Oblio

Overview

Oblio was first introduced in Dance Central as one of the game's ten selectable characters, and quickly became a fan-favorite. He wears a leather biker jacket and speaks in a low, mysterious tone. His appearance is meant to convey an aura of mystery and heroism -- as though he intends to enlighten one to the mysteries of the universe through the power of dance.

His primary interests are poetry and street bikes. Both his outfits contain indicators that he's about to leave.

Since Dance Central's release, Matt Perlot (Harmonix's Lead Character Artist for Dance Central 1) has found him to be divisive. Since his appearance and voice isn't specific to any dance genre or subculture, he's been found to appeal more to gamers and comic fans than fans of dance.

Origin

For all the other Dance Central characters, Helen McWilliams (Harmonix's Senior Writer) created a biography form that she would then fill out as the character in question. When it came to filling out the form for Oblio, she "drew a giant black circle on the page, obscuring all the biography questions. Then I doodled a Rilke quote around the black circle. That's what we handed to everyone on the team as Oblio's reference."

Development

WARNING: This section contains spoilers for the ending of Dance Central.

Dance Central's ending cutscene depicts him leaving a party at Dr. Tan's Estate, the final venue in the game. Meanwhile, Dr. Tan sits in a security room elsewhere, rewatching the video feed of Oblio leaving over and over again. The ending then fades to the Dance Central logo over black, as maniacal cackling can be heard in the background. This has led to rumors that Oblio will appear in a different form in Dance Central 2.