‘Myst’ in VR: Classic game to get a modern reboot with virtual reality debut on Oculus Quest

A new virtual reality version of Myst will be released for Oculus Quest later this year.

The original Myst was the #1 best-selling video game in the world from 1993 to 2002, a “killer app” that contributed to widespread adoption of CD-ROM drives for home computers.

Could a remake have the same effect for virtual reality? That’s a stretch, but the announcement of a new virtual reality edition of Myst is a milestone years in the making for Cyan Worlds, the Spokane, Wash.-based company behind the landmark puzzle game. Remade from the ground up in the Unreal Engine, the new version of Myst will initially be released for the Oculus Quest later this year, with a non-VR PC edition coming at an unspecified later date.

The news Wednesday coincided with the unveiling of the new $299 Oculus Quest 2 from the Facebook-owned virtual reality company.

“We’ve been waiting for the stars to align to create a VR version of Myst,” said Cyan CEO Rand Miller in a statement, “and I’m so excited to announce that alignment! Myst has always been about creating a world to lose yourself in, and VR takes the Myst experience to an entirely new level. It’s an almost magical experience for me, after so many years, to wander around the Ages of Myst and truly feel transported! We hope it will be for you, too.”

The success of Myst put Cyan on the map as an indie game developer, and created a franchise that includes four sequels, three novels (currently published in omnibus format as The Myst Reader), a yearly fan convention, and as of last summer, a film and TV deal with Village Roadshow.

Miller and Cyan have been vocally bullish about virtual reality in the last couple of years. Cyan’s upcoming game Firmament is planned to ship with a VR version alongside a 2D edition at its launch. Cyan founded a new publishing arm of the company, Ventures, in 2018, to focus on bringing out independently-made VR projects. This includes Myst veteran Chuck Carter’s interactive memoir ZED, and the forthcoming Area Man Lives.

Myst puts the player in the role of an unnamed person who is accidentally transported via a magical book to an isolated, seemingly uninhabited island. With no way back, the player is forced to explore the area and solve a variety of puzzles. In so doing, they discover the history of the island and the people who once lived there, as well as the secrets behind the “linking books” that join the island with a number of other disparate worlds.

Notably, Myst features no depictions of violence, time limits, failure conditions, or verbal storytelling to speak of, all of which was nearly unprecedented in 1993. It’s had a significant influence on video games as a medium, and arguably pop culture in general, to this day.

The virtual reality version of Myst is either the third or fourth remake of the original game, depending on how one chooses to define “remake.” The original point-and-click Myst was updated into a Masterpiece Edition in 2000, with upgraded graphics, sound effects, and music. The same year, Ubisoft published realMyst, which overhauled the whole game into a free-roaming 3D adventure, but ran notoriously poorly on most home computers at the time. A full 14 years later, Cyan revisited realMyst to release its own Masterpiece Edition, a Unity-powered remake that later received a major graphics update in 2015.

Cyan’s next original project is the VR puzzle game Firmament, which was successfully crowdfunded last year via Kickstarter. It’s tentatively scheduled to release in 2022.

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Seattle’s Athira Pharma files for IPO to fund quest for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s breakthroughs

The Athira team. (Athira Photo)

Athira Pharma is aiming to go public.

The Seattle biotech filed initial IPO paperwork Wednesday, a surprising move that would give the company additional capital to develop its therapies for brain diseases.

Founded in 2011, Athira is in late-stage development for its lead therapeutic candidate called NDX-1017. The drug could halt or reverse the nerve damage that causes Alzheimer’s disease and other illnesses including Parkinson’s and ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. It uses regenerative technology that rebuilds connections between neurons.

Athira in December presented what it described as positive initial results from a clinical trial that included patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

The company, previously known as M3 Biotechnology, is led by Dr. Leen Kawas, a 35-year-old entrepreneur originally from Jordan. The foundation of Athira began while Kawas was earning her Ph.D. in molecular pharmacology at Washington State University nearly a decade ago.

“The potential of the technology is huge,” Kawas, who co-founded Athira with WSU researchers Joseph Harding and Jay Wright, said earlier this year.

Athira Pharma CEO Leen Kawas accepts the award for CEO of the Year at the 2019 GeekWire Awards. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)

More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, with that number projected to rise to nearly 14 million by 2050. The disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. There are as many as 35 million cases worldwide, according to Athira.

In its IPO paperwork, Athira reports a net loss of $5.2 million in 2019, and a loss of $3.8 million through the first six months of 2020.

The company notes in its filing, “We do not have any products approved for commercial sale, and we have not generated any revenues related to our products since inception.” That reflects the traditional life cycle of biotech companies, which commonly invest in research and development for years before bringing products to market.

Athira would be the third Washington state company to go public this year, following health tech startup Accolade and marketing startup ZoomInfo. It would be the first Seattle biotech to go public since Adaptive Biotechnologies IPO’d last year.

