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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/obsidianlogo.png]]
2Obsidian Entertainment is a game development company established in 2003. 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.
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4Since then, Obsidian has formed strangely fond relations with fellow RPG company {{Creator/BioWare}}, to the point that its first two titles were sequels to [=BioWare=] games using modified versions of the originals' Aurora engine. This happened because by that point [=BioWare=] switched from producing licensed games based on established franchises (''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' and ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'') to their own original universes, and in the case of ''KOTOR'', recommended Obsidian to Creator/LucasArts as an alternate developer for the sequel.
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6Obsidian's games have generally been 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".
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8One thing to note about Obsidian is their business model. Obsidian is hired by publishers for fixed amounts of money, rather than being an internal studio or making a game then looking for a publisher to publish it. This results in Obsidian not bearing the financial cost or gain of the failure/success of any game they make beyond reputation or future deals. This mercenary model is responsible for their buggy reputation, as the release schedule or budget is not as extendable once the deal is made. In some instances, Obsidian had their [[http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/03/19/project-eternity-release-date/ QA budget cut by publishers]]. This came back to bite them in the ass with ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''; their contract with {{Creator/Bethesda}} specified a tiered bonus based upon the game's Metacritic score. They missed the bonus by ''one point''. They have since decided to get serious about QA work; in [[http://kotaku.com/5968952/the-knights-of-new-vegas-how-obsidian-survived-countless-catastrophes-and-made-some-of-the-coolest-role+playing-games-ever an interview with Kotaku,]] CEO Feargus Urquhart said, "We as a company got into a big room and we said, 'We are not gonna make buggy games anymore.'"
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10On August 22, 2012, Interplay revived the old [[http://www.blackisle.com/ Black Isle]] brand, but the announcement had little to no impact on Obsidian.
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12In October 2012, they greenlit ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'', a Website/{{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.
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14On November 10, 2018, Creator/XboxGameStudios announced that they had acquired Obsidian, alongside Creator/InXileEntertainment, making them both first-party developers for Windows and Xbox consoles, though Microsoft has stressed that they would like to keep the studio "unique" despite the acquisition.
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16See also Creator/TroikaGames and Creator/InXileEntertainment, two other studios formed by former Interplay employees who left at different times. Compare and contrast Creator/BioWare.
17----
18!!Games developed by Obsidian:
19[[index]]
20* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' (2004)
21* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' (2006)
22** ''Mask of the Betrayer'' (2007)
23** ''Storm of Zehir'' (2008)
24* ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' (2010)
25* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' (2010)
26* ''VideoGame/DungeonSiege III'' (2011)
27* ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'' (2014)
28* ''VideoGame/Wasteland2'' (2014; in cooperation with Creator/InXileEntertainment)
29* ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'' (2015; Obsidian's first solo project, financed through Website/{{Kickstarter}}; Creator/ParadoxInteractive is the main distributor)
30* ''VideoGame/PathfinderAdventures'' (2016)
31* ''VideoGame/ArmoredWarfare'' (original development until 2017)
32* ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'' (2016)
33* ''VideoGame/{{Skyforge}}'' (2017, assistance)
34* ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternityIIDeadfire'' (2018)
35* ''VideoGame/TheOuterWorlds'' (2019)
36* ''VideoGame/{{Grounded}}'' (2021)
37* ''VideoGame/{{Pentiment}}'' (2022)
38!!In production:
39* ''Avowed'' (2024)
40* ''The Outer Worlds 2'' (TBA)
41[[/index]]
42----
43!!List of tropes persistent in Black Isle/Obsidian {{RPG}}s:
44* AntiVillain: Many of their villains, though not all of them, are portrayed sympathetically even as it's clearly laid out why they must be stopped. This includes [[spoiler:Kreia]] from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', [[spoiler:Ammon Jerro]] in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', [[spoiler:Akachi]] (posthumously) in ''Mask of the Betrayer'', and Benny in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''.
45* 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 ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' setting.
46* AuthorTract: Their games penned by Avellone tend to have recurring themes that are ''strongly'' emphasized throughout their stories, including:
47** [[GreyAndGrayMorality There's no such thing as clear-cut good and evil]]. Even the most heinous sounding acts can be rationalized as NecessarilyEvil, 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 ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise, and ''VideoGame/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.]]
48** Romances formed during times of war or other such crises are inherently unhealthy, dysfunctional, and more often than not end in pain. Examples include ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', where the primary love interests are a borderline-StalkerWithACrush and a jaded, cynical KnightInSourArmor.
