Obsidian (1986 video game)

Last updated
Obsidian
Obsidian Game Advert.jpg
Artic Computing magazine advert with Obsidian's artwork as the main image
Developer(s) Tony Warriner
Publisher(s) Artic Computing
Platform(s) Amstrad CPC
Release
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Obsidian is an action-adventure computer game for the Amstrad CPC personal computer published by Artic Computing in 1986. The game is set on the titular space station located within the centre of an asteroid, which is out of control and drifting towards a black hole. The player must guide an astronaut with a jet pack around the station and re-activate its engine shields to prevent the Obsidian's destruction. This involves collecting items and using them to solve puzzles, while avoiding the Obsidian's reactivated security systems.

Contents

Obsidian is the first game that was developed by Revolution Software co-founder Tony Warriner, who was a school pupil at the time. Due to concentrating on Obsidian's development rather than revising he failed all of his exams. The game received a positive response from journalists: it was praised for the quality of its graphics, though reviewers held mixed views on the game's ability to maintain player interest. The jet pack was criticized for being too sensitive when responding to the player's movement inputs.

Gameplay

Obsidian is an action-adventure presented in two dimensions, spread across approximately 50 game screens. [1] Locations contrast between spaceship interior and rock surfaces. Players control a jet pack wearing astronaut who must deactivate the five engines of the titular spacestation Obsidian, which is located in the hollow centre carved out of an asteroid. [2] Objects are stored in gravity boxes on the station's ceilings, only one object can be held at a time. These are used to solve the game's puzzles and allow the player to continue further into the game. [3] [4] Each object's purpose must be discovered as they are not labelled. [1]

The game world is filled with traps, laser defence mechanisms and security robots, all of which kill the astronaut on contact, resulting in the loss of one of his five lives. These defences must be shut down with objects obtained from gravity boxes in order to progress, [1] as the player has no weapon to directly attack the robots with. [4] The jet pack enables the astronaut to travel more quickly, but has a limited supply of nitro fuel. Should this fuel run out then the astronaut will lose a life. The spaceship contains points at which the jet pack can be refuelled, though these can be difficult to locate. [3] [4]

Plot

The crew of the Obsidian have temporarily abandoned the vessel in order to allow it to pass through a black hole. The Obsidian's internal systems are capable of withstanding the black hole, but the station cannot shield its human inhabitants from the gravitational forces. The crew have taken refuge in a smaller craft which has been shielded, intending to return to the Obsidian when both vessels have passed through the black hole. [4] A radiation storm has damaged the Obsidian's engine protection systems and erased its flight path, leaving the station drifting towards the black hole where it will be destroyed. Only one member of the crew has the skills necessary to return to the Obsidian and prepare it to pass through the black hole, this is the game's player character. The astronaut is forced to contend with the Obsidian's re-activated security system which has resulted in security robots being deployed, the space station's internal doors sealing and defensive laser grids becoming active. [2] Once the player has restored power, reactivated the Obsidian's engines and reset the station's flight path, there is a limited time to teleport back to the smaller shielded craft before the Obsidian's engines carry the astronaut through the black hole without being shielded. [1]

Development

Obsidian is the first game developed by Tony Warriner, one of four founders of the adventure game developer Revolution Software. Warriner was introduced to home computers at the age of 13, as a result of which he developed an interest in game development. This interest resulted in him creating Obsidian when he should have been studying for his school exams, resulting in him failing every exam. The game was published, however, resulting in the young developer's entry into the video game industry. Revolution Software was formed 4 years later. [5]

Reception

The reviewer for Amtix! magazine awarded the game a score of 64%, calling it "...an average, if rather simple, arcade adventure." [2] The same reviewer stated that Obsidian's graphics are its most striking feature. The lack of enemies and objects to manipulate in some screens and low number of sound effects received were criticized. The reviewer for Amstrad Action , Bob Wade, awarded the game a score of 81% and a 'A A Rave' award, praising the game's graphics and animations. He listed the game's robotics enemies as "annoying as you flick between screens". [3] The reviewers differed in opinion on how the game progressed. Wade stated "...as the playing area opens up it soon becomes clear that many objects will be required to complete the game and that some hard thinking as well as trial and error will be needed." Amtix!'s reviewer stated "The trouble was that it became all very predictable and easy to solve once a few puzzles had been solved." [2] Both reviewers stated that the jet pack's controls are too sensitive, making its usage difficult. [2] [3]

