The Ultimate SOMA Discussion Thread

[Sampyli]

Tomorrow is a major milestone in the development of SOMA. We will reach Pre-Pre Beta. This means that all major features are in and we will play the entire game from start to finish for the first time.

[Ashtoreth]

Tomorrow is a major milestone in the development of SOMA. We will reach Pre-Pre Beta. This means that all major features are in and we will play the entire game from start to finish for the first time.

Awesome news!

(For those who might want to know the source, here it is: https://twitter.com/frictionalgames/stat...6427959296)

[Kein]

Where is my beta-key

[plutomaniac]

Where is my beta-key

get in line first...

[Googolplex]

They are working for 4,5 years on a 8 hour game and haven't even played it from start to the end?

[Kreekakon]

They are working for 4,5 years on a 8 hour game and haven't even played it from start to the end?

Before I get more in-depth it is important to note that in order to use this approach correctly, the game must be broken down into scenes. Each scene could be a puzzle, an enemy encounter, and so on. Normally, gameplay refers to how the game plays out as a whole, but for this framework, we must split it up into sections. This is connected with the above requirement of not having repetition, and usually means that there needs to be a lot of logic and gameplay coded into the world. I think that this is presents a crucial piece of the puzzle for having better storytelling: to drop the need for an overarching play loop and instead make the gameplay fit each specific scene of the game.

Assuming they followed their own philosophy it means that each and every scene had to have been carefully thought over and constructed to fit the game...which should take a very LONG time.

[GrAVit]

A little update from us.

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

Four of us have now played through 'til the end and it's really cool to be able to finally really feel what sort of game we're making, after almost 4.5 years in development.

While we've played the individual levels many times, you never really get the same sense as you do when you play the full thing. I personally think it's a significant experience as you now get a mental picture of the game as one complete thing, instead of a massive cluster of themes, systems and scenes. I finally know for sure what it is that we're working towards.

The testing took an average of 11 hours per person. This includes a lot of note-taking, quick discussions and bug-fixing. But, given prior experience, this should give a decent estimate of what it will take the average (and non stressing) player to complete SOMA.

While the game is still really rough in plenty of places, I think I dare to say that we've got something quite special brewing. There's still tons of work left to do, of course, but we're getting very anxious to show off our creation to the world.

----------------
Thomas Grip
Creative Director

From their Facebook page and also blog. Good to hear that things are progressing well and that they're happy with their work!

[Googolplex]

Nice!
But hmm... there are still tons of work. I have the feeling we have to wait until fall 2015.

[Paddy™]

In the latest screenshot, we see what appears to be a glowstick in the centre. I wonder if this is another underwater grave, like the ones we saw in the preview videos:

Spoiler below!

While we're on the topic of the underwater graves, let's hope they don't turn out to be the tombs of Simon and the other PATHOS-II employees, and that their digitised consciousnesses are being played out in a simulated reality. That's soooooo 1999

[Slanderous]

I am honestly scared on how the modding feature will turn out in the end. I mean, the engine is going to be be better than previous one, sure, but I'm not certainly sure if people find out themselves in all of those assets that SOMA provides. It's easier to create a dungeon or a library than underwater facility or other future sci-fi stuff. I also hope there's going to be a hotkey for turning magnet on/off. xD