The Book of Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual

Started by Perfect-Organism, May 16, 2017, 10:25:37 AM

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The Book of Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual (Read 16,796 times)

SM

They might be able to make an argument that it's transformative, but simply changing the colour and removing the tentacles is pretty weak.  It's effectively traced.  There are squillions of images of eggs in Fox's archives but they had to nick this one without even asking?

windebieste

Seeking permission to use content in a book can be as difficult as any other research activity undertaken for its preparation - and can extend its completion by any amount of time and effort.

Having said that, Locusta isn't exactly a difficult person to find.

I wouldn't even worry about pulling the 'transformative' component of copyright law out the hat to support its inclusion - I'd be more concerned about wanting to approach the artist (Locusta) for additional content on any future Project and the response I'd receive.

-Windebieste.

Olde

Olde

#32
The page cited earlier as well as the other pages available in the preview read terribly. This feels like it was written by a gushing fanboy making a game that would make Aliens: Colonial Marines look good. The third image preview in particular feels like it belongs in a propaganda video from Starship Troopers. It would be funny satire but unfortunately I don't think it is.

Plus the AR stuff is just a novelty and will be irrelevant when the apps become unavailable in two years.

Birth_Machine

Why is the layout for this so amateur? This looks like a first year computer arts student reproduced one of the 90s DVD menus through a filter of mediocrity. I'm referring to the stroked yellow background for headers and the lame quasi-futuristic angled text boxes. It's not impossible to make a print object look like a user interface, but this is a poor effort. Alien has some incredible graphic design (Thanks, Ronn Cobb). Creative Assembly took the visual direction from Alien expanded on it brilliantly, from the signage throughout the space station to the vintage advertisements. Why not do something smart, especially considering that the fanbase (just a guess) is no longer fifteen?

I realize this reads like a nitpick, but it would have been so much cooler if they did a retro-inspired, analogue print manual for this.

Xenomrph

Quote from: Birth_Machine on Sep 27, 2017, 11:35:53 PM
Why is the layout for this so amateur? This looks like a first year computer arts student reproduced one of the 90s DVD menus through a filter of mediocrity. I'm referring to the stroked yellow background for headers and the lame quasi-futuristic angled text boxes. It's not impossible to make a print object look like a user interface, but this is a poor effort. Alien has some incredible graphic design (Thanks, Ronn Cobb). Creative Assembly took the visual direction from Alien expanded on it brilliantly, from the signage throughout the space station to the vintage advertisements. Why not do something smart, especially considering that the fanbase (just a guess) is no longer fifteen?

I realize this reads like a nitpick, but it would have been so much cooler if they did a retro-inspired, analogue print manual for this.
I had a similar complaint about the layouts in the Weyland-Yutani Report.

For something framed as an in-universe document, from a design standpoint it looks like anything but.

windebieste

I really can't stand this kind of over designed presentation.  It takes away from the focus of the book.  I understand the designers are trying to bring a sense of thematic cohesion to the whole production; but as pointed out above, it becomes a case of the tail wagging the dog. ...and it looks cheap.

Personally, I prefer a presentation that his high on content rather than heavy handed on superfluous border and inset designs.  This is one of the stipulations I am making to the interior designers for HP.  I want the content to stand out - not the incidental design components that do nothing other than clutter up the page. 

My web site adopts a based philosophy of 'simple design works best'.  It's actually V2 of the website you see.  A much less cluttered and easier to look at effort rather than the super retro theme I had originally designed for V1.  It was just a mess and I hated it.  I like simplicity in presentation.  It works.  It then allows the content and information to function with clarity and be as complex as you want.  I'm adopting that philosophy for the book.   They will both match in this regard.

So yes.  I really can't stand these over designed publications. They're trying too hard to impress and the content - which should never take a 2nd place position - has to work even harder to keep up with expectations.  If the content is good enough, it is better off without all the distractions, anyway.

It also presents another problem.  It ceases being a resource and becomes just another coffee table book.  I guess that's OK for some publications but not all.

-Windebieste.

Corporal Hicks

Started reading this - a bit in the Prometheus section made me chuckle where the manual points out the "inexplicable lapses in judgment" of the Prometheus crew.  :laugh:

Corporal Hicks


HuDaFuK


Corporal Hicks

That took so many attempts.  :laugh:

Russ840

Lol you make it kinda of looks pleasurable.

Corporal Hicks

There were worse attempts when it looking a little too O face.  :laugh:

HuDaFuK

:laugh:

Dude. ISSUES.

Russ840


Corporal Hicks

That's why I'm not an actor.  :laugh:

In all seriousness, though, I am enjoying these AR things.

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