Here, some ideas
Create some epic creatures. There was incredible moment where we were talking with a giant Leviatan.
Alien with a body builded from the pure energy.
Alien from a planet with red forests and plants
Inteligent alien. Talking by telepathy
Alien from the "water planet". With a view lands but very wet and full of green. But mainly with life underwater.
Ancient civilisation
And some uninteligent breed
we probably don't even need to look for new ones- simply implementing what the artists have drawn from the beginning will be fresh enough for us. The weak point seems to be the engine handling them in confined spaces and the limited number of good modellers around (They're the expensive arty ones that are prone to diva explosions).
Here is what I mean :
and
Outside of the interaction with more 'alien' aliens, I would like to see a larger focus on non-humanoid species as well. I appreciate when the writers of a setting can make the aliens feel foreign to us, but I like it even more when the aliens in question don't look like a human in a rubber costume. Obviously, animation for such things comes at a cost, but I personally think that such an expenditure of resources would be worth it to help distinguish a game like ME from 99.9999% of all the other mainstream sci-fi settings out there. Plus, as an RPG with multiplayer capabilities, its a crime to relegate non-humanoid aliens like the Rachni and Elcor as glorified background props (IMO).
Now granted, the multiplayer side of things isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it would provide the perfect testbed for such unique kit ideas, and robust animation skeletons. Keep the single player campaign filled with rubber fore headed human look-a-likes if you have to, but multiplayer doesn't really have an excuse to not add such outliers to the game.
*Mini Rant incoming*
I am still baffled as to how some people can go on and on about how such requests are too hard or impossible to do when we've had something like Gears of War 3's Beast Mode that came out years ago for a third person shooter.
It's obviously not because such non-humanoid kits are impossible to do. And it's obvious that adding in such elements didn't take everything else away from the rest of the game. I would like to see BioWare put forth the effort and give us something truly alien in appearance to play as in MP, at least show us that the entire universe isn't inhabited solely by creatures with just two arms and legs and one head.
*End of mini rant*
One of the things I really liked about several ME aliens is their different sentence structure and linguistics.Salarians in particular (Mordin esp.).
The rachnii queen spoke using poetic descriptions of our human language; she described it as songs and colors (I think that's how she described it on Noveria).
I'm not sure how far alien linguistics can be pushed (of course it will NOT be yoda-speak: Subject > Object > conjugated verb style), but I really liked what the ME writers were able to create. Perhaps we'll see something new.
I grinned from ear to ear when Mordin sang his modified version of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Major-General's Song', from the1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. I never expected to hear something like that in a Sci-fi game, and coming from an alien at that. Some may call it 'corny' or 'hamming it up,' which it is, but it fits his quirky personality perfectly; it's creative-license genius infused into a lovable and interesting alien character. I admired Mordin all the more.
ME writing did a very good job of maintaining pretty consistent character behaviors and linguistics for each of the alien types, and I'm sure this will continue.
The Rachni were brilliantly written. What they were describing as "songs" was written more as a sound-color-taste/touch form of synesthesia - "sour yellow notes", "songs the color of oily shadows". They had a truly alien mind, unlike anything a human being could perceive, and in trying to describe their own experience, it came off as bizarre and difficult to understand. Like people with sound-color synesthesia, when they describe - say, the various forms of a C note being various shades of green, it sounds bizarre to most of us. But to them, a song is a beautiful symphony of sound and color, they can't have one without the other, there is no "sound" or "color" to them, but an inseparable combination of both. The Rachni, apparently, describe their experience as similar but more profound.One of the things I really liked about several ME aliens is their different sentence structure and linguistics.
Salarians in particular (Mordin esp.), and the rachnii queen who spoke using poetic synonyms; she described our spoken language as songs (I think that's how she described it on Noveria). I'm not sure how far alien linguistics can be pushed (of course it will NOT be yoda-esque: Subject > Object > conjugated verb style), but I really liked what the ME writers were able to create. Perhaps we'll see something new.
