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Name: SJ Sathanas
Series: Freespace (Videogame)
Alignment: Shivan
Notable Features: Forward Facing cannons, Insect like "shell" covering its rear-section
This is the biggest threat in the entire Freespace series, one that is very much apparent in this video.
Series: Freespace (Videogame)
Alignment: Shivan
Notable Features: Forward Facing cannons, Insect like "shell" covering its rear-section
This is the biggest threat in the entire Freespace series, one that is very much apparent in this video.
One of the reasons I find this design so appealing is the sheer intimidation factor of this Juggernaut. The very fact that one of these is enough to challenge the entirety of the Terran and Vasudan fleets is a fact that is made all the more profound when over eighty of them show up. It is the games way of demonstrating that the Shivans are always the superior species. The revelation of the juggernauts ultimate weapon and the dual purpose of its "arms" was something that inspired awe in me as a child. It was a beautiful moment to see the apocalypse happening in front of me. To this day I still love to see utter devastation unfold within games/films, it always looks spectacular.
The four "arms" not only serve as the Juggernauts main cannons and final weapon. They also give this ship its intimidating and imposing silhouette, as it emerges from subspace, the arms emerge first, echoing a giant cosmic maw - its almost Lovecraftian.
The four "arms" not only serve as the Juggernauts main cannons and final weapon. They also give this ship its intimidating and imposing silhouette, as it emerges from subspace, the arms emerge first, echoing a giant cosmic maw - its almost Lovecraftian.
(I will update this image with a better one I take myself, I havent access to the game as I type this)
There is a minor design flaw with these cannons however. They are situated too far forward of the front facing flak guns for them to offer any kind of protection, and the arms themselves have no point defences. They rely on the Juggernauts fighter compliment to protect them, as a skilled pilot carrying Helios torpedos can easily de-claw this monster.
There is a minor design flaw with these cannons however. They are situated too far forward of the front facing flak guns for them to offer any kind of protection, and the arms themselves have no point defences. They rely on the Juggernauts fighter compliment to protect them, as a skilled pilot carrying Helios torpedos can easily de-claw this monster.
The ships design follows the Shivan aesthetic of being very similar to insects. I'ts giant "maw" echoes the mandibles of insects and further adds to the connotations that this ship could devour the GTVA fleet. The other design aspect that adds to this is the "shell" like covering that runs along the rear-section of the ship. Very similar to the carapace an insect has covering its wings, this section provides surface area with which a lot of the Sathanas' point defence weaponry is situated. It also provides a degree of protection for the underside of the ship -including the engines and the hangar - if being attacked from above.
I like how simple the overall forms of this design are, and how they combine to create such an imposing silhouette. The four arms, the carapace and the undercarriage. If I was to create a "Tank" style character I would attempt to keep in mind some of the logic applied here, simple aggressive shapes that work well together to create something striking.
And spikes.
Lots of spikes.
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And spikes.
Lots of spikes.
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Name: Nanosuit 2.0 (Prophet)
Series: Crysis (Videogames)
Alignment: Human
I could've either chosen this or Adam Jensen from Deus Ex: Human Revolution here, but the Nanosuit encapsulates more of the point of why I like these types of designs. Mainly the high-science biomechanoid style of armour. Ever since the Crysis series began I have been a huge fan of the way the Nanosuit has been portrayed as such an astounding piece of technology capable of turning an ordinary person into a near superhero.
Series: Crysis (Videogames)
Alignment: Human
I could've either chosen this or Adam Jensen from Deus Ex: Human Revolution here, but the Nanosuit encapsulates more of the point of why I like these types of designs. Mainly the high-science biomechanoid style of armour. Ever since the Crysis series began I have been a huge fan of the way the Nanosuit has been portrayed as such an astounding piece of technology capable of turning an ordinary person into a near superhero.
My love of this design stems from the fact it is portrayed as being the ultimate in refinement and a technological achievement like no other in this universe. Capable of interfacing directly with the biological systems of the human body, this hybrid of man and machine is why I find this design so appealing. The video illustrates some of these features beautifully, as the user engages different modes we can see an up-close look at what the suit itself is doing, this pleases me greatly as I love seeing things taken to that level of detail and thought.
This level of detail extends to having a fully modeled prototype version of the Nanosuit 1.0 within the game itself. This is another thing I love, not just in games but in all things. Its very well seeing the final product, but quite often its more interesting to see how they arrived at that final product and the steps that went into it.
(Another image I will update when I have access to the game itself)
The original suits handling of how the muscles are connected is also less elegant I thought. The large chunks of bulky metal are nowhere near as pleasing as the more refined and detailed connections present in version 2.0. The Nanosuit 2.0 also is a lot bulkier than its predecessor giving it a more stereotypical "hero" like appearance. It is a clever way of having an exaggerated musculature on a hero without resorting to comic proportions. The Nanosuit could be seen as a very high tech version of heroes such as "He-Man" and "Conan the Barbarian" a clever reinterpretation I thought.
As I said I could have used Adam Jensen to illustrate this, as both designs make heavy use of the bio-mechanoid concepts. However I feel like the Nanosuit 2.0 is portrayed as being more advanced and more refined than the augmentations in Human Revolution (Granted Deus Ex 1 had nano augmentations aswell, but I am not as familiar with those designs or the lore surrounding that game). The level of detail and refinement present here is something I will strive to achieve in my own design.
