While Mario might be the most famous character and franchise in video game history, he's far from the only trailblazer. Back in 1993, Myst hit the market with graphics that put most other games to shame and an in-game world far more vast than most other games at the time. And the story of the game's creators, brothers Robyn and Rand Miller, is every bit as interesting as many video games.
Back in the mid 1980s, Rand sent Robyn a "HyperCard," a software application that more or less allowed users to develop a sort of internal internet. While the World Wide Web was still years away, HyperCard allowed users to link various parts of their computer or software with hyperlinks (much like the web today). Perhaps a bit bored, Robyn drew up a manhole cover and then realized he could link it to another page. Suddenly, Robyn wanted to know — what was behind the manhole cover?
By using hyperlinks, common today but a novelty back in the 1980s, Robyn realized that he could create an adventure on his computer. Further, HyperCard made it easy to divide software — a crucial feature, since computers at the time had very little in the way of memory. Dividing games into small sections that linked together allowed the Millers to create a sprawling and detailed world that could be played despite hardware constraints. HyperCard was the special sauce in the recipe, and the Miller brothers took a rudimentary exploration game to a HyperCard expo and immediately garnered a lot of interest.
For the Millers, the rest is history. They continued to make explorable worlds, and their efforts eventually coalesced into Myst, one of the most influential games of all time. Back then, they worked out of a double-wide trailer but these days, better office space would be no issue. Cyan Inc., the company founded by the Miller brothers, is now the oldest independent video game developer still in operation.
