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SOMA Has Been Inspired By Doom 3, Bioshock, Spec Ops: The Line & Silent Hill

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Frictional Games’ SOMA is one of our most highly anticipated indie horror games of 2015. Powered by the HPL Engine, SOMA is coming to the PC this September and when it first proper gameplay footage surfaced, the game’s environment immediately reminded us those of Doom 3. As Thomas Grip, Creative Director and co-founder of Frictional Games, told us, SOMA has been inspired by Doom 3, Bioshock, Spec Ops: The Line and Silent Hill.

Regarding Doom 3, Thomas told us that he was impressed with the way the in-game terminals worked in id Software’s shooter, and that SOMA’s terminals are heavily inspired by those found in Doom 3.

“One big inspiration that we took from Doom 3 is its terminals. I loved how they felt part of the game world and how immersive it was to use them. In SOMA there are a lot of different ones from the player to find and mess around with and is a big part of the game. They work pretty much the same way as in Doom 3 expect that you need to click one before you can interact, but otherwise it is very much the same.”

As for the other titles, here is what Thomas had to say:

– Bioshock. I just love the first 20 or so minutes of that game, the narrative just unfolds in a such a great and immersive way.
– Spec Ops: The Line. The way they handle moral choices in an analog fashion has been a big inspiration for how we handle ours
– Silent Hill. The way in which you get to play through horrific scenarios, and not just watch cut-scenes, is a big influence.

Our full interview with Thomas will go live later this week, so stay tuned for more!