So, in an effort to consolidate links and make it a bit easier to find updates on what's up wth End of Ages in the news, I've started this pinned topic. If you find an article that hasn't been posted yet, feel free to share it .

Here's what we've got so far. As always, spoiler warnings are in heavy effect with any bit of press posted here:

Gamehelper.com Preview

WorthPlying.com Preview

1up.com Preview

Article from the US edition of PC Gamer:

MYST V: END OF AGES
And if you believe this is the "End," I've got an island to sell you.

Myst IV: Revelation just came out, right? Well, one benefit of having two different development houses tag-teaming Myst sequels is that Myst V will be released about a year after it's predecessor.

While Ubisoft's last island hop was developed by its Montreal studio, this time Cyan Worlds returns to the world it created back in 1994. This follow-up takes place years after the events of Myst IV. Yeesha, the precocious daughter of book-maker Atrus and wife Catherine, has blossomed from an adorable pre-teen with major dysfunctional-family issues (courtesy of her psychotic brothers) into a puzzling young woman carrying the burdens of her family and the secrets of the lost civilization of D'ni.

Myst V will use proprietary new graphics engine developed by Cyan, and its interface is designed to appeal to both classic Myst fans and hardcore gamers.

"We challenged ourselves to come up with an interface that could bridge the accessibility of the classic point-and-click Myst interface with the immersion of a fully real-time 3D graphic environment," revealsRand Miller, CEO of Cyan Worlds. "We wanted the entire game to be playable by simply pointing and clicking a one-button mouse. And, of course, we also included a full control mode."

One of Myst V's innovations will be Truehand Writing Technology, marketing-speak for Cyan's in-game writing-recognition system. Says Miller: "We've added this unique aspect of control to the game, allowing players to actually write symbols to communicate with...well...these creatures. If you know what to write, you might be able to get them to do things for you."

Will Myst V mark the end of the franchise's story? Miller's comments suggest it will. "Our goal in Myst V was to take advantage of the state-of-the-art in real-time 3D to provide and adventure that wraps up the Myst story, and at the same time is wonderfully reminiscent of the original Myst experience."

Email to The Lyst from Mark DeForest (Cyan programmer) regarding the End of Ages control scheme:

quote:

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... We are including both navigation styles as separate modes!

The familiar point and click interface that people who felt comfortable with Myst and Riven will feel like they've come back home. With the added benefit of real-time 3D (transition to nodes will be a smooth animated camera and more). No need to worry about trying to get to an exact spot (we'll take you there) or trying to point the camera just right (we'll show what's interesting). This is the easiest way to get around and you can play the whole game with the mouse and a mouse button. This will be the default mode, so anyone can jump into the game and play.

Also, there is a full gamer style free movement interface, that can be controlled with two hands (mouse looking with one hand and movement and strafing with the other hand) or one handed (if you map the mouse buttons to movement). This is the go everywhere mode that you can explore every nook and cranny. But of course, you might miss something and navigation might be more difficult, but you are in full control.

And also, we are experimenting with a mode that is inbetween the two that is showing some promise.

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Interview with Rand Miller in Gamesplanet. Rand talks about Myst V and some other things.

Rand Miller is the head of Cyanworlds, the company developing Myst V. Cyan developed the first and second games in the series, Myst and Riven.

Gamesplanet interview with Rand Miller

Preview and video interview with Rand Miller (who has had something happen to his hair...) at Gamespot:

Click here

(again, spoiler alert!)

Not strictly End of Ages press, but a very good read nonetheless. Prodigious Gaming interviewed Rand Miller about storytelling in games, and more specifically, storytelling in Cyan's games. A very good read, so go check it out!

Fellow Myst fan Eleri, who runs the Radio Free D'ni online radiocast every Tuesday, shared her thoughts on End of Ages tonight after being invited to focus-test the game at Cyan Worlds recently. You can find a transcript and mp3 recording of the broadcast here. Nothing really spoiler-y, but still, I guess tread lightly if you're trying to avoid knowing *anything*.

Hi all,
Our Ubisoft community managers, Ron and Katie, were at E3 - the big game trade show held every year in Los Angeles. They wrote about it, in a blog. A link to the blog is listed on the MystWorlds site, but in case you didn't see it - here it is!

E3 Blog

I've been lax...

EXTREME SPOILER WARNING ALERT NOTIFICATION ANNOUNCEMENT!

IGN has an End of Ages Preview which gets rather detailed when it comes to plot according to the one person who'se actually been brave enough to chance skimming it . There are also 3 in-game videos linked at the top of the page.

Interesting Gamespy article - very minor spoilers

Gamespy article

Adventure Gamers has a very nice preview of Myst V, from E3.

Adventure Gamers Myst V Preview

Just Adventure interviewed Rand Miller, the head of Cyan, the company developing Myst V. Rand talks about Myst V, and there are very minor spoilers. It's a good interview.

Just Adventure - Rand Miller Interview

Here's a new preview of Myst V, from Just Adventure. It's good.

Myst V Preview from Just Adventure

Over at AdventureGamers, there is a really good interview with Rand Miller, the head of Cyan, the developers of Myst V.

Adventure Gamers Interview with Rand Miller

Here's a little goodie about the Myst V Environment - both a bit of the game as well as Rand Miller talking about the game. This is from GameTrailers.

Myst V Environment

While not really a "press topic" article, I'm posting this here because of the Myst V content.

There is a new Myst V screen saver out. It was originally a prize for participating in puzzles at the Myst Tree site, but now it's available for public download. You can get it (same screen savers) at either of these two sites -

Sreensaver at Myst Tree

Screensaver at Myst Obsession

This is a PC only screensaver.

Enjoy!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mszv,

GameSpot has a nice preview at Myst V: End of Ages, complete with screenshots, the official trailer, and links to other Myst V previews.

Really, really nice new screenshots over at IGN.

http://media.pc.ign.com/media/724/724040/imgs_1.html

Mysterium.ch has a lovely set of screenshots and concept art, nicely organized by age. The thumbnail view is particularly good.

http://www.mysterium.ch
Pick your language - I picked "English".
The first news item has the link the thumbnail view of the pictures.

There is a nice article from the BBC about a teacher using the Myst games in his classrooms, available at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4160466.stm

"I have used this in the class for six years and have not had a single negative comment. Parents even want to play them and share them with their children," he said.