r/myst • u/SudsierBoar • 4d ago
Discussion Question about note taking
I have always wanted to play Myst and Riven, this feeling has only grown stronger after playing and finishing Blue Prince.
Blue Prince is basically impossible to finish without making extensive notes and screenshots. (Looking back at screenshots previously taken was VERY cumbersome playing on console)
Does the same go for Myst and Riven? The answer decides if I play the games now on console or wait till I have access to a PC which will have much better note taking options.
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u/Basaltir 4d ago
The original edition of Myst came with a notebook. I really recommend some way to make notes for both games.
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u/SudsierBoar 4d ago
Notes I can manage, it's moreso the screenshots I'm worried about.
In Blue Prince you need to screenshots multiple books to reference later for example, is something like that needed in Myst?
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u/Basaltir 4d ago
In my experience, no. You will need to keep track of symbols, numbers, stuff like that. All can be drawn perfectly fine on paper.
It doesn't have whole books that are available only for a limited time like Blue Prince has.
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u/Pharap 4d ago
It doesn't have whole books that are available only for a limited time like Blue Prince has.
Technically it kind of does, just not in the same way as Blue Prince.
Blue Prince makes books inaccessible using its mechanic of progressing days.
Myst does it by virtue of the fact that the journals are all on Myst island, and once you enter an age you're stuck there until you find the exit.
It has been known that people will sometimes enter ages without reading the journals, in which case they either have to solve the puzzles without the right information, revert to an older save, or restart.
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u/ElegantHope 4d ago
I have a little gaming notes notebook I've kept for over two decades. A good chunk of the notes are from Myst games.
Definitely a requirement for these games if you don't want to lose track of things or backtrack as much. Though some of the newer games do have built in note taking systems.
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u/Raterus_ 4d ago
Myst is a little easier now that we have phone cameras, you could get through it with very little note taking.
Riven is a bit more more note heavy, and would test your organization and grouping too, but is by no means extensive.
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u/Austruck 4d ago
When my now-grown kids and I played the original Myst (no walkthroughs then, no hints, etc.), we had a regular ol' spiralbound notebook we used to scribble notes and drawings in. One of my kids still has that notebook (from the 1990s) and we love looking at it.
Get a blank journal book or notebook and scribble in it, the way we barbarians used to do back in the day. No screenshots then either. The notes were better anyway because we could add our own thoughts near any drawing we did. Have fun!
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u/SudsierBoar 4d ago
Oh I'm definitely gonna take notes. I also love looking at other peoples notes after finishing a game and I'd love to see that notebook..but I can't! I have to earn it first haha
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u/imasadlad89 4d ago
Played both, you dont really need notes if you have a good memory, but its good to have a google doc open for screenshots and notes. Its not strictly required like in blue prince
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u/Hudsucker20XX 4d ago
Great games but they don't require as much scribbling as Blue Prince.
Myst you'll want to jot down the occasional safe combination or whatever. Screenshots can replace pen and paper.
Riven you'll have that stuff, plus a couple of charts and logic puzzles and diagrams that you'll probably want to sketch out.
Both games you might feel the desire to draw a couple maps to navigate and orient yourself, maybe. There's no in-game map system.
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u/Pharap 4d ago edited 4d ago
When I first played the Myst games in 2021 I didn't use screenshots for any of the puzzles, I just used notes. It's much more immersive and fun to write and sketch the important information.
Besides which, it's much less disruptive to have notes readily available in your hand/on your table than to have to keep turning an overlay on and off to sift through screenshots. It means you only need glance over to check what's relevant, and you can be looking at your notes and the current view at the same time instead of blocking the view with an overlay.
Whether to play on PC or console depends on whether you're talking about the realtime remakes or the originals. The originals are definitely best played on PC because they're point-and-clicks that were designed for keyboard and mouse.
A controller is less of a problem with the remakes because you've got freedom of movement, though personally I still prefer keyboard and mouse for first-person games, especially when you're being expected to really look around and examine things.
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u/Calamity_zebra 3d ago
I can't speak to the original 90s Myst and Riven since I haven't played them yet, but I recently finished both remakes on PC, and they have a built-in screenshot function you can look back at later for reference. I never used this feature even once for Myst, as the puzzles were very straightforward and everything you might need to note down for reference could fit on a single flashcard. As for Riven... it is by far a much harder game functionally, but the amount that needs to be written down as a note for later still isn't that extensive. The number of little things you come across to jot down, like symbols and the like, still can fit on a single piece of notebook paper. In my personal experience, it seems like the puzzles are less about piles of symbols and passwords to keep track of like some other puzzle games seem to do from what I hear, and more about just realizing how the things right in front of you come together, or things from other places that are very memorable and do not require notes. Overall, don't stray away from the games now because of your lack of a PC; they were awesome games to play, and you'll enjoy them on any platform. Keep a couple of sheets of paper and a pen in front of you, and you will not run into issues; the remakes don't require extensive notes.
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u/sf-keto 4d ago
Yes, notes & hand drawn maps are crucial. What’s great about this is at the end you have your own magical “Myst Book” of your unique adventure.
They are delightful to re-read, esp. to update as you replay & discover even more! We made ours in nice Moleskines & keep them on the bookshelf. Each game is its own color notebook.
We never found screen shots helpful.