I grinned from ear to ear when Mordin sang his modified version of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Major-General's Song', from the1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. I never expected to hear something like that in a Sci-fi game, and coming from an alien at that. Some may call it 'corny' or 'hamming it up,' which it is, but it fits his quirky personality perfectly; it's Inventive genius for an alien character.
ME writing did a very good job of maintaining pretty consistent character behaviors for each of the alien types, and I'm sure this will continue.
Very similar to the asari, but if ME:A takes place centuries in the future maybe they can evolve to look like this.
The Rachni were brilliantly written. What they were describing as "songs" was written more as a sound-color-taste/touch form of synesthesia - "sour yellow notes", "songs the color of oily shadows". They had a truly alien mind, unlike anything a human being could perceive, and in trying to describe their own experience, it came off as bizarre and difficult to understand. Like people with sound-color synesthesia, when they describe - say, the various forms of a C note being various shades of green, it sounds bizarre to most of us. But to them, a song is a beautiful symphony of sound and color, they can't have one without the other, there is no "sound" or "color" to them, but an inseparable combination of both. The Rachni, apparently, describe their experience as similar but more profound.
Whoever wrote the Rachni, two thumbs up from me.
Chris L'etoile.
Basically, anything that involved nuanced takes on 'alien' life, or a more solid/consistent take on the rules of the setting you can contribute to him... which really shows when he left after ME 2.
He also helped with dawngate (MOBA), which was cancelled by EA after just 6months (micro-transactions/ freeplay). Why was that type of mp never successful (ie what was the failed model that me mp will avoid?)Chris L'etoile.
Basically, anything that involved nuanced takes on 'alien' life, or a more solid/consistent take on the rules of the setting you can contribute to him... which really shows when he left after ME 2.
Of course. I should have guessed. Is there anyone still left on Andromeda as good as him?Chris L'etoile.
Basically, anything that involved nuanced takes on 'alien' life, or a more solid/consistent take on the rules of the setting you can contribute to him... which really shows when he left after ME 2.
Of course. I should have guessed. Is there anyone still left on Andromeda as good as him?
Edit: I'd even settle for half as good. The dude is seriously brilliant. They really lost something good with him.
The Rachni were brilliantly written. What they were describing as "songs" was written more as a sound-color-taste/touch form of synesthesia - "sour yellow notes", "songs the color of oily shadows". They had a truly alien mind, unlike anything a human being could perceive, and in trying to describe their own experience, it came off as bizarre and difficult to understand. Like people with sound-color synesthesia, when they describe - say, the various forms of a C note being various shades of green, it sounds bizarre to most of us. But to them, a song is a beautiful symphony of sound and color, they can't have one without the other, there is no "sound" or "color" to them, but an inseparable combination of both. The Rachni, apparently, describe their experience as similar but more profound.
Whoever wrote the Rachni, two thumbs up from me.
It was a big part of the reason why I couldn't kill the queen in ME1. Like, here's this fascinating bizarre creature that sees and hears the world so wildly different from us and it's at my mercy. How could I kill it? It's too bad that the thorian wasn't treated quite as well, what with the goofy asari clone and husk-like creeper thing, or that we had the option to spare it, being another odd unique life form.
The Rachni were brilliantly written. What they were describing as "songs" was written more as a sound-color-taste/touch form of synesthesia - "sour yellow notes", "songs the color of oily shadows". They had a truly alien mind, unlike anything a human being could perceive, and in trying to describe their own experience, it came off as bizarre and difficult to understand. Like people with sound-color synesthesia, when they describe - say, the various forms of a C note being various shades of green, it sounds bizarre to most of us. But to them, a song is a beautiful symphony of sound and color, they can't have one without the other, there is no "sound" or "color" to them, but an inseparable combination of both. The Rachni, apparently, describe their experience as similar but more profound.
Whoever wrote the Rachni, two thumbs up from me.
I adored this aspect of the Rachni to little bits and would absolutely love to see more of this when it comes to aliens and just in the Mass Effect series but in other games as well. It was so utterly fascinating even to someone who was not unfamilar with percieving and experiencing things that way.
I felt it was the right way of making something feel alien.
