*****Riven - The Sequel to Myst***** Easter Egg FAQ -------------- Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Unlocking the Easter Eggs 3. Finding the Easter Eggs 4. The Easter Eggs 5. Credits -------------- 1. Introduction I wrote this FAQ to fill the hole in the Riven FAQ list on GameFAQs, since none of the FAQs on the site mention or explain how to go about unlocking and finding the funny and cool easter eggs hidden within Riven. In 1999, Spyder, the "spy" within Cyan's building in Spokane began posting a series of puzzles on his site, each of which left you with a riddle when completed. After you collected all five riddles, it was possible to unlock the easter eggs hidden within the game. This FAQ will cover the deeply hidden Spyder easter eggs, as well as the not so deeply hidden ones. The FAQ is also set up in order of the least spoiling, beginning with the riddles and instructions to unlock the eggs, then the locations of the eggs themselves, and finally what the eggs actually do. -------------- 2. Unlocking the Easter Eggs To unlock the five Spyder easter eggs in Riven, you must first click five different spots in the game to activate them. After that, you can find the eggs by checking in another (you guessed it) five spots. All of the spots must be clicked in order, in the same save game file. After this, the five eggs are only accessible in that same file. If you click in the correct place for each trigger, your cursor will disappear for a second. This does not stand for Playstation players however, and the fifth and final trigger is much harder to find because of the low resolution of the Playstation console. Trigger 1 - Where creatures float and waters rise, only one of five will open. The one that stands out is your prize, small, orange and unbroken. In Gehn's Lab on Book Assembly Island, there is a small set of five drawers. In the only one of the drawers that will open, there are several broken eggs. Click the one tiny orange unbroken egg to activate the first trigger. Trigger 2 - Slowly rising from the bed, and closer to your goal. Clear the cobwebs from your head, and search the empty bowl. When you visit the Moiety Age (the one big black golfballish hive), and are locked up in a small room, check the bowl on the nearby table. Click in the bottom of the bowl to activate trigger number two. Trigger 3 - Control the bridges, enjoy the view, and think about the ride here. Something you see just can't be true, So make the mirage disappear. Trigger three can be found in the control tower by the lake on Jungle Island, which is where you find the five levers that control the ladders for the submarine. Go up, and look out the window. If you've done everything correctly so far, you should see your sub across the lake, where it started off. If you took the sub to where you are now... how can it be over there? Click the sub and it will disappear, and you will have set the third trigger. Trigger 4 - It rises from the water, and asks you to come in. Don't yet go where it's hotter, first find the sign of Gehn. The fourth egg is fairly easy. Just go to Survey Island, and call the elevator that rises up from the water in the glowing orange room, then click Ghen's symbol (the five pointed star) on the top of the elevator. Trigger 5 - Call the magcar again, and search the rocks nearby. The name of an historian is just four pixels high. The fifth egg is a pain on PC, and nearly impossible on Playstation. Head back to Temple Island (the one you arrived on), and call the maglev *hovering rollercoaster thing* that takes you to Jungle Island. At this point, turn slightly to your left so that you can take a look at the rock stopping point of the maglev. Look just below the second "line" on the stopper rock, and try to spot the tiny letters "RAWA". This refers to the lead programmer and D'ni Historian of Riven, Richard A. Watson. Clicking on those letters is the fifth and final step, and will unlock the eggs. -------------- 3. Finding the Easter Eggs Assuming you are still on Temple Island, the following sequence is the quickest way to view all five easter eggs. These can be viewed in any order you choose however, this is just the fasted method. Egg Location 1 - In the temple on Temple Island, face the giant five pointed star, and then click the second lamp from the left of your screen. Egg Location 2 - Head to Jungle Island, and walk to where the submarine starts out. Turn around and go back until you are on the edge of a ladder looking down at the floor below, then turn to your right. Egg Location 3 - Walk into the jungle aread, and take the idol elevator up into the trees. Head towards the control throne that overlooks the Whark gallows, until you're about halfway up the stairs, then turn around so that you face the golden dome. On the left side of your screen click the lamp that is the furthest away from the golden dome. Egg Location 4 - Ride to