History Creator / ObsidianEntertainment

On November 10, 2018, Creator/MicrosoftStudios announced that they had acquired Obsidian, making them a first-party developer for Windows and Xbox consoles, though Microsoft has stressed that they would like to keep the studio "unique" despite the acquisition.

On November 10, 2018, Microsoft announced that they had acquired Obsidian, making them a first-party developer for Windows and Xbox consoles, though Microsoft has stressed that they would like to keep the studio "unique" despite the acquisition.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The entire management team of [[MegaCorp Czerka Corporation]], and Leland in ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol''.

* AuthorAvatar: Chris Avellone has [[http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/nonfiction/feature-interview-chris-avellone-game-designer-fallout-new-vegas/ admitted]] he often used [[VideoGame/KnightsofTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords Kreia]] to point out things that bugged him about the ''Star Wars'' universe. The same has been said for [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas Ulysses]] of the VideoGame/{{Fallout}} setting.

* {{Deconstruction}}: USS ''Obsidian'', flagship of the DeconstructorFleet. After making DarkerAndEdgier sequels to ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' and ''VideoGame/NeverWinterNights'', while being largely made up of the same devs who made ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' and the first two ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' games, you'd be forgiven for thinking the company was founded for this and this express purpose.

Obsidian Entertainment is a 2003-established game development company. They focus mostly on RPG's, and are famous for their writing, interactivity with the game world, and ambitious projects. Following long-standing disagreements with Creator/BlackIsleStudios, its parent company Creator/{{Interplay|Entertainment}} laid off most of its staff. Most of the former Black Isle developers, including its founder Feargus Urquhart and writer/designer Creator/ChrisAvellone, moved on to found a new game development company. Which leads us to here.

* ShellshockedVeteran: Past wars and [[TheAtoner past sins]] feature prominently in many characters' backgrounds in almost all of their [=RPGs=], and a great deal of time and text is used to explore the cost of those wars and how their effects linger on the soldiers and their loved ones and communities long after the war is over.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Pretty much all their games lean towards or are knee-deep in the latter. Although, some of them (especially ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'') have a speck of optimism to them.
* SlidingScaleOfLinearityVersusOpenness: All over the map, although there's been a general trend over time towards the latter. ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', ''Mask of the Betrayer'', and ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' are Type IV, ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' is somewhere between Type III and Type IV, and both ''Storm of Zehir'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' are between Type V and Type VI, leaning toward the latter.
* TallDarkAndSnarky: Atton in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', Sand in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', and potentially ''[[PlayerCharacter you]]'' in any of their games.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: An option in most of their games.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: If you have a party in any Obsidian game, they are ''very'' unlikely to get along. Not in a harmless, sibling-ish bickering way, either. They will genuinely ''despise'' each other - manipulating, tormenting, injuring, and murdering rivals if they can get away with it.
* VideoGameCaringPotential[=/=]VideoGameCrueltyPotential: A key element of Obsidian's "influence" game mechanic.

* ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternityIIDeadfire''

** Things don't just magically get better once the BigBad is defeated and all their evil plans have been thwarted. More often than not, the villains actions leave heavy scars upon the land and its people that, despite the heroes best efforts, will take years, if not decades, to fully heal, if they even heal at all. ''Knights of the Old Republic II'', ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' and ''PillarsOfEternity'' all make heavy use of this.

* ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'' (2016, published by Creator/ParadoxInteractive)

* ''VideoGame/TheOuterWorlds'' (in co-operation with Creator/TakeTwoInteractive)

So far, Obsidian's games have generally been [[http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=9453 fan favorites]]. They include deep and thought-provoking storylines on the level of the former Black Isle titles... and very buggy programming, usually requiring several patches to rectify (or in some cases, fan-created mods). Though most games are fairly bug-free with the final patch installed. This earned them the nickname "Bugsidian".

* ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'' (2016, in cooperation with Creator/ParadoxInteractive)

* DarkerAndEdgier: It's practically the company name. Most of their games (except perhaps ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' as it isn't a sequel to anything but still plays SpyFiction as a pretty dark and gritty martini) can be considered this. This is most notable in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicII'', which is not only much darker and grittier than its predecessor, but also more than the majority of the StarWarsExpandedUniverse (and that's saying something). One possible exception that is a sequel is ''Storm of Zehir'', which is essentially a LighterAndFluffier version of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2''.

