Pyst is a computer game published in 1996. It was created as a parody

Parody

A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 of the highly successful adventure game

Adventure game

An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...

, Myst

Myst

Myst is a graphic adventure video game designed and directed by the brothers Robyn and Rand Miller. It was developed by Cyan , a Spokane, Washington––based studio, and published and distributed by Brøderbund. The Millers began working on Myst in and released it for the Mac OS computer on September...

. The parody features full motion video

Full motion video

Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...

 of John Goodman

John Goodman

John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...

 as "King Mattruss", the ruler of "Pyst Island". Pyst was written by Peter Bergman

Peter Bergman (comedian)

Peter Paul Bergman is an American writer and comedian, best known as a member of The Firesign Theatre. He plays Lt. Bradshaw in the Nick Danger series....

, a co-founder of the Firesign Theatre, and published by Parroty Interactive

Parroty Interactive

Parroty Interactive, of Larkspur, California, was a video game developer, active during the 1990s; the company is no longer in business.Parroty created a number of notable parody video games for the PC and Apple Macintosh...

. Versions of the game were produced for both the Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

 PC

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

 and Apple Macintosh

Macintosh

The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

 operating systems. Parroty Interactive is now defunct, and the game is not currently in publication.

Overview

The basic concept of Pyst was to show what Myst Island (from the best-selling game) would look like after 4 million people (players) had visited and "explored". Pyst Island is full of litter, most of the buildings are ruined, and graffiti reveals secret doors and solutions to puzzles that challenged players in Myst.

Pyst utilizes three-dimensional graphics, animated drawings, and pre-recorded video and audio. The game also includes an original song, "I'm Pyst", performed by Goodman. Gameplay is a simplified version of the playing-style used in Myst. The game consists of a series of pre-rendered, interactive visuals of Pyst island locations. Unlike Myst however, there are no real puzzles to solve. The player simply explores a setting, and then moves to adjoining locations at will.

A "sneak-peek" demo module

Game demo

A game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....

 of the planned sequel, "Driven" (an allusion to the Myst sequel Riven

Riven

Riven is a puzzle adventure game and the sequel to Myst. Developed by Cyan Worlds, it was initially published by Brøderbund. Riven was distributed on five compact discs and released on October 29, 1997, in North America; it was later released on a single DVD-ROM, with improved audio and a...

), was included on CD-ROMs of later Parroty Interactive games, including the "PYST Special Edition" re-release of the game. Driven was graphically more advanced, and allowed greater movement. The full game was never released however, and work on the project ended with the demise of Parroty Interactive.

External links

• Pyst electronic press kit video
• Pyst at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  
• http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,294630,00.html
• http://www.salon.com/media/media2961021.html
• http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/on-the-pyst-1353005.html
• http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Parroty+Interactive+Launches+PYST+Special+Edition%3B+New+Special...-a019903274
• http://www.firezine.net/issue1/fz1_05.htm
• http://kaufthal.com/portfolio/pyst.htm