2014 – Frictional Games

SOMA enters pre-beta

So what exactly does that mean? First of, it isn’t the same as Alpha. SOMA was in Alpha mid-March this year, and since then we’ve made loads of additions, changes and fixes based on feedback and our own evaluation of the game’s state. The pre-pre-Beta that happened a few weeks back was our final big test of that work. The game’s current state, pre-Beta, is a milestone in preparation for the proper Beta, basically the full game without the final polish, which will happen a few months into next year. The pre-Beta marks final our chance for us to evaluate a number of crucial elements in the game.

Posted on 19th December 201410th October 2023 by Thomas Grip in Announcement, News, SOMA

SOMA is now Pre-Pre Beta

Today is the day SOMA reached Pre-Pre Beta, which marked the first time the game could be played from start to finish.

Posted on 15th November 201410th October 2023 by Thomas Grip in Event, News, SOMA

Thoughts on Alien: Isolation and Horror Simulation

Alien: Isolation is an interesting game. It is the latest entry in a lineage of games that I refer to as horror simulators. It does an excellent job at creating tension and uses a lot of the knowledge built up over the years to great success. But, because it has such a laser focus on a certain type of play a bunch problems arise and other parts of the package suffer. It is a great game in many ways, truly excellent really, but there are some fundamental problems. These lead to, for me at least, a devastating flaw: At its core it fails to be a faithful emulation of the original Alien (1979) movie.

Posted on 14th October 201410th October 2023 by Thomas Grip in Blog, Design, Narrative, Review

People of Frictional: Samuel Justice

My name is Samuel Justice. I became audio lead here at Frictional Games in February of this year. However, I’ve been directly and indirectly involved with the studio for 3 years. I work from home in a place called Worthing in England – a small seaside town that’s fairly sleepy.

Posted on 21st August 201410th October 2023 by frictionalgames in Blog, HPL3, Life at Frictional, People of Frictional

Peter Wester: Engine programmer

I’m Peter Wester and I have been an Engine Programmer here at Frictional Games since late 2011.

I work from my apartment in Stockholm, Sweden. I used to have a nice big desk, but after getting a PS4 Devkit it has become cramped.

Posted on 14th August 201410th October 2023 by frictionalgames in Blog, HPL3, People of Frictional

Editor Fly Mode

Hey there! Vacation time is really close now and there’s so much to do before it arrives, but I still wanted to drop by and keep you posted on new editor stuff, so I’m gonna keep it short this time.

Posted on 27th June 201410th October 2023 by frictionalgames in Blog, Engine, HPL3, Tech

Steven Redmond: Gameplay Programmer

I’m Steve, another newcomer to the ranks of Frictional Games from the foggy British Isles. I joined around the same time as Ian give or take a few weeks and, like both Ian and Patrik, am responsible for level and gameplay scripting.

Posted on 23rd June 201410th October 2023 by frictionalgames in Blog, People of Frictional

People of Frictional: Ian Thomas

I’m Ian, one of the handful of Brits on the Frictional team. Like Patrik, I’m a level scripter and gameplay programmer. I’m a recent recruit – I only joined Frictional in October 2013, and have been on SOMA since then.

Posted on 13th June 201410th October 2023 by frictionalgames in Blog, Life at Frictional, People of Frictional

Particle Editor updates

Hey! Today I’m sharing the results of the last two weeks of work on the ParticleEditor with you. I’ve had loads of time for additions and improvements — I’m just gonna go over the most notable ones briefly.

Posted on 30th May 201410th October 2023 by frictionalgames in Blog, Engine, HPL3, Tech

Aaron Clifford: 3D Artist

Hello! I’m Aaron Clifford, one of the artists here at Frictional Games. Right now there are four of us artists and I’m relatively new around here. I started collaborating with Frictional back in April 2012 as a contractor, making props and other smaller bits for SOMA. A few months later I was brought on to the team full-time and, as they say, the rest is history.

Posted on 23rd May 201410th October 2023 by frictionalgames in Blog, People of Frictional