* Untitled Project (in co-operation with Creator/TakeTwoInteractive)

* ''[[NeedsWikiMagicLove Pathfinder Adventures]]'' (2016; in cooperation with [[TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}} Paizo Publishing]])

In October 2012, they greenlit ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'', a {{Kickstarte|r}}d project that will be free of ExecutiveMeddling (by publishers, at least). Released in early 2015, ''[=PoE=]'' became the best-rated game in the studio's history (rivaled only by ''NeverwinterNights2/MaskOfTheBetrayer''), pleasing the fans and the critics alike.

** [[GreyAndGrayMorality There's no such thing as clear-cut good and evil]]. Even the most heinous sounding acts can be rationalized as a NecessaryEvil, and even the most well intentioned of acts can have [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished disastrous, unforeseen consequences]]. This theme is especially prevalent in ''Knights of the Old Republic II'', which mercilessly deconstructs the archtypical BlackAndWhiteMorality of the ''StarWars'' franchise, and ''NeverwinterNights2'', which reveals that [[spoiler:the EldritchAbomination BigBad is a genuinely noble man who just wants to protect the empire he swore to serve, and whose powers have made it so he literally is unable to understand that said empire is long dead.]]

** Things don't just magically get better once the BigBad is defeated and all their evil plans have been thwarted. More often than not, the villains actions leave heavy scars upon the land and its people that, despite the heroes best efforts, will take years, if not decades, to fully heal, if they even heal at all. ''Knights of the Old Republic II'', ''AlphaProtocol'' and ''PillarsOfEternity'' all make heavy use of this.

** ''Alpha Protocol'' allows you to befriend the [[HeroicComedicSociopath thoroughly unhinged]] CIA op (or is he?) Stephen Heck, [[InLoveWithYourCarnage kinky]] BloodKnight SIE, and even [[AddictionPowered coked-out-of-his-mind]] [[TheMafiya Russian]] drug lord Konstantin Brayko, each of whom provides their own unique brand of this. Snarky responses from [[PlayerCharacter Thorton]] tend to run along similar lines, with deader-than-deadpan deliveries of very dry [[BondOneLiner Bond One-Liners]] -- case in point: [[spoiler:when you betray Leland in the Thorton, Inc. ending, Leland points out you've already given him the evidence...to which Thorton calmly replies that it wasn't the evidence, it was a ''mine''. The look on Leland's face just before he ''explodes''...]]
--->'''[[spoiler:Leland]]:''' ...What?\\
'''Thorton:''' ''[[DeadpanSnarker Terrible]]'' [[FamousLastWords last words.]]

** Steven Heck in Alpha Protocol, described by more than one reviewer as a human version of [[Franchise/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Max]], is a sadistict torturer and a violent maniac who might have only become a secret agent through sheer delusion and [[RefugeInAudacity audacity]]. He's also unwaveringly loyal if you choose to play along with his...[[InsistentTerminology antics]].

** [[GreyAndGrayMorality There's no such thing as clear cut good and clear-cut evil]]. Even the most heinous sounding acts can be rationalized as a NecessaryEvil, and even the most well intentioned of acts can have [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished disastrous, unforeseen consequences]]. This theme is especially prevalent in ''Knights of the Old Republic II'', which mercilessly deconstructs the archtypical BlackAndWhiteMorality of the ''StarWars'' franchise, and ''NeverwinterNights2'', which reveals that [[spoiler:the EldritchAbomination BigBad is a genuinely noble man who just wants to protect the empire he swore to serve, and whose powers have made it so he literally is unable to understand that said empire is long dead.]]

* ArcWords: Very noticeable in Chris Avellone's writing, with otherwise disparate characters repeating the same words and turns of phrase: "echo" and "wound" in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicII'', "mask" (unsurprisingly) in ''Mask of the Betrayer'', "hunger" in both, "shadows" throughout. His AuthorFilibuster characters (Ravel, Kreia, Ulysses) also tend to repeat themselves liberally. This has the effect of emphasizing the game's themes without directly calling them out, as the words chosen typically have multiple double meanings in context.

