Riven at Macworld Keynote 1998

Wishlist the new Riven NOW ➡️ bit.ly/RivenSteam or bit.ly/RivenGOG
Steve Jobs introduces Cyan co-founder Rand Miller who introduces Riven DVD for Apple's Macintosh at the MacWorld Expo Keynote in 1998. #myst25 kck.st/2EwUP33

[@tscheetsch]

As painful as it was to switch CDs every time you went to a different island, the art design and the symbolism of the five discs and those incredible sleeves made it feel so right.

[@bionic_bat]

I still have mine. And will never sell it. Too many good memories

[@ikwilgeenkanaalzeur]

Yeah I was very happy with the dvd version.

[@sa3270]

It was worth it!

[@Adrot]

I see that Rand was still trying to stay to his policy of "Show, don't tell" for the most of it. Those guys would later on scramble their heads on the puzzles they were barely introduced to like no tomorrow.

[@cher8644]

2021 and Riven still has yet to be bested. I'm having a blast though trying to find it's equal. Here's hoping on Firmament.

[@Stevexupen]

2024 and Riven has finally been bested.. by Riven remake lol

[@melissagodwin1594]

@@Stevexupentotally came here to say this!! 😂

[@DarkGharren]

Me, when I first saw Riven: wow, this looks photorealistic. Me, in 2021: wow, this looks photorealistic.

[@yannatoko9898]

Not really.

[@veru6907]

@@snoosri nah its just very realistic

[@tricityterror]

I think that it just had a distinctive art style and perspective that holds up to time. It's Art Vs graphics

[@thdenwheja756]

I love them, but having played it recently on a better monitor than I had in the late 90s, I think the compression they talked about improving here is still a really big problem. I hope we get a remaster or remake soon a la realMyst or Myst VR.

[@MyNextShotWontMiss]

@@thdenwheja756 Did you know they made a game a few years ago and are working on another right now?

[@alexissercho]

Riven still the best game ever. 2020.

[@keeperofthereign]

Masterpice, but way too hard.

[@purefoldnz3070]

and now its coming back.

[@DromeG60]

@@purefoldnz3070 ah, a fellow KZbinr on the new Riven pre-release binge

[@purefoldnz3070]

@@DromeG60 the algorithm knows me well haha

[@rxw5520]

@@keeperofthereignthe new one is more beatable, I managed without any hints or online searches and I’m notoriously mediocre at puzzle games. I think it’s less disorienting being able to move around in 3d. Took probably 23 hours or so, with zero assistance and zero memory of the original puzzles. The trick with Riven (and myst) is that there are A LOT of things in the world that serve no purpose or don’t actually do anything. I happen to love this because it creates a world where not everything is designed to get you through the game, some of it’s just there cuz one of the people in the game put it there.

[@Jane-lj2cv]

Rand really is a lovely, modest man.

[@recoveringsoul755]

I love introverts

[@JosephPage]

ATRUS SHAKING HANDS WITH STEVE JOBS, WHAAAAT

[@kailee87]

damn i miss the 90s, everything was better

[@curtissplan352]

My original 5 CD set of Riven is within comfortable distance as of playing this video. I assure you, it will stay there as a treasured item to this amazing game. Thank you for sharing this clip!

[@darthzounds4889]

Alternate title idea: Atrus Presents a TED Talk.

[@PlebeianGoth]

*Me, 20 years in the future* HOLY CRAP RIVEN WAS ON DVD IN 98 AND NO ONE TOLD ME!?

[@recoveringsoul755]

I left the IT world in 92 and wasn't at this meeting. Jobs came to our company many times prior to that. Once I was out of the industry I played Myst, but didn't stay up to date on technology.

[@RogerCRocha]

Congratulations to Rand on an excellent presentation. I can only imagine how nervous the situation was. And he did great.

[@RetroToadstool]

Rand is a legend!

[@Gojoseon]

Wow! I never saw this video before-had no idea Rand Miller was at this conference or that Riven was so Mac-involved. Cool bit of history!

[@Dogeathotdog1]

Myst was originally made using a program called hypercard which was a Mac exclusive. Broderbund software handled the PC conversion. The differences between the PC and Mac version are slight but everything to a perfectionist such as Rand Miller. Mac version is the original and will always be superior even if the PC port was near perfect.

[@recoveringsoul755]

I played the original Myst on a Mac, my PC friend said the screen transitions were smoother on the Mac

[@h4x0y]

Damn it, just bought this video from the company that filmed this because this keynote wasn’t on youtube before xD

[@cosmosofinfinity]

And Mac STILL has barely any games made for it. Managed to get Resident Evil: Village on it, and it still has problems Love the natural, authentic presentation. These days, people on stage at E3 and such always seem too forced and artificial

[@ZeitdiebX]

Who wants to go back to the wondrous games and vibes of those times? And Rand used to be a legitimate stand up comedian.