Survey Island, and visit the Whark Throne room. Sit down in it, and lower the control device on the left, then click the the small screw on the right side of the chair. Egg Location 5 - The last egg is without a doubt my favorite. Link to Gehn's 233rd Age, and climb down to his room. Click the five pointed star that is on a red tapestry hanging from the wall. -------------- 4. The Easter Eggs The first five eggs here are listed in the order of their location in Section 3. These eggs are very funny and cool, and I recommend you don't "cheat" by reading the descriptions of them, and just go check for yourself. For the people who can't play Riven at the moment, are too lazy to go look, or simply love spoiling things for themselves, giving the actual experience a hollow feeling when they actually do it. Egg 1 - Simple but surprising, the interior of the temple on Temple Island suddenly gets a little more festive, as christmas lights light up the walls, and Ghen's ominous crest changes to berries and holly. Egg 2 - This egg removes all the textures from this view, allowing you to see all the wireframe work that Cyan put into this single scene. When you look at this egg, stare out through the hundreds of feet of wireframe, and consider all the scenes you see throughout the game, and how much effort went into modeling the hills, buildings, and trees all around you. Egg 3 - This is mostly fun for the shock value of the first time. You stare out into the jungle, trees blocking your view of much of the outside, click the lamp, and suddenly, POOF, EVERYTHING IS GONE, EXCEPT THE CATWALK AND THE SKY! YOU'RE FLYING! Sort of! Egg 4 - This one is just plain weird, as an old silly putty commercial starts to play in the viewer, as well as a clip of what looks to be an old kung fu flick. It's fun to watch it several times, as it seems to get sillier each time. Egg 5 - This is probably my favorite egg in the game, because I love the character of Gehn, as well as the song used here. Sit back and feel free to join Gehn in his solo of "O Sole Mio". John Keston... not only can he portray his character perfectly, he can give the guy a great singing voice too! --- The rest of these eggs are accessible without going through the five trigger hunt, and are a little less out of the ordinary. --- Egg 6 - In the opening movie, you can see extreme close ups of the faces of two different men flicker past a few times in the linking image in the Riven book. I have no idea who these men are, but watching them flash by as you enter the game quickly gives you an early feeling that you're being watched. Perhaps this almost subliminal flash was done for that reason? Egg 7 - In the cave beyond the locked wooden gate that leads to the rotating room, position the room so that the door is open from this cave, then approach the ladder so you can just see the upper left corner of the door to the rotating room. On the right side of the screen you can see the faces of three girls. These are the daughters of Rand Miller, CEO of Cyan, and one of the two brothers responsible for the creation of the Myst series. This is easier to see if you raise the brightness on your monitor. Egg 8 - If you walk to the edge of the cliff that the guard ("Choooo?") from the beginning of the game was dragged off of and look down, after he vanishes later in the game, you can see the face of a small girl and two boys hidden in the very upper left corner of the screen. These are the offspring of Robyn Miller, composer of the Myst and Riven soundtracks, as well one of the two brothers responsible for the creation of the Myst series. This is easier to see if you raise the brightness on your monitor. Egg 9 - Immediately after the game starts, if you step out of the small cage, turn left, then look up, you can see the faces of two little girls hidden among the texturing along the rock at the bottom of the screen. These two girls are the daughters of Richard Vander Wende, one of the minds at Cyan. This is easier to see if you raise the brightness on your monitor. Egg 10 - On Book Assembly Island when approaching the ladder that leads to the catwalk where the entrance to Gehn's lab is located, you can see "ALEX" engraved in the rock in the upper left corner of the screen. I don't know the meaning of this name, feel free to contact me with more information on this. -------------- 5. Credits CYAN - For creating MYST, RIVEN, and URU Spyder (Whoever you are!) - For releasing the clues that led to the five easter eggs that would have never been found otherwise. Raika - For helping me with the format of the FAQ. Fudge - For causing me to strive to be greater than you. CJayC - For creating the greatest game related database availible on the internet, and hopefully hosting this easter egg guide there! Me - For being a slacker who is willing to spend his time trying to solve puzzles and riddles for the sake of seeing a video of Gehn singing.