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"I am Gehn."

Word arrived that John Keston died this month.

Lexie said this much:

I recently played Riven for the first time. John Keston's portrayal of Gehn was menacing, charming, and wholly entertaining. He brought the world even more vibrantly to life than it would have been.

I felt his effectiveness in the role owed partially to Cyan's strategy of casting someone relatively unrecognizable as an actor, though he was apparently experienced and successful as one, especially on the stage. Another good move to seek that kind of experience, which came with command of pace and movement as he conveyed exposition with such heavy affectation.

Wikipedia says he was best known as a world record-breaking runner as he aged. (Was he really, Wikipedia? Was he?) I'm not surprised he survived almost a century, and it's hard not to bridle hearing Covid-related complications were the cause of death.

Myst and Riven affirmed a modus and philosophy of video games which is still imitated, and time has affirmed that some of the biggest industry trends since are ultimately fads by comparison. I think Keston's legacy as Gehn, planted firmly into the trunk of this plant – what amounted to a few onscreen monologues, simply but inimitably performed – will continue to resonate (there's no good way to avoid the phrasing) through the ages, and he may prove a more greatly revered figure than has yet occurred to anyone.