Obduction
Obduction is a puzzle exploration video game developed and published by Cyan Worlds that was initially released in 2016 following a successful crowdfunding campaign through Kickstarter in 2013. The player is abducted during a storm in a forest and transported to a seemingly abandoned Earth community surrounded by an alien landscape.
Obduction is currently on Version 1.8.4 and is playable on PC (flatscreen and VR), Mac, PlayStation (4, 5, and PSVR), and Xbox (One and Series S/X).
Kickstarter Campaign
Cyan launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Obduction on 17 October 2013[1], offering the following tiers:
| Tier Name | Rewards | Price (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| Morale Supporter | Provided only a subscription to campaign updates, not the game or any additional rewards. | $1 |
| Gimme the Game | Digital download of Obduction for PC or Mac, digital manual, access to backers-only Obduction forums, name in "Backers" section of game credits, and digital concept art. | $25 |
| Digital Collector | All rewards from lower tiers, Obduction Exploration Guide, digital Art of Cyan artbook, and Obduction - Original Game Soundtrack download. | $45 |
| Gimme the Box | All rewards from lower tiers, Kickstarter-exclusive physical boxed edition for PC or Mac, and name in "Box Backers" section of game credits. | $75 |
| Show & Tell | All rewards from lower tiers, limited edition Obduction T-shirt, Kickstarter exclusive art print, three postcards, and name in "Show & Tell Backers" section of game credits. | $120 |
| Art Collector | All rewards from lower tiers, Kickstarter-exclusive poster and [[Art of Obduction] book (both signed by Rand Miller and team members), and name in "Signature Backers" section of game credits. | $250 |
| Become the Artist | All rewards from lower tiers (excluding "Egg-sibitionist" tier), in-game Easter egg provided by backer, and name in "Additional Design Backers" section of game credits. | $850 |
| Egg-sibitionist | All rewards from lower tiers (excluding "Become the Artist" tier), in-game Easter egg created by Cyan based on backer-provided image, and name in "Additional Design" section of game credits. | $850 |
| Let's do Launch at Cyan. | All rewards from lower tiers, entire business day spent at Cyan, exclusive friends and family private launch party, game prop (of which less than 100 were made), and name in opening game credits as "Executive Backer". | $4,500 |
| Experience Design at Cyan | All rewards from lower tiers, attendance at an early Obduction design meeting, dinner with Rand Miller and other members of the design team, ability to play early builds and provide feedback to the design team, direct communication from the producer, name in the opening credits as “Supporting Producer." | $10,000 |
During the campaign, the "Become the Strata 3D Artist" tier was added on 4 November 2016, followed by the "Double Disc" tier on 7 November 2016:
| Tier Name | Rewards | Price (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| Double Disc | All rewards from lower tiers, Kickstarter-exclusive Obduction disc-golf disc signed by the Obduction team, Kickstarter-exclusive compact disc of Obduction soundtrack, and name in "Disc Backers" section of game credits. | $425 |
| Become the Strata 3D Artist | All rewards from lower tiers, special Myst version of Strata Design 3D CX software (which included some textures and models from Myst), in-game item created by backer using Strata Design 3D CX, five hi-res digital renders of original Myst models, and name in "Additional Design" section of game credits. | $1,100 |
The campaign was successfully funded on 16 November 2013, with 22,195 backers pledging US$1,321,306.
Development
Following the successful Kickstarter campaign, further development of Obduction took about three years.
Additional material was developed for the PS4 and PSVR versions of the game, which launched on 29 August 2017[2]. This exclusive material was added to other supported platforms on 14 March 2018.
Release
Obduction was released for PC on 24 August 2016, with a beta Mac version available as well. PCVR support was added on 31 October 2016. The official Mac release occurred on 30 March 2017.