Plot Theories

**Acies** · 11-04-2013, 04:23 PM

(10-24-2013, 06:41 PM)Alardem Wrote: Far as I'm concerned, I see the machines as creating virtual copies of people and containing them within themselves. Imogen Reed has a copy made of her in the first video, Golaski's copy is contained inside the robot in the second video, and the gameplay trailer shows the plight of someone copied into one of the machines.

So when 'Golaski 2.0' said he was standing up, he WAS - at the very least, he was standing within that particular machine's consciousness. Hell, the anonymous fellow in the gameplay trailer may actually BE 'Golaski 2.0'.

I thought something similar as well. Machines storing people. Instead of having the classical 'insanity' as in a lot of cases; horror coming from deluded visions of the person played, in this case, the 'unreal visions of horror' might simply stem from the fact that you might be a machine/virtual copy of yourself. As seen in the video, realization of that fact seems impossible for the machine - everytime it comes close (to realize that it's not a real person) there is always a strong denial, taking it back into the deluded vision of being a real person rather than a machine.

The main character of this game might struggle in the same way potentially; am I real or am I not? Are these things I see real or not (notice that the machine in the trailer video answers questions - but answers them wrong; as if it truly believed and created in its mind what it answered). You might have 'the symptoms' of insanity (difficult to differentiate reality from imagination), but not be insane; as the plot twist = you are not you - you are a machine/your existance is meaningless, in a sense (oh the horror!).

**Alardem** · 11-04-2013, 07:21 PM

Yeah, I'm thinking that the "insanity" mechanic in SOMA could be related to the protagonist's nature as a sentient computer program. Shades of TRON here. You could be moving around within the bowels of some giant machine, or existing within a complex holographic simulation.

If the plot goes in that direction, we could have some meta-narrative fun because we're essentially playing a virtual reality wherein people/machines create virtual copies of one another.

**HorrorElementFilms** · 11-04-2013, 11:02 PM

Something my friend thought of watching the trailer:

The "tunnels" from the game play trailer, slightly resemble a cord or tube. The impression that my friend got, was that the guy was going through some fiber optic cable. I thought about this, and thought that if he was in any way right, the cables could be visual representation of the connectors in his mind, and the different rooms being his memories or ideas.

This could sort of make sense, considering people's minds and perception of reality seems to be the vibe I'm getting from this game.

Personally, I just think that the tunnels are nothing more then just tunnels, but everything could just be a hallucination for all we know.

**Alardem** · 11-06-2013, 01:02 AM

(11-04-2013, 11:02 PM)HorrorElementFilms Wrote: Something my friend thought of watching the trailer:

The "tunnels" from the game play trailer, slightly resemble a cord or tube. The impression that my friend got, was that the guy was going through some fiber optic cable. I thought about this, and thought that if he was in any way right, the cables could be visual representation of the connectors in his mind, and the different rooms being his memories or ideas.

This could sort of make sense, considering people's minds and perception of reality seems to be the vibe I'm getting from this game.

Personally, I just think that the tunnels are nothing more then just tunnels, but everything could just be a hallucination for all we know.

I also believe the blue, almost organic tunnels are actually the innards of some gigantic machine. Whether it's of human, alien or cybernetic origin is undetermined.

I wonder, as was the case of A Machine For Pigs, we'll have a talking machine as an antagonist.

**Paddy™** · 11-06-2013, 01:31 AM

(11-03-2013, 03:16 AM)EnDash Wrote: the first symbol, a plus sign:

Spoiler below!

http://i.imgur.com/TCwY8Tx.png?1?6550

the second symbol, a triangle:

Spoiler below!

http://i.imgur.com/R1pyvOn.png?1

the third symbol, i think it's a 3 dimensional box:

Spoiler below!

http://i.imgur.com/erIlq2o.png?1

Spoiler below!

http://i.imgur.com/E5b9qGk.png?1

Spoiler below!

http://i.imgur.com/JdTLXtq.png?1

Holy fuck, she's been telling us the game's coming to the PS4 all along!

Spoiler below!

**HorrorElementFilms** · 11-06-2013, 03:10 AM

Whoa, I just realized something I should have seen before in the gameplay trailer.
[Image: zTlZ6cr.png?1]

remember the brain? remember how much of a regular brain it looked like before the robot hentai tentacles went bat-shit crazy on it?

