Possible influence on Subnautica: "Worlds Apart" (The Outer Limits 1995, S02E10)

[Zemecon]

Just thought I would share this. I pointed it out on a thread once, months ago, and it didn't get much recognition. This is the 1995 series of The Outer Limits, season 2 and episode 10, and its similarities with Subnautica are very suggestive of a possible direct influence on the game. I won't give you any spoilers but if you are interested you can watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL8S-TNpHF8

You may want to watch it in full screen, though, as the video window is rather small. Or you can buy the second season of the series here:

https://www.amazon.ca/Outer-Limits-Complete-Second-Season/dp/B0051T51RM/ref=sr_1_3/143-7248377-5121615?ie=UTF8&qid=1492998487&sr=8-3&keywords=outer+limits+dvd

[Phoenix]

An astronaut crashes on an alien planet—but by some miracle he is quickly able to contact Earth and speak directly to the space agency behind his mission. Unfortunately, twenty years have passed for them and his former lover is now married to the director of the agency.

Yeah sure, sounds exactely like the plot of Subnautica. Honestly can't tell the difference.

[Zemecon]

Originally posted by Phoenix:

An astronaut crashes on an alien planet—but by some miracle he is quickly able to contact Earth and speak directly to the space agency behind his mission. Unfortunately, twenty years have passed for them and his former lover is now married to the director of the agency.

Yeah sure, sounds exactely like the plot of Subnautica. Honestly can't tell the difference.

Astronaut crashlands on an alien ocean world (and in a lifepod, no less), faces a giant sea creature, finds a way to contact someone from Earth, and ends up finding land with a bunch of oddly-coloured trees. It doesn't need to be a mirror copy but influences don't work that way. That would be plagiarism. This episode of The Outer Limits seems to have enough resemblances to suggest that someone from the Subnautica development team saw it and wanted to do something very similar but under slightly different conditions created by the different backgrounds the two characters have. And of course there will be other influences like the game Far Sky here on Steam and the film Waterworld, among others.

Think about it; what other works of fiction can you think of where a starship crewmember crashlands on an alien ocean world? I can't think of any off the top of my head. That seems ike a more-or-less direct influence to me.

EDIT 1: Fixed a typo.

EDIT 2: Added second paragraph and six words to first paragraph.

[Owlcyon]

I believe the the devs stated, one of their biggest inspirations for the game was 'The Abyss', among a few other things. Especially in the parallels between the Emperor and the being in the movie.

That, and our own ocean here on earth. There are so many things we haven't even laid eyes upon down there.

(The Abyss is one of those movies that everyone should see if they haven't yet. Fantastic movie.) More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Abyss

Edit: I'll see if I can find that post. I think it was Charlie that mentioned it.

Edit #2: I can't find the original post but Cory Strader ( "Squeal Like a Pig" here on Steam) Brought it up in this article on RPS:

"The references used for the look and feel of Subnautica are so varied and numerous it is hard to narrow down. Certainly the movie The Abyss was a big inspiration behind the game. Subnautica is like some mashup of The Abyss, Avatar, and Finding Nemo, in the way we tried to create a beautiful, vibrant and exotic world, in an underwater setting. It was important to have unique creatures and environments that are clearly alien, yet relatable and believable, therefore many real world references were closely studied to achieve the desired naturalistic look. I have folders filled with reference material of deep sea life and landscapes. Pictures of microscopy have also been great sources for alien textures and forms. Referencing the real world, as opposed to only looking at other games and movies that have come before, is key in developing designs that stand on their own."

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/13/subnautica-flora-artwork/