Robyn Miller

For the Casualty character, see Robyn Miller (Casualty).
Robyn Miller
Miller in 2013
Born (1966-08-06) August 6, 1966 (age 58)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)Artist, computer game designer, composer, director, actor
Websitewww.robynmiller.net Edit this at Wikidata

Robyn Charles Miller (born August 6, 1966) is an American video game designer who is the co-founder of Cyan Worlds with brother Rand Miller. He served as co-designer of the popular computer game Myst, which held the title of best-selling computer game from its release in 1993 until the release of The Sims seven years later.[1][2] He also co-directed and co-lead designed the sequel to Myst, Riven,[3] which was the best-selling computer game of its year of release, 1997.[4] Miller composed and performed the soundtracks to both games.[5] He also acted in Myst, portraying one of the antagonists, Sirrus (with brother and Cyan-cofounder Rand appearing as Achenar and Atrus).[5] He co-wrote the first Myst novel, The Book of Atrus.

After the release of Riven, Miller left Cyan to pursue non-game interests, including films.[6] He is the director of the 2013 film The Immortal Augustus Gladstone.[7]

Early works

Miller served as a designer on Cyan Worlds's early games The Manhole, Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel and Spelunx.[8]

Myst and Riven

Miller is known for his contributions in the areas of direction and design, especially in the area of visual design—the look and feel of the Myst and Riven worlds. Richard Vander Wende, co-director and co-designer of Riven, was likewise responsible for orchestrating the visual language of that world.[9][8]

Composer

While at Cyan, Miller composed the soundtracks for both Myst and Riven.

In 2005 he worked on a musical project named Ambo,[10] with W. Keith Moore.

In December 2013, he released the soundtrack for his debut film The Immortal Augustus Gladstone in digital format on Gumroad.com.

Miller composed the soundtrack for Cyan's Kickstarter-funded video game Obduction, released in August 2016.[11] This was his first work with Cyan since Riven in 1997. Initially, he had only intended to appear in the game itself (as C.W., one of the few human characters the player interacts with), and had outright said he would not do the soundtrack. After persuasion by his brother Rand, as well as seeing the work being done on the game, he eventually agreed to compose the game's music as well as appear in the game. He stated in an interview that he enjoyed focusing solely on composing, as opposed to the additional production work he had done for Myst and Riven.[12]

From 2022 to 2023, Miller self-published a compilation series of three albums entitled Lost Tracks featuring various unreleased tracks composed and recorded over his career.[13]

Director

Miller's debut film project is a fictional documentary film titled The Immortal Augustus Gladstone, a story about a man who believes himself to be a vampire.[14][7]

Discography

Solo albums:

As a member of Ambo:

  • 1000 Years and 1 Day (2005)
  • Ambo – Day Two - B-Sides (EP, 2005)

Filmography

Video games[15][5]
Year Work Credited as Notes
Director Designer Artist Composer Actor
1988 The Manhole Yes Yes Yes — No
1989 Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel Yes Yes Yes Yes No
1991 Spelunx and the Caves of Mr. Seudo Yes Yes Yes — No
1993 Myst Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Role: Sirrus (uncredited)
1997 Riven: The Sequel to Myst Yes Yes No Yes No
2016 Obduction No No No Yes Yes Role: C.W.
Film[15]
Year Film Credited as Notes
Director Writer Editor Composer Actor
2013 The Immortal Augustus Gladstone Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Role: Augustus Gladstone
The Hero Pose No Yes Yes No No Executive producer; short film
2015 Kill Cash Cow Kill No No Yes No No Short film
2017 Little Potato No Yes No Yes No Executive producer; short film

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Sims overtakes Myst". GameSpot. 2006-05-17. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  2. ^ "Game Over". AllGame. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  3. ^ "Riven Full Credits". MystJourney.com. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  4. ^ Karlin Lillington (1998-03-02). "21st: "Myst" partnership is riven". Salon.com. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  5. ^ a b c "Robyn C. Miller". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  6. ^ "'Myst' Muse Leaves Game Company / Robyn Miller developing film ideas with new firm". SFGate. 1998-03-05. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  7. ^ a b ""AWOL in P-Town"". Theimmortalaugustusgladstone.com. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  8. ^ a b "GDC 2013: Robyn Miller's Myst Postmortem". AdventureGamers.com. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  9. ^ Bradford, Matt (2014-09-11). "Edge Magazine | GamesRadar". Edge-online.com. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  10. ^ "AMBO - 1000 Years and 1 Day". Archived from the original on 2011-06-19. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  11. ^ "Anniversary Two – Huge Obduction Music Announcement! - Obduction - Obduction by Cyan, Inc". Obduction. 2015-11-13. Archived from the original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  12. ^ Original Sound Version - INTERVIEW with Composer Robyn Miller on the Obduction Soundtrack
  13. ^ Miller, Robyn. "Music". robynmiller.net. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  14. ^ Miller, Robyn C. (2013-04-29). "Status and Vampires | 156 Years and Counting". Augustusblog.com. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  15. ^ a b Miller, Robyn. "Video Games & Films". robynmiller.net. Retrieved 2018-08-08.

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