Myst IV: Revelation is a 2004 adventure video game, the fourth installment in the Myst series, developed and published by Ubisoft. Like Myst III: Exile, Revelation combines pre-rendered graphics with digital video, but also features real-time 3D effects for added realism. The plot of Revelation follows up on plot details from the original Myst. The player is summoned by Atrus, a man who creates links to other worlds known as Ages by writing special linking books. Almost twenty years earlier, Atrus' two sons nearly destroyed all of his books and were imprisoned; Atrus now wishes to see if his sons' imprisonment has reformed them. The player travels to each brother's prison, in an attempt to recover Atrus' daughter Yeesha from the brothers' plot.
Development of Revelation lasted more than three years; Ubisoft had up to 80 employees working on the game. Musician Peter Gabriel lent his voice and a song to the game's audio; the original score was written by Exiles composer Jack Wall. Overall, reception to the game was positive; reviewers lauded the impressive visuals, sound, and puzzles. Publications such as Computer Gaming World took issue with the control scheme of the game. Revelation is the last game in the Myst series to use both prerendered backgrounds and full-motion video; the final game in the series, End of Ages, is rendered in real-time throughout.
Gameplay
Myst IV: Revelation is an adventure game with puzzle elements. Players explore interactive worlds known as Ages by using the mouse or keyboard, solving puzzles and uncovering the game's narrative. Players cannot move freely across each Age;
The mouse cursor helps to provide visual cues for player actions and movement. The cursor appears as a hand that changes depending on what the player is hovering the cursor over.
Revelation features several gameplay enhancements that aid puzzle solving and plot progression. Early in the game, players receive a camera, which can be used to take screenshots or pictures of clues. Players can use an on-screen journal to jot down notes instead of having to write down clues as with previous Myst games. Much of the game's story is revealed via flashbacks triggered by an amulet that has the power to relay memories attached to objects.
According to Geneviève Lord, Revelations producer, concluding the story of the two brothers had originally been intended as the plot for Myst III. Due to a limited amount of time to develop the game and to not interfere with Dreamforge's Myst game, whose plot details were still forming, the plot was dropped. The story was then redeveloped when Ubisoft began work on Myst IV. Cyan, Myst and Rivens developer, set down "a certain number of rules" that Ubisoft had to follow, according to Lord, but otherwise the team was free to develop new ideas, keeping in the spirit of Myst lore. and more than eighty employees. Early on, the development team made the decision to use pre-rendered graphics for the game, to match the style of previous Myst games. This proved to be a challenge, as the studio had never developed a pre-rendered game before, and had to hire over fifty new employees who had experience in the field. Full production was started on the game before artistic direction and engine development tools were fully established, and the resulting lack of focus and communication meant that a bad working relationship existed between the game designers, programmers, and modelers for most of the production.
As an improvement over the prerendered technology present in Myst, Riven, and Exile, Revelation uses its "ALIVE" engine to animate nearly everything in the game. The water animations, for example, are fully rendered for each location. The trees sway in the breeze, and the sky has moving clouds. Wildlife includes creatures that walk through the environment and occasionally interact with the player. The game also features a number of effects applied in real time, such as lens flares, dynamic lighting, and an optional focal blur. In a trend started by the original Myst, the game uses live actors to play the game's roles in live-action video sequences. There are more than 70 minutes of video, and the game allows players to look around and interact with the video while it is playing.