I adored this aspect of the Rachni to little bits and would absolutely love to see more of this when it comes to aliens and just in the Mass Effect series but in other games as well. It was so utterly fascinating even to someone who was not unfamilar with percieving and experiencing things that way.
I felt it was the right way of making something feel alien.
Same here, IMO ME 1 had the best take on the various alien species; the ME 2 Geth being a special case. It really sucked that the Rachni and aliens like the Hanar and Elcor got less and less screen time in subsequent titles, until they were reduced to a brief cameo/background prop, and/or a running gag.
I would have loved to explore and find out more about the Rachni or Elcor species, to learn more about Hanar culture and their unique duality over resolving some boring human's repressed daddy issues that's for sure.
Same here, IMO ME 1 had the best take on the various alien species; the ME 2 Geth being a special case. It really sucked that the Rachni and aliens like the Hanar and Elcor got less and less screen time in subsequent titles, until they were reduced to a brief cameo/background prop, and/or a running gag.
I would have loved to explore and find out more about the Rachni or Elcor species, to learn more about Hanar culture and their unique duality over resolving some boring human's repressed daddy issues that's for sure.
Sometimes I feel they focus too little on the aspect of space exploration that is exploring and understanding different lifeforms but that may be a bias on my part as it is one of my favorite part about science fiction featuring aliens.
I liked the Gree quest on Coruscant in Star Wars: The Old Republic quite a lot because by the end of it, I had learned to understand the Gree language to an extent through the quest alone. This is why I'm hoping for something similar in Andromeda because these kind of aspects to space exploring is something I find deeply fascinating and very enjoyable.
I'd love to have a race whose language cannot immediately or ever be translated by the universal translator and so we have to learn it through experience or have the universal translator encounter difficulties leaving the player and their crew to try and communicate with each other without it even if it is only for one mission.
Sometimes I feel they focus too little on the aspect of space exploration that is exploring and understanding different lifeforms but that may be a bias on my part as it is one of my favorite part about science fiction featuring aliens.
I liked the Gree quest on Coruscant in Star Wars: The Old Republic quite a lot because by the end of it, I had learned to understand the Gree language to an extent through the quest alone. This is why I'm hoping for something similar in Andromeda because these kind of aspects to space exploring is something I find deeply fascinating and very enjoyable.
I'd love to have a race whose language cannot immediately or ever be translated by the universal translator and so we have to learn it through experience or have the universal translator encounter difficulties leaving the player and their crew to try and communicate with each other without it even if it is only for one mission.
I would like a larger focus on elements like this as well. I would love to see BioWare writers explore the more 'alien' aliens as an actual species instead of a set piece. Encountering an alien like the Rachni, or Thorian (for example) should be more about understanding them and exploring what makes them so different from us vs. giving the player something new to shoot at.
One of the biggest things I really want ME:Andromeda to avoid is the steady trend of "human-ification" of the setting. Just look at BioWare's two most popular franchises, Dragon Age and Mass Effect, and compare the amount of 'alien'/non-human elements in the first game of the respective series to the most recent.
I really want to see this new title go back to, and maintain, that original level of nuance and keep that balance for any subsequent titles.
They need more variety when it comes to enemy types. Something less generic to make the game stand out from other titles already on the market.
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As long as it doesn't border on the ridiculous side.
On the other hand, I doubt Bio will stray to far from a working formula. Besides, creating new aliens is hard work.
For example:
The Turian -- face design seems to come from the Falcon/Eagle look.
The Krogan -- face design seems to be inspired by the Toad/Frog
The Drell -- the eyes are of reptilian origin and fish gills?
The Yahg -- eyes from the jumping spiders (they have 4 eyes)?
All the above to say that Earth creatures are the inspiration for the artist's creativity when designing alien species. From concept art to the finished product takes a long time. More alien species = higher production costs and more exotic = even higher costs.
At the moment I have no expectations other than to believe that the new alien LI is human like and the Khet bipedal.
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As long as it doesn't border on the ridiculous side.
On the other hand, I doubt Bio will stray to far from a working formula. Besides, creating new aliens is hard work.