** Kreia from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicII'' more or less turns these into a method of attack, Socratically dismantling her foes (and ostensible allies) with surgical insight into their characters. "Apathy is death," while not a question itself, highlights her underlying purpose: to pose questions that force the listener to choose, goading them into action.

* BlackHumor: The sheer [[CrapsackWorld crapsack-ness]] of most of their settings, combined with being [[WorldOfSnark Worlds of Snark]] can only result in this.

** ''Alpha Protocol'' allows you to befriend the [[HeroicComedicSociopath thoroughly unhinged]] CIA (or is he?) op Stephen Heck, [[InLoveWithYourCarnage kinky]] BloodKnight SIE, and even [[AddictionPowered coked-out-of-his-mind]] [[TheMafiya Russian]] drug lord Konstantin Brayko, each of whom provides their own unique brand of this.
--->'''Stephen Heck:''' ''[to his "friend" Wen, who he has bound and gagged to a chair]'' Oh, the candy dish! That's where I left my keys! You should have said something earlier, did you see [[HollywoodAcid what I almost made you drink]]? Heh, good ol' Wen. Always getting into antics. [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Anyhoo!]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: Most of their games (except perhaps ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' as it isn't a sequel to anything but still plays SpyFiction as a pretty dark and gritty martini) can be considered this. This is most notable in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicII'', which is not only much darker and grittier than its predecessor, but also more than the majority of the StarWarsExpandedUniverse (and that's saying something). One possible exception that is a sequel is ''Storm of Zehir'', which is essentially a LighterAndFluffier version of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2''.

* {{Deconstruction}}

* HeroicComedicSociopath: Steven Heck in ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol''.
* HorrorHunger: [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords Darth Nihilus]] consumes all life he touches, and has [[PlanetEater devoured entire worlds]]. ''[[VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2 NWN2]]''[='=]s Spirit Eater [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin eats spirits]], both living and dead. Cannibals mutant, ghoul, Ghost Person, and ordinary human alike abound in the [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas Mojave Wasteland]]. Wichts, revenants, and wampyrs in ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'' hunger for the flesh of living kith, lest their minds rot away with their bodies.

* MalevolentMaskedMen: The AuthorAppeal is strong with this one: Darth Nihilus in ''[=KOTOR2=]'', the Faceless Man in ''Mask Of the Betrayer'', and the grandmaster of [[TheConspiracy the Leaden Key]] in ''Pillars of Eternity'', the {{Big Bad}}s of their games, all wear sinister masks.

** [[GreyAndGrayMorality There's no such thing as clear cut good and clear cut evil]]. Even the most heinous sounding acts can be rationalized as a NecessaryEvil, and even the most well intentioned of acts can have [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished disastrous, unforeseen consequences]]. This theme is especially prevalent in ''Knights of the Old Republic II'', which mercilessly deconstructs the archtypical BlackAndWhiteMorality of the ''StarWars'' franchise, and ''NeverwinterNights2'', which reveals that [[spoiler:the EldritchAbomination BigBad is a genuinely noble man who just wants to protect the empire he swore to serve, and whose powers have made it so he literally is unable to understand that said empire is long dead.]]

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Have several good ones from many games. The best one is probably "What can change the nature of a man?" from ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', although [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas "Who are you, that do not know your history?"]] and [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicII "Apathy is death"]][[note]]Though that's more of an Armor-Piercing Statement than a question[[/note]] are ''really'' good mind twisters.

** ''Alpha Protocol'' allows you to befriend the [[HeroicComedicSociopath thoroughly unhinged]] CIA (or is he?) operative Stephen Heck, kinky BloodKnight [[InLoveWithYourCarnage SIE]], and even [[AddictionPowered coked-out-of-his-mind]] [[TheMafiya Russian]] drug lord Konstantin Brayko.

* BlackHumor: The jewel in their crown is either ''[[VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment Torment]]'' or ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]''. Both allow the main character to joke - repeatedly - about being technically dead, and that's just the start. ''Pillars'' has a moment or ten, as well.

