What About Worldbuilding? #30 - Gross Encounters of the Third Kind

So… we’re in the last quarter of 2021. That was fast.

Today’s topic is about aliens! … Because why the hell not. You’re welcome for that monstrosity of a gif. I hope you’re inspired.

Before we begin, however, let us acknowledge one thing…

Humans are gross

As you delve into the whole concept of crafting alien species, let’s remember that. If you were looking from the outside in at humans with no frame of reference… well, you’d be horrified. We ooze some things, secrete others; and that’s before we get down to the smell and the viscera.

Seriously, it’s just odd when you think about it.

But all those odd things about us serve some biological and evolutionary purpose or did in the past. That’s right, I knew you vestigial structure fanboys were out there. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you.

But why, oh why, am I mocking the human race as a preamble to a lesson on aliens?

Well, it’s simple.

Intelligent Design

Nope, not talking about god. The only intelligence here is evolution, and that’s what I’m pointing at in this… uh, point.

Take, for example, a nose. Be they upon humans, other mammals, reptiles, or certain seafaring creatures, the structure of a nostril has some degree of consistency… why? Well, they developed on the same planet for one thing. So there’s that…

Back to humans being gross though. Noses. We’ve got them, well, most of us got them. And there’s hair in them, how weird is that?

A-ha! Not so weird. They’re a filtration system. Can’t have particulates being introduced to our respiratory system, now can we? Who knows how many generations died from bees flying up their noses (not being serious) before one lucky duck ended up with such a mutation.

Changed the game.

Now how does this relate to designing things like alien species, you may ask? Excellent question, glad you brought it up.

You can’t just slap purple body paint and some horns and call it an alien species. Like, I get if that’s what you’re into, but it doesn’t really make sense from a design standpoint. Most of the human body serves some purpose, even the pinky toe!

(That purpose, of course, is to inflict unbearable pain upon the person to which that toe happens to be attached when trying to turn a corner with some haste.)

Why then, is your alien purple? Why do they have horns?

I understand how tempting it can be to make something near-human, for simplicity’s sake, but it never hurts to explore a bit. You can find other ways to make a species seem alien that diverge from established tropes.

Limits of a Visual Medium

Long ago, back when science fiction programs first hit the airwaves, it made sense to toss a couple of prosthetics and some bodypaint on an extra, then call them aliens. That’s fine.

Budgets are a thing, as are production limitations. I get it.

Just… make better choices. Please?

Don’t slap wings on a skeletal structure that clearly can’t support them.

Don’t add an extra leg without accounting for balance issues.

Don’t toss in extra eyes without understanding how and why creatures with more than two eyes evolved to be what they are.

Just… don’t be weird without reasons. Yeah. That’s the gist of it.