Greetings m’lords and m’ladies. I just thought I would write another post for Y’all on m’website. Got some new aliens for you. I’ve called them the Machinulans. Which might sound a bit weird – but just try to say it a few times. It starts to roll off the tongue. Most of the names I use are somehow derived from Latin or Spanish (with help from Google translate). Maybe later I will shorten these with nicknames to make them easier to pronounce.
Machinulans are an advanced cybernetic species. Over many years of experimentation on their bodies, they have developed skin and flesh that is more adaptable to artificial enhancements and implants. Relying heavily on cloning technology – the original version of the species known as the Precursors maintain total control over a network of lower-level automatons known as the Agents – that were cloned much later. We are not sure of their final intentions towards the human species. The original ambassadors that were sent to make contact with them were never heard from again. But so far there has been no direct hostility towards us. As strange as their society may seem to us we have tried to maintain openness to the possibility that they will be friendly.
I sped up their walk and run cycles so that they move rather quickly – with the idea that their pneumatic legs would increase their mobility. They use machine pistols and fire multiple solid projectiles at once. This makes them quite scary to face but prevents them from doing as much DPS. Their ships will have slightly above average shielding and armor compared to the other species but their ship-to-ship weapons will be similar to their crew weapons in that they will fire quickly but do less DPS.
My goal is to have variation between the alien species but balance as well. If you place any two similar ships from any two species in the same local space and have them “duke it out” – they should come out fairly equal.
I’m not sure if my modelling skills are getting better. I spent a lot longer on this model than I have on the others but it also looks quite good to me. Especially in game:
There is a certain creepiness to them. I think the mixture of the organic and the mechanical adds a sense of strangeness to them. The one on our right is the leader version – one of the “Precursors” – the one on our left is an “Agent”. The precursor version is dirtier and also doesn’t have an eye implant – because the precursors are based on an older design than the agents.
It is interesting how many ideas develop in your mind when you create visual art. I think that is why I am saving writing the story for later in my development process. I want to do much of the systematic art – and maybe the sound – and then I want to be inspired by that art to write something with a coherent theme and a message that I feel is important. I can’t help but write down ideas here and there. But for the overall story I want to wait a bit. I’m not even sure whether or not I want to go the serious or the comedic route yet. Or maybe somewhere in between is the most likely.
Well there you go. Some rambling for you on my plans for the future for anyone who might read this.
I’ve got three more alien species I want to do.
