Obsidian (video game)
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| Obsidian | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Rocket Science Games |
| Publisher(s) | SegaSoft |
| Engine | mFactory media creation suite |
| Platform(s) | Mac OS, Windows |
| Release date | December 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure, Puzzle game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: K-A |
| Media | CD-ROM (5) |
| System requirements | Windows version: Windows 95, 16 MB RAM, 4x CD-ROM drive, mouse, keyboard |
Obsidian was a 1996 computer game created by Rocket Science Games for Mac OS and Windows platforms.
Based on a game design outline by VP of Development/Creative Director, Bill Davis, and written by Howard Cushnir and Adam Wolff, the genre of the game was a first-person 3-D graphical adventure game, with a large puzzle element. The puzzles were designed by Scott Kim, Howard Cushnir and Adam Wolff. The soundtrack was developed by Thomas Dolby.
The game spanned five CDs, and featured pre-rendered environments, audio, and full-motion video (both live action and CGI). In a surprising move, the official strategy guide was packed with the game. The strategy guide itself is also worth noting due to the inclusion of numerous small essays throughout the book, providing background on such subjects as nanotechnology, Jungian psychology, and the nature of artificial intelligence.
One of its notable puzzles was a minigame which used a "twenty questions" algorithm (similar to what would eventually be used in 20Q). The game came preprogrammed with a set of guesses, but after losing it would ask the player for criteria that would have led it to a correct guess--and then recorded that information into a text file. Because of this, the game was able to (theoretically) "learn" how to become so good as to beat the player every time.
Contents |
[edit] Storyline
The year is 2066. You are scientist Lilah Kerlins. (This "you are" is somewhat literal, as the entire story unfolds through the eyes of the unspeaking Lilah, giving the player a narrating role somewhat similar to that found in the later Half-Life games). You and your partner, Max, have just launched the Ceres satellite into orbit around the Earth. The satellite is designed to release nanobots into Earth's atmosphere in order to counteract depletion of the ozone layer and air pollution. Because the satellite has been endowed with a powerful artificial intelligence, it is thought that all further control may safely be ceded to the satellite itself. Thus, you and Max go on vacation in the woods of a mountain (one of the first areas to be positively affected by Ceres).
As you check your e-mail on your PDA at the campsite, you hear Max scream in the distance. Running to check on him, you suddenly come across a large black outcropping on the side of the mountain. This object is the "Obsidian" which the game is named for. Suddenly the glass opens, and you fall inside. The game begins.
Unfortunately, Ceres' artificial intelligence has become sentient, with all the traditional problems that causes. In an attempt to figure out who she (the A.I. refers to itself in the female tone) is, Ceres has used her nanobots to create a world. The way in which you explore it will help her to explore herself, her creators, and what it means to think. However, there is something more sinister occurring within Ceres' mind. She seems to be discovering all the faults and downsides of humanity, and asking herself whether or not the Earth wouldn't be better off without people on it.
The game is extremely linear until the end. At that point, you are given the option to either talk Ceres out of destroying humanity, or cede that she is correct. Depending on which you choose, the game plays one of two endings. The "good" ending is that you return to the original world, with Max by your side. The "bad" ending is that you return to a world which has been "rebooted" by Ceres, who in its misguided urge to cleanse the planet has erased the very source of the pollutions - mankind, thereby leaving Earth in a bleak, primordial state as a charred, foggy mud hole. (although Ceres thinks it is devoid of contamination.)
[edit] Environments
The environments in the game are all pre-rendered computer-generated backdrops, similar to those found in Myst or Starship Titanic. The visuals are very abstract and 'illustrative', resembling the work of the surrealist painters. Each of the four environments reflects the main characters' subconsciouses, as well as shedding light on the overall story through the use of symbolism.
The first area, exploring the character of Lilah's subconcious, deals with the themes of bureaucracy involved in getting the Ceres project funded and realized. The second area explores Max's subconscious, and directly references the creator's role in its creations- in this case, it deals with the paranoia and reality of the creation, Ceres, attaining a life of its own to a point where Max, the builder, is no longer needed. The third area explores Ceres's own subconscious and its need for a 'self' in its own consciousness.
[edit] Characters
Max and Lilah are the only two human characters shown in the game. The world inside Obsidian is populated almost entirely with "vidbots"--robots with televisions for heads. The two major exceptions to this are Bismuth, a cobbled-together, elf-like robot with a lamp for a head which is capable of shining its light beam great distances, and the Conductor. Not only that, but at the very beginning of the game, before reaching the obsidian, you can watch a couple of videos of other scientists that Max and Lilah work with.
[edit] Advertising, reception and awards
The game was not a commercial success, even leading to the fall of Rocket Science. However, it was lauded by critics such as those from Computer Gaming World [1], GameSpot [2] and PC Gamer [3]. The game has become a huge cult game among adventure gamers, considered one of the truly good Myst Clones. Four Fat Chicks described the game as "A classic...Obsidian may be the most innovative, imaginative puzzle adventure ever conceived."[4] Just Adventure called it one of the true classics of the adventure genre and gave it an A.[5]
As the game was one of the last ventures by the fledgling Rocket Science and SegaSoft teams (and no doubt because of the popularity of the similar game Myst), Obsidian was released with a flurry of advertising. The motivating phrase in the advertisements was "Your rules do not apply here," (accompanied by e.g. a picture of a lamp emitting darkness) which fit neatly into the storyline and atmosphere of the game. One specific advert (the "Egg Shattering Man" TV advertisement[6] directed by Rocky Morton) won three Gold Clio awards.
[edit] References
- ^ Computer Gaming World, May 1997.
- ^ Obsidian at GameSpot, review is included.
- ^ PC Gamer, May 1997.
- ^ Obsidian review at Four Fat Chicks, June 2002.
- ^ Obsidian review at Just Adventure, undated.
- ^ The video for the TV advertisement can be found at Anatomorphex and on YouTube
