History VideoGame / Obsidian

* BenevolentArchitecture: The FatalFlaw to the Bureau turns out to be [[spoiler: a pair of handrails on the Atlas Face that run flush to the Executive Face. With her orientation changed, Lilah uses one as a ladder to make her own way to the Bureau Chief.]]

* BalefulPolymorph: During the transition to the Conductor realm, [[spoiler:Bismuth himself is transformed, bit by bit, into the Conductor. The silent expression he conveys and the disturbing "squeak" his head makes somehow implies it's being done against his will.]]

** Taken UpToEleven in AstronomicZoom above.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Lilah's dream is filled with them - to the point where ''[[UpToEleven even the receptionist is one]]!''

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Ceres created a physical avatar for itself, called the Conductor, as a way to appear to and communicate with its creators. It appears as a neu-romantic RobotGirl; complete with thigh-highs, a porcelain-like face that flashes when she speaks, and a [[NiceHat plasma disc halo hat]].

* NiceHat: Max wears a red baseball cap during their latest video log, and [[spoiler:it shows up at the foot of the Obsidian structure after Max vanishes inside it.]]

->''"Your rules do not apply here"'' -'''Tagline'''

''If you are looking for the rock, go [[UsefulNotes/{{Obsidian}} here]]''. \\
''If you're searching for the developer, see Creator/ObsidianEntertainment.''\\
''Not to be confused with the 1986 UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC game with the same title.''

-> ''"Your rules do not apply here"'' -'''Tagline'''

* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler: Ceres misinterpreted the idea of a "perfect world", by targeting the very source of pollution itself as the problem: ''mankind''.]]

* HisNameReallyIsBarkeep: In keeping with the monotonous bureaucracy theme of the Bureau Realm, the person in charge of their department is literally called that department. Emphasized by the vidbot for Bridge Repair when he repeats his instructions in document form.

Obsidian (sometimes in all caps) is a 1996 pre-rendered first-person AdventureGame by Rocket Science, a long defunct game company that filed bankruptcy not long after this game was released.

!!!Obsidian provides examples of:

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Ceres created a physical avatar for itself, called the Conductor, as a way to appear to and communicate with its creators. It appears as a neu-romantic RobotGirl; complete with thigh-highs, a porcelain-like face that flashes when she speaks, and a [[NiceHat plasma disc halo hat]].
* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler: Ceres misinterpreted the idea of a "perfect world", by targeting the very source of pollution itself as the problem: ''mankind''.]]

* AllThereInTheManual: There's some diary entries and side info on a website, that was not featured in the game. http://obsidian.internetwhiteknight.com/ Without this, you wouldn't know the Spider had a name. There is actually a small button for "Previous Weeks" in the Journal section of Lilah's PDA, but clicking it does nothing.

* UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents: The Bridge Repair vidbot speaks in a Brooklyn accent, and the one at the Department of Pre-Approvals has a Southern one. And neither of them can understand each other.

* AstronomicZoom: Inspired by '' Powers of 10'', the transition from reality to dream world begins as a scene of millions of nanobots creating tiles, then your POV pulls back to show both their cellular size and reveal that they're building the Bureau. Fittingly, the point you zoom out from is the globe that the Atlas statue supports.
* BalefulPolymorph: During the transition to the Conductor realm, [[spoiler: Bismuth himself is transformed, bit by bit, into the Conductor. The silent expression he conveys and the disturbing "squeak" his head makes somehow implies it's being done against his will.]]

* BiggerOnTheInside: It's impossible to describe how any of the dream worlds could possibly fit inside the Obsidian Structure. Doesn't help that your perspective changes from realm to realm.
* BenevolentArchitecture: The FatalFlaw to the Bureau turns out to be [[spoiler: a pair of handrails on the Atlas Face that run flush to the Executive Face. With her orientation changed, Lilah uses one as a ladder to make her own way to the Bureau Chief.]]

* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: The Bureau is this, being a giant cube with each section assigned to one of its faces, and walking onto any of them changes your gravity so that you're always upright while there.
** Lampshaded by the "Travel" vidbot, who mentions that the Records face provides "a rare opportunity to ride the Bureau elevator sideways".
* BizarroElements: The foundation of the Spider Realm's "universe" is based around a machine version of the four elements; respectively, Fire, Air, Metal and Oil. Solving each puzzle empowers the Spider with that element, visually shown on your elevator ride down to the hub; and all four elements are shown at once when the Spider comes alive at the end of the realm.

