"Riven Closing Scene Test" [Digital Betacam], est. early 1997
Scope and Contents
This collection includes over 200 videotapes and audio recordings from the history of Cyan and the Myst series. The videos are primarily from the production of Riven: The Sequel to Myst, including raw camera footage and composite tests from the filming of the live-action portions of the game, developer interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage used in "The Making of Riven" documentary. The tapes also include footage from other Myst-related projects, along with footage from general Cyan history, such as news appearances and industry presentations.
Several tapes also include footage of other video games released during the time Riven was development, presumably from Cyan's market research. Some videos that were irrelevant to the history of Cyan were digitized but omitted from this collection.
Dates
- est. early 1997
Creator
- Cyan, Inc (Developer, Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Select materials (currently, related to work by Cyan's quality-assurance subsidiary CYANtest) were restricted after reviewing the footage with Cyan legal. Closed access to these materials may be provided to individual researchers at the discretion of the Video Game History Foundation library staff.
Biographical / Historical
According to Cyan, the ending sequence for Riven was originally meant to use miniatures and practical effects, produced by special effects company M5 Industries; for the final game, it was reworked entirely as computer graphics instead. This video is a test shoot for this ending sequence at M5 Industries, filmed by Pacific Video Resources. The dagger prop seen in this video (created by noted special effects designer Adam Savage) was repurposed as decor for Cyan's office.
Extent
From the Collection: 3.60 Terabytes
Language of Materials
English
Physical Description
This case for this videotape is labeled "Workstock."
Creator
- Cyan, Inc (Developer, Organization)
- Pacific Video Resources (Contractor, Organization)
- M5 Industries, Inc (Contractor, Organization)
Repository Details
Part of the Video Game History Foundation Library Repository