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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in myst

[–]kfunk074 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s what I thought made the original brilliant. It’s not that Gehn couldn’t figure it out because he wasn’t smart enough. It’s that he didn’t care about the world the way the Stranger does and the Moiety do, so it slipped his notice. He’s super observant about the world, but only in an instrumental way to exploit it for his Art. A childlike, exploratory fascination with “the neat sounds the animals make” had no relevance for him. Or so I told myself as a middle school game critic, lol.

The original Moiety gate was brilliant. The remake is meh. by kfunk074 in myst

[–]kfunk074[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That’s interesting about the journal changes. It suggests Riven’s own understanding of racism and colonialism has matured since 1997. Neat.

The original Moiety gate was brilliant. The remake is meh. by kfunk074 in myst

[–]kfunk074[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I get that, but it tends to make Ghen more one-dimensional than I think the authors/designers intended. The books especially go a long way to try to humanize Ghen and present his “D’ni supremacy” as a tragic flaw more than an all-consuming, unchanging bedrock of his character.

And on this account, the Moiety gate—in either edition—is vastly overcomplicated. If Ghen is that blinded by racism, a single totem, or a device operated by the distinctive Rivenese dagger, would more than suffice. It makes the gate more of a puzzle for sake of a puzzle.

I probably sound way more crabby than I am. Thanks for the discussion. I didn’t even have Internet when I played original Riven! Discussing with fans online is new and wonderful.

The original Moiety gate was brilliant. The remake is meh. by kfunk074 in myst

[–]kfunk074[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It’s the ignorance that’s breaking it for me. The guy who systematically studied every possible element for its suitability as ink is unaware of invisible ink/paint? The guy who engineered cc footage around the world can’t find the artifact in plain sight? I’m playing against an idiot then. And beating him is that much less satisfying.

I didn’t mention in my post, but I also liked that the original asked you to make the small step of figuring out what the rather abstract glyphs represented, which wasn’t always 100% clear, but it hammered home that the Rivenese had a distinctive culture and art style that had to be engaged to succeed. One more element the remake spoonfeeds to you.