[Martin Gantefoehr]

Oh, I never realised that. I always thought HOT was a large team (well, a group of around 5-7) programmers and artists that got together online somewhere, somehow.

Depends on how you look at it. We outsource graphics, animation, and sound work, of course. Budgeting, pitching, writing, technology, design, integration, scripting, and contractor coordination are in HoTs hands.

It's just like Revolution is doing it with BS4 (I think), and probably it's what Cyan is going to do it from now on.

It's a shame that we're being forced into this. Being part of a good sized team can be very stimulating when it comes to developing ideas and brainstorming.

Absolutely.

It must have been just terrible for the Myst V team, though, to bear with the crunch, finish a low-on-resources project on schedule, and then face unemployment right on completion.

[ART_Adventures]

Originally Posted by Martin Gantefoehr

Depends on how you look at it. We outsource graphics, animation, and sound work, of course. Budgeting, pitching, writing, technology, design, integration, scripting, and contractor coordination are in HoTs hands.

It's just like Revolution is doing it with BS4 (I think), and probably it's what Cyan is going to do it from now on.

Outsourcing? Ahhh, now that's cheating Just kidding. I'm just jealous I can't afford to outsource (Assuming it's expensive, which it probably is).

[simpson_yellow]

As a Myst lover and a gamer, I find this immensely saddening.

A little shiver runs up my spine every time I see the Cyan intro. Next time I see it, the shiver will no doubt be accompanied by a teary eye .

[squarejawhero]

Originally Posted by ART_Adventures

Outsourcing? Ahhh, now that's cheating Just kidding. I'm just jealous I can't afford to outsource (Assuming it's expensive, which it probably is).

Depends on who you hire and the quality you expect.

[Aurebesh]

Myst is disgusting. And the fact that it's considered an adventure game disgusts me even more (actually, if it wasn't (wrongly) considered an adventure game I wouldn't care). I wasn't going to write this post since I'm tired of this old argument, but since no one else posted it, then I will - f*ck Cyan. F*ck Myst. I'm celebrating!

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by Aurebesh

Myst is disgusting. And the fact that it's considered an adventure game disgusts me even more (actually, if it wasn't (wrongly) considered an adventure game I wouldn't care). I wasn't going to write this post since I'm tired of this old argument, but since no one else posted it, then I will - f*ck Cyan. F*ck Myst. I'm celebrating!

What about all these first person games with an inventory? What about Ni-Bi-Ru or Syberia that have a bunch of Myst-like puzzles? There's no clear distinction between Myst games and those games you see as adventure games, really.

[Aurebesh]

Yes there is. There are adventure games with puzzle elements, that's ok. I'm not against adventure games with elements from other genres (even action). But Myst deviates from the genre too much, and its influence to the genre is harmful. And I hate Syberia also. I'm glad that Microids don't exist anymore. Syberia was a bad example of an adventure game, and the fact that it was so successful made it harmful. Same goes for Myst.
However, gloating is not a positive thing so maybe I shouldn't actually celebrate, but I am very happy that there won't be another Myst.

[bigjko]

Originally Posted by Aurebesh

Myst is disgusting. And the fact that it's considered an adventure game disgusts me even more (actually, if it wasn't (wrongly) considered an adventure game I wouldn't care). I wasn't going to write this post since I'm tired of this old argument, but since no one else posted it, then I will - f*ck Cyan. F*ck Myst. I'm celebrating!

If you're tired of this argument, then why the hell do you post this piece of crap? Just to get everyone pissed?

[squarejawhero]

*yawn* For once I thought we could stay the course, what with this thread more about the breakup of a big adventure company than peoples opinions of the games. Thanks for dragging it down with spite.

[samIamsad]

Looking Glass, Sir-Tech, Legend (people here won't like me for saying this, but The Wheel Of Time was probably the best game made with the original Unreal engine), Troika, Black Isle Studios, Origin,.. Cyan.

Who's next?

