An in-game screenshot of one of Obsidian's cutscenes. Left: The Conductor. Right: Max.

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Obsidian

Obsidian was a 1996 computer game created by Rocket Science Games for Mac OS and Windows platforms. more...

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The genre of the game was a first-person 3-D graphical adventure game, with a large puzzle element. The puzzles were designed (at least in part) by Scott Kim. 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.

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.

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.