<s>
Obsidian	B-Application
is	O
a	O
1997	O
graphic	O
adventure	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Rocket	O
Science	O
Games	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
SegaSoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
on	O
a	O
game	O
design	O
outline	O
by	O
VP	O
of	O
Development/Creative	O
Director	O
,	O
Bill	O
Davis	O
,	O
and	O
written	O
by	O
Howard	O
Cushnir	O
and	O
Adam	O
Wolff	O
,	O
Obsidian	B-Application
is	O
a	O
first-person	O
3-D	O
graphical	O
adventure	O
game	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
large	O
puzzle	O
element	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
spanned	O
five	O
CDs	O
,	O
and	O
features	O
pre-rendered	O
environments	O
,	O
audio	O
,	O
and	O
full-motion	B-Application
video	I-Application
(	O
both	O
live	O
action	O
and	O
CGI	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
strategy	O
guide	O
includes	O
numerous	O
small	O
essays	O
,	O
providing	O
background	O
on	O
such	O
subjects	O
as	O
nanotechnology	O
,	O
Jungian	O
psychology	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
satellite	O
has	O
been	O
endowed	O
with	O
a	O
powerful	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
,	O
it	O
is	O
thought	O
that	O
all	O
further	O
control	O
may	O
safely	O
be	O
ceded	O
to	O
the	O
satellite	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
checking	O
Lilah	O
's	O
e-mail	O
on	O
her	O
PDA	B-Application
at	O
the	O
campsite	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
hears	O
Max	O
scream	O
in	O
the	O
distance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Running	O
to	O
check	O
on	O
him	O
,	O
she	O
discovers	O
a	O
large	O
black	O
outcropping	O
on	O
the	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
mountain	O
,	O
the	O
Obsidian	B-Application
for	O
which	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
named	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ceres	O
 '	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
has	O
become	O
sentient	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
figure	O
out	O
who	O
she	O
(	O
the	O
A.I.	B-Application
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
other	O
Artificially	B-Application
Intelligent	I-Application
supercomputers	O
,	O
Ceres	O
was	O
not	O
made	O
conscious	O
by	O
learning	O
about	O
humans	O
directly	O
through	O
a	O
central	O
device	O
,	O
but	O
instead	O
through	O
the	O
growing	O
complexity	O
of	O
her	O
nanobots	O
,	O
creating	O
a	O
distributed	O
intelligence	O
,	O
akin	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
a	O
beehive	O
or	O
anthill	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
environments	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
are	O
all	O
pre-rendered	O
computer-generated	O
backdrops	O
and	O
movies	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
those	O
found	O
in	O
Myst	B-Application
or	O
Starship	B-Application
Titanic	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
world	O
inside	O
Obsidian	B-Application
is	O
populated	O
almost	O
entirely	O
with	O
"	O
vidbots	O
"	O
—	O
robots	O
with	O
televisions	O
for	O
heads	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
before	O
reaching	O
the	O
obsidian	B-Application
,	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
watch	O
a	O
couple	O
of	O
videos	O
of	O
other	O
scientists	O
that	O
Max	O
and	O
Lilah	O
work	O
with	O
,	O
including	O
their	O
boss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rocket	O
Science	O
Games	O
showed	O
Obsidian	B-Application
alongside	O
The	B-Application
Space	I-Application
Bar	I-Application
at	O
the	O
1996	O
Electronic	O
Entertainment	O
Expo	O
(	O
E3	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Obsidians	B-Application
final	O
budget	O
was	O
$4	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
last	O
ventures	O
by	O
the	O
fledgling	O
Rocket	O
Science	O
and	O
SegaSoft	O
teams	O
,	O
Obsidian	B-Application
was	O
released	O
with	O
a	O
flurry	O
of	O
advertising	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Obsidian	B-Application
has	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
commercial	O
failure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Writing	O
for	O
Wired	O
,	O
John	O
Alderman	O
explained	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
Rocket	O
Science	O
's	O
Rocket	B-Device
Jockey	I-Device
both	O
"	O
failed	O
to	O
generate	O
the	O
sales	O
needed	O
to	O
justify	O
costs	O
"	O
,	O
despite	O
a	O
high	O
level	O
of	O
pre-release	O
excitement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
SegaSoft	O
had	O
signed	O
the	O
developer	O
in	O
1996	O
to	O
publish	O
Obsidian	B-Application
,	O
The	B-Application
Space	I-Application
Bar	I-Application
and	O
other	O
games	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
separated	O
with	O
Rocket	O
Science	O
in	O
early	O
April	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gary	O
Griffiths	O
of	O
SegaSoft	O
later	O
remarked	O
that	O
Obsidian	B-Application
remained	O
"	O
a	O
good	O
product	O
"	O
for	O
the	O
publisher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
She	O
compared	O
it	O
favorably	O
to	O
Myst	B-Application
,	O
particularly	O
in	O
that	O
the	O
world	O
is	O
less	O
barren	O
and	O
more	O
plainly	O
tied	O
in	O
with	O
the	O
plot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpots	O
Tim	O
Soete	O
similarly	O
remarked	O
that	O
Obsidian	B-Application
"	O
presents	O
a	O
pleasant	O
departure	O
from	O
the	O
lonely	O
inertia	O
of	O
Mysts	B-Application
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
...	O
Obsidian	B-Application
simply	O
offers	O
more	O
movement	O
,	O
more	O
character	O
interaction	O
,	O
more	O
interesting	O
puzzles	O
,	O
and	O
-	O
another	O
crucial	O
difference	O
-	O
many	O
puzzles	O
that	O
actually	O
require	O
eye-hand	O
coordination.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
gave	O
Obsidian	B-Application
one	O
of	O
its	O
few	O
negative	O
reviews	O
,	O
commenting	O
that	O
"	O
The	O
transitions	O
from	O
one	O
section	O
to	O
the	O
next	O
,	O
a	O
mix	O
of	O
prerendered	O
graphics	O
and	O
FMV	O
,	O
are	O
handled	O
with	O
some	O
style	O
-	O
the	O
nanotechnology	O
subplot	O
lends	O
itself	O
to	O
at	O
least	O
one	O
conceptually	O
interesting	O
sequence	O
-	O
but	O
they	O
hardly	O
add	O
anything	O
to	O
gameplay	O
or	O
help	O
out	O
the	O
deadly	O
slow	O
pace.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
years	O
following	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
Obsidian	B-Application
has	O
developed	O
a	O
minor	O
cult	O
following	O
among	O
fans	O
of	O
the	O
adventure	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Obsidian	B-Application
was	O
a	O
runner-up	O
for	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
Worlds	O
1997	O
"	O
Adventure	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
"	O
award	O
,	O
which	O
ultimately	O
went	O
to	O
The	B-Application
Pandora	I-Application
Directive	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
editors	O
wrote	O
of	O
Obsidian	B-Application
,	O
"[W]ith	O
a	O
great	O
story	O
,	O
clever	O
puzzles	O
,	O
psychedelic	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
irreverent	O
sense	O
of	O
humor	O
,	O
this	O
futuristic	O
paranoid	O
fantasy	O
is	O
an	O
unexpected	O
delight.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
finalist	O
for	O
the	O
Software	O
Publishers	O
Association	O
's	O
1997	O
"	O
Best	O
Adventure/Role	O
-Playing	O
Software	O
Game	O
"	O
Codie	O
award	O
,	O
but	O
lost	O
to	O
Diablo	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
Adventure	O
Gamers	O
named	O
Obsidian	B-Application
the	O
62nd-best	O
adventure	O
game	O
ever	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