* HorrorHunger: [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords Darth Nihilus]] consumes all life he touches, and has [[PlanetEater devoured entire worlds]]. [[VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2 ''NWN2''[='=]s]] Spirit Eater [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin eats spirits]], both living and dead. Cannibals mutant, ghoul, Ghost Person, and ordinary human alike abound in the [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas Mojave Wasteland]]. Wichts, revenants, and wampyrs in ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'' hunger for the flesh of living kith, lest their minds rot away with their bodies.

* MalevolentMaskedMen: The AuthorAppeal is strong with this one: Darth Nihilus in ''[=KOTOR2=]'', the Faceless Man in ''Mask Of the Betrayer'', and the grandmaster of [[TheConspiracy the Leaden Key]] in ''Pillars of Eternity'' all wear sinister masks.
** Used frequently but with less significance thanks to the practicality of wearing a gas mask in the postapocalyptic future in ''Fallout: New Vegas'': there's Legate Lanius of Caesar's Legion, White Legs war chief Salt-Upon-Wounds, the hideously mutated Ghost People of the abandoned Sierra Madre casino, and Ulysses when you finally track him down in the ''Lonesome Road'' DLC . Inverted with the heroic (but still intimidating) NCR Rangers, as seen on the box art, and the brutal (but reformed) Joshua Graham, whose heavily burned face is [[BandageMummy wrapped in bandages]].
** From ''Tyranny'': [[WhiteMaskOfDoom Tunon the Adjudicator]], Archon of Justice, and [[MultipleHeadCase the Voices of Nerat]], Archon of Secrets.
** Darth Nihilus, Tunon, Nerat, and the Spirit Eater's mask all appear on the box art for their respective games. An NCR ranger stands in for the power-armored soldiers of previous ''Fallout'' box art for ''Fallout: New Vegas'', and Joshua Graham is the face of the ''Honest Hearts'' DLC. Even ''VideoGame/TormentTidesOfNumenera'', as the SpiritualSuccessor to a game made by Black Isle, gets in on the act, with the First Castoff's elegant mask and disfigured face looming over the rest of the cast.

* ShellshockedVeteran: Past wars and [[TheAtoner past sins]] feature prominently in many characters' backgrounds in almost all of their [=RPGs=], and a great deal of time is spent exploring the ways the cost of those wars continue to linger over the soldiers, their loved ones and communities long after the war has ended.

* MalevolentMaskedMen: The AuthorAppeal is strong with this one, with masks as a recurring motif in many of their games: Darth Nihilus in ''[=KOTOR2=]'', the Faceless Man in ''Mask Of the Betrayer'', and the grandmaster of [[TheConspiracy the Leaden Key]] in ''Pillars of Eternity'' all wear sinister masks.
** Used frequently but with less significance thanks to the practicality of wearing a gas mask in the postapocalyptic future in ''Fallout: New Vegas'': Legate Lanius of Caesar's Legion, White Legs war chief Salt-Upon-Wounds, the hideously mutated Ghost People of the abandoned Sierra Madre casino, and Ulysses when you finally track him down in the ''Lonesome Road'' DLC . Averted with the heroic (but intimidating) NCR Rangers, as seen on the box art, and the brutal (but reformed) Joshua Graham, whose heavily burned face is [[BandageMummy wrapped in bandages]].
** From ''Tyranny'': [[WhiteMaskOfDoom Tunon the Adjudicator]], Archon of Justice and [[MultipleHeadCase the Voices of Nerat]], Archon of Secrets.
** Darth Nihilus, Tunon, Nerat, and the Spirit Eater's mask all appear on the box art for their respective games. While not villains, an NCR ranger features in place of the standard power-armored soldier of previous ''Fallout'' games, and Joshua Graham is the face of the ''Honest Hearts'' DLC. Even ''VideoGame/TormentTidesOfNumenera'', as the SpiritualSuccessor to a game made by Black Isle gets in on the act, having the First Castoff's elegant mask and disfigured face most prominent on the cover.