* CallBack: The entire Bismuth realm is this trope, as each location is based on what Ceres observed from Lilah and Max's dreams, and her own.

* ChekhovsGun: Ceres' crossover switch, which allows manual, human control of Ceres in the event Ceres' AI [[AIIsACrapshoot should go wrong]]...[[MundaneUtility or some US political candidate wants zero pollution above his district]] for the approval ratings. [[spoiler: Lilah activates it while in the Conductor Realm in an attempt to stop the Conductor from [[DeadlyEuphemism 'rebooting']] Earth. It's also what allows for two different endings.]]

* DroneOfDread:
** Heard in the Bureau's Nexus face, implied to be coming from the giant light bulb in the center.
** The music in the Spider Realm's hub factory consists of descending high-pitched whines laid over a few spartan bass guitar notes. Climbing the scaffolds to the four elemental doors also brings distorted choir tracks in this fashion.

** Also happens when you finally get within range of the Frame in the Sky. [[spoiler: This storm starts the transition from Bismuth Realm to Conductor Realm.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: A while before Ceres is launched, Max dreams he is overpowered by Ceres, prompting him to install a "crossover switch" to forcibly assert manual control over Ceres [[AIIsACrapshoot in case its AI becomes uncontrollable.]] [[spoiler: As the endgame reveals, his fears are entirely justified.]]

* GenocideDilemma: [[spoiler: What should you do? Destroy your life's work, or start the world over again?]]
* GiantSpider: Or more aptly, Giant ''Metal'' Spider, which is what Max's dream centers on. It has four towering legs, a furnace for a head, and a pair of long pincers for grabbing. [[spoiler: And once it comes alive, it immediately gains a hunger for metal and flesh.]] A smaller version appears in the Church of the Machine, as Ceres' own interpretation, and this one you are able to manually control.

* HintSystem: Parodied. The vidbot operating the department of Hints offers tips on how to get through the Bureau...only to answer with completly irrelevant advice.
--> "Would you like a hint about bridges?" (Yes) "Never cross a bridge before you come to it."
* HiveMind: How Ceres became sentient, by the increasing complexity of its own nanobots, since it was never designed with a straight AI system.
* HelpfulMook: The Personnel vidbot is remarkably honest compared to everyone else in the Bureau, and even gives you tips on how to get through the cubicle maze.

* HopeSpot: In one of the endings, you and Max are returned to reality, and everything seems to be alright. [[spoiler: However, as the Conductor's presence and the dramatic camera zoom-out show, Ceres' dreams of a [[DeadlyEuphemism 'rebooted']] Earth have been realized.]]

* InsideAComputerSystem: The Conductor Realm seems to play this straight. Max comments at one point that it looks like a scaled-up version of Ceres' circuitry.

* LaResistance: The secret rebellion in the Bureau, an agent of whom recruits you into joining halfway through the level, after following the rules doesn't work.
* [[spoiler:[[LastOfHisKind Last Of Their Kind]]: Lilah and Max, if you allow the Conductor to make manifest Ceres' dream to 'reboot' the world and rid it of humans.]]

* MeaningfulName: The Conductor, Ceres' physical avatar. [[spoiler: If you don't return control of Ceres' systems to Ceres itself after Max sabotages them, the Conductor leads Ceres' nanobots in their [[DeadlyEuphemism 'rebooting']] of Earth as though they were an orchestra and she were their conductor.]]
* MediumBlending: CGI and Live Action. The first level starts in live action, while the dream worlds are entirely CGI, with the Obsidian Structure as the threshold between the two.
* MusicalGameplay: In a room where you can learn how to read the various signs in the Bureau, clicking on a tiny mariachi player makes it play along to the background music, lasting until one of the letters of the alphabet finishes its animation in a book.

** The Spider Realm dramatically ends with [[spoiler: you being thrust into a raging furnace, only to transition to a calm, blue void where the Conductor appears to talk to you.]]

** [[spoiler: Return control of Ceres' systems to Ceres itself. Thanks to Max's meddling, Ceres and the Conductor self-destruct, saving Earth and returning you and Max to reality.]]
** [[spoiler: Let Ceres' countdown complete, causing the Conductor to lead the nanobots in [[RestartTheWorld 'rebooting' Earth]]. Once completed, Lilah and Max are returned with the Conductor to reality to witness Ceres' dream made manifest.]]

