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

Here are Simon and most mockingbirds from soma. There's a few more I will add if I remake this on my computer. Im not even going to try on my phone. For anyone who doesn't know, mockingbirds are basically crazy robots that think they're people (for the most part). Don't know for sure if the cute k8 bot is a mockingbird but there is evidence to prove it #frictionalgames

A post shared by Lizzy (@bardicles) on Mar 5, 2018 at 2:37pm PST

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

Simon Jarrett

Fixed a few things...#pixelart #SOMA #gamedev @frictionalgames pic.twitter.com/z6HMCbTTQN

— Adam *Joe* Pajor (@JoeJoePajor) March 21, 2016

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

@blizzard @frictionalgames WE NEED this crossover rn. #cosplay # Simon # soma #frictionalgames #reaper #overwatch #overwatchcosplay #armor #armorbuilding #evafoam #cosplaygirl #blizzard # gaming #kawaii #darkhorsecomics #eccc2018 #eccc

A post shared by Ess (@essi.cosplay) on Mar 9, 2018 at 7:43pm PST

The con crunch is over!!! All 3 cosplays for #Eccc are complete, now let's hope for some good weather this weekend. #simonjarrett #soma #Eccc

A post shared by Ess (@essi.cosplay) on Feb 25, 2018 at 6:34pm PST

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

You know, I woke up in my bed today, it just so happens to have been 100 years ago. @frictionalgames . . . . #soma #frictionalgames #videogames #scifi #fanart #sketchdaily #art #artsy #artist #sketch #painting #illustration #drawing #draw #gallery #masterpiece #creative #graphic #graphics #artoftheday #instaart #instaartist #artistsoninstagram #draweveryday #artistsofinstagram #worldofartists #digitalart

A post shared by Anja Ćuk - piranyeah (@piranyeaah) on Aug 7, 2017 at 5:45pm PDT

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

Dood #soma #frictionalgames #catherinechun #simonjarrett #draw #doodle #myart

A post shared by Kazemaru didn't deserved this (@starchild_hiroto) on Jan 26, 2016 at 5:20pm PST

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

"good robot" i've been watching cryaotic play SOMA lately, and it was rly good, i just had to draw fanart. #soma #somagame #simonjarrett #k8 #myart

A post shared by 💕Scar💜 (@s.paceheart) on Oct 18, 2015 at 8:51am PDT

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

View 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.

Best of 2011

Since 2012 is here I thought it might be a good time for a short best of 2011 list! Note that only games that have been released during 2011 are included (and not games that I have played last year). So without further ado, here are my top picks from the past year (starting in reverse order, to make things exciting!):

3 - Portal 2

What I liked the most about Portal 2 were these little moments where you really felt immersed in the world. For example if you hesitate to follow Wheatly's advice and a make a not very safe looking leap down, he will try to persuade you using hilarious quips. These (unfortunately sparse) moments created this kind of special connection to characters you rarely see in games. There also exists a very strong sense of place in Portal 2. I think this is mostly created by how the dialog and environments come together and interact. Unfortunately most of this is in the first third or so and the game becomes more and more drawn out during the end. There is also a lot of really lackluster puzzle sections where you are simply trying to find the right area to place a portal. Despite these short comings, Portal 2 had me quite engaged and proved to be one of the better experiences of last year.


2 - To the Moon
I think the most interesting aspect of this game is how it in some ways is a culmination of a 25 years JPRPG pixel dramaturgy. The emotional displays of the simplistic sprites are very limited, but are used to perfection and creates a very powerful and mature narration. The game also feature very interesting take on puzzles and action. Sometimes it is possible to decide how much challenge you want and at other times the activities are irrelevant and simply there to make you more connected to the world. Unfortunately this is at its best at the start of the game and it gets progressively worse. The end even contains a terrible action sequence.
What really brings the game home though, is how To the Moon manages to bring up mature themes in a way that is extremely rare in videogames. These play out in fairly non-interactive situations and thus are not any kind of revolution. But simply seeing a game where the core experience is a meditation on love, relationships, memory and what is really important in life, makes me really happy and hopeful.


1- Sword and Sworcery
This is by far my favorite game from last year. The videogame's strong focus on making something that blends interaction, music and visuals creates a really engaging experience. This is truly a game that aims to take you inside a another world and it is all about living it instead of trying to beat it. Another thing I really liked about it is how the game does not force you into continuing playing it. Sword and Sworcery actually explicitly tells you to take a rest and come back later between chapters. In an industry where it is all about getting players hooked and never stop playing, this is extremly refreshing to see. Combined with this, the game also asks you to reflect upon it and encourages the player to not just have a shallow, addictive experience. I really hope to see more of this! The game is not without flaws of course. There are lots of problems with the often annoying combat, repetitive puzzles, the twitter integration did not feel needed and some of the writing feels a bit too quirky and lazy. Still, Sword and Sworcery is quite the thing and I urge all of everyone to give it a go.


Now I am interested to hear which 3 games from 2011 were your favorites!