Obsidian

Moby ID: 1564
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

The plot of this Myst-influenced 5 CD adventure game involves issues such as nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. Fortunately, the bundled strategy guide explains the basics of these subjects. Gameplay is linear and largely based around puzzles.

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Credits (Windows version)

207 People (138 developers, 69 thanks) · View all

Studio Creative Director
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Interactive Story & Design
Project Creative Director
Lead Engineer
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Engineering
CG Supervisor
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Inspired by the Concepts and Artwork of
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Additional Productin Design
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Critics

Average score: 75% (based on 24 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 17 ratings with 1 reviews)

The game that should have been as popular and acclaimed as Myst, but didn't.

The Good
The graphics, both still-framed and full motion, were good, the locations were awe inspiringly surreal, and was overall a good adventure title. The game also had two endings.

The Bad
The puzzles would get really hard at times, also both ending movies weren't longer than twenty seconds each, not including the credits.

The Bottom Line
In 1996, Rocket Science made Obsidian, a Myst-like adventure game that was prettier (not pretty as Riven, though), had animations for every transition (which the Myst series did not have), and was many times more surreal.

You play as Lilah, a scientist observing a strange formation that grew due to a satellite made with nanotechnology dubbed Obsidian because it resembled the black mineral of the same name. While camping near it, your partner, Max Powers (yes, that's his name) gets sucked into it, and you follow him in. What proceeds are worlds that are parallel to both of their subconscious, seeing how in their PDA, they mention things their dreams which are later found inside Obsidian.

The first part of the game takes place inside a giant cube, and you constantly change the direction of gravity in order to access each side. The giant cube resembles an office that would dwarf the DMV, the IRS, and your college Registrar combined in terms of how much you have to do in order to get them to do something. While there's a lot of confusion to be found, there's also quite a bit of humor. You'll encounter a race of people that basically look like robots with television screens for heads. The screens have human faces, but you most of the time they would only show their mouths. I guess most of them are shy. One of the screen-people, in a jab towards Myst, will only say "Find me the blue pages!" over and over again.

Windows · by Brandon R (3) · 2004

Trivia

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Obsidian's had an imaginative advertisement campaign. Combining both printed ads as well as television spots, the campaign was unusual as it portrayed several common situations twisted in a way that defied all laws of physics, nature and logic followed by the tagline "Your rules do not apply here". Ie: a printed ad showing an empty room lit by an overhead lamp, only the lamp produces darkness instead of light. Yet the most impressive ad was the famed "egg" TV spot, which featured a guy dropping an egg to the floor with unexpected results. This commercial became a particular object of cult among publicity buffs and won 3 Gold Clio awards and became a permanent feature on the New York Museum of Modern Art, as well as being a regular on TV commercial specials, and a runner-up for a Cannes Golden Lion award. Links to the commercial can be found here in the media section.

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  • MobyGames ID: 1564
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Null McNull.

Linux added by Plok. Macintosh added by Jeanne.

Additional contributors: Zovni, Jeanne, Alaka, Zeppin.

Game added June 9, 2000. Last modified February 21, 2024.