Mirage/Oasis

Oasis was Web game created by Wizards of the Coast in 1996, based on the Mirage expansion for Magic: The Gathering.

Description

The world of Mirage is a place of strange creatures and powerful magics, set on the tropical continent of Jamuraa, with its sweeping savannahs and its lush jungles. At the time of Mirage, Jamuraa is under attack as a powerful mage, Kaervek, attempts to take over the continent.

Oasis does not tell Kaervek's saga, but rather focuses on the stories of creatures caught in the vortex of events during this troubled time. They are featured in a braided novel, where different characters lead you through their own perceptions of a single larger story. The game allows you to follow one of many story threads, chapter by chapter, all narrated by Hakim Loreweaver, a master storyteller.

The stories sometimes connect and sometimes diverge, but all lead up to a meeting at the oasis in the story's center. You can follow the story paths that interest you and ignore the rest, or you can read them all.

The Oasis site included six distinct stories - a wizard's story, a panther's story, a warrior's story, a shadow's story, a goatherd's story, and a spirit's story - plus Hakim Loreweavers's commentary and several shorter stories scattered throughout. In addition, one of the designers of the Mirage set, Bill Rose, provided background and strategy hints for some of the cards illustrated in the stories.

Your goal, as you read Hakim's stories, is to determine who is trapped inside the Amber Prison, a magical artifact from the Mirage card set. There are no convoluted puzzles to solve or long forms to fill out, although your chances of knowing the correct answer improve as you read more of the stories.

By entering a solution to the puzzle at the end of the game, you became eligible to receive prizes. You could enter the contest once per email address.