Retcon
From MYSTlore
Retroactive continuity—commonly contracted to the portmanteau word retcon—refers to deliberately changing previously established facts in a work of serial fiction in order to enrich it or to resolve past inconsistencies (however it can sometimes also create inconsistencies). The act of writing and publishing a retcon is called "retconning."
Since the release of the original Myst game, several concepts and other elements have been cancelled or altered leading to inconsistencies. The original 'mistakes' then have been IC 'explained' to always have been artistic license, employed to facilitate gameplay.
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[edit] Trap books
The concept of Trap books and their principles played a significant role in Myst and Riven. However for some reason, Cyan decided to retcon them away as impossible to happen in the 'real' principles of the Art. RAWA explained that the events depicted in the game were 'artistic license' to simplify gameplay.
They were then retconned to regular Prison books and the exact circumstances under which Gehn was trapped were preferred to be left blurry.
In Revelation, the brothers indeed do not act like having seen the player before, whom they supposedly know from Myst.
[edit] Appearance
In Myst Sirrus is played by Robyn Miller and Achenar by Rand Miller. Their appearance was the base for the portraits appearing in Myst III: Exile. In Revelation however, they are played by professional actors who, although fit their original style, body type and build (Sirrus being the slim and slender one, Achenar being broader and robust), they are different in appearance.
However since their appearance in Myst was later seen as non-canonical, this is doesn't make a continuity gap.
[edit] Communication over books
Cyan decided that the transmission of images and sound over linking panels (in other words, the panel serving as a viewing screen between two people) was impossible in the 'real' history of Myst. The Stranger therefore never saw Sirrus and Achenar asking for the blue and red pages. The Stranger also never saw Atrus asking him for the white page before linking to D'ni.
Once more, RAWA said that 'artistic license' was employed or else the games would be unplayable and incomprehensible. Again, the circumstances under which the Stranger managed to meet Atrus without knowing about the page (without which they would both be trapped) are vague.
[edit] Linking panels
Various principles seem to be followed by linking panels depending on the game.
- In Myst it is mostly an endless, looping flyby of the location described in the book, but in closed places, the 'camera' only spins around itself in place. An exception is the Myst Island flyby sequence at the start where, after the flyby, the camera 'lands' on the dock.
- In the later games, the image has similar properties to the linking book of Myst above: it does not loop endlessly, but after the flyby sequence, it fixes on the link-in place. In Riven, the image and rotates endlessly around the link-in place until the player links to it, whereas in later games, the image 'zooms-in'.
- In Uru, all images are stills. This may have more to do with the technical limitations of the game engine than the properties of the actual Linking Book.
Cyan said that none of the above is the 'actual' way linking panels work.
[edit] Pronunciation
In the first Myst, the name of the place where Atrus was trapped was conceived as Dunny (stressed on 'u', approximately like the proper name Dany), seen in the game files and player guides. Because that word meant 'toilet' in Australian English, the more 'exotic' spelling D'ni was employed.
This pronounciation was kept invariably in all the games until Uru and Myst V when, for a reason, it was decided that the stress actually fell on the last syllable, not the apostrophe.
[edit] Location of the Cleft
In the Book of Ti'ana, although the location of the Cleft is never given, there is clearly an Eastern scent in the names Jemaranir, Amanjira and Jaarnidu, while the name of Allah is also mentioned. Later it was decided that the Cleft is actually in Eddy County and the Eastern references were explained as 'deliberate' misguidance in order to avert possible explorers until the release of Uru.
