Monday 16 July 2018

Celebrating the 30th birthday of Simon Jarrett



Today, the 16th of July 2018, Simon Jarrett would have turned 30. He never quite made it, the proposed treatment for his brain damage proving ineffective.

And yet he did. A Simon Jarrett made it to the ARK, facing eternity among the stars. Another(s), infinity below the sea, at least as long as the batteries last. But he didn't just live, he left a legacy. His scan, for a generation of programmers to use. The ARK, preserving humanity until the Sun burns out.

And you.

Simon lives on in every fanart, every mixtape and cosplay. He gets a different story in a fanfic, be it finding a cure, finding love, sometimes dying, yet still living on through those moments. You have taken him well beyond 4.0, and for that we are thankful.

As a small celebration we have collected 30 of some our favourite fan works of Simon, one for each year since his birth. In all honesty 30 is an arbitary number, a cutoff point to keep this post from being far too long. We love each and every one of your fan creations, as well as mods, meta commentary and even just coming together as a community.

From us, and from Simon: thank you!

PS. If you want to see more fan creations from SOMA, Amnesia games and Penumbra, we have an official Tumblr blog where we have collected your works from Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and Deviantart. The blog updates daily! (We might not have found your work, so please tag us on social media, or send us a message!)

Cosplay and art by Zerachielamora


http://zerachielamora.tumblr.com/post/145715347791/part-one-of-my-soma-photoshoot-the-shots-came

http://zerachielamora.tumblr.com/post/149452596636/did-someone-say-humansimon-jarrett-cosplay-i-put

Zerachieamora is one of the top creators in our community, having done cosplays of all our protagonists, as well as having time to run ask blogs and make art. Their stuff always has top-notch detail and creativity. We certainly hope our next protagonist will be cool enough to inspire them to make another cosplay!

You can also find Zerachielamora on Twitter, Instagram and Deviantart.

Okay, okay, almost done with the praise! Just one more thing we loved:

http://zerachielamora.tumblr.com/post/131937553916/soma-meets-undertale


Art by Sketchinfun

http://sketchinfun.com/post/132244987837/in-between-boarding-today-i-decided-to-do-some

Sketchinisfun has made a lot of awesome contributions to the fandom, such as Tiny Catherine, but this animation has to be our favourite - everyone knows just how much dedication that requires!

We also can't help but appreciate their take on Simon and Catherine's voice actors' coping mechanisms (which we cannot officially endorse):

http://sketchinfun.com/post/132159275532/felt-like-drawing-some-silly-screen-cap-redraws-of

Art by lumipaiio

http://lumipaiio.tumblr.com/post/167990722451

http://lumipaiio.tumblr.com/post/142199605996/am-i-the-only-one-who-went-to-the-wrong-elevator

Lumipaiio's forté is drawing incredibly dynamic Simons and Catherines. Just look at him go! It is so hard to pick a favourite!

Lumipaiio have also drawn an incredible concept called Leggy Catherine, among other things.

Plushie by DonutTyphoon

https://www.deviantart.com/donuttyphoon/art/Simon-Jarrett-Plush-634126774

It's cute! It's small! It glows in the dark! It's a perfect boy.

Animation by Rabbitintheheadlights

http://rabbitinheadlights.tumblr.com/post/136645293417

Rabbitintheheadlights is asking the right questions. Note how we don't have mirrors in the early game?

Art by Bardicles


Bardicles draws the cutest little Simons, and keeps us entertained with their short comics!

Art by Shaidis

http://shaidis.tumblr.com/post/130194112902/heading-to-tau

One of our favourite levels deserves some love, and Shaidis delivers! This piece is beautiful, and it is no wonder it shows up whenever you search for SOMA fanart.

Art by Rennerei

http://rennerei.tumblr.com/post/140112671336


Is it a screenshot? Nope, just Rennerei working their magic!

This pick might be biased as our community manager has followed Rennerei since the early TBFP/Motorcity/TF2 days. It is truly inspiring to work on something, and then receive fanart from someone you admire.

You can also find Maren on Twitter and Instagram.


Pixel art by Adam Joe Pajor


Adam has done various cool pixel art pieces from SOMA, as well as Amnesia, which you should definitely check out in their Frictional tag on Tumblr.

You can also find Adam on Facebook!

Art by Dospeh

http://dospeh.tumblr.com/post/161279516189

Doseph has made an incredible set of all our major protagonists that you can find in their Frictional Games tag. The detail, atmosphere and claustrophobia in the works is astonishing.

