What other ways could the xel'naga been drawn like?

[ragnarok]

I still think my idea that the xel'naga actually looked like adorable stuffed animals is the best idea, precisely because it actively defies the audience's expectations of them as off-brand protoss. It gives them a distinct visual aesthetic from the zerg and protoss, since cute and furry is the opposite of those. It explains why the protoss and zerg beat them at combat too.

*Facepalm* You've been looking at telletubbies for too long....

[Mislagnissa]

*Facepalm* You've been looking at telletubbies for too long....

You are unable to comprehend of aliens that do not look like the product of focus group testing based on what appeals to teenage boys. There is no reason why the xel'naga could not have been green feathered bird people, purple furry cat people, tiny bug-eyed frog people, etc other than you being biased because you think that is totally uncool or whatever shallow reason you came up with.

Scientifically plausible aliens can look very freakish, nothing like zerg or protoss. Look at the art of Nemo Ramjet or Alex Ries for starters.

[sandwich_bird]

It depends what you're going for aesthetically. If we're talking about the somewhat photo-realistic grim look of SC1, an Ewok look doesn't fit at all for the Xel-Naga.

Starcraft is also not a universe that try to surprise you visually. The look of objects fit the theme of what the object is. The Xel-Naga are a highly advanced civilization. When you think of them, you might think of ancient and "grandeur". So the look should fit that expectation. If they were fluffy cats, you'd just think "lol wtf" instead of "wow!". The universe is already enough of a joke, the last thing I want is for a reboot to make it worse.

[Mislagnissa]

It depends what you're going for aesthetically. If we're talking about the somewhat photo-realistic grim look of SC1, an Ewok look doesn't fit at all for the Xel-Naga.

Starcraft is also not a universe that try to surprise you visually. The look of objects fit the theme of what the object is. The Xel-Naga are a highly advanced civilization. When you think of them, you might think of ancient and "grandeur". So the look should fit that expectation. If they were fluffy cats, you'd just think "lol wtf" instead of "wow!". The universe is already enough of a joke, the last thing I want is for a reboot to make it worse.

The naga were peaceful scientists who got their asses handed to them by their vicious creations. That doesn’t make me think they would look ostentatious (which is already the protoss’ shtick). They were worshiped as gods by people who didn’t know better, but that doesn’t mean they were absurdly vain, egotistical and fabulously dressed like the goa’uld from Stargate. Prior to all the retcons about their magical temples and gates, they sounded like textbook mad scientists.

Something like this looks better for conveying the mad scientist angle: http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthr...=1#post1207167

[sandwich_bird]

I'm on-board with that look and the argument. Very nice! Really capture the alien frail mad scientist aesthetic. Would just change the skull to be less humanoid. If we'd keep the temples and what not, I'd change the suit to be more cubic and a bit more pretentious. Either that or change the temples to be more like something from H R Giger.

[ragnarok]

You are unable to comprehend of aliens that do not look like the product of focus group testing based on what appeals to teenage boys. There is no reason why the xel'naga could not have been green feathered bird people, purple furry cat people, tiny bug-eyed frog people, etc other than you being biased because you think that is totally uncool or whatever shallow reason you came up with.

Scientifically plausible aliens can look very freakish, nothing like zerg or protoss. Look at the art of Nemo Ramjet or Alex Ries for starters.

You don't know that for certain. You're acting like they MUST be make to look freakish. I don't think even back in SC1 they were trying to imply that

[Mislagnissa]

You don't know that for certain. You're acting like they MUST be make to look freakish. I don't think even back in SC1 they were trying to imply that

There is a difference between freakish, scientifically plausible, and blatantly unrealistic. The species the zerg breeds are derived from seem scientifically plausible, whereas the protoss are not scientifically plausible and seem straight out of Star Trek or Star Wars.

The manual did not imply anything at all about the xel'naga's appearance, except that it was probably very unfamiliar to us because they traveled from another galaxy and had probably dramatically altered their appearance with their genetic technology. The idea that they looked like protoss, even though that makes no sense, originates from fanfiction.

The xel'naga building sprites made up for Brood War clearly look like they belong to a different game, and the temple and gate have completely different aesthetics that make no sense as part of the same civilization. (Realistically civilizations do not use the same aesthetic for everything, but this is a strategy video game where every structure and unit needs to be immediately identifiable as part of a unified force.)

[ragnarok]

There is a difference between freakish, scientifically plausible, and blatantly unrealistic. The species the zerg breeds are derived from seem scientifically plausible, whereas the protoss are not scientifically plausible and seem straight out of Star Trek or Star Wars.

The manual did not imply anything at all about the xel'naga's appearance, except that it was probably very unfamiliar to us because they traveled from another galaxy and had probably dramatically altered their appearance with their genetic technology. The idea that they looked like protoss, even though that makes no sense, originates from fanfiction.

The xel'naga building sprites made up for Brood War clearly look like they belong to a different game, and the temple and gate have completely different aesthetics that make no sense as part of the same civilization. (Realistically civilizations do not use the same aesthetic for everything, but this is a strategy video game where every structure and unit needs to be immediately identifiable as part of a unified force.)

Blatantly unrealistic varies from person to person. And in the end this is what separates us from the criticism of the whole thing.