49** 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 ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'' all make heavy use of this. ''New Vegas'' lets you murder the leaders of the two main factions, but the Battle for Hoover Dam will still happen at the end of the game.[[note]]Though, since NCR and the Legion hate your guts now, you'll have to win by playing the House or Wild Card quests.[[/note]]
50** Just because the protagonists are in the same party does ''not'' mean [[TeethClenchedTeamwork they have to get along]]. Each party member in an Obsidian game has their own specific beliefs, viewpoints and morals, and if one party member's beliefs clashes with another's, they ''will'' come to blows over it.
51* 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/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', "mask" (unsurprisingly) in ''Mask of the Betrayer'', "hunger" in both, "shadows" throughout. His [[AuthorFilibuster mouthpiece]] characters (such as Ravel, Kreia, Ulysses, and Durance) also tend to repeat themselves liberally, as a way emphasizing their themes (and the games') without directly calling them out, as the words chosen typically have multiple double meanings in context.
52* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Several good ones, but the best is probably [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas "Who are you, that do not know your history?"]]
53** Kreia from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' more or less turns these into a method of attack, Socratically dismantling her foes (and ostensible allies) with surgical insight into their characters. The repeated phrase [[ArcWords "Apathy is death,"]] while not a question itself, highlights her underlying purpose: to pose questions that force the listener to choose, thus goading them into action.
54* TheArtifact: The "influence" system used in most of their games was [[spoiler:part of the Exile's special bonding ability]] in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords''. The system still works without the story connection, though.
55* BlackHumor: The sheer [[CrapsackWorld crapsack-ness]] of most of their settings, combined with being [[WorldOfSnark Worlds of Snark]], can only lead to this.
56** The jewel in their crown is ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]'', which allows the main character to joke -- repeatedly -- about being technically dead.
57** ''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]] Russian [[TheMafiya 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''...]]
58--->'''[[spoiler:Leland]]:''' ...What?\
59'''Thorton:''' ''[[DeadpanSnarker Terrible]]'' last words.
60%%ZCE ** ''Pillars'' has a moment or ten, as well.
61* ButThouMust: ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' 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".
62* TheChessmaster: Kreia, Parker, House, and the Voices of Nerat, to name but a few. ''Pillars of Eternity''[='=]s BigBad plays an exceptionally long game.
63* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The entire management team of [[MegaCorp Czerka Corporation]], Leland in ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' and Alice [=McLafferty=] in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''.
64* 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/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', which is not only much darker and grittier than its predecessor, but also more than the majority of ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' (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''.
65* DarkIsNotEvil: Even ''Franchise/StarWars''-based ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' has elements of this, alongside LightIsNotGood.
66* DeadpanSnarker: One of Obsidian's favored dialogue models.
67* {{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.
68* DialogueTree: Used liberally, and in many games the choices you are given become a game in their own right.
69* EvilIsPetty: Obsidian is often credited with averting or outright inverting this trope, whereas moral options in many {{RPG}}s play this straight. An exception is ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', which is usually seen as playing this trope all too straight comparatively.
70* EvilOldFolks: At a rate of at least one significant example per game, running the gamut from [[TokenEvilTeammate party members]] and [[EvilMentor mentor figures]], to prominent villains like ''Alpha Protocol''[='=]s Conrad Marburg or ''Tyranny''[='=]s Graven Ashe, right up to the {{Big Bad}}s of ''Knights of the Old Republic II'' and ''Pillars of Eternity''.
71* 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'', arguably one of their worst games so far as this is concerned, is (as of the most recent patch) pretty stable.
72** This was apparently a result of using 1990s-era QA on more modern and complicated projects, down to the point that Obsidian was using pen and paper bug tracking as late as the early 2010s.
73* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', your ability to influence your companions and swing their in-universe CharacterAlignment is explained via an uncommon Force ability. In ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', the reason monsters are constantly after you and the way in which you progress as a character is explained via a MacGuffin. In ''Mask of the Betrayer'', a specific game mechanic plays an important role in the story. In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', you have the option of playing the so-called "Hardcore Mode," which incorporates your need to eat, drink, and sleep into game mechanics as well as the fact that certain statistics can lead to other options in dialogue.
74* GrayAndGreyMorality: The exact grayness of a particular game's [[MoralityKitchenSink morality]] [[WhiteAndGreyMorality is]] [[BlackAndGrayMorality variable]], but generally Obsidian stays pretty close to this trope. Villains will usually have sympathetic or at least understandable motives and goals, heroes are frequently ruthless or given to vices or pettiness, and moral choices are sometimes pretty murky. This isn't to say that they don't present clear villains (because they do), but their character-centric writing means that these villains have [[AntiVillain understandable motivations]] and are often [[VillainHasAPoint not entirely wrong]].
