THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
The purpose of this page is to help you through your journey into the world of Riven. As of Nov. 26, I still have not solved Riven. I am working on it very slowly, and savoring my travels. I will start by giving small hints, and later I will add more blatant spoilers. Please keep in mind that I am trying to guess what other people are going to need help with. If you don't find what you are looking for, I would suggest posting a question on Gordon's Myst and Riven Link site. On major hint...click on everything. Look carefully, somethings are very well concealed, and make sure that you look at things from all possible angels. Good luck!
(Dec. 8-) Well, I solved Riven right after I started this page. I really enjoyed playing Riven. There is a lot to be said to reading the books first. (Myst, the Book of Atrus; and Myst, the Book of T'iana) You don't have to read them first, but it really adds to it.
updated Jan. 26, 1998
CHOOSE FROM THE FOLLOWING SPOILERS......
How do I open the gate in the beetle room?
What is that eyeball that I saw when I got off the mag-lev?
How do I know what the numbers are?
I can't find all the eyeballs. Where are they?
Now that I have all the eyeballs, what am I suppose to do?
I can't figure out how to get into the village!
What am I suppose to do with the levers?
What is the story with this wahrk
totem/idol?
How do I get into Gehn's lab?
I still can't get into Gehn's lab. Now what?
Where is the fire marble puzzle I've heard people talking about?
Now that you found the puzzle, you need to figure out where the marbles go.
What are the different endings?
How do I open the gate in the beetle room?
Ok, you've figured out how to turn the beetle room around, but the gate is there. You can turn the room 3 times, and go into the room. What do you see when you get to the other side of the room? Did you check the wall? Explore every area....
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What is that eyeball that I saw when I got off the mag-lev?
You noticed one or two eyeballs that have weird symbols on them. What happens when you click on the eyebals? The symbol on the other side is a number in D'ni. You need to learn the number system.
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2 ways to learn the D'ni numbers...
Decide if you want to learn the numbers the easy way or the Riven way. If you are lazy, go to my numbers cheating page, and you will find the numbers there. You can even print the page to make things easier. If you want to learn them the Riven way, you will need to get to the school house.
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2 of the eyeballs were very well hidden.
Did you see the eye by the mag-lev, well in the village, Gehn's lab, the lagoon, and the forest? (The last two were the hardest for me to find.) The one in the lagoon you need to really look around, checking out all the different directions. I personally thought that the one in the forest was the hardest to find. Keep looking to the sides, and just remember what my cyber-friend Karen said--"The eyeballs were hidden by the rebels, NOT Gehn." Think about where THEY would hid the eyeball, and click on everything.
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This is a two part puzzle.
The first thing you have to do is figure out which eyeball comes first, second, third, etc. After you figure each one out, you have to figure out what each eyeball is-hint-these are all animals. (There are visual and audio sounds for each eyeball except for the one in the forest. Again, make sure you look at all the different views to get the whole picture. You might also have to go to a totally different place to find the visual aide you need.)
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I can't figure out how to get into the village!
You want to get into the houses. You even knocked on the door, and nothing happened. Well, unfortunately, that's all there is. You can't get into the little houses.... Oh well, there is some much more to see.
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What do these levers do?
Go back, and try to change the levers again. You can either look out the window very carefully, or you can go back into the sub and go to different places. If you are still stuck, try putting all the levers "down", and getting back into the sub.
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So you found the wahrk
totem/idol, and nothing happens.
When you were looking at the wahrk idol, you came up close to see it. Maybe the way to open it is not right at the mouth of the thing. Try looking for a way to get it open that is not right up close to the wahrk idol.
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Confession time here...
I couldn't figure out for the life of my how to get into Gehn's lab either! I found this hint on Gordon's web site... Have you noticed that the doors close behind you as you pass through them? What is different this time?
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Uh-oh, the door is locked.
As you were walking to Gehn's lab, did you see any levers or switches on the side? Where does the wire go? Is there any object that you could see close up? Why do you think that you need to see it? What would happen if you were to make it stop?
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You've been looking all over for the marble puzzle, but you can't find it...
Everything in Riven is there for a reason. Was there anything that you got to work, but your couldn't find a reason for it? Looking around the gold dome, find out WHY you need to raise a certain bridge.
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Feel like you are losing your marbles?
Honestly, I really didn't have the patience to sit and figure this one out. If you want to solve the marble puzzle yourself, you need to solve the color puzzle first. Go back to Gehn's underwater station, and see what 5 colors you need. Then, you need to figure out EXACTLY where each marble goes. To do that, think about what machine shows you where things are on the island. If you are like me, and you just want to know the answer... here it is...
go right, go up
orange 6, 4
red 9, 9
purple 2, 22
green 16, 25
blue 22, 25
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Did you find all the different ways to end the game?
1. The "winning ending" when Cathrine is freed and Ghen is trapped.
2. The "so-so ending" where you trap Ghen but don't free Cathrine.
3. The "losing ending" where you retrieve the book but don't do anything. You open the fissure; Ghen kills Atrus and Cho kills you.
4. The "losing ending" where you destroy Riven by opening the fissure to early. You fall down the fissure.
5. The "losing ending" where you are in the prison on Tey and link into the prison book. The rebel looks at you and is tempted to link. (You are forever trapped in the prison book.)
6. The "losing ending" where you have gone to Tey after trapping Ghen and you link into the book. (Great suprise!)
7. The "losing ending" where you link into the trap book on any island and then are prompted to enter the Riven CD5. You see Cho, paying the price for your stupidity. Ghen kills you. (This is the first time you meet Gehn.)
8. The "losing ending" where you link into the trap book on any island and you trade places with Cho. Ghen sees you and immediately kills you. Then he starts talking about how he is going to restore the D'ni culture. (You've met Gehn before.)
9. The "losing ending" where you have trapped Ghen in the prison book. You link back in, but Ghen links out to his age. He thank yous for your contribution to restoring the D'ni culture, but says that he cannot free you.
10. The "losing ending" where you do not link to the trap book. Ghen shoots you with his cane. He really shows his true colors here.
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Great...I've got enough help for now. Take me back to the beginning.
I'd love to hear from you!