For example:
The Turian -- face design seems to come from the Falcon/Eagle look.
The Krogan -- face design seems to be inspired by the Toad/Frog
The Drell -- the eyes are of reptilian origin and fish gills?
The Yahg -- eyes from the jumping spiders (they have 4 eyes)?
All the above to say that Earth creatures are the inspiration for the artist's creativity when designing alien species. From concept art to the finished product takes a long time. More alien species = higher production costs and more exotic = even higher costs.
At the moment I have no expectations other than to believe that the new alien LI is human like and the Khet bipedal.
I think it would be better to focus on them having the cultures of the new aliens feel alien rather than focus on making the appearance be alien.
This should not be taken as me advocating green-skinned humans but more that I feel the current alien appearances like the ones you've mentioned are sufficent alien enough for what I think they can do and feature in the game so designs of similar alieness should suffice as long as they are accompanied by a sense of being alien in mind and culture.
This has been done before by taking inspirations from actually exisistent cultures that have elements to them that are relatively unknown or majorly different from what most people are familiar with.
I think it would be better to focus on them having the cultures of the new aliens feel alien rather than focus on making the appearance be alien.
This should not be taken as me advocating green-skinned humans but more that I feel the current alien appearances like the ones you've mentioned are sufficent alien enough for what I think they can do and feature in the game so designs of similar alieness should suffice as long as they are accompanied by a sense of being alien in mind and culture.
This has been done before by taking inspirations from actually exisistent cultures that have elements to them that are relatively unknown or majorly different from what most people are familiar with.
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I understand the alien cultural thing. But, going too far makes no sense.
Here is an example of going too far:
Suppose this new alien communicates via pheromones? As an advanced space faring race their electronic pheromone communications is totally alien to us. What common ground is there for humans and alien to communicate in any meaningful way?
Here is a light form:
The writers can include dialogue between the races with misunderstood concepts which can lead to hilarious banter.
Andromeda's theme is human centric. But, encountering an alien race with a sufficient divergent culture that leads to "fun banter/dialogue" isn't a bad thing.
Blindsight was an excellent science fiction exploration of the concepts of intelligences vs. consciousness as well as being one of the few narratives I've seen (though I will admit to not having a huge library of experience) to depict an 'alien' intelligence without resorting to the whole "Beyond our comprehension" copout either. I would like to see BioWare look towards concepts like this when creating new aliens for Mass Effect: Andromeda:
Spoiler
Sometimes I feel they focus too little on the aspect of space exploration that is exploring and understanding different lifeforms but that may be a bias on my part as it is one of my favorite part about science fiction featuring aliens.
I liked the Gree quest on Coruscant in Star Wars: The Old Republic quite a lot because by the end of it, I had learned to understand the Gree language to an extent through the quest alone. This is why I'm hoping for something similar in Andromeda because these kind of aspects to space exploring is something I find deeply fascinating and very enjoyable.
I'd love to have a race whose language cannot immediately or ever be translated by the universal translator and so we have to learn it through experience or have the universal translator encounter difficulties leaving the player and their crew to try and communicate with each other without it even if it is only for one mission.
<<<<<<<<<<(0)>>>>>>>>>>
As long as it doesn't border on the ridiculous side.
On the other hand, I doubt Bio will stray to far from a working formula. Besides, creating new aliens is hard work.
For example:
The Turian -- face design seems to come from the Falcon/Eagle look.
The Krogan -- face design seems to be inspired by the Toad/Frog
The Drell -- the eyes are of reptilian origin and fish gills?
The Yahg -- eyes from the jumping spiders (they have 4 eyes)?
All the above to say that Earth creatures are the inspiration for the artist's creativity when designing alien species. From concept art to the finished product takes a long time. More alien species = higher production costs and more exotic = even higher costs.
At the moment I have no expectations other than to believe that the new alien LI is human like and the Khet bipedal.
There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom.
Holy crap. I just read through this thread and there's actually legit discussion about the importance of alien lore, setting and sci fi happening in the Andromeda forum.
I must have stepped through a dimensional portal by accident. 
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