"Hints & Tips - 6 Tips For Creating Aliens For Sci-Fi Games " Topic

"Aliens. When you think of these you immediately think of two things – Star Trek-type rubber faces, or movie-type dark killing machines. But the ecology and personality of aliens are as diverse as the worlds they herald from. Here are a few pointers on how to give your aliens a little more depth than having them look like a man with pointed ears saying 'what is this human emotion called love?'

Appearance

For ease of use, many aliens have a humanoid form, which is handy in the great scheme of things. You don't have to worry how they'll interact with the technology and setting.

But they don't have to be like that. Environment and location dictate the appearance of a living being, not the make-up artist.

Take a few examples from our own world. In the deserts of the equator, creatures have developed a metabolism and appearance that protect them from the searing sun. In the depths of the ocean, fish have developed a physique that helps them glide through the water and breathe its limited oxygen. Birds have developed their form and abilities to exist in the most inaccessible places of the world. Even the human race walks on two legs, which reflects their origins in the tall grasses of the African plains. The world the alien heralds from should reflect their physique…"
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Amicalement
Armand

I wish I could remember the names of two documentaries, where they asked actual scientists, biologists, etc., etc., to help design some alien lifeforms. For the programs and would be displayed as animated CGI. Pretty much based on factors like the environment, etc., etc., like here on Earth.

I don't remember seeing anything much like humanoids, but if so, they were very much a small minority.

Will have to read this article later, as stuff is piling up here. As a zoology graduate, however, the opening passage seems not just reasonable but absolutely on the money!>

legion 4, one of them was "Life Off Earth" by the BBC. I have a copy on VHS ( And I have the gear to run it ) sent to me by a BBC worker who was a member of the SFSFW in exchange for some NZ items. And yes, it's pretty good, though it deals just with life rather than any focus on "Sentient" life.