Computer and Video Games ' reviewer gave the game a score of 7 out of 10 in each of the magazine's scoring criteria — graphics, sound, value and playability. The reviewer stated that the game's premise is unoriginal, but that the game is enjoyable and makes "...full use of the Amstrad's colour graphics..." [1] The reviewer also stated "...the smooth movement of objects and characters makes this game a pleasure to watch and play." [1] The game was reviewed again in Amtix! by Massimo Valducci, several months later when Obsidian was re-released on the budget label Americana. Valducci stated it had been one of his favourite titles when it was originally released, giving the game a rating of 70% and stating "Everyone should have this game in their software collection." [4] He praised the game for adding a twist to the maze theme by disallowing the player from fighting back against threats. He added "...a lot of thought and planning is needed to make your way around the various sections, deactivating the security systems as you go." [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Alien 8</i> 1985 video game

Alien 8 is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game. It was released for the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC and MSX in 1985. The game is a spiritual successor to the best-selling Knight Lore, which was lauded by critics for its isometric graphics. In the game, the player takes control of a robot, Alien 8, whose job is to ensure that all of the cryogenically frozen passengers on board a starship remain viable during the ship's voyage.

<i>Knight Lore</i> 1984 action-adventure video game

Knight Lore is a 1984 action-adventure game developed and published by Ultimate Play the Game, and written by company founders Chris and Tim Stamper. The game is known for its use of isometric graphics, which it further popularized in video games. In Knight Lore, the player character Sabreman has forty days to collect objects throughout a castle and brew a cure to his werewolf curse. Each castle room is depicted in monochrome on its own screen and consists of blocks to climb, obstacles to avoid, and puzzles to solve.

<i>Monty on the Run</i> 1985 video game

Monty on the Run is a computer game created by the software house Gremlin Graphics and released in 1985 for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 16, written by Peter Harrap for the ZX Spectrum with the iconic in-game music on the Commodore 64 provided by Rob Hubbard. It is the third game in the Monty Mole series.

<i>Trailblazer</i> (video game) 1986 video game

Trailblazer is a video game that requires the player to direct a ball along a series of suspended passages. It was originally released by Gremlin Graphics for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit family, Amstrad CPC, and C16/plus/4 in 1986. It was ported to the Amiga and Atari ST.

<i>Tornado Low Level</i> 1984 video game

Tornado Low Level is a multidirectional flight game developed by Costa Panayi and published in 1984 by the company he co-founded, Vortex Software. The game was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1984, with ports for the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 in 1985.

<i>Cauldron</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Cauldron is a shoot 'em up platform game developed and published by British developer Palace Software. The game was released in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC home computers. Players control a witch, who aims to become the "Witch Queen" by defeating an enemy called the "Pumpking".

<i>Amtix</i> Former video game magazine

Amtix is a magazine that originally reviewed Amstrad computer software in the mid-1980s, published monthly by Newsfield Publications Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Warriner</span>

Tony Warriner is a video game designer, programmer and co-founder of Revolution Software. At a young age he started playing adventure games, when they were just text adventures. He wrote his first game, Obsidian, while he was at school and sent it to Artic Computing for consideration. Artic's director, Charles Cecil, loved the game and convinced him to license it to Artic, and then to join Artic as a programmer. At Artic he wrote, together with Adam Waring, Ultima Ratio which was published in 1987 by Firebird. In the same year he got a job at Cecil's Paragon Programming, where games from US publishers were converted to European platforms. When Cecil had left to work for U.S. Gold, Warriner started doing 8-bit programming for games. In 1988 he created Death Stalker, published by Codemasters. In the same year he joined Cascade Games, where he worked on 19 Part One: Boot Camp, Arcade Trivia Quiz, and Arcade Trivia Quiz Question Creator. In 1989 Warriner moved to Bytron Aviation Systems based in Kirmington, Lincolnshire, where he wrote software for the aviation industry, David Sykes was his fellow programmer.

<i>Mission Omega</i> 1986 video game

Mission Omega is a computer game published in 1986 by Incentive Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC home computers. It was programmed by Stephen Ward.

