases of existing games that were also sold on floppy that didn't really offer anything new. ''Myst'' was one of the first games to be released exclusively on CD, had full-motion video, and had smashing reviews that coaxed computer owners to check it out.

* KillerApp: Originally, it was one of the selling points of the Mac. And when it was finally ported to the PC, PC owners actually bought a sound card and a CD-ROM drive along with the game (the latter was necessary as the game only came on CD-ROM, the former was necessary to enjoy the game fully since a typical PC of the era had no built in sampled audio capabilities- also, sound cards of the era included a built in proprietary pre-IDE controller, which is actually necessary for adding a CD-ROM drive to a PC because IDE CD-ROM drives weren't developed yet and all CD-ROM drives of the era only had either the SCSI interface or a non-IDE proprietary interface). It also caused PC owners to buy a mouse and a copy of Windows if their PC was old enough to not come with it. In other words, it was the killer app that nudged the PC towards the built in audio and multimedia path that it is following today. Most CD-ROM titles prior to Myst sold poorly due to PC owners' mindset (that sound and CD-ROM drives were unnecessary luxuries) of the period. Additionally, many CD-ROM releases of the type were simply a CompilationRerelease or a "enhanced" re-release of existing games that were also sold on floppy that didn't really offer anything new. ''Myst'' was one of the first games to be released exclusively on CD, had full-motion video, and had smashing reviews that coaxed computer owners to check it out.

* CreatorBacklash: The Miller brothers have expressed their regrets for the underground mazerunner puzzle in the Selenitic Age, saying they didn't expect anybody to actually map that puzzle out ([[spoiler:The idea was for you to listen to the sounds and use TrialAndErrorGameplay to figure out which cardinal direction the sounds meant, but a number of people missed the hint]]).

* KillerApp: Originally, it was one of the selling points of the Mac. And when it was finally ported to the PC, PC owners actually bought a sound card and a CD-ROM drive along with the game (the latter was necessary as the game only came on CD-ROM, the former was necessary to enjoy the game fully since a typical PC of the era had no built in sampled audio capabilities- also, sound cards of the era included a built in proprietary pre-IDE controller, which is actually necessary for adding a CD-ROM drive to a PC because IDE CD-ROM drives weren't developed yet and all CD-ROM drives of the era only had either the SCSI interface or a non-IDE proprietary interface). It also caused PC owners to buy a mouse and a copy of Windows if their PC was old enough to not come with it. In other words, it was the killer app that nudged the PC towards the built in audio and multimedia path that it is following today. Most CD-ROM titles prior to Myst sold poorly due to PC owners' mindset (that sound and CD-ROM drives were unnecessary luxuries) of the period. Additionally, many CD-ROM releases of the type were simply a CompilationRerelease or a "enhanced" re-release of existing games that were also sold on floppy that didn't really offer anything new. ''Myst'' was one of the first games to be released exclusively on CD and had smashing reviews that coaxed computer owners to check it out.

* KillerApp: Originally, it was one of the selling points of the Mac. And when it was finally ported to the PC, PC owners actually bought a sound card and a CD-ROM drive along with the game (the latter was necessary as the game only came on CD-ROM, the former was necessary to enjoy the game fully since a typical PC of the era had no built in sampled audio capabilities- also, sound cards of the era included a built in proprietary pre-IDE controller, which is actually necessary for adding a CD-ROM drive to a PC because IDE CD-ROM drives weren't developed yet and all CD-ROM drives of the era only had either the SCSI interface or a non-IDE proprietary interface). It also caused PC owners to buy a mouse and a copy of Windows if their PC was old enough to not come with it. In other words, it was the killer app that nudged the PC towards the built in audio and multimedia path that it is following today. Most CD-ROM titles at the time sold poorly due to PC owners' mindset (that sound and CD-ROM drives were unnecessary luxuries) of the period. ''Myst'' was one of the first games to be released exclusively on CD and had smashing reviews that coaxed computer owners to check it out.

* KillerApp: Originally, it was one of the selling points of the Mac. And when it was finally ported to the PC, PC owners actually bought a sound card and a CD-ROM drive along with the game (the latter was necessary as the game only came on CD-ROM, the former was necessary to enjoy the game fully since a typical PC of the era had no built in sampled audio capabilities- also, sound cards of the era included a built in proprietary pre-IDE controller, which is actually necessary for adding a CD-ROM drive to a PC because IDE CD-ROM drives weren't developed yet and all CD-ROM drives of the era only had either the SCSI interface or a non-IDE proprietary interface). It also caused PC owners to buy a mouse and a copy of Windows if their PC was old enough to not come with it. In other words, it was the killer app that nudged the PC towards the built in audio and multimedia path that it is following today. Most CD-ROM at the time sold poorly of due to the PC owners' mindset (that sound and CD-ROM drives were unnecessary luxuries) of the period. ''Myst'' was one of the first games to be released exclusively on CD and had smashing reviews that coaxed computer owners to check it out.