75* 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.
76* HeroicComedicSociopath:
77** Steven Heck in ''Alpha Protocol'', described by more than one reviewer as a human version of [[Franchise/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Max]], is a sadistic 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]].
78--->'''Stephen Heck:''' Oh, the candy dish! [[EstablishingCharacterMoment That's where I left my keys!]] ''[to his "friend" Wen, who he has bound and gagged to a chair]'' You should have said something earlier, did you see [[HollywoodAcid what I almost made you drink]]? Heh, good ol' Wen. Always getting into antics. Anyhoo!
79** ComedicSociopathy abounds in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of ''Fallout'', but the Think Tank in ''Old World Blues'' stands out as the goofiest and [[LethalJokeCharacter among the most dangerous]] -- not individually, but rather in the event that their madcap brand of superscience were to spread to the outside world. Yet despite the horrorshow that they've made of the Big Empty, they were trying to save pre-War America, and with the Courier's guidance, their scientific brilliance can in fact help the post-War world to finally move on.
80* 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 of all sorts, mutant, ghoul, Ghost Person, and ordinary human alike abound in the [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas Mojave Wasteland]]. [[TheUndead Revenants, guls]], and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent fampyrs]] in ''Pillars of Eternity'' hunger for the flesh of living kith, lest their minds rot away with their bodies. [[WildChild Wichts]], also from ''Pillars'', aren't undead, but as soulless Hollowborn children with the souls of animals grafted into them, they're feral and will attack and eat other humans.
81* {{Joisey}}: Project New Jersey (AKA "Seven Dwarfs", a fantasy game using Unreal Engine 3) was canceled.
82* 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.
83** Tellingly, of their three standalone (and therefore not burdened with a legacy KarmaMeter from the setting or prior games in the series) games thus far, the only one with something like a karma meter is ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'' -- which effectively merges it with their influence system by having it be several separate meters that explicitly count ''what you have a reputation for''.
84* LightIsNotGood: Present in many of their games, but played surprisingly straight in ''[[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords The Sith Lords]]'', which is set in the often [[BlackAndWhiteMorality black and white]] ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe.
85* MalevolentMaskedMen: The AuthorAppeal is strong with this one, with the {{Big Bad}}s of ''[=KOTOR2=]'', ''Mask Of the Betrayer'', and ''Pillars of Eternity'' all wearing sinister masks.
86** Used frequently but with less significance thanks to the practicality of wearing a gas mask in the postapocalyptic future in ''Fallout: New Vegas'', with notable examples including the hideously mutated Ghost People of the abandoned Sierra Madre casino, and Ulysses when you finally track him down in the ''Lonesome Road'' DLC. There's also Legate Lanius's helmet, molded into a scowling bearded face, and White Legs war chief Salt-Upon-Wounds' feathered headdress. 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]].
87** ''Tyranny'' gives us [[WhiteMaskOfDoom Tunon the Adjudicator]], Archon of Justice, and [[MultipleHeadCase the Voices of Nerat]], Archon of Secrets, who are implied to not even have faces under their masks.
88** 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''s, and Joshua Graham is the face of the ''Honest Hearts'' DLC.
89* OptionalSexualEncounter: Notable in that ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', the only Obsidian RPG besides ''Storm of Zehir'' that lacks romance, plays this trope straightest.
90* RelationshipValues: Obsidian's most significant contribution to RPG design is probably bringing these back into fashion.
91* RomanceSidequest: Present in most Obsidian games, but the company as a whole appears uncomfortable with the trope and outright avert it in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''. [=JE=] Sawyer (lead designer of said game) in particular has been quoted as having a rather derisive opinion of the subject. Chris Avellone, too, has stated that he finds love stories uninteresting/difficult to write (especially if they're traditional and cheerful) and prefers other forms of interpersonal interaction.
92** Despite all that, Sawyer and Avellone also said a romance was planned for New Vegas involving Cass where she and the Courier would get hammered and wake up in Vegas married by The King, but it was scrapped due to time.
93* ScrewedByTheNetwork: The company has been on the receiving end of this quite a few times.
