Title: “Creatively designed Sci-Fi Aliens” Me: “Oh, sweet! Time to see some aliens with unique visual/biological/cultural attributes!” Video: *_Half is about technology & environment._*
A Simple Answer would be the *Aliens & The Tripods* from the 2005's War of The Worlds Not only because the Tripods were Bio-Mechenical consructs that show perfectly and unique ''exterrestrial'' design; but their Pilot Aliens (3 legged large dome heads with death dark eyes) perfectly balance out the 'unique - alien' look with human esque 'convergent evolution'
Sorry, 2005 WotW was an abysmal lack of creativity. Keep in mind the book was made and set in 1897. Tanks and military aircraft weren't a thing yet. Thus a mobile weapons platform and later a flying machine could be overpowering weapons for the time. When the filmmakers set the film in 2005, because they were lazy, this created a problem as the weapons the aliens had wouldn't fare as well against modern technology. So, the writers gave the aliens...invincible force shields.
@@ailius1520 The 1953 movie, staring Gene Berry was a much closer adaptation of the book set in a modern time. It, too, used force fields to protect the invaders. No matter how irritating the 2005 version was, that at least, held true to the original.
@@ailius1520 war of the worlds was made to show the effect of British colonization on native tribes. I think the 2005 story was molded so that it would fit the modern world we know today
Farscape TV series: Found the Leviathans interesting, particularly when the arc for the ship named Talyn unfolded. A race of living ships engineered to serve and embrace pacifism, and then one gives birth to a gunship due to genetic tampering. Babylon 5: The Shadows. Not overly original with the Lovecraftian ancient beyond comprehension angle, but I loved their philosophy that as both caretakers of the younger sentient races, and yet also as extreme believers in survival of the fittest, they saw it as a type of paternal and guardian duty to come out of hiding every millennia or two and start massive wars between the younger races. Their bio-mechanical nanotech was creepy as hell and their integration of Telepaths to protect their living ships was a weird, creepy and awesome touch. Warhammer 40k: The Demiurg. Until recently almost unheard of by the larger fandom until they got included as auxiliaries/allies to the Tau in the Battlefleet Gothic PC game. They are truly mysterious as there has never been a canon description of one outside of an encounter suit. They tentatively fill the role of classic fantasy setting dwarves but aliens, complete with a penchant for industry and hatred for Orks. Even with that the rules of the tabletop version of Battlefleet Gothic gives some information without revealing too much. Their social structure is organized into "Brotherhoods", of which we do not know the size or cultural significance. Only that usually 1x Brotherhood is found on ships of cruiser displacement while 2-3 Brotherhoods can be found on battleships. Given that this race also relies heavily on automation, it's unclear on whether the number of Brotherhoods present on a ship is related to crewing requirements or that larger vessels function as social/trade/cultural hubs between brotherhoods. Their mining and prospecting drones are reconfigured into capable drone guided star fighters and bombers in short order, while their automated cargo transfer pods can be easily reconfigured into torpedoes. They also have served as a mentor species to the Tau, providing them with Ion cannon technology and occasionally as mercenaries to other races. Despite being spotted all across the Galaxy in small numbers, little else is known about them. Warhammer 40k: The Kroot. Instead of being a generic hive mind, or a transposition from a fantasy setting (ala Orks, Eldar, Dark Eldar, etc), they are physiologically unique. Descended from predatory Avians, they evolve by absorbing genetic material from the creatures they eat. This is guided by Kroot who can sense and guide the genetic process called Shapers. The end result is that one Kroot warband will eventually look very different from another depending on what they have fought and consumed recently. Kroot who have fought Orks in the past will typicaly be bulkier, brutish and have some of the Orkish resilience. Also typically they are more green. Other Kroot may have chameleon skin, venomous glands, or even wings for rudimentary flight. While not great innovators, they have inherited the knowledge and capability for space flight from Orks that crash landed on their homeworld early in their history. Edit: As an additional cultural note about the Kroot, they do not fear death in the conventional sense. They fear the discontinuance of their genetic line. There are references to Kroot warbands which know they are about to be wiped out having each member cut off a spare finger or digit, give it to a member of the warband and then sending them away. The idea is that this lone survivor can consume the remains provided by their kin and thus absorb and reinforce their genetically distinct adaptations which they have cultivated. While the warband fights to the last, buying the lone survivor time to escape, that same survivor now has a primary goal of returning to larger Kroot society to ensure the genetic advantages which they and their now dead kin gained are provided to and integrated into the wider Kroot population at home. Which brings me to one final item that was not outright stated prior to the edit: They are indiscriminate cannibals. Because of how their genetics work, when one of their number dies, the dead is consumed by it's kindred as that will literally guarantee their genetic line continues on by way of the Kroot evolutionary system. They are also typically honorable and exceedingly talented linguists.