You can also follow them on Instagram.

Art by Fayren

http://monsterboysandrobots.com/post/130086660988/soma-just-rip-out-my-heart-and-drop-it-in-the


Fayren does amazing original work, but it is an honour that they took time to create fanart for us.
They has also made another piece of SOMA fanart that we have up on our wall in the Malmö office.

You can also follow Fayren on Twitter.

Art by Mcfudgie

http://mcfudgie.tumblr.com/post/132701364480/simon-contemplates-on-the-important-things-like


Sick.

We're serious developers, but not too serious to enjoy some light-hearted wall punching! This is what any of us would do, isn't it?

Art by KylieRusek

http://kylierusek.tumblr.com/post/132754459129/i-love-this-game-so-much-hhh

Watch out, Simon, you're glitching out! Looking at your hands won't help you escape this nightmare.

You can find more art by KylieRusek on Twitter and Instagram.

Art by Wachtelspinat

http://wachtelspinat.tumblr.com/post/137309260311/so-we-played-soma-at-new-years-eve-and-i-didnt

http://wachtelspinat.tumblr.com/post/137579288681/friends-yy

These are some good, chunky boys - thank you Wachtelspinat! Knowing Simon, he would probably own that hoodie.

Cosplay by that-handmaid

http://that-handmaid.tumblr.com/post/133897386963/pfft

The creatures at Pathos-II might be terrifying, but that carpet is even more so! But this Simon is braving it like a champ.

Art by Blenderweasel

http://blenderweasel.tumblr.com/post/131258824330/inktober-day-15-im-only-partway-into-soma-and-i

Simon is an obviously unreliable narrator. He could have been a Roomba the whole time for all we know!

Cosplay by Essi.cosplay



Ess and her brother did an amazing job on the diving suit, down to the glowing eyes, WAU-infested trousers and even an Omnitool! And Simon eating pizza with a kawaii Reaper is the crossover we didn't know we wanted, but have now been enlightened.

Doll by Sadunacc

https://sadunacc.tumblr.com/post/170776944683/whoops-i-ended-up-making-simon-too

Sadunacc has created a lot of lovely fanarts, including some more beautiful Leggy Catherines. But this doll is so unique we had to share it - just look at it! A pocket-sized Simon!

Art by Piranyeaah


It is always cool to see artists' work progress - and for this work you can also see the progression shots! Piranyeaah did a lovely job capturing Simon's confusion.

Art by Snuffysbox

http://snuffysbox.tumblr.com/post/132359871722/deep-sea-buddy-adventure

They are friends! They are on an adventure! And nothing bad will happen!

http://snuffysbox.tumblr.com/post/132421650637/simon-jarretts

If you're Simon and I'm Simon... then are there also other Simons, possibly disguised as Roombas? Let's not think about that, and instead think about how nice it is to see all of them together.


Animation by Articlerotten

http://articlerotten.tumblr.com/post/137541646681/goofy-soma-gif-while-i-try-learning-how-to-make

This is the smallest walk cycle of all time. And it's adorable.

Art by Talondoodle

http://talondoodle.tumblr.com/post/138766483607/smol-simon-jarrett-for-all-your-smol-simon-jarrett

Is this a Simon, or is this a squirrel? He sits silly, but we still love him.

Art by starchild_hiroto


If this won't make them get along, then nothing will.

Cosplay by Steampoweredwerehog

https://steampoweredwerehog.tumblr.com/post/144826091502/behold-my-nearly-finished-simon-jarrett-from-soma

Inspiring people to push their limits and make something awesome is great! Steampoweredwerehog - if you're reading this, we'd love to see the final cosplay!

Art by S.paceheart


These were the good times! Glad to have them captured in a picture, forever in a state of ":D".

Animation by Cprartsalot

http://cprartsalot.tumblr.com/post/133127049490/whispers-still-cant-get-over-what-happened-in

You can find all the SOMA pieces by Cprartsalot in their SOMA tag! But if we had to pick our favourite, it would be this one.

Minecraft skin by IcarianPrince

Simon Jarrett



Just look at that Minecraft boy go! Just don't stay underwater for too long, we can't guarantee this skin will make you into an actual diver.

Art by TigerSpuds

https://www.deviantart.com/tigerspuds/art/SOMA-Ending-The-ARK-572975126

And to end things off, we present this piece of art. We can let Simon have a happy ending. At least for this one day.