The Ultimate SOMA Discussion Thread

[Fortigurn]

Part 2:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/04/...y-amnesia/

This confirms what I've been saying; the existential crisis is a key plot element.

RPS: So it’s more focused on exploring themes, then? Things like consciousness, which you’ve been pretty vocal bout?

Grip: Yeah. The thing I’d been thinking about a lot is, could you have a game that tells something interesting to the player about being a sentient being? Being conscious about yourself. Could you do that? What interests me about consciousness, which has been a hobby project for me for the last half of my life, is just the idea that… You have certain subjective experiences. You can’t doubt that you’re having them. You’re sure that you’re having them. But you can never make someone else convinced that you really have these experiences.

---

NOTE: THIS DEDUCTION IS PURELY THEORY. THERE COULD BE SOME MISTAKES.

Excellent detective work. The combination of your investigations and mine is leading consistently to one conclusion.

[Alardem]

A thought about the monster design:

As ridiculous as "Disco Ball Head" looks, I wonder if the 'Jiangshi' is in fact possessed in a similar manner to the Headcrab Zombies of Half-Life. The glimpse we've had of its bulbous face seems to show that it has multiple eyes and a mouth and that it's glowing - this could indicate that a biomechanical lifeform has latched itself onto a human host and is controlling them.

Makes me wonder if Simon looks any better. We've been getting hints that SOMA's protagonist may not be entirely human.

[Fortigurn]

A thought about the monster design:

As ridiculous as "Disco Ball Head" looks, I wonder if the 'Jiangshi' is in fact possessed in a similar manner to the Headcrab Zombies of Half-Life. The glimpse we've had of its bulbous face seems to show that it has multiple eyes and a mouth and that it's glowing - this could indicate that a biomechanical lifeform has latched itself onto a human host and is controlling them.

The 'brainless bodies on tables' scene gives me the impression that we're looking at human bodies with mechanical parts grafted on top of them. The bulbous face and multiple eyes are the mechanical replacements of the head and its sensory organs. One scene has a human body in a suit, with an open helmet and wire (or tentacles?), emerging from where the face should be; see here.

Add this scene of a disembodied brain hooked up to some kind of machinery, and I'm even more convinced we're looking at humans whose consciousnesses are being digitally copied from their brains (is this what's happening to the brain in this scene?), their consciousness implanted into machines (see the 'Mockingbird' trailer), and human bodies having mechanical parts added to them (as in here), which not only include replacing sensory organs but may also include replacing their original brains with mechanical brains with digital copies of their consciousness (Disco Ball Head man).

Makes me wonder if Simon looks any better. We've been getting hints that SOMA's protagonist may not be entirely human.

Exactly. And I think his name is Neville.

[Kein]

Makes me wonder if Simon looks any better. We've been getting hints that SOMA's protagonist may not be entirely human.

I had this suspicion since very beginning and expressed it few times. May be the realization of this will be part of the experience and story at the end?

[SeanieTheMan]

Why didn't RPS like SOMA?

[Fortigurn]

Why didn't RPS like SOMA?

Because they saw a tiny scrap of a pre-alpha build and were disappointed by their own unrealistic expectations.

[Googolplex]

"For instance, if the player happened to run through a room three times, then a specific event should happen, or the chances of that specific event happening should increase.

That makes it more interesting for the player, even though they’ve run through that same room several times."

I really like that idea!

[Slanderous]

Ym, not sure if you have seen this guys...

COMING: Q4 2014

[Sampyli]

Ym, not sure if you have seen this guys...

COMING: Q4 2014

Ym, not sure if you have seen .. "Mod DB"

Not exactly the most reliable source : P Frictional has been saying 2015 in interviews and trailers and now they suddenly secretly revealed the new release date to Mod DB? It was the same thing with AMFP.

[PutraenusAlivius]

Um, not sure if you have seen this guys...

COMING: Q4 2014

Never trust ModDB. The guys that made the pages ARE NOT Frictional. The same goes for AAMFP. They misled us too.