<i>Deactivators</i> 1986 action-puzzle video game

Deactivators is a 1986 puzzle video game designed by David Bishop and Chris Palmer, developed by Tigress Marketing and System Software, and published by Ariolasoft's action game imprint Reaktor. The player controls bomb disposal robots known as deactivators and must use them to deactivate bombs planted by terrorists in five research complexes. The concept for the game came from a brainstorming session between Bishop and Palmer; its design and development took five to six months to complete. It was released for the Amstrad CPC 464, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platforms in October 1986.

<i>Peter Pack Rat</i> 1985 video game

Peter Pack Rat is a 1985 platform game developed and released by Atari Games for the Atari System 1 arcade hardware. It was programmed by Peter Thompson, with graphics by Debbie Hayes and music by Brad Fuller. The game was only produced in small quantities, either as a standalone cabinet or as an upgrade kit to existing ones.

<i>Three Weeks in Paradise</i> 1986 video game

Three Weeks in Paradise is a computer game released in 1986 by Mikro-Gen for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC platforms. It is the last action-adventure platform game from the Wally Week series.

<i>Dragontorc</i> 1985 video game

Dragontorc is an action-adventure game developed by Steve Turner's Graftgold and released for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum by Hewson Consultants in 1985. It is a sequel to 1984's Avalon The 3D Adventure Movie. The hero of Avalon, Maroc the Mage, returns to defeat an evil witch and save Britain. The game was very well received by critics.

<i>Light Force</i> 1986 shooter game

Light Force is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter designed by Greg Follis and Roy Carter, developed by their company Gargoyle Games, and published under their Faster Than Light imprint. It was released for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platforms.

<i>Zoids: The Battle Begins</i> 1986 video game

Zoids: The Battle Begins is a 1986 video game designed by Chris Fayers, developed by the Electric Pencil Company, and published by Martech. and released in Europe for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX and Commodore 64 computers. Based on the Zoids toy series, the player controls a human who was fused with one of the robots and has to reclaim parts of a larger mech.

<i>Seymour Goes to Hollywood</i> 1991 platform and adventure video game

Seymour Goes to Hollywood, also known as Seymour at the Movies, is a platform and adventure game developed by Big Red Software and originally published in Europe by Codemasters in 1991. Players control Seymour, a small potato-like creature who wishes to be a film star. The film's script has been locked in a safe, meaning Seymour must solve puzzles by collecting and using objects scattered throughout the game in order to progress, ultimately retrieving the script and allowing filming to start.

<i>Jet-Boot Jack</i> 1983 video game

Jet-Boot Jack is a platform game written by Jon Williams for the Atari 8-bit family and published by English Software in 1983. It was ported to the Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, and Commodore 64. A C64-only sequel, Legend of the Knucker-Hole, was released in 1984.

<i>Soft & Cuddly</i> 1987 video game

Soft & Cuddly is a horror arcade adventure game released for the ZX Spectrum home computer, developed by John George Jones and published by The Power House. It was released in September 1987 in the United Kingdom and in early 1988 in Spain. The player assumes the role of a man armed with a laser gun and a jet pack, whose mother, the Android Queen, has been dismembered. The player's task is to locate the scattered body parts of the Android Queen and sew her back together.

<i>The Battle for Midway</i> 1984 video game

The Battle for Midway is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services. It was first released in the United Kingdom and France for the MSX in 1984, and was re-released for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in 1985. It is the second instalment of the Strategic Wargames series. The game is set during the Battle of Midway in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II and revolves around the United States Navy attacking a large Imperial Japanese fleet stationed at Midway Atoll, in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

<i>Ace</i> (video game) 1985 arcade game

Ace is a combat flight simulator video game published for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, and Plus/4 in 1985 by Cascade Games. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Amiga, and ZX Spectrum.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "C+VG May Software Reviews – Obsidian". Computer and Video Games . EMAP (55): 37. May 1986.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Reviews – Obsidian". Amtix! . Newsfield Publications (5): 14. March 1986.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Wade, Bob (January 1986). "Action Test – Obsidian". Amstrad Action . Future Publishing (4): 56.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Valducci, Massimo (January 1987). "Reviews – Budget – Obsidian". Amtix! . Newsfield Publications (15): 130.
  5. ↑ Dickens, Evan (20 September 1999). "Interview: Tony Warriner". Adventure Gamers . Retrieved 2010-11-12.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.