Developer interview: Walkabout Mini Golf meets Myst

It’s always interesting when true classic of videogaming return in some form or another – and the recent announcement that Myst was going to be reimagined as part of the popular VR Mini Golf game Walkabout Mini Golf certainly fit that description. We got in touch with Lucas Martell (Executive Producer and creator of Walkabout Mini Golf) and Hannah Gamiel (Development Director at Myst developer and publisher Cyan, Inc.) to find out more.

How did the idea to work together on a Myst crossover come about?

Lucas: We’ve been big fans of Cyan and Myst for as long as we can remember. When we decided to do a few licensed courses, they were right at the top of our list because we thought that Myst Island would make for a place people would want to spend time—and would create some interesting gameplay possibilities.

We haven’t seen the Myst IP used a lot outside of Cyan’s own productions – what got you interested in working on Walkabout Mini Golf?

Hannah: When licensing out the usage of the Myst IP, we make careful and deliberate decisions to ensure that the folks working with it care about Myst and could make something we’d be proud to showcase to our community. We were already huge fans of Walkabout Mini Golf here at Cyan before Mighty Coconut approached us with this idea for collaboration, and when they expressed their deep admiration and respect for Myst over the years, this became an easy “Yes” for us.

Longtime fans will no doubt remember the narrative and characters of the Myst – (how) are you integrating elements like that into a Walkabout Mini Golf expansion?

Lucas: Walkabout Mini Golf: Myst will be like a virtual theme park attraction set in the world of Myst, so it will embody the spirit of that world with our low-poly design aesthetic and Myst’s signature affinity for puzzles and exploration. We’re not setting out to remake Myst, but there will absolutely be tidbits and Easter Eggs that fans will pick up on.

What’s it been like to work on this project together?

Lucas: We were thrilled to learn they were already playing Walkabout Mini Golf, so they understood what we were doing and have been super helpful about how to honor the Myst legacy but not to be totally confined by it. They’ve also come up with some amazing ideas and suggestions so it really does feel more like sitting down and collaborating.

Hannah: We’ve been brainstorming ways to bring more collaborative play into our worlds here at Cyan, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to bring folks together on Myst Island in a different, albeit fun and engaging way. It has been an absolute pleasure working with Mighty Coconut so far on this project!

This seems like a project that’s a great fit for some easter eggs and other nods to the source material – what can players look forward to?

Lucas: Players can look forward to our signature attention to detail, sense of place, lost balls and foxhunts, as well as a few surprises!

Myst is known for its puzzle-based gameplay – (how) will course designs or other interactive elements reflect this?

Lucas: We will definitely be using game-play in a novel way to capture the essence of Myst in ways people can explore alone or together. We don’t want to get too specific as we’re still dialing the mechanics, but suffice to say that this course is going to be very different from other Walkabout courses due to the puzzling aspect of Myst.