HYUGONS
The Hyugon species has been one of the trickiest for us. We knew we wanted to have one “alien” species derived from classic Greens and Grays in some way, or for them to at least echo the spirit of older sci-fi back when special effects for aliens basically consisted of simple prosthetics and funky colors of makeup.
But Greens and Grays don’t have much to work with for character customization! And if we weren’t careful, we’d end up crashing into Andorians from Star Trek or Mantis from the MCU.
The big black eyes of course made us think of insects, so we market-tested down those lines. Turns out, people don’t like the idea of playing as a bug, if it gets too insectile. And it got insectile pretty quick.
On the other hand, there was something very much in keeping with our sci-fi inspirations in the Hyugons. The “vibe” of retro sci-fi that we wanted was there, when we played around with them. We did several takes on them that were basically very human, except for skin color and antennae.
Interestingly, they were great inspirations for clothing and fashion. In fact, eagle-eyed testers may have spotted a Hyugon long ago on our website, hiding in plain sight – one of the ones below! She’s gone now, but still there in our hearts.
Playing with marrying the green, the big eyes, and the notion of insectile antenna ended up promising. There’s a lot of variation you can do that can convey different silhouettes at a distance. And silhouettes is one of the most important qualities in creating a cool avatar. Especially in a game where you can dress any way you like, it matters that the body shape and unique characteristics convey something readable at a decent distance.
On the other hand, we have another couple of species that make use of head attachments – not antennae, but the Gertans for example have horns. So making sure that all three sets of head attachments were visually distinctive was a key thing.
For a while we explored making them “chibi,” but it didn’t feel right. Greens and Greys are elongated, not short. Players do tend to want at least one choice that is very short, so we’d have to find a different way to fulfill that desire.
Green also led us to explore plant-like qualities in them. This opened up new and (we think) fresh ways to offer distinctive touches. Little leaves, thorns, and different shapes for the antennae give a very different quality than insectile does.
Candidly, we don’t think we are done with the Hyugons! It feels like there is still more to explore visually, and we want your feedback. I’ll tell you though, the exploration yielded one of my favorite bits of concept work we’ve ever done. We did it fairly early on, when we had not yet really explored all the variations, and the Hyugons still looked more human than anything else. Even so, it landed so much of the vibe that I still love it.
Plus, it shows off some of the customization choices that our regions system allows in the clothing!
But Greens and Grays don’t have much to work with for character customization! And if we weren’t careful, we’d end up crashing into Andorians from Star Trek or Mantis from the MCU.
The big black eyes of course made us think of insects, so we market-tested down those lines. Turns out, people don’t like the idea of playing as a bug, if it gets too insectile. And it got insectile pretty quick.
On the other hand, there was something very much in keeping with our sci-fi inspirations in the Hyugons. The “vibe” of retro sci-fi that we wanted was there, when we played around with them. We did several takes on them that were basically very human, except for skin color and antennae.
Interestingly, they were great inspirations for clothing and fashion. In fact, eagle-eyed testers may have spotted a Hyugon long ago on our website, hiding in plain sight – one of the ones below! She’s gone now, but still there in our hearts.
Playing with marrying the green, the big eyes, and the notion of insectile antenna ended up promising. There’s a lot of variation you can do that can convey different silhouettes at a distance. And silhouettes is one of the most important qualities in creating a cool avatar. Especially in a game where you can dress any way you like, it matters that the body shape and unique characteristics convey something readable at a decent distance.
On the other hand, we have another couple of species that make use of head attachments – not antennae, but the Gertans for example have horns. So making sure that all three sets of head attachments were visually distinctive was a key thing.
For a while we explored making them “chibi,” but it didn’t feel right. Greens and Greys are elongated, not short. Players do tend to want at least one choice that is very short, so we’d have to find a different way to fulfill that desire.
Green also led us to explore plant-like qualities in them. This opened up new and (we think) fresh ways to offer distinctive touches. Little leaves, thorns, and different shapes for the antennae give a very different quality than insectile does.
Candidly, we don’t think we are done with the Hyugons! It feels like there is still more to explore visually, and we want your feedback. I’ll tell you though, the exploration yielded one of my favorite bits of concept work we’ve ever done. We did it fairly early on, when we had not yet really explored all the variations, and the Hyugons still looked more human than anything else. Even so, it landed so much of the vibe that I still love it.
Plus, it shows off some of the customization choices that our regions system allows in the clothing!