[Captain Blondebeard]

Originally Posted by Aurebesh

Yes there is. There are adventure games with puzzle elements, that's ok. I'm not against adventure games with elements from other genres (even action). But Myst deviates from the genre too much, and its influence to the genre is harmful. And I hate Syberia also. I'm glad that Microids don't exist anymore. Syberia was a bad example of an adventure game, and the fact that it was so successful made it harmful. Same goes for Myst.
However, gloating is not a positive thing so maybe I shouldn't actually celebrate, but I am very happy that there won't be another Myst.

I dont like Myst games in any way but I can see how bad this is for the genre. Wether you believe Myst is an adventure or not other companys do. When they see the makers of Myst fall it just sends a bad message to all of the distributers, all of the would be game makers and all of the would be buyers.

[simpson_yellow]

Originally Posted by Aurebesh

blah blah blah

mm-hmm

[RLacey]

I've never liked the Myst games, and can't say that I'm particularly upset at the idea that the series is finished. The closure of any developer, though, is a bad thing - I'm perfectly capable of admiring Cyan for what they attempted to do, and for the success they've had at various points in time. I certainly don't think this is cause for a celebration; if anything, this should be speaking volumes about the fragility of many a developer, as I always thought that Cyan was one of the better-off adventure-producing companies financially.

[Eivind]

I have never been a huge fan of the Myst-series, but the news about Cyan shutting down is indeed very sad news. Whether or not some people regard Myst as adventure games isn't really important, as Cyan was/is a developer that focused on creating worlds, telling stories and innovations in game design (for example the concept of URU online). For that, they rule. And even if someone doesn't like their games, the reviews of their latest games were, in general, very positive.

[Wajus]

Originally Posted by ART_Adventures

Outsourcing? Ahhh, now that's cheating Just kidding. I'm just jealous I can't afford to outsource (Assuming it's expensive, which it probably is).

Depends on how you look at it. I guess ultimately it certainly saves you a lot of money if you only hire a team to do a certain job cause having and mantaining a complete "inhouse" developing team means paying regular salaries to folks all year long even when they don't work on any kind of project. So all is not lost for Cyan which I assume to be only formally "dismembered" (the're still working together on MV, aren't they?). It all depends now on whether Myst V will be succesful or not.

[Eleri]

Originally Posted by Wajus

(the're still working together on MV, aren't they?). It all depends now on whether Myst V will be succesful or not.

Myst V is now in the hands of the publisher. It was reportas as having 'gone gold' a few weeks ago, although no official anouncement was made.

This is part of why the closed doors at Cyan. Myst V hasn't been released yet, so that advance hasn't been paid, and the publisher declined to advance on the next creative effort.

Wether any of the team returns to Cyan (when and if new funding happens), will probably depend on what they've moved on to in the meantime.

[fov]

Originally Posted by Aurebesh

Myst is disgusting. And the fact that it's considered an adventure game disgusts me even more (actually, if it wasn't (wrongly) considered an adventure game I wouldn't care). I wasn't going to write this post since I'm tired of this old argument, but since no one else posted it, then I will - f*ck Cyan. F*ck Myst. I'm celebrating!

That's a pretty insensitive thing to say in a thread about the demise of a company that has been extremely important to the adventure genre for the last 10+ years.

You can bash Myst all you want in other threads. Not in this one, please.

However, gloating is not a positive thing so maybe I shouldn't actually celebrate,

Good idea.

[entica]

Sad but true... can't beleive it's not yet a news item here at AG

http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000107057279/

E.

[entica]

Nevermind... just found an older post that already mentions this. Although from the title of the post you'd never know it.

E.

[Jackal]

A news item will appear once we have something a little more concrete to say. It's not that we disbelieve the source, but so far the only story is, "Grey Dragon's blog says everyone's laid off." The Joystiq wording that the creators of Myst have announced the layoffs isn't really true.

But thanks for the heads-up, and welcome to AG.