94** When developing ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', Creator/LucasArts told them that they were going to delay the release until a bit into 2005 (Some speculate Creator/LucasArts were hoping to cash in on the renewed interest in the franchise thanks to ''Revenge of the Sith''). Obsidian decided to use the extra time to expand on the game, before [=LucasArts=] suddenly decided to revert back to the original Christmas 2004 release date. Since the delay at this point had been a spoken agreement and not a signed contract yet, Obsidian had no choice but to rush the game out of the gate, meaning that several quests and mechanics, including much of the ending sequence, were left incomplete or broken. And when Obsidian offered to put out a free patch fixing most of these issues, [=LucasArts=] denied them permission to do it, leaving the fans to try and pick up the pieces with mods. The point may have been academic; the game sold most of its copies on the Xbox and wasn't enabled for Xbox Live, meaning it couldn't be patched.
95** When ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' was nearing completion, SEGA said they weren't too happy with the current state of the game, and announced they would push the release date back a couple of months. Obsidian hoped that this would leave them with more time to give the game some much-needed polish, the logical thing to assume since the game was delayed anyway, but when they appealed to SEGA for more development time in the delay period, Creator/{{SEGA}} flat out refused to greenlight it.
96** During the development of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', Creator/{{Atari}} demanded that the game have a Christmas release, forcing Obsidian to rush to a finish, cutting out a lot of characterization for your party members and two romance arcs in the process. The worst part, though, was that they hadn't finished working all the kinks out, so when the game was released it was horribly buggy and hindered by bad gameplay. Later patches fixed that problem, but the fandom was left seething for a long time.
97** And, of course, there's the infamous "''[[Videogame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]'' got an 84 on Metacritic, so no bonuses for you" incident, which almost killed Obsidian outright and actually led to a lot of accusations of skulduggery on Bethesda's part from the ''fanbase''. Notably, quite a few reviews took a couple points off the game's score because of bugs, and Bethesda was responsible for the QA for the game; meaning if Bethesda had done their job properly, Obsidian wouldn't have been tossed into dire financial straits. Some of the more malicious tongues claims that Bethesda did a bad job on purpose to avoid having to pay Obsidian a bonus, but Obsidian themselves has denied this to be the case, and most people point to HanlonsRazor, noting that Bethesda's QA work has always been infamously poor.
98** ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'' is an odd case: it got screwed by the "network" ''imploding like a black hole''. Creator/{{THQ}} went under completely and the project had to be picked up by an entirely new publisher (Funnily enough, by a [[Creator/{{Ubisoft}} company]] whose logo ''looks'' like an imploding black hole.) before it got out the door. Frankly, it's impressive the game got out the door at all, considering.
99** ''VideoGame/ArmoredWarfare'' ran into it as during their time on it, it looked to be the superior tank game until the publisher decided it'd be better to replace the developers and go for a low end World of Tanks knockoff. Naturally this caused the game's esteem to plummet.
100** All this is what eventually spurred the development of ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'', a property owned and produced by Obsidian and with all profits going straight back to them. It's given them a much more stable financial base from which to produce their licensed efforts.
101* SincerestFormOfFlattery: When the ''Pentiment'' project, a Detective RPG, was announced to be in development, it was fully admitted that the game would be heavily influenced by ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium''.
102* 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.
103* 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.
104* 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.
105* TallDarkAndSnarky: Atton in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', Sand in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'', and potentially ''[[PlayerCharacter you]]'' in any of their games.
106* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: An option in most of their games.
107* 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. This is downplayed in later games, such as the Pillars of Eternity series or The Outer World, where while the party might bicker there's generally a much better sense of camaraderie overall (or more specifically, there's just one particularly frustrating asshole).
108* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
109** A sequel to ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' that would have continued directly after the ending of the previous game [[http://www.destructoid.com/obsidian-reveals-its-plan-for-potential-kotor-iii-259114.phtml was in pre-production at one point]] but unfortunately never got off the ground.
110** ''Aliens: Crucible'' was an ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' RPG being developed by Creator/ObsidianEntertainment. The game was cancelled in 2010 when the publisher, Creator/{{Sega}}, preferred the release of the game ''VideoGame/AliensColonialMarines'' instead.
111** Obsidian considered making a ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' game set in the former Los Angeles area, the Boneyard, as ''Fallout: New Vegas 2'', or ''Fallout: Los Angeles''.
112** ''Futureblight'' was going to be a ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}''-style RPG running on the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' engine, that could have been published by Creator/TakeTwoInteractive.
113** ''Dwarves'' was going to be a [=PS3=] and Xbox 360 third-person action game and prequel to ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndtheSevenDwarfs'', that could have been published by Creator/DisneyInteractiveStudios.
114* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Continuing their traditions from their [[Creator/BlackIsleStudios 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.

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