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The latest feature from Apple Games delves into the underground world of Myst Online: Uru Live, the online multiplayer incarnation of the Myst series. Recently released for Intel Macs, the game gives players the chance to team up with a few friends to solve the brain teasing puzzles fans have come to expect from Cyan titles.

Myst Online also charts new territory by casting Cyan employees in the roles of many of the NPCs (non-player characters) you’ll encounter. “Instead of just being ‘vending machines’ for quests or weapons, characters in the game are real people with personalities and opinions,” Miller explains. “When you meet them, you hold real conversations, and the interaction is a two-way street: the NPCs will influence and persuade the players, but the players will be able to influence and persuade the NPCs and, possibly, change the course of the game.”

As a result, players have a chance to create a real impact on the cavern and the history of the D’ni people, some of whom still live despite their city’s desertion. “A player may choose to get involved in an ambitious guild and end up seeing his or her name written into one of the histories of the game,” Miller says. “Or a player may rally enough other players to support a cause or conviction that we, as storytellers, must listen to, and perhaps alter the way the story unfolds because of that voice and that support.”

Apple Games: Myst Online Uru Live

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Myst Online: Uru Live (add to watch list)

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