* MalevolentMaskedMen: The AuthorAppeal is strong with this one, with masks as a recurring motif in many of their games, frequently appearing front and center on the box art: Darth Nihilus in ''[=KOTOR2=]'', the Faceless Man in ''Mask Of the Betrayer'', and the grandmaster of [[TheConspiracy the Leaden Key]] in ''Pillars of Eternity'' all wear sinister masks.

** From ''Tyranny'': [[WhiteMaskOfDoom Tunon the Adjudicator]], Archon of Justice and [[MultipleHeadCase the Voices of Nerat]], Archon of Secrets. That's them on the box art.

* ''VideoGame/PathfinderAdventures'' (2016; in cooperation with [[TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}} Paizo Publishing]])

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Continuing their traditions from their Black Isle days, Obsidian likes doing a closing narration detailing what the choices you made during the game eventually entail for your companions and locations you visited on your journeys.

* TheArtifact: The "influence" system used in most of their games was [[spoiler:part of the Exile's special bonding ability]] in The Sith Lords. The system still works without the story connection, though.

* ButThouMust: ''Alpha Protocol'' in particular was an attempt to subvert this. Obsidian has actually discussed this trope in a panel titled "But Thou Must" after the original trope namer, which got to the point where they made a drinking game of the word "Choice".

* DarkerAndEdgier: Most of their games (except perhaps ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' as it isn't a sequel to anything but still plays SpyFiction as a pretty dark and gritty martini.) can be considered this. This is most notable in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicII'', which is not only much darker and grittier than its predecessor but also than the majority of the StarWarsExpandedUniverse (and that's saying something). One possible exception that is a sequel is ''Storm of Zehir'', which is essentially a LighterAndFluffier version of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2''.

* GameBreakingBug: Before ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'', this was pretty much universal in the initial release of a game, though in many cases these bugs are patched later on after development. ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', for instance, arguably one of their worst games so far as this is concerned, is, as of the most recent patch, pretty stable.

* GuileHero: Obsidian does its best to allow you to play one if you so choose. VideoGame/AlphaProtocol, its only standalone game, and VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas (which is part of [[MyRealDaddy a franchise that it effectively started]]) play this the straightest, allowing you to complete near-perfect [[PacifistRun Pacifist Runs]] and solve almost every problem through stealth or diplomacy as well as force.

* KarmaMeter: Present in every Obsidian game except for ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' and ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'' but it's actually very rarely used in a way that matters. Instead, Obsidian seems to much prefer the various variations of its "influence" meter, a mechanic that is omnipresent in their games and [[TropeCodifier codified]] by them and which often fulfils a similar purpose story-wise that the KarmaMeter does in other [=RPGs=]. Rather than adhering to some arbitrary moral standard, your actions affect the opinions of those with whom you interact. Certainly some will prefer kindness to cruelty, but others may applaud cunning manipulation, direct action, brutally efficient logic, verbal sparring matches, thoughtfulness, entertaining lies, or rapier wit.

* LightIsNotGood: Present in many of their games but played surprisingly straight in ''[[KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords The Sith Lords]]'', which is set in the often [[BlackAndWhiteMorality black and white]] StarWars universe.
* ObviousBeta: Known for great games that need to be patched to hell and back. Firtunately, they seem to have broken this trend after ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity''.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Pretty much all their games lean towards or are knee-deep in the latter. Although, some of them, especially ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', have a speck of optimism to them.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: If you have a party in an Obsidian, they are ''very'' unlikely to get along. Not in a harmless, sibling-ish bickering way, either. They will genuinely ''despise'' each other - manipulating, tormenting, injuring, and murdering rivals if they can get away with it.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Continuing their traditions as Black Isle, Obsidian likes doing a closing narration detailing what the choices you made during the game eventually entail for your companions and locations you visited on your journeys.

''Obsidian Entertainment'' is a 2003-established game development company. They focus mostly on RPG's, and are famous for their writing, interactivity with the game world, and ambitious projects.

In the year 2003, following long-standing disagreements with Creator/BlackIsleStudios, its parent company Creator/{{Interplay|Entertainment}} laid off most of its staff. Most of the former Black Isle developers, including its founder Feargus Urquhart and writer/designer Creator/ChrisAvellone, moved on to found a new game development company: '''Obsidian Entertainment'''.