[@woulfhound]

It was a time of great experimentation in video games but it also really sucked back then because you didn't have resources like Unreal Engine or KZbin tutorials to learn from and build on.

[@AlexisDarkgiver]

And now they have Obduction, they're working Firmament, they're making everything at least VR compatible. We've moved so far from CD-Roms and DVD-Roms... It's fantastic and the Myst games still look so phenomenal. Thank you Cyan for making these masterpieces, and continuing to make more. You innovated the world of gaming, and changed my life. I couldn't imagine my life without Cyan or the Myst games. I'll always be excited to see whats next.

[@48some]

So glad they announced 2 hours ago the Remake of Riven!

[@leohassemer]

20 days to go!!!😊

[@JohnKooz]

I've seen numerous interviews/documentaries with Rand Miller (usually a "looking back" at his games, so he is much older), and seeing him this young is amusing. I really like the guy. He's an amazing developer who introduced the world to new levels of reality in gaming. Plus, he just always seems so humble.

[@TNJX]

A little less productive but a hell of a lot more inspired!

[@jlow532]

amen on that 100%

[@crlorentzen]

Did no one listen to this before uploading? Can we get a Mono channel marked as mono, or duplicated to the left channel!?!??

[@crlorentzen]

I hope Cyan doesn't mind, but here is my fixed version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKmso5yknamDl5I audio is dual-mono (fix the right only speaker issue, less headaches) and amplified to peak at -3db (instead of -9.9dB, less adjusting your speaker volume)

[@olivedotcomm]

@@crlorentzen thank you

[@jlow532]

"Lastly today...Riven" freaking epic!!!!!!

[@SchlossRitter]

I forgot Jobs had that beard for a while, and it looks even longer than Rand's at the time heh.

[@cher8644]

It says something I guess that when initially confronted with this version of genius, my mind defaults to let's render them a: hot. soapy. tub.

[@babasemka]

Love Rand, Myst and all that jazz, but fuck Apple, man...

[@GCAT01Living]

OMG, I owned the 5-CD set and it was TORTURE!

[@oxydator]

If you still have the CDs, you can copy the data to your device and play Riven on ScummVM. This software runs on many different platforms like Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Playstation to only name a few and supports dozens of old adventure games. BTW, ScummVM also supports two more Cyan titles: The Manhole and Myst.

[@SchlossRitter]

Phantasmagoria was worse at seven discs! Thankfully compression algorithms improved enough after that to bring its sequel and Gabriel Knight 2 down to five each iirc.

[@jlow532]

lol loved that 5 CD stuff. Just added to the epic quality to the game. "WHAATTT? this game is so huge they need 5 CDs???" NOthing like Riven ever. Our entire family was sucked into Riven. Even my Mom who never EVER plays games was into it. Unreal stuff Riven. Greatest of all time.

[@foodandart5808]

If you used Adaptec Toast and copied then mounted ALL 5 disks on the desktop, it was seamless and quick! I still have an install of Snow Leopard that contains all my Myst games - RivenX is totally playable today.

[@afoose]

Now I play through riven on my phone

[@lfrohling]

Atrus on stage - being true to himself and the spirit of Myst games :))

[@JurisKankalis]

Couple of days ago now in October 2022 I saw a video from an australian youtuber speaking of how he recommended playing Riven again in 2022 (yes, there are videos on youtube made in 2022 about this game). I wrote some comment - and the algorythm after couple of days brought me this video. For once, I'm thankful to the algorythm. Greetings from Latvia. What a great game this was. Realism far, far above anything else of the time.

[@ben-rosfeld]

I cannot not see him as Atrus

[@sa3270]

5:18 That shadow that looks like a person always freaked me out. I always wondered if that was deliberate or if it just happened that way.

[@Nero_Jero]

I just replayed the game and I was thinking that too haha

[@lorenzrosenthal119]

that cutscene probably took 100 years to rendern back then

[@AmauryJacquot]

Rand, you did an excellent job there !

[@purefoldnz3070]

I got stuck in this game as a kid and just endlessly wandered and pushed buttons and just enjoyed that experience.

[@alexissercho]

Riven, Best game ever!

[@hanniffydinn6019]

Irony : macs don't have DVDs anymore !!! 😂😂😂😂😂

[@ShadowXloner]

Clarify please, as far as I'm aware all computers these days support dvds.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

ShadowXloner er, no modern Apple Mac you can buy has a DVD anymore!!!!!! Go and see, Apple famously were first to remove them. I just brought a msi gaming laptop, even that doesn't have a built in optical drive!!!! Infact I've not even brought a DVD/blueray in what seems like decades! Infact you can download MYST from the Apple Store, to your iPad. Even their new game obduction is download only. Young people don't buy discs, they download and stream.

