CA's Alien Design: Yay or Nay?

[gabgrave]

I've been reading quite a bit of negative feelings regarding the design of the Alien, with a smattering of praise for it. I have to wonder though, if the unpleasantness felt at the design is due to the fact that up till now no medium has gone back to the origins as it is, using Giger's design, or if the past dismay at games which only built on the Aliens version and the downward spiral of B-grade films and games using the 'chisel chin, reversed joint' design has triggered a negative reflex.

Personally, I think I can understand the concept why the design down the years have slipped further and further away from the Giger original. It might be to distance the product (the alien) from the idea that it is a sexualized predator, a topic that causes discomfort even in the most liberal minded homes. Indeed, that might be the original 'scare factor' that Giger's design provided, but that factor can come in different forms, and the business needs of selling the product is what moves the factor away from the lewd sense, instead making it more reptilian and beast like. Making the beast 3 meters tall brings back the childhood fear of things that are bigger, taller, stronger and teethier than you. They are trying to get you to feel like you are being chased by the boogie man again.

One thing I would like to address to those who mentioned that CA isn't putting their money where their mouth is regarding the Alien design and how its said to be 'going back to the origins', I just want to point out that in the articles I read, they mentioned that what they did was to reapproach the design of the environment and the alien, trying to follow how the original designers and artists conceptualized  it back in the 70s. This means that they tried to follow the thinking process of how those of yore came up with the design. That is not meant to be taken as that they are going to be using the original design in full, but rather that they were trying to come up with their own design while attempting to think the way they do back then, but obviously the sensibilities of the current times would dye that process. The subjects that are considered taboo in today's society weren't as strongly frowned upon back then.

That said, I welcome any discussion on the design of the Alien, what works, what doesn't, and "how the heck can a 3 meter creature squeeze into a 1.5 meter airduct?" type of ponderings. 

[Blacklabel]

The more i see of it the more i dislike it... A:R look on a blender with Alien 79... Egh.

Do a poll and let's see what people think of it.

[gabgrave]

The thing about a poll is that it only shows whether people like it or not, and as mentioned most here seem to dislike it. If I were to do a poll, it would have to be to poll what people dislike about it. What I would like to know is why they dislike it, and what makes them dislike it.

From your comments, you seem to dislike it since it looks too much like the alien design from the lackluster films. Would you care to ponder if your dislike comes from the fact that it came from those films, because it deviates too greatly from the Giger original, or from other factors?

[MrSpaceJockey]

I don't think most people dislike it.  I think most people who do dislike it openly voice their opinions, but people who like the design don't feel the need to stress their "okayness" with it as much, so you don't hear their voice as loudly.  I think a yay or nay poll would work cos we'll get a better estimate of the overall yes to no ratio among the forum but if you want to do a "What do you dislike about it" poll that's fine too I guess...

How can a 3 meter alien fit in the air ducts?  I think the Alien always had the ability to fit into small spaces - perhaps its very flexible, not unlike the white proto-Alien seen in the Prometheus drafts (and was this flexibility in early ALIEN drafts too? I forget)

[The1PerfectOrganism]

I don't think most people dislike it.  I think most people who do dislike it openly voice their opinions, but people who like the design don't feel the need to stress their "okayness" with it as much, so you don't hear their voice as loudly.  I think a yay or nay poll would work cos we'll get a better estimate of the overall yes to no ratio among the forum but if you want to do a "What do you dislike about it" poll that's fine too I guess...

How can a 3 meter alien fit in the air ducts?  I think the Alien always had the ability to fit into small spaces - perhaps its very flexible, not unlike the white proto-Alien seen in the Prometheus drafts (and was this flexibility in early ALIEN drafts too? I forget)

Yup, have you ever seen the crab-walk scene from Alien?

Very flexible.

I'm very okay with the design, it doesn't have any of the problems I have with the AVP designs.
The legs are... ehhh.. they need to be more curvy and less monstrous.
& it needs dem lips doe.

And OP you're completely right but as an artist. You need to say "f**k it" sometimes, and make people uncomfortable, one of the reasons I love prometheus so much is the fact it went back to sexual terror.

[gabgrave]

Ok, that sounds reasonable. I've added the polls so go wild

I seem to remember from the Aliens novel that the Alien's body is collapsible as well, like a cockroach. Still, every time I see the Alien in Dalla's in the ducts, I always wonder how it's holding itself in that pose with both hands reaching forward... It should be almost prone...

[The1PerfectOrganism]

One of the original ideas or interpretations for the Alien before Aliens was that it was godlike and could walk through walls and phase through objects.

[gabgrave]

Funny, I thought the original concept for the Alien was an orange beachball... that appeared and disappeared from nowhere... 

[MrSpaceJockey]

Obviously this game is going to be a complete and utter AvP-R level failure if they miss on the opportunity to include Dark Star DLC skins for the Alien! 

[The1PerfectOrganism]

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeess! xD

[Local Trouble]

One thing I would like to address to those who mentioned that CA isn't putting their money where their mouth is regarding the Alien design and how its said to be 'going back to the origins', I just want to point out that in the articles I read, they mentioned that what they did was to reapproach the design of the environment and the alien, trying to follow how the original designers and artists conceptualized  it back in the 70s.

That sounds like the same rationalization used by every hack to change the design and put their own stamp on it since 1979.  I don't even like James Cameron's decision to ditch the canopy.

[Nightlord]

I like it, it works well with the size they're going for. Wouldn't have minded if they'd kept everything like the original though.

[Local Trouble]

I'll accept this new design if and only if it was birthed from an animal with d-grade legs.

[The1PerfectOrganism]

If the game's great I'm not gonna complain, although I would prefer something like this:

[Mrcreosote]

It doesn't look too dissimilar from Kane's son in my opinion, has a nice sleek tall look to it unlike the penis dogs from aliens onwards