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SOMA: The 5-Year Design and Development of a Sci-Fi Horror game from the Amnesia devs

S

SlasherJPC

Banned
~Kinggi~ said:
There is a bunch of controversy happening in the steam community area for this as some guy made a thread linking to someone streaming the game and said it was the review build. Basically he was saying it wasnt good but then that of course causes a big fight so its hard to know at this point if there is any truth to it. Are reviews being posted before the game releases?
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Being posted early Monday. Really wish I could say more but I will say sounds like the game wasn't for him. Gotta love when people break embargo and just rain shit on a game when no one under embargo can defend it.
 
K

~Kinggi~

Banned
I remember the days when AAA meant it was like a 9+ scoring game and amazing. Then it became a common way to describe budget.
 
D

DarkChronic

Member
~Kinggi~ said:
I remember the days when AAA meant it was like a 9+ scoring game and amazing. Then it became a common way to describe budget.
Click to expand...

Yeah I always thought this to be the case as well. Maybe I was wrong all those years. I used to always associate AAA with quality.

Anyway, I am so excited for SOMA. Really hope it delivers. Looking forward to reading some reviews tomorrow.
 
D

drangleic tourism

Member
DarkChronic said:
Anyway, I am so excited for SOMA. Really hope it delivers. Looking forward to reading some reviews tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Yea, I've been following this game since the reveal. I love the art direction and everything I've seen about the narrative. I'll be really let down if it's boring.

Also, I was one of the ones that really enjoyed Rapture...I find the so-called "walking simulator" genre a nice break from more high tension games sometimes.
 
E

Eklesp

Member
From what is known so far, is this more of a Sci-fi alien horror game? I have seen a lot of robots and futuristic tech in the videos. Or is it paranormal horror? That is how Amnesia was right? I never had a chance to play it.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Eklesp said:
From what is known so far, is this more of a Sci-fi alien horror game? I have seen a lot of robots and futuristic tech in the videos. Or is it paranormal horror? That is how Amnesia was right? I never had a chance to play it.
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Sci fi horror, a research station under the sea, and weird tech/robotic experiments.

Devs put a lot of effort into cerebral horror, horror that comes from the premise and story and situations, and dynamic enemies, rather than just "scary monsters, be scared of the dark" horror

Check out the live-action teasers:
http://youtu.be/lLVOif6CHgE
http://youtu.be/eytOzwyfiCA
http://youtu.be/pCXqRdurmkM
 
Karak

Karak

Member
drangleic tourism said:
Yea, I've been following this game since the reveal. I love the art direction and everything I've seen about the narrative. I'll be really let down if it's boring.

Also, I was one of the ones that really enjoyed Rapture...I find the so-called "walking simulator" genre a nice break from more high tension games sometimes.
Click to expand...

I would pay close attention to a lot of the hands on and reviews then.
 
T

Teeth

Member
~Kinggi~ said:
I remember the days when AAA meant it was like a 9+ scoring game and amazing. Then it became a common way to describe budget.
Click to expand...

You mean on forums? Because AAA has always been a publisher/developer term implying budget and production values. It passed into common gaming parlance when developer/publisher interviews became more open and commonplace with the internet.

If you saw it being used any other way, it was by people that co-opted the term incorrectly or just didn't know what they were talking about.
 
Karak

Karak

Member
Teeth said:
You mean on forums? Because AAA has always been a publisher/developer term implying budget and production values. It passed into common gaming parlance when developer/publisher interviews became more open and commonplace with the internet.

If you saw it being used any other way, it was by people that co-opted the term incorrectly or just didn't know what they were talking about.
Click to expand...

AAA product explanations were around before the first videogames. I still have a knife and box from the year I was born that says AAA quality. I am over 40.

Then developers actually used it to internally describe their own work based on academics and other products to describe additional polish put onto a title. Then it got picked up by pubs.
 
