| Deviant Login | Shop | Join deviantART for FREE  |
Take the Tour  |
#Sci-Fi-Society
#SCI-FI-ME
#The-Mantorian-Realm
#TheTravellerGroup
| Traditional Art / Drawings / Illustration / Storybook | ©2013 *Arcas-Art |
The Journal Portal
Browse Journals |
Polls |
deviantART [dee·vee·un'nt·ART]
Keep in Touch!
|
Deviousness `anmari has been spreading her infectious positivity throughout our community for over 6 years. Throughout this time Ana has been at the core of all things devious, passionately developing an eclectic gallery, helping organise devmeets, participating in chat events and also recently completed dedicating her time as a Community Volunteer. We are absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for May 2013 to `anmari, congratulations! Read More
|
Sta.sh
Unless.... need some coolant?
me into thinking that starfish are somehow "cuddly". Of all the aliens I've "encountered" in books, movies, TV shows, and (of course) myriad game worlds, none can compare to the Hivers.
I have pretty high expectations when it comes to life-forms from other worlds! Far too many Sci-Fi "aliens" are just "humans in rubber suits", with a few odd bumps or ridges, and usually with one emotion or personality trait exaggerated. "These aliens have a devotion to logic that borders on religion, while these aliens are ill-tempered and honor-bound". In case you can't tell, the endless parade of humanoid aliens in Star Trek that are fundamentally human is an old pet peeve...but even that setting managed to produce some very 'alien' aliens, mostly on the original series: the Tholians and the Horta come to mind...
Beyond physical appearance, most of the time some human culture is tweaked a bit and grafted on (the medieval Japanese seem to be popular), because its an enormous intellectual effort to create a genuinely alien culture and mind-set. Which is why I'm all the more impressed when a genuinely alien-looking race comes along that also has a very alien way of looking at the universe. My only regret is that I haven't yet had an opportunity to see a Hiver grace a movie or TV screen - CGI technology is certainly up to the challenge! For now, I must be content with the inscrutable Vorlons...
Hey, as a Traveller fan, maybe you can explain a piece of Hiver-trivia for me...
I saw the image in your gallery of a Hiver grav-bike, which was cool! I like the various Hiver devices that are designed for use with their oddly shaped "hands" like the guns that have a "ball" on them. What I have never understood, given their design aesthetic as expressed in their tools and building architecture, is why their spacecraft are portrayed as...flying boxes. I would expect a creature with radial symmetry to create something that...well, that was radial. At the very least, that had six sides (as they have six limbs, etc) I don't know, the blocky, sharp lines don't seem to fit with their physicality. I would expect something alot more "organic"-looking. What are your thoughts?
If you look at the design work done by myself and Bryan Gibson before the GURPS stuff was done, their design is not boxy at all.... but more organic as you suggest. Maybe now I know why a good friend and dedicated Traveller fan told me not to waste my money on the GURPS alien books. My brain would have imploded when I got the Hiver design section
I'm with ya on aliens.... I'm not a big fan of the "guy in lizard suit" school or alien creation.
however it in fact is more human than that really alien,...erm.....Alien
I like that dog-tag around its neck, a lot
What does it say? Can you remember?