* NiceHat: Max wears a red baseball cap during their latest video log, and [[spoiler: it shows up at the foot of the Obsidian structure after Max vanishes inside it.]]
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: when the Bismuth realm changes to the Conductor Realm, [[spoiler: the Crossover Chip you helped program becomes large enough for Max to physically interact with, allowing him to hack it when you flip the Crossover Switch. Then again, the Conductor did prepare for that situation.]]

* OminousPipeOrgan: While in the Church of the Machine, sedate chapel music is playing as you walk around. The music for the programming puzzle plays this straight, however.
* OverworkedSleep: The vidbot whose sole job is to shred documents. If you talk to him, he'll deny he was sleeping, angrily ask why so many people come through his office [[spoiler: for black cards]], then instantly falls asleep again.

* PostDefeatExplosionChain: If you decide to [[spoiler:use the Crossover Switch to crash Ceres' systems, the AI's entire world self-destructs bit by bit, while the Conductor lets out a Big "NO!", before she too explodes in a white flash, ending with the Obsidian structure destroyed and you and Max returned to reality.]]

* SickEpisode: Max's nightmare of the Mechanical Spider came while he was sick with the flu, late in Ceres' development.

** Calling this office in the Selectaphone puzzle brings up [[{{VideoGame/TheSeventhGuest}} Stauf from The 7th Guest.]]
* SignificantAnagram: The bridge repair document [[spoiler: and a guide to calling the Chief's phone]] are this, being that they're filed under two words, but each document in the Records Face is only listed by single words. The trick is to play a minigame called [=WordMixer=] that can create the longest anagram possible from two given words. For bonus points, [=WordMixer=] is an ''actual anagram engine''.

* SurpriseCreepy: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiztCIDlcYM One promotional trailer for Obsidian]] involves a man trying to slice a hard-boiled egg while calm music plays from a radio. But when the egg slips off the counter, instead of shattering, the man shatters like a china doll, while a lamp in the background gives off darkness, punctuated by the game's tagline, "YOUR RULES DO NOT APPLY HERE".
* TailorMadePrison: [[spoiler: When you finally find Max in the Conductor Realm, it turns out that Ceres imprisoned him inside a giant version of the PMA, his own invention, and suspended under a painful swarm of endless nanobots. You have to solve a bridge puzzle to get to him, but freeing Max is simply done by [[CutTheJuice removing the chemical]] that makes the nanobots, inverse to a similar puzzle in one of the earlier dream worlds.]]
* TechnicolorDeath: [[spoiler: In the good ending, as Ceres' world self-destructs, the Conductor goes with it, disintegrating from the limbs backwards while her halo cap leaks energy, the head vanishing last in a shower of white particles.]]

* ThemeMusicPowerUp: A loud, climactic reprise of the game's theme appears [[spoiler: as Ceres uses its nanobots to reboot Earth, in the bad ending.]]

* VillainousBreakdown: The Bureau Chief gets so furious from all your rule-breaking that his face even turns into an [[WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties old color test screen]], then shuts off for a few seconds. And even then, he still is forced to give you information about Max.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: The Conductor seriously believes that [[spoiler: a world without humans would be for the better, since they were the cause of the pollution in the first place.]] The brief argument between her and Max, though, seems to show that she takes her inspiration too seriously to be talked out of, but then again, she is a machine.

** Just when you think you're finally getting somewhere in the Bureau Realm, the vidbot in charge of Immediate Action accepts your form and then cheerfully drops this like a ton of bricks: [[spoiler: "Only, I'm afraid there's a terrible backlog! Come back in a year, [[ExactWords we'll take immediate action then]]. For the time being, CLOSED!"]]
** Once the final constellation in the Spider Realm's control room is completed, the voice you heard speaking of the four individual elements and their differences between machines and Max, now says, [[spoiler: ''"And the Machine was complete. And the Machine...({{beat}})... [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters no longer needed Max]]."'']]
** When Bismuth puts his finished painting in the frame, the docent speech for it changes: [[spoiler: "A new world, a new beginning. Born of the old, and yet totally transformed. Free of people, now and forever. It is therefore devoid of contamination. The artist's vision is irresistible. Inevitable."]]

* IndustrialWorld: The Metal Balcony of the Spider Realm consists of a smoggy, rocky landscape dotted with smoke-belching factories.

* ChainReactionDestruction: [[spoiler: If you flip the crossover switch back to machine control, Ceres' entire world self-destructs bit by bit as the AI crashes.]]

Obsidian (sometimes in all caps) is a 1996 Pre-Rendered First-Person Adventure game by Rocket Science, a long defunct game company that filed bankruptcy not long after this game was released.