I did however have to include an image of Jensen, aswell as the Arm prosthesis that Ubisoft created for the game. It is too cool not to have in this little spiel about bio-mechanoid designs.
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Name: Hellknight
Series: Doom (Videogame)Alignment: Demons
Ahh the Hellknight. One of the most formidable foes you will fight in Doom 3, and one of the designs from this game I find the most memorable. Mainly in fact due to its raw power. As every aspect of its design serves to create an intimidatingly powerful creature. It may not be the most original or the most exciting design, but it's one that's stuck with me nonetheless.
The Hellknight is an example of having a very simple design. A lot of the basis for it is just following the standard human muscle structure, however with a more demonic appearance. The head of this creature is probably the most iconic part for me, its smooth skull somewhat echoes the domed head of the "Xenomorphs", whereas the wide jawline is another indication of the raw strength this creature possesses. A point of interest I always found was the use of more "humanoid" teeth. I feel it adds a certain air of familiarity about the creature that is unsettling, this combined with the blank eye-sockets serves to enhance just how creepy the design is.
One thing I have always liked design wise about the Hellknight is that is simultaneously both incredibly muscled and also extremely skinny underneath. In the image below you can clearly see his rib-cage sticking out. This I feel is important to the overall design as this kind of anatomy is practically impossible for a human, and its a case of having something familiar but warping and distorting it slightly to unsettle the player.
This is a good example of a brutish character as it acts almost animistic in its pursuit of the player, roaring and growling like a bear. Its imposing large silhouette is also a good way to illustrate the tough nature of these creature. In comparison to its close cousin (In design terms at least) the "Imp". The Imp is a a lesser version of the Hellknight (again only design wise, story wise they are unrelated, that is to say an Imp cannot become a Hellknight). The two designs are closely related in that one appears to just be a more powerful version of the other, and they carry similar themes. Well muscled, but skinny, mottled grey skin, the ability to throw fireballs and attack with their claws. However the imp has more eyes, appropriate as compared to the Hellknight the Imp is a highly nimble and mobile creature, and would perhaps require those eyes to navigate. The Hellknight on the other-hand usually just stomps slowly towards its target and may not require such a degree of spatial awareness.
The overall designs of the monsters in Doom are some of my favourites as it is a less traditional take on what demons would look like. However the Hellknight is my favourite and its the warping and distortion of established anatomy that I take away from these designs. Not so much that it looks implausible, but just enough to create something that looks new, different or unsettling.
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Name: Unggoy (Grunt)
Series: Halo (Videogame)
Alignment: Covenant
We've looked at a lot of large, powerful designs so let's now look at something decidedly smaller. The "Grunts" stand about 5' tall on average, decidedly shorter than most other things in the Halo Universe. It is this short stature that is used as a design shorthand to communicate the Grunts role on the battlefield. They are short, weak and plentiful. The fodder of this particular series.
(For the introduction only)
The small stature of these creatures is their biggest design feature, just as a large creature can create an imposing and powerful silhouette, the small stature of the Grunts are a good way to show the player that they do not pose much of a threat. The design of these creatures has not changed much over the years (At least until Halo 4) but a lot of the key features are the same.
One such feature is the fact that they cannot breathe Oxygen, instead they breathe Methane and carry a tank of it with them at all times, as-well as a re-breather. I do love how the Halo 4 redesign of these creatures changed how the "standard" variants re-breather works. The pipe coming out the side of the face adds a nice bit of assymetry to the design and is more "rugged" than the proper re-breathers used by the higher ranking members of the squad. A good visual indicator of which among the grunts would be the toughest or carry the deadliest weapons.
I do like the new design of the Grunt as it looks like it would be more plausible as a functional creature. The rough skin on the arms would provide a rudimentary armour and is probably a result of the Grunts semi-quadrupedal nature. Whereas the mouth area looks almost "turtle-like" to me, helped im sure by the tank on its back looking like a shell.
The Halo series has always been good for using visual cues such as colour, armour design and silhouette to help the player identify the ranks and class of enemy on the battlefield. It is something I will keep in mind. For the Grunts I do like seeing the inclusion of the fact it breathes methane, a nice hint at some alien biology. It also adds some purpose to the design of its armour & "backpack", and I like it when things in design have a purpose.
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Name: Moya
Series: Farscape (TV Series)
Alignment: Leviathan
I started with a spaceship, so I shall finish with a spaceship. A living spaceship. That is the key design of Moya that I love, she is the point at which creature and vehicle meet. She is designed with very organic flowing forms which seem to echo this fact.
Moya: Starburst
Her design is very ornate, the lines on her outer hull are accentuated when she enters "Starburst" one may assume that the pattern of these lines may mean something to other leviathans, like the markings on a bird.
The tail of Moya also serves a purpose, it seems to be how she concentrates her energy for a Starburst.
Leviathans are such an interesting race, they basically combine everything we associate with creatures and with starships. It is also a clever interpretation of how in some pieces of fiction ships and vehicles themselves are considered "characters". This is kind of an extension of that by actually making the ship itself into a creature, it has been imbued with more traditional character traits that we generally associate with more typical, humanoid characters.
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