[@BatteryDie]

^ Then buy $20 disc reader portable usb. It's simple. Official Apple driver supports them. And why did Cyan sold disc of myst 25th anniversary in 2018? I bought disc and download both too. I think you missed news that actually, Cyan already sold disc version of Obduction in 2016 too.

[@Jushwa]

Just wanted to say thanks for passing these legendary moments on.

[@trapez77]

Rand is so cool

[@kael13]

Really good presentation skills and a lovely demo. Sadly Macs are now only just okay for games. But I’ll be picking up the remake to play on PCVR!

[@BluespecDigitalMedia]

I've got a lot of love for MYST and RIVEN. Many hours wasted. Many good memories x

[@MichiMilchmelker]

that was really blasting away presentation all this great graphics and that mac´s are piece of art in sound, graphics and handling. at that time it was just blasting away ... today at apple : we have a dark mode and me "ok".

[@the_real_foamidable]

Not one second wasted on this game. It took me a while to complete though. When, did you say, the real-time version comes out again :-) ?

[@leighgill1290]

now 2024!!! 😂 couldnt help but respond!!

[@the_real_foamidable]

@@leighgill1290 thanks for the note 🙂

[@Goland454]

This is amazing. So awesome you got to meet Steve Jobs. Macintosh had some of the best games for quite a few years!~!

[@MusicandGame23]

Riven still need remake

[@fCauneau]

Surely the opus that made video game to enter definitively into the world of Art. Pure Art.

[@itskittyme]

I used to go back and forth on the carts because i loved swapping the discs, in my defense, I was only 5

[@danielrazulay]

Back when miller was as old as I am now :o

[@jal2550]

Loved Myst, Riven, etc! Rand's a legend, how cool he got to meet another legend. Look how young and healthy Steve was.....

[@Doughboy123x]

Whoa! That must have been a great honor!

[@trapez77]

Is the Mac version the definitive way to play riven?

[@ChaoThing]

When will someone attempt to re-create something like this? Developers are afraid to even try, even with modern tech?

[@gameworkerty]

can't hear out of my right ear so I assume it went well

[@simonRTJ]

softimage running on SGI machines.

[@yank3656]

thanks for sharing Cyan

[@internetsurvivor]

I thought my left speaker died at first

[@TheRandomView]

...and soon in VR!!!

[@3rdaxis649]

Wish Rand would render out a HD version of the game. I would buy it in a hot minute.

[@kingx101]

Starry Expanse has you covered

[@3rdaxis649]

@@kingx101 What do you mean?

[@andthe2380]

Pretty cool! When does that game come out? :P I've already pledged my tier for your Kickstarter for Firmament, like I did Obduction! Keep making awesome {very over used word nowadays but it absolutely applies here} games for us all! Thanks so much Cyan! :)

[@dreadcannibal3395]

I was the 666th like DX

[@Antphoneigh]

OMG my favourite game and tech company!

[@monsieurouxx]

It makes me sad to think how the Cyan team is made of artists who don't compromise on their vision, while it would have taken Jobs 0.000001ms to dump them into a bin the second Riven would have stopped to be profitable for him (financially or prestige-wise). Thank God it didn't come to that!

[@ellicooper2323]

Must and riven are the only games I’ve played. No other game has grabbed me the same way. I miss them so much. Are they saying they will be available to use on our more “modern” computers? I sincerely hope so.

[@CoolKD2005]

I have only seen my mum play two computer games in my life.(She is 64 now) The first Broken Sword and Riven

[@_BirdOfGoodOmen]

The big surprise for me was games were coming out in DVD in *1998!*

[@ashtoniamelvonious]

I wish I could meet Rand and Robyn and just tell them thank you so much.

[@isaacandersen1]

I never saw this and It's made me want to go back to all the macworld keynotes and see what other guest appearances there are.

[@michaelh4227]

Games used to be so simple back then.

[@thomasstephens9317]

it's sad to what apple has become

[@krowdrah-official]

Such a testament to creativity.

[@sawilliams]

Such a cool time it was...

[@pedazodeboludo]

My left ear feels lonely.

[@happypig1]

I'm looking forward to the Codeweavers port on Gog, because y'know... this Mac game is only on Windows right now.

[@StevenS757]

They are making a Mac port for the 25th Anniversary

[@oxydator]

Myst and Riven (plus The Manhole and dozens of other old adventure games) can be played on most platforms thanks to ScummVM. I have Riven and Myst Masterpiece installed on my phone right now :)

[@fabianfabian3982]

An excellent game

[@AaronGwynaireGameDev]

love this video :)

[@Ephisus]

Great days.

[@Luke18_13]

Mystifying. 😎

[@jebwu8648]

It's truly special to see Steve Jobs welcome Rand Miller. The way Rand was presented you feel like they are equals.

[@darksidegirl]

This is epic!

[@JollyJoel]

wow wtf?

[@catseye10000]

to bad mac's suck now