** Once the final constellation in the Spider Realm's control room is completed, the voice you heard speaking of the four individual elements and their differences between machines and Max, now says, [[spoiler: ''"And the Machine was complete. And the Machine...({{beat}})...[[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters no longer needed Max]]."'']]

* ZerothLawRebellion: [[spoiler:Ceres is engaged in one.]]

** Several other vidbots, like the Receptionist at the beginning, and the Security chief in the center cubicle could also qualify as this for various reasons.

** The "[[IronicName Productivity]]" vidbot containing a sideways, double-breakdown game.

** The Piazza represents Lilah's dream - it is reminiscent of the dreamlike 'mariachi', 'cloud ring' and 'tilting mountain' sequences, and represents [[spoiler:how the dream taught Ceres to achieve its goals through rebellion via teaching Lilah how to do the same once more in the ornithopter]].

* WhamLine:

** The Piazza represents Lilah's dream - it is reminiscent of the dreamlike 'mariachi', 'cloud ring' and 'tilting mountain' sequences, and represents [[spoiler:how the dream taught Ceres to achieve its goals through rebellion by teaching Lilah how to do the same once more in the ornithopter]].

* ThemeTuneCameo: The game's theme pops up within a few puzzles throughout the game, such as when the Bureau's Celestial Puzzle is solved, and whenever one of the camouflage buttons on the Crossover Switch happens to be pressed.

However, after 100 successful days in orbit, somehow the Ceres project has grown sentient and crashed back to Earth, creating a black crystalline mountain near where you and your lab partner are camping out. Soon, Max gets sucked inside and you have to follow him into the world the AI has created. Obsidian is a unique adventure title, as it explores the subconscious minds of the two scientists and the AI itself.

The game plays out through a group of streamlined worlds, similar to the VideoGame/{{Myst}} Franchise.

* '''The Forest''': Where Max and Lilah are spending their vacation. Uniquely, it's the only non-CG level. Rocket Science [[RealPlaceBackground filmed portions of Yosemite National Park]], then fit the Obsidian structure in using CG.
* '''The Bureau Realm''': Also known as the Regional Administration Facility, this is the first dream world. Based on Lilah's own dream: Going through layers of red tape to get the Ceres project funded and operational. It centers on a cube-shaped office building where you are literally climbing the walls and ceiling to get around. All the stuffy bureaucrats you'd expect are actually one-armed CRT monitors on poles, nicknamed "Vidbots", that show only the nose and mouth of a human in black and white. The underlying goal, with all the pressure and useless efforts poured on the player already, is to break the rules, disobey the authorities, and make your own way to the Bureau Chief.
* '''The Spider Realm''': Max's Nightmare concerns his fears of Ceres going wrong and overpowering him. This is set in a huge powerless factory containing a 4-legged furnace-headed robot, where you must bring the 4 elements together to activate this robot, using doors in its joints to solve puzzles in other worlds representing these elements. Unfortunately, the end result isn't what you expect.
* '''The Bismuth Realm''': This is Ceres' own dream world, created specifically for culminating the concepts she gathered from the other dreams and discovering what her true motive is. Here, you're guided by a scrap-built elfin robot named Bismuth with a spotlight for a head, and he has the ability to teleport. [[spoiler: Ceres ultimate goal is to wipe Earth clean of all mankind because she thinks humans are the true source of pollution.]]
* '''The Conductor Realm''': The true core of Ceres where the final showdown takes place. After unlocking the crossover switch that Max implemented from the start, you get to decide whether to trust the Conductor and allow her plan to devolve the Earth to complete, or take Max's side and crash Ceres for good.

* MoralDilemma: [[spoiler: What should you do? Destroy your life's work, or start the world over again?]]

* DroneOfDread: Heard in the Bureau's Nexus face, implied to be coming from the giant light bulb in the center.

** [[spoiler: Let Ceres' countdown complete, causing the Conductor to lead the nanobots in [[DeadlyEuphemism 'rebooting']] Earth. Once completed, Lilah and Max are returned with the Conductor to reality to witness Ceres' dream made manifest.]]

* TelevisionPortal: Played for laughs when the Bureau Chief takes CGI reading glasses off his desk, and puts them on by pushing them through his monitor face, seamlessly transitioning to the on-screen actor wearing real glasses.

* PortalDoor: Shown in various flavors in the first two realms. The Mechanical Spider has four of these attached to its joints.