The Myst Jam was a jam that challenged developers to make a game inspired by Myst. Myst was a puzzle graphic adventure game released in 1993. There were many games entered in this jam, I recorded all of them in my video compilation series. Below are some of my favorites, in a random order.

Sundries is a graphic adventure game about a group of planet-people living in the desert. These planets’ lives revolve around the Sun. The Sun loves everyone equally, however you are their current lover. One day, the Sun is stolen. As you are the love of the Sun, it is up to you to get it back. Your planet friends all want to help, but they also want something in return for their efforts. Each of them has their own story, about their relationship with the Sun or with their world currently. Some of these stories relate to the items they want, while others might seem like ramblings. Either way, you must explore the desert, the gem cave, and even a tomb to find what they are looking for. Once you have all of the planets on your side, you can go and look for whoever stole the Sun. This game is quite interesting with some unique stories.

Rhiannon is an interesting game with some awesome chiptune music. In this game you are a pilgrim making your way towards the city. You are not sure why you are going this way, but instead are just following some strange bugs. Along the way to the town, you stumble upon a pair of glowing eyes staring at you. These eyes stop you in your path and become a sort of friend, leading you into the town. The town is full of glowing words describing the graphics instead of providing them. This curious game is quite interesting, enhanced with the glowing letters and sounds. You are going into the city to see the show, as the eyes have told you. Go on, see the show with your friend.

Even in Arcadia, There I am is a small game that has you thinking quite deeply. You are in a single room - your room - which is full of objects. Each thing - poster, book, computer - has some sort of thought attached to it, some impact in your life. You are able to walk around and click on these objects to hear about them. Most of them relate to your dreams or a world that you wish to escape to. This world, in the game, is a world that you can go to - if you figure out how. There are some clues and things in your room describing this world, but it is up to you to figure out how to get there. There is no real “winning” in this game, or even really a puzzle, but there is plenty of words for thought.

Canveus is a challenging puzzler that has you bringing color back to an extremely dull world. This mysterious world has many different puzzles in it, each to be solved in order to add some color to the world. These huge puzzles, each paired with a color stone, are quite challenging - some requiring a basic understanding of math and tons of patience. Most of them can be solved with trial and error, though it may take quite some time. These puzzles also do not allow you to control the puzzle and watch it at the same time. This may cause you to have a notepad by your side to write down a description of how the controls affect the puzzle. If you really get stumped, the developer put some hints in a separate document in the game. If you are looking for a challenge, this game is the one to play.

The Knot is a charming point and click where you are a very helpful cat. In this strange world it seems like everyone is misplacing items. Not only do they leave their stuff everywhere, but they are constantly asking you to find it. Some of them say they don’t care about the items but want them back anyway, while others are not even sure what they lost. You can wander around this strange world finding items and returning them to their owners. Once these items are returned, the owners dance with joy! There currently does not seem to be much else to this game, but the graphics are quite interesting and the different characters are pretty fun to interact with. You may not know what is going on, but it is still a neat experience.

Myha is a super-challenging, well polished adventure game that has you trying to figure out your way off an island. A strange distress signal came from the moon. You were the astronaut chosen to go investigate. It was up to you to see who sent the signal from the beacon. Upon landing on the moon, you found that no one was there and there was no beacon, just a strange cube. This cube then transported you and your ship to a mysterious island in the middle of the ocean. Unsure of what your superiors would have you do, you take it upon yourself to investigate the island and attempt to find the person who sent the distress signal. The puzzles in this game are quite challenging - requiring some math, a pen, and a notepad. It may take you a while to get off the island, but it is an adventure worth having!

#MystJam #Sundries #Rhiannon #EvenInArcadiaThereIAm #Canveus #TheKnot #Myha