SOMA has been a long journey. For roughly five years I’ve worked on Simon, Catherine, and the others who in some way inhabits the world of SOMA. The game has changed a lot over the years, not just in gameplay and plot, but in tone as well. I think one of the most grounding and solidifying aspects of creating the characters for SOMA has been giving them an actual actor’s voice.
SOMA – 10 days after launch
SOMA has now been out in the wild for 10 day so it felt fitting to write a summary of how things have gone so far.
SOMA – Behind The Sound
How do you design sound for a game that takes place miles under the ocean in an abandoned complex with a plot that deals with the perception of reality? The answer is… experimentation!
What We Showed At E3
So this year we went to E3 for first time and did two things we have never done before.
First, we took part in an E3 show, the PC Gaming Show, and showed off a brand new trailer.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
