is oblivious to his presence, thus adding a stealth element to the game. Once in control of a host, he can interact with the environment and non-player characters (NPCs) by using switches or weapons and fighting in unarmed combat. Some switches require a specific human host to activate (e.g. a scientist is required to access a secure laboratory area, or a radiation worker to handle live nuclear material); these form the basis for the game's puzzles. Other puzzles include using Bob's wings to access somewhere out of reach or too small for a host body to enter. Most humans will ignore Bob, or be intrigued by him. The police and security force, however, will shoot on sight, as will the Chots - a separatist, cannibalistic humanoid race who regularly appear in street battles with the police in hopes of driving the Fathers out of power. As Bob progresses through the game, his reputation precedes him, and he is actively sought after by the police. Development Lead designer David Perry intended Messiah to be targeted towards adults, in contrast to Shiny's previous games such as Earthworm Jim, and predominantly towards males. The development team heavily touted the game's tessellation technology, which they said could reduce or increase the number of polygons displayed in real time based on the hardware running the game, thereby maximizing the level of detail possible on any given hardware setup, stabilizing the frame rate, and enabling real-time interpolation and volumetric lighting. In a 1997 interview Perry said Shiny had filed for a patent on the technology. The character models were built in 3D Studio. The game's characters were all animated using motion capture, with a person with dwarfism serving as the motion capture actor for Bob. It was announced that Messiah would be released simultaneously for the PC and PlayStation in the second quarter of 1998, with another console port following as a launch title for the Dreamcast. However, the game would be delayed nearly two years, and neither a PlayStation version nor a Dreamcast version was ever released. In February 1998, a couple years before Messiah was released, the Los Angeles Times reported a public outcry over the title. Perry explained, "It's crazy that all these people are already upset and they haven't even seen the game." Jeff Green of Computer Gaming World stated, "You can't use the word 'messiah' and not know you're going to