Looking back on the game 'Myst' on its 20th anniversary
Myst's legacy is that if something is pretty, people will buy it, play it, talk about it until the newest pretty thing comes out, then forget about it.<p>This article is completely delusional. Myst was not this huge, influential masterpiece the way it paints. The Sopranos changed television. Myst did not change video games. It was talked about like the Sopranos, but only for a year after it came out. And it didn't have a lasting impact on the games industry. It looked good for the time, then quickly became outdated and is clearly a relic of its time, like wide, ill-fitting jackets and pleated pants. The gameplay offered nothing new - better adventure games (like those offered by LucasArts and Sierra) were doing more for longer. But its influence was an illusion. Graphics have always been getting better and striving for more photorealism. Myst didn't have any affect on that mindset, it just had decent graphics for when it came out.<p>Myst's legacy is that if you make something pretty enough, the buzz it generates will lead to huge sales until people realize it's an illusion. Which is why these guys weren't able to do anything after Myst. Meanwhile, Grand Theft Auto, Half Life, Assassin's Creed, and Zelda and Mario, these games that Myst apparently enabled, continue to move people and make huge amounts of money.