The Ultimate SOMA Discussion Thread

[FailedExperiment]

I just don't want this game to hold my hand like Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs did. I felt like the game was telling me what to do, where to go, I didn't have freedom to do what I wanted. I couldn't pick up any items, and there was only one way to do things, unlike The Dark Descent which gave a lot of ways to solve one puzzle.

I hope SOMA doesn't hold my hand, and that it throws me head first into a scary world that will chill me to the core.

MFP was diffrent kind of game. All it had to do with TDD was that it was set in the same universe, and it had "Amnesia" in it. I expected MFP to be an entirely diffrent stuff than TDD and I wasn't disappointed. People just hyped for it to be great sequel, while it was just an interactive novel set in the very same universe. And it also was made by The Chineese Room, not Frictional Games, so that miiiiight be a small hint on why it doesn't offer as much freedom and interactivity as Frictional Games do. SOMA will surely bring back the lovely TDD interactivity and being the part of the story by yourself.

I've also noticed that the reason why The Dark Descent was a lot more popular than A Machine for Pigs was because of the custom stories. I've been playing The Dark Descent with a little over 1000 hours under my belt, and I can honestly say I've only spent a quarter of that time on the campaign. Custom stories are a massive attraction to the game, and I hope SOMA includes this as well.

I also noticed that A Machine for Pigs had a heavily modified version of Amnesia's HPL Engine. I accidentally saved a map in Amnesia's 2.0 level editor for A Machine for Pigs, and certain animations weren't working, and the first telephone call didn't make a sound at all, so A Machine for Pigs had a different HPL Engine that wasn't released.

I hope HPL 3 is available for SOMA, so we can make custom stories as well. It would be quite amazing.

[Slanderous]

I just don't want this game to hold my hand like Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs did. I felt like the game was telling me what to do, where to go, I didn't have freedom to do what I wanted. I couldn't pick up any items, and there was only one way to do things, unlike The Dark Descent which gave a lot of ways to solve one puzzle.

I hope SOMA doesn't hold my hand, and that it throws me head first into a scary world that will chill me to the core.

MFP was diffrent kind of game. All it had to do with TDD was that it was set in the same universe, and it had "Amnesia" in it. I expected MFP to be an entirely diffrent stuff than TDD and I wasn't disappointed. People just hyped for it to be great sequel, while it was just an interactive novel set in the very same universe. And it also was made by The Chineese Room, not Frictional Games, so that miiiiight be a small hint on why it doesn't offer as much freedom and interactivity as Frictional Games do. SOMA will surely bring back the lovely TDD interactivity and being the part of the story by yourself.

I've also noticed that the reason why The Dark Descent was a lot more popular than A Machine for Pigs was because of the custom stories. I've been playing The Dark Descent with a little over 1000 hours under my belt, and I can honestly say I've only spent a quarter of that time on the campaign. Custom stories are a massive attraction to the game, and I hope SOMA includes this as well.

I also noticed that A Machine for Pigs had a heavily modified version of Amnesia's HPL Engine. I accidentally saved a map in Amnesia's 2.0 level editor for A Machine for Pigs, and certain animations weren't working, and the first telephone call didn't make a sound at all, so A Machine for Pigs had a different HPL Engine that wasn't released.

I hope HPL 3 is available for SOMA, so we can make custom stories as well. It would be quite amazing.

SOMA will provide modding - that's confirmed info.

[Kein]

I just don't want this game to hold my hand like Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs did.

AMFP did not hold yours/players hand, it was just very linear game concentrated on narrative and story.
There are moderately open [for exploration] games that do hold your hand and tell you where to go and there are fully open games that let you roam. AMFP was neither of these.

[GrAVit]

It's been years since I played AAMFP but I can't really recall any "hand holding". Puzzles were mainly there for you to figure out, but they were really simple (like the fuse "puzzle") and didn't really take any effort at all, just felt like an excuse to get at least some interactive gameplay into it all.

All in all I don't think it held your hand any more than TDD did.

[Cyberneering]

The problem with AAMFP was the trailers, they showed something different than what we got. I think it it would of been much better received had the trailers been honest of the actual "feel" of the game.

[Paddy™]

I'm bummed that we still haven't seen the video of Thomas' talk at IndieCade East from a couple of months back. If the video isn't coming, maybe Thomas will simply blogify his presentation for us (including the new SOMA footage he hinted at).

/hint

[Kein]

Robosprog
You seem so upset that you even forgot to present your own very thoughtful and weighty opinion on the subject.

The problem with AAMFP was the trailers, they showed something different than what we got. I think it it would of been much better received had the trailers been honest of the actual "feel" of the game.

Let's not jump back to this discussion in SOMA section yet again :P

I'm bummed that we still haven't seen the video of Thomas' talk at IndieCade East from a couple of months back. If the video isn't coming, maybe Thomas will simply blogify his presentation for us (including the new SOMA footage he hinted at).

His panel was recorded?

[Paddy™]

His panel was recorded?

A week or two before IndieCade, Thomas was asked on Twitter if his talk would be recorded, and he said:

Yep! Will be taped and put online shortly after.

[Googolplex]

Anyone knows for what SOMA is standing for?
SOMA seems to be a journey into the deep of our mind.

[FailedExperiment]

Anyone knows for what SOMA is standing for?
SOMA seems to be a journey into the deep of our mind.

SOMA is also a known drug.