* KillerApp: Originally, it was one of the selling points of the Mac. And when it was finally ported to the PC, PC owners actually bought a sound card and a CD-ROM drive along with the game (the latter was necessary as the game only came on CD-ROM, the former was necessary to enjoy the game fully since a typical PC of the era had no built in sampled audio capabilities- also, sound cards of the era included a built in proprietary pre-IDE controller, which is actually necessary for adding a CD-ROM drive to a PC because IDE CD-ROM drives weren't developed yet and all CD-ROM drives of the era only had either the SCSI interface or a non-IDE proprietary interface). In other words, it was the killer app that nudged the PC towards the built in audio and multimedia path that it is following today. Most CD-ROM games up to this point were either "enhanced" versions of existing floppy games with voice soundtracks or {{Compilation Rerelease}}s of other games. ''Myst'' was one of the first games to be released exclusively on CD.

* KillerApp: Originally, it was one of the selling points of the Mac. And when it was finally ported to the PC, PC owners actually bought a sound card and a CD-ROM drive along with the game (the latter was necessary as the game only came on CD-ROM, the former was necessary to enjoy the game fully since a typical PC of the era had no built in sampled audio capabilities- also, sound cards of the era included a built in proprietary pre-IDE controller, which is actually necessary for adding a CD-ROM drive to a PC because IDE CD-ROM drives weren't developed yet and all CD-ROM drives of the era only had either the SCSI interface or a non-IDE proprietary interface). In other words, it was the killer app that nudged the PC towards the built in audio and multimedia path that it is following today.

* FollowTheLeader: Kicked off a slew of first-person adventure puzzle games. Even on ThisVeryWiki, see how many 1990s adventure games are called "''Myst''-like". For example: ''VideoGame/AtlantisTheLostTales'', ''VideoGame/BlueLacuna'', ''VideoGame/DustATaleOfTheWiredWest'', ''VideoGame/GadgetPastAsFuture'', ''VideoGame/LighthouseTheDarkBeing'', ''VideoGame/{{Manhunter}}'', ''VideoGame/MissionCritical'', ''VideoGame/{{Obsidian}}'', ''VideoGame/TheDameWasLoaded'', ''VideoGame/TheTaleOfOrpheosCurse'', ''VideoGame/TheWitness'', ''VideoGame/{{Timelapse}}'', ''VideoGame/AlidaTheEnigmaticGiant'', ''VideoGame/TheCrystalKey'', ''VideoGame/{{Morpheus}}'' ''VideoGame/ZorkNemesis''.

* FollowTheLeader: Kicked off a slew of first-person adventure puzzle games. Even on ThisVeryWiki, see how many 1990s adventure games are called "''Myst''-like". For example: ''VideoGame/AtlantisTheLostTales'', ''VideoGame/BlueLacuna'', ''VideoGame/DustATaleOfTheWiredWest'', ''VideoGame/GadgetPastAsFuture'', ''VideoGame/LighthouseTheDarkBeing'', ''VideoGame/{{Manhunter}}'', ''VideoGame/MissionCritical'', ''VideoGame/{{Obsidian}}'', ''VideoGame/TheDameWasLoaded'', ''VideoGame/TheTaleOfOrpheosCurse'', ''VideoGame/TheWitness'', ''VideoGame/{{Timelapse}}'', ''VideoGame/ZorkNemesis''.

* FollowTheLeader: Kicked off a slew of first-person adventure puzzle games of varying quality.

* WhatCouldHaveBee: Originally, players were going to travel to the various Ages using magic paintings or exotic machines instead of Linking Books.

* CreatorBacklash: The Miller brothers have expressed their regrets for the underground mazerunner puzzle in the Selenitic Age, saying they didn't expect anybody to actually map that puzzle out ([[spoiler:The idea was for you to listen to the sounds and use TrialAndErrorGameplay to figure out which cardinal direction the sounds meant, but very few people got the hint]]).

* KillerApp: Originally, it was one of the selling points of the Mac. And when it was finally ported to the PC, PC owners actually bought a sound card and a CD-ROM drive along with the game (the latter was necessary as the game only came on CD-ROM, the former was necessary to enjoy the game fully since a typical PC of the era had no built in sampled audio capabilities- also, sound cards of the era included a built in SCSI controller, which is actually necessary for adding a CD-ROM drive to a PC because IDE CD-ROM drives weren't developed yet and all CD-ROM drives of the era only had SCSI interfaces). In other words, it was the killer app that nudged the PC towards the built in audio and multimedia path that it is following today.