MYST in Real-time 3-D

MYST was released in 1993 and is the second-highest selling video game of all time. It is one of the most memorable games in video game history, and is what made CD-ROM drives catch on.

The original version of the game was a "slideshow" type game, because the technology to render the game's 3-D graphics in real-time didn't exist. In 2000, a hugely updated version of the game, realMYST, was released that not only was in full hardware accelerated real-time 3-D with complete freedom of movement (like first-person shooter games), but also had massively improved graphics, changing day/night and weather effects, and a new age, the Rime Age.

Unfortunately, realMYST was a commercial failure, because even the fastest computers of the time (late 2000) were not powerful enough to run it well. However, in the more than 7 years since, computer speed and graphics technology has improved phenomenally, and modern computers can run it extremely well, even with the graphics settings set at maximum.

realMYST is hard to find, but is available used on Amazon, although at fairly high prices. For lower prices, eBay may be a better option if you can find a copy.

This video shows the first part of realMYST.