E

Eklesp

Member
More_Badass said:
Sci fi horror, a research station under the sea, and weird tech/robotic experiments.

Devs put a lot of effort into cerebral horror, horror that comes from premise and story and situations, and dynamic enemies, rather than just "scary monsters, be scared of the dark" horror
Click to expand...

Oh wow, thanks. Looks crazy.
 
AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
Jim Sterling did a video recently on a horror game called Albino Lullaby, in it he said that he was playing another horror game he couldn't talk about that was doing some very interesting things. Game must be Soma.
 
S

StaffyManasse

Member
Welp. Looks like I'm buying this day one. Just finished MGSV and aint got nothing to play untill tuesday.

Probably loosing a bit of sleep as I did with Alien Isolation, but it'll be worth it, I'm sure!
 
F

Fret

Member
the black pearl said:
Monday or Tuesday
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t1442840400z4.png
 
Seth Balmore

Seth Balmore

Member
Number45 said:
The most recent blog update really sold me on this, but I'm not convinced I'll be able to get through it. :'(
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If it helps, I couldn't even finish the frigging demo for Amnesia because I was paralyzed by fear. SOMA however I could finish, no problem. Of course there were parts where I was really tense and didn't want to move from my safe spot, but in the end the story pulled me through. It is a horror game, sure, but much less unfair to the player than Amnesia was, in my opinion, and much more interesting to boot. Give it a go! It's truly special.

Can't wait for the game to be out to read GAF's impressions. :)
 
N

Number45

Member
Hmm, perhaps I'll give it a try then.

I realised I wasn't cut out for horror type games years ago, when the motion tracker sound was too much for me to handle in an AvP demo on the front of a PC mag. :p
 
xrnzaaas

xrnzaaas

Member
Seth Balmore said:
If it helps, I couldn't even finish the frigging demo for Amnesia because I was paralyzed by fear. SOMA however I could finish, no problem. Of course there were parts where I was really tense and didn't want to move from my safe spot, but in the end the story pulled me through. It is a horror game, sure, but much less unfair to the player than Amnesia was, in my opinion, and much more interesting to boot. Give it a go! It's truly special.

Can't wait for the game to be out to read GAF's impressions. :)
Click to expand...

How long is the game (assuming you're not in a hurry and enjoying the details along the way)?
 
Seth Balmore

Seth Balmore

Member
xrnzaaas said:
How long is the game (assuming you're not in a hurry and enjoying the details along the way)?
Click to expand...
It took me around
10 hours to complete, with some exploration but not obsessively checking every nook and cranny. Bear in mind I took my time reading all the diaries, logs and stuff I found in the game world
. Depends on how you play and how long you get stuck on certain puzzles, I suppose.
 
W

wouwie

Member
Seth Balmore said:
If it helps, I couldn't even finish the frigging demo for Amnesia because I was paralyzed by fear. SOMA however I could finish, no problem. Of course there were parts where I was really tense and didn't want to move from my safe spot, but in the end the story pulled me through. It is a horror game, sure, but much less unfair to the player than Amnesia was, in my opinion, and much more interesting to boot. Give it a go! It's truly special.

Can't wait for the game to be out to read GAF's impressions. :)
Click to expand...

Does it has jump scare type of horror?
 
Seth Balmore

Seth Balmore

Member
wouwie said:
Does it has jump scare type of horror?
Click to expand...
I can only remember ONE minor jump scare near the beginning caused by the environment, and maybe it was just me being a huge chicken to be honest. The game's horror is the creeping, subdued style, the kind that gets under your skin. Nothing will jump out at you going BOO.
 
Seth Balmore

Seth Balmore

Member
dan2026 said:
I predict this will fall around the 7-8 level.

Average 7. 8 if you are a horror/sci-fi fan.
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Solid 8 in my opinion. Will be sad if the metascore goes below it, but I could understand, and I can see it happening... Horror is a difficult genre to score.
 
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