[Image: ERST7RC.png?1]

BAM! Completely different. What I get from this, is one of either two impressions. Either the brain was secretly some sort of android brain to begin with, or what ever the tentacles did (aside from smashing it to chunks) changed it somehow. Of course, it might not be the guy's actual brain. But if it is, maybe the tentacles were just removing the excess brain tissue to reveal something more...

*DUN DUN DUUUUH*

**EnDash** · 11-06-2013, 04:49 AM

(11-06-2013, 01:31 AM)Paddy™ Wrote: Holy fuck, she's been telling us the game's coming to the PS4 all along!

i think you're right! the symbols match and everything. it may even mean more...

because the camera "marks" the device at diffrent points in space and depth. maybe it's hinting the game will have PS4 eye mechanics? or maybe you can use a mobile device as second interface for puzzle solving or something... i know it's pretty far stretched and i also can't see how it will integrate in this kind of game but i like to think there is hidden meaning in everything Tongue

.

**Draug** · 11-06-2013, 12:09 PM

Spoiler below!

Great observation man, haven't noticed that. On the second picture it looks like the brain is encased by some kind of metal coating.

**reallycrazyman** · 11-08-2013, 07:10 PM

researchers study personalities and transplanting minds into machines and studying their interactions, limitations, etc. Something (obviously) goes wrong.

"The word "soma" comes from the Greek σῶμα, meaning "body"; the soma of a neuron is often called the "cell body"....The cell nucleus is a key feature of the soma. The nucleus is the source of most of the RNA that is produced in neurons."

The use of the word SOMA could refer to the generation of neurons, which is the fundamental basis for the generation of connections within the brain. It could also be a reference to the interaction between the mind (or personality machine) and body.

here's my theory.
(ehem)

Personality Fractals

A fractally generated mind, created under the basis of the concept of virtual machines.
(machines within machines / minds within minds)
Frictional Games has already done work in the area of 3D generated fractals, such as with the Mandelbrot set. Perhaps this became inspiration for the idea, or will be used as a visual metaphor for something equally complex.

the game-play will consist of a newly generated mind (stolen from a real human) traversing the meta-physical interiors of a larger version of the same mind.
It's self discovery from the inside out, ripe for all manner of deep, trippy and disturbing experiences.

**Acies** · 11-08-2013, 08:37 PM

(11-06-2013, 03:10 AM)HorrorElementFilms Wrote:

Spoiler below!

Whoa, I just realized something I should have seen before in the gameplay trailer.

remember the brain? remember how much of a regular brain it looked like before the robot hentai tentacles went bat-shit crazy on it?

BAM! Completely different. What I get from this, is one of either two impressions. Either the brain was secretly some sort of android brain to begin with, or what ever the tentacles did (aside from smashing it to chunks) changed it somehow. Of course, it might not be the guy's actual brain. But if it is, maybe the tentacles were just removing the excess brain tissue to reveal something more...

*DUN DUN DUUUUH*

I am going to include these images into what I believed earlier in the thread:

Spoiler below!

The 'stations' are growing a duplicate of a human brain on top of them - they are essentially 'host storages' for the human consciousness.

From that part of the gameplay video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla...P1b8#t=189

Speech:
"This is me? Am I like Rashnik (Rashnik = name = a virtual copy of a human being)?"

Interpretation:
The first part: "This is me?" Stems from the reason I explained in the earlier post. The machines/virtual copies cannot and will not comprehend that it is a copy of a real human being. It does in fact create 'false realities/visions' to avoid facing that truth. This means that 'the player' (the character followed) has realized the above fact, and might begin to question what is real and what is not. He does realize that he might not be a real human being, but greatly supress it, whereas he could possibly be seeing 'himself' (the brain tissue copy) be destroyed.

The second line 'Am I like Rashnik?' probably refers to a virtual copy of a person whom the main character have seen be 'revealed to be a copy'. The revealing has in turn caused the main character to question his own existence.

The machines in turn destroy the brain, sucessfully destroying the copy of a person made there. That could be to 'make place' for a new person.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla...IP1b8#t=43

I believe that the process seen above is how they 'copy a person'.

Also, the fact that you do wake up on an operating table suggests that you might very well be a deluded copy - or that you simply 'luckily' wasn't fully dead before the process of copying and woke up before the process.