soma
Latest
Soma's smart bra means never buying the wrong size again
Soma is bringing Bluetooth to the bra world. The Somainnofit bra is designed to help women determine their actual bra size, simply by slipping it on. It's a black, sports-bra-style garment with four sewn-in strips running horizontally across the fabric and a bright red line along the cup line, measuring a woman's bust in the necessary locations for a fitting. The strips meet in the back of the bra, at an orange rectangle equipped with Bluetooth and a measurement sensor.
Soma’s smart bra helps women find the right size
Finding the right bra size can be an arduous process, and the vast majority of women aren't wearing the size they should. But Soma is looking to make it slightly less awful to track down the right bra. The company is debuting its Somainnofit technology this week at CES, which includes a Bluetooth-connected bra that can measure women for fit and an app that can then suggest which bra styles and sizes will fit best.
'Until Dawn' headlines this month's horrific PS Now additions
Two years later and Sony finally got the timing right for PlayStation 4's choose-your-own-horror adventure Until Dawn. The Hayden-Panettiere-starring interactive movie is perfect for Halloween frights, and if you're a PlayStation Now subscriber, you can play it, well, now. It isn't the only fright fest being added to the service, either. Frictional Games' sub-aquatic tale of terror, SOMA, is on offer as well as the macabre mystery The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. Don't feel like getting scared? There's always David Cage's Beyond: Two Souls and, umm, Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders.
'SOMA' nearly wasn't a horror game and other secrets from Ian Thomas
The developers at Frictional Games have a lot to live up to. This is the independent studio responsible for Amnesia: The Dark Descent, a terrifying first-person game fraught with monsters, mysterious shadows, haunting candlelight and devious puzzles. Amnesia won a handful of awards after its launch in 2010, including two at the Independent Games Festival, and it's widely considered a modern horror classic. SOMA is Frictional's first game since that success (the studio didn't even develop Amnesia's 2013 sequel), and it's an underwater, sci-fi adventure. And, of course, it's a horror game. This means the pressure is on for programmer Ian Thomas. He joined Frictional a few years into SOMA's development and he's been "bowled over" by the response to his studio's latest project. For Thomas, it's good to know that Frictional's instincts were spot-on, especially considering SOMA was almost a very different game.
Playdate: A (probably terrifying) chat with 'SOMA' dev Ian Thomas
Well, the chat may not be terrifying, but the game certainly will be. Today on Playdate, we're diving into two horrifying, Halloween-worthy games, SOMA and PT. SOMA is the creepy underwater game from Amnesia: The Dark Descent studio Frictional Games, and PT is Konami's once-promising haunted-house exploration teaser for a game that's sadly not going to be made. While we're playing SOMA, we'll conduct a live interview with Ian Thomas, Frictional's level scripter and gameplay programmer. Let's find out what makes a master of digital horror tick. Playdate kicks off at 6PM Eastern/3PM Pacific and you can watch live right in this post, on the Engadget Gaming homepage or on Twitch.tv/Joystiq.
Highly anticipated horror game 'SOMA' hits PC and PS4 in September
Acclaimed developer Frictional Games has fully taken the wraps off SOMA, it's super-hyped new sci-fi horror title. The company, which built it reputation on terrifying first-person games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Penumbra, that focus on atmosphere, exploration and hiding (a lot of hiding). And you can expect more of the same from SOMA apparently. In the first extensive gameplay trailer released an unnamed protagonist wanders around what appears to be an abandoned factory, talking to a robot that thinks its a person, redirecting power through the crumbing facility and generally avoiding a frightening robot that's not terribly unlike the Big Daddies from the Bio Shock series. We won't spoil all the fun though. You can watch the full video after the break and pick up the game on September 22nd for PC and PS4.
Joystiq Weekly: Amazon Fire TV, Reaper of Souls review, Mario Kart 8 video preview and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. With this week's announcement and release of the gaming-capable Amazon Fire TV, we're starting to think we'll need a spreadhseet to keep track of all the gaming platforms that aren't from Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft. Want to check Instagram after a round of Super Hexagon on your TV? Okay, there's Mad Catz's MOJO for that. Want something a little beefier that you can take on the go? Alright, Nvidia's Shield might be your thing. Spreadsheets are boring though - maybe a mock Pokedex would work better? Come on, it'd be fun! We could assign attributes, treat future improvements as evolutions and pit them against each other in battles! There could a category for dual-type devices like the Ouya, a console that's both its own thing and associated with a storefront on other platforms. We'd even have ghost-type entries, for efforts that have returned from the grave. We'll let this idea stew for a bit longer, but you can read this week's bulletpoints of news, previews and original content right now! Amy Hennig is now serving as creative director of a Star Wars game, Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls has been properly reviewed and we've got glimpses of Mario Kart 8 and Soma to share, too. It's all waiting for you with more stories after the break!
Video preview: Diving into deep sea terror with Amnesia dev's Soma
Spoiler warning: This post and the video above contain light story spoilers for Soma, including the appearance of one of the game's enemies. Soma, from Amnesia creator Frictional Games, takes place deep under the ocean. As it turns out, the oppressive, high-pressure atmosphere of the sea floor makes for a pretty spooky environment (who knew?). We got to spend some hands-on time with Soma at GDC last month, and we also got to pick the brain of Ian Thomas, programmer and narrative designer. Like Frictional's other games, Soma focuses primarily on psychological horror and environmental storytelling. We didn't learn too much about the story in our short play session, other than the main character is exploring a submerged scientific facility of some sort, and that he's trying to locate his colleagues. Strange, alien-looking cables and machinery seem to have penetrated the facility and, we learned through a series of flashbacks, something went wrong. Exactly what went wrong is at the heart of the mystery, though the occasional bursts of static imply an air of technological horror. See it for yourself in our video preview and interview. Soma is slated to arrive on PC and PS4 in 2015.