The market for biotech IPOs is red-hot this year. Tech IPOs are also on the rise despite the ongoing economic crisis. Five software startups filed for an IPO on Monday alone. Many companies have traded higher since debuting on the public markets over the past several months.

Athira just raised capital from private investors, reeling in a $85 million Series B round in June. Total funding to date is north of $100 million.

In a June interview with GeekWire, Kawas and Athira COO Mark Litton acknowledged the unusually large size of the Series B round, particularly for a 17-person company trying to develop therapies for brain disease. “It really validates what we have done,” said Litton, a veteran biotech exec who previously co-founded Alder Biopharmaceuticals, another Seattle company that went public in 2014 and was acquired in 2019.

Kawas said previously that the COVID-19 pandemic has not impacted Athira, which avoided layoffs and is hiring. Though the company listed COVID-19 under its risk factors in the IPO filing, noting that the pandemic could cause delays in clinical trials or FDA approval timelines.

Athira’s pipeline, from its IPO filing.

The company’s largest shareholder is Perceptive Life Sciences, which led the Series B round and has a 11.6% stake, followed by RTW Investments at 10.9%. Kawas is the third-largest shareholder with a 9.4% stake.

Other backers include Viking Global Investors, Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Franklin Templeton, Rock Springs Capital, LifeSci Venture Partners, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Highside Capital Management, Logos Capital, funds managed by Janus Henderson Investors, Sofinnova Investments, and Avidity Partners.

Athira has $85.1 million in cash and cash equivalents. It plans to trade on NASDAQ under the symbol ATHA. Kawas holds a doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Jordan. She won Startup CEO of the Year honors at the GeekWire Awards last year.

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Cat Quest 2, una aventura gatuna en RPG

Tras los lanzamientos por separado, Meridiem Games puso a la venta Cat Quest y Cat Quest II conjuntamente en un pack el pasado 22 de mayo para Nintendo Switch y PlayStation 4. Si aún no conoces este entretenido RPG desarrollado por The Gentlebros en esta líneas te invitamos a descubrirlo.

Cat Quest es un action RPG de mundo abierto en un reino de fantasía de gatos. Secuela del galardonado juego original, Cat Quest II ahora nos permite jugar solos o con un amigo, como gato y como perro mientras te embarcas en un viaje épico. Buscar en un mundo lleno de magia, derrotar a monstruos de lo más particulares, recoger un botín que aumenta las estadísticas y emprender una aventura gatuna como nunca antes. Ampliando el original con más hechizos explosivos, nuevas opciones de armas y cooperativo local, Cat Quest II mejora todos los aspectos del sensacional juego indie.

Estamos en un reino de fantasía habitado por gatos y perros. Bajo la amenaza de la constante guerra entre los gatos de Felinia y los perros del Imperio de Lupus, CAT QUEST II nos cuenta la historia de dos reyes unidos contra su voluntad en un viaje zarpantástico en el que descubrirán cómo recuperar sus tronos.

Así estaremos en principio con la reaparición de sus majestades gatunas y perrunas, que en las que debemos liberar sus imperios para conseguir el ansiado trono. Para ello además tenemos que seguir una serie de misiones divertidas, con un montón de referencias a grandes libros, series o películas de lo más divertidas con una alocada traducción al castellano que nos dejará con más de una sonora carcajada.

Destacando su divertid planteamiento, gracias al éxito de su primera entrega nos encontramos con una muy buena evolución del juego con nuevas mecánicas de juego, hechizos, armas… y una expansión de este singular mundo que nos dará para horas y horas de diversión.

Además el control es sencillo, aunque es importante ir guardando la partida ya que a veces, por un descuido puede que nos encontremos con un enemigo fuerte y nos toque volver al punto de guardado sino estamos preparados, Además de ello encontraremos trampas en las mazmorras, obstáculos, puzles, que si bien son un reto con el paso del tiempo las sabremos dominar porque siguen más o menos la misma mecánica.  La jugabilidad es más que aceptable y su supera a la de la primera entrega.

El apartado gráfico sigue siendo similar a la primera entrega, con los personajes como pegatinas en movimiento, algo bastante curioso en un mundo abierto muy cuidado, acompañado de una buena banda sonora, mejorada respecto a la primera aventura.

Esta nueva edición para ambas consolas en formato físico llega con las 2 aventuras en el juego, por tanto aunque es una edición sencilla, tenemos 2 juegos al precio de 1.

Si buscas un RPG divertido, distinto, con un mundo abierto, sin complicaciones y cargado de mucho, mucho humor, este es tu juego, sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que por un módico precio tendremos ambos títulos y doble de diversión, para pasar unas buenas horas junto a la consola y estos simpáticos personajes. Y todo ello en castellano.

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Cat Quest 2, una aventura gatuna en RPG

Tras los lanzamientos por separado, Meridiem Games puso a la venta Cat Quest y Cat Quest II conjuntamente en un pack el pasado 22 de mayo para Nintendo Switch y PlayStation 4. Si aún no conoces este entretenido RPG desarrollado por The Gentlebros en esta líneas te invitamos a descubrirlo.

