Obsidian programmer turns studio into an arcade game

Every developer needs a pet project to unwind. In the case of Obsidian, the studio behind Fallout: New Vegas and the upcoming South Park RPG, that came in the shape of a coin-op classic arcade machine called "Obsidian: The Game," chronicling the tale of the studio owners.

Game Informer saw the game at the studio's offices while visiting for its South Park cover story. The cabinet sits in the dining area, with the Obsidian logo emblazoned across the top. It's a simple dungeon-crawler featuring the founders, created by a few friends within the company.

"We were aiming for Nintendo, like 1985 art quality because we thought we could hit that target," said programmer Dan Rubalcaba. The cabinet itself took only a couple of weeks, but the programming lasted a few months. Rubalcaba says he's heard requests to put it on the Web site, but he likes that it's in "a physical spot, that you have to come here to play it."

As for how he treated the studio culture itself: "I put tons of jabs at all the developers," Rubalcaba says. "I'm surprised I'm still employed."