Surprise! Soma is set under the ocean, not in outer space
A new trailer released today reveals that Frictional Games' upcoming horror-themed adventure game Soma takes place underwater, contrasting the game's previously assumed space setting. First revealed in October last year, Soma is the latest project from Amnesia: The Dark Descent developer Frictional Games. While little has been revealed regarding the game so far (thus the previous confusion regarding its setting), players in Soma are tasked with a salvage mission aboard a derelict craft where "machines are taking on human traits and alien constructions have started to interfere with routine." Soma is due to launch for PC platforms and the PlayStation 4 in 2015. [Video: Frictional Games]
New creepy environment video for SOMA-hhhhhhhhhh
Frictional Games' Soma, the sci-fi horror fest from the developers behind Amnesia: The Dark Descent, has a new environmental trailer out today featuring some ominous voiceover work. The suspense still has plenty of time to build. Soma won't launch on PC and PS4 until 2015.
New Soma video tours a creepy abandoned factory
Frictional Games, the developers behind Amnesia: The Dark Descent, has put out some new footage of its upcoming frightfrest, Soma. In this trailer, we tour a dimly-lit factory, though it's thankfully lacking in whatever scary things will mean us harm when Soma launches on PC and PS4 in 2015.
Amnesia developer reveals first Soma gameplay
Frictional Games, developer of super scary Amnesia: The Dark Descent and publisher of terror-fest Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, have lifted the sheet off their latest nightmare generator: Soma. Creepy sound design? Check. Atmospheric and foreboding visuals? Check. Me saying, "Nope, no no no no, noooooope. No." while watching the trailer? Check. So, yeah, Soma is looking great if you're into that sort of fear.
Second 'Soma' teaser video continues with the mechanical creepiness
Frictional Games unveiled a second teaser video for its latest project, Soma. Labeled "Item 4017: Mockingbird," the video shows a woman talking with a sentient machine, which doesn't quite seem to realize it's a machine. Things get more unsettling when she brings someone new into the conversation. We won't spoil what happens next, but it's perhaps relevant to mention that mockingbirds are known for mimicking the sounds of other creatures. The Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs developer kicked off its mysterious Soma campaign with a teaser site that later featured a five-minute video of the same woman performing maintenance on a large computer-like machine found during a salvage mission. The project's teaser site also includes a quote from Philip K. Dick's VALIS: "It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane." The novel delves into topics of divinity, reality and consciousness.
Amnesia developer reveals Soma, hints at science horror project
Frictional Games, known for the Amnesia and Penumbra series, has revealed the first glimpse of its next project. The teaser site discovered last week now points to somasystems.org, which currently hosts a "case file," with the indication that more are on the way. The case file in question tells the story of a strange machine that was uncovered during a "salvage mission." The machine is described as "a heavily modified monitor fixed to a massive nest of cables and controls." You don't have to imagine it though, as the machine is featured in the live-action video above. Give it a watch, and be sure to wait for it. The case file is called "Vivarium," which is essentially an artificial habitat. Given the reference to a salvage mission, it's possible that Soma (if indeed that is the game's name) could take place in space, or possibly a ravaged Earth. Meanwhile, the word "soma" apparently refers to a ritualistic drink often associated with immortality. Finally, there appears to be a Philip K. Dick quote scrambled in an image on the Soma website: "It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane." The quote is taken from one of Dick's novels, VALIS, which deals with the nature of reality, consciousness and divinity. Whatever Soma is, it appears that the project is leaning toward science-related horror, and we're just fine with that.
GDC08: An evening with Will Wright minus friends (video)
I applied for, and received an invitation to 'An Evening with Will Wright and Friends', held in Mezzanine, a swanky club in San Francisco's SOMA district on Thursday evening. I didn't know what exactly to expect, but I knew two things: 1) It wasn't going to be about Spore, and 2) It was Will Freaking Wright. How did I know Spore wasn't on the offering? 'Cause we're all kind of Spore'd out, aren't we?I was right about the lack of Spore, but was pleasantly surprised and gratified to hear Will speak on a variety of topics -- James Bond, cosmonauts, Gilligan's Island as the predecessor of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman comics, Godzilla, Care Bears, Lost, Walt Disney, Battlestar Galactica, Spiderman, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance -- before finally wrapping it all up with the observation that the stories that resonate with us are deconstructible; we can reduce them to components, and using those components, build our own stories. Finally, accepting questions from the audience, I asked him what advice he'd give NASA as they create their MMO. His friends never showed up, but man, Will Wright is always worth a listen. He knows his stuff so well and is such a wonderful speaker ... check out the video I shot after the break, and you'll see what I mean.
DS Daily: Whip it good
The morning light has vanquished the horrible night. What better time to talk about Castlevania? Well, if you're a frequent reader, you know that pretty much any time is a great time for us to talk about Castlevania, or Konami in general. No, it's no secret that we like our vampires whipped, and our piles of secrets miserable. It's also no secret that we've been more than pleased with the DS editions. But we have to wonder: after three GBA games in rapid succession and two DS games within a year of each other, is a steady diet of Castlevania a good thing? Is an annual release schedule too rushed? Is the franchise going to get stale, or, at least, is the current exploration-based Castlevania game type? Or is Castlevania ageless and immortal, like ... some kind of undead creature?