Cat Quest es un action RPG de mundo abierto en un reino de fantasía de gatos. Secuela del galardonado juego original, Cat Quest II ahora nos permite jugar solos o con un amigo, como gato y como perro mientras te embarcas en un viaje épico. Buscar en un mundo lleno de magia, derrotar a monstruos de lo más particulares, recoger un botín que aumenta las estadísticas y emprender una aventura gatuna como nunca antes. Ampliando el original con más hechizos explosivos, nuevas opciones de armas y cooperativo local, Cat Quest II mejora todos los aspectos del sensacional juego indie.

Estamos en un reino de fantasía habitado por gatos y perros. Bajo la amenaza de la constante guerra entre los gatos de Felinia y los perros del Imperio de Lupus, CAT QUEST II nos cuenta la historia de dos reyes unidos contra su voluntad en un viaje zarpantástico en el que descubrirán cómo recuperar sus tronos.

Así estaremos en principio con la reaparición de sus majestades gatunas y perrunas, que en las que debemos liberar sus imperios para conseguir el ansiado trono. Para ello además tenemos que seguir una serie de misiones divertidas, con un montón de referencias a grandes libros, series o películas de lo más divertidas con una alocada traducción al castellano que nos dejará con más de una sonora carcajada.

Destacando su divertid planteamiento, gracias al éxito de su primera entrega nos encontramos con una muy buena evolución del juego con nuevas mecánicas de juego, hechizos, armas… y una expansión de este singular mundo que nos dará para horas y horas de diversión.

Además el control es sencillo, aunque es importante ir guardando la partida ya que a veces, por un descuido puede que nos encontremos con un enemigo fuerte y nos toque volver al punto de guardado sino estamos preparados, Además de ello encontraremos trampas en las mazmorras, obstáculos, puzles, que si bien son un reto con el paso del tiempo las sabremos dominar porque siguen más o menos la misma mecánica.  La jugabilidad es más que aceptable y su supera a la de la primera entrega.

El apartado gráfico sigue siendo similar a la primera entrega, con los personajes como pegatinas en movimiento, algo bastante curioso en un mundo abierto muy cuidado, acompañado de una buena banda sonora, mejorada respecto a la primera aventura.

Esta nueva edición para ambas consolas en formato físico llega con las 2 aventuras en el juego, por tanto aunque es una edición sencilla, tenemos 2 juegos al precio de 1.

Si buscas un RPG divertido, distinto, con un mundo abierto, sin complicaciones y cargado de mucho, mucho humor, este es tu juego, sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que por un módico precio tendremos ambos títulos y doble de diversión, para pasar unas buenas horas junto a la consola y estos simpáticos personajes. Y todo ello en castellano.

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Microsoft makes hydrogen fuel cell breakthrough in quest to power data centers with renewable energy

Power Innovations built a 250-kilowatt fuel cell system to help Microsoft explore the potential of using a hydrogen fuel cells for backup power generation at data centers. (Power Innovations Photo)

For the first time, Microsoft has successfully powered a row of data center servers using hydrogen fuel cells for 48 hours, a milestone the company is marking because of its potential to reduce reliance on fossil-fuel consuming generators.

The fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen in a process that creates water vapor and electricity. Microsoft conducted the proof-of-concept at a data center near Salt Lake City, Utah.

Microsoft is investing in hydrogen energy technology as part of its effort to become carbon negative and eliminate its dependence on diesel fuel by 2030.

Although Microsoft uses diesel generators as back-up power for data centers on average less than once a year, and only when the grid fails, the company sees other applications for hydrogen fuel cells down the road. Microsoft envisions a future in which hydrogen could be used to power industrial facilities and long-haul vehicles.

“What if you could take all of these assets the datacenter has and integrate them into the grid in a way that helps to further accelerate decarbonization of the grid more broadly rather than just a point solution for the data center itself,” said Brian Janous, general manager of Microsoft’s data center sustainability team, in a statement. “That’s where I think all of this gets interesting.”

Microsoft used hydrogen stored in these tanks on trailers parked outside a lab near Salt Lake City, Utah, to fuel hydrogen fuel cells that powered a row of datacenter servers for 48 consecutive hours. (Power Innovations Photo)

The estimated costs to produce hydrogen fuel cells has fallen 75% since 2018, according to Microsoft. If the trend continues, the company predicts hydrogen fuel cells will be price competitive with diesel generators.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced new sustainability initiatives, including the largest single renewable energy investment the company has ever made. Microsoft pledged in January to become carbon negative by 2030 and remove more carbon than the company has put into the atmosphere since it launched by 2050.

But climate change advocates say the commitments run counter to Microsoft’s partnerships with oil and gas companies. Cloud providers, like Microsoft and Amazon, are under particular scrutiny for supplying tools that energy companies use to find and extract fossil fuels.

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