@@rommdan2716 I wouldn't really classify Abhumans as allies as much as disadvantaged subjects. Their genetics still derive from the blessed and holy human genome and thus are still blessed and part of the grand designs of the God Emperor. As for Orks and human slaves, I'd argue slaves are not allies. If we wanna talk about subjugated servants then sure, Orks and their Human slaves count, but then Dark Eldar with their weird menagerie of slaves, subjects, servants and domesticated monsters would be on the table and the Dark Eldar have a lot of neat and terrifying stuff like Sslyth, Mandrakes, Ur-Ghuls, razorwing flocks, Khimerae warp beasts, clawed fiends and medusae.
An interesting fact about the Demiurg is that the Imperium generally leaves their ships alone. This is because they tend to be peaceful and keep to themselves but also because their ships are very powerful and it just isn't worth the cost to fight them.
9:18 "though it set a lot of the standards for sci fi when it came out back then in the 70s" This is very important as I sometimes have the feeling, that people forget that SW is now over 40 years old and people were blown away by it back in the day. You just cannot compare it to anything made in this century.
If its mech's you like, look to Warhammer 40k. With the Tau (who have Mech's similar to the gundam and macross universes) Whilst the Imperium of mans Imperial Knights are of a whole different level to any other scifi, Especially with how Dreadnaughts work, and how the Noble Pilots are placed into their Titans.
@@cogboy3587 They came up with a new Primaris Dreadnaughts where a living and healthy Space Marine in Power Armor sits in a cockpit of a Mecha Dreadnaught.
@Manuel Sacha only the new terrible ones from parallel universe earth, the origional cybermen came from mondas and had agood reason for the invasion of earth. Mondas had been highly irradiated ad they are now cyber men as an atempt to dlow the effect
You should have at a minimum given honorable mention to the original War of the Worlds book. The depiction of Martians is imaginatively detailed and quite visionary given that it was written in 1897. This book inspired alien scifi for more than a century.
I always thought the Huragok from Halo were very interesting and creatively designed aliens. They have very few human or even earthly traits. Huragok psychology is almost solely focused on examining, fixing, and restructuring machines. They were created artificially as construction tools and reproduce by actually building new ones.
The Vorlon from Babylon 5. Shadows too. While all their aliens didn't look alien, just humans in suits, they also had a lot of non-humanoid, non-bipedel species that frequented the show.
A spider, big as death and twice as ugly, a shade of black so deep, your eye just slides off it... Oh, that was the ships, lol. Yeah, it is amazing how much they did on the budget they had.
First of all Scramblers from "Blindsight" by Peter Watts. They do not have self-awareness, only pure intelligence and high-speed reflexes. They are anaerobic life forms that accumulate ATP during periods of long sleep. You can’t say exactly where they end and their ship Rorschach begins. It is not even known whether the crew or drones. For them, the boundary of the living and nonliving is too blurred. For them, our words and empty speech are already considered an attack. Secondly, Portia from Echopraxia by Peter Watts. It uses the timesharing of its computing power for complex high-level strategies. A change in its mass affects only the speed of calculations, but not the quality of strategies. The third is Solaris from the book of the same name by Stanislav Lem. The intelligent ocean of protoplasm, which people have been trying to understand for decades. And at the same time, he himself is trying to understand people. Both species simply cannot understand each other and make contact. The fourth is Galanet from the book of Robert Ibatullin "Rose and the Worm." This is a distributed other-level collective mind located in a network of radio transmitters in the gravitational foci of stars. The trouble is the young races, which out of curiosity can damage the transmitters. Because of this, relativistic fleets are always ready(All this happens in a universe without FTL).The components of the holonet retain their individuality, while being themselves collective manifestations of alien civilizations. It is based on the theory of the complication of organisms from unicellular to multicellular, then to many-body ones. For example, our civilization has already begun the process of unification via the Internet. Fifthly, the nameless civilization from the "Roadside Picnic" by the Strugatsky brothers. After visiting the Earth, the aliens left six zones full of artifacts and anomalies, which are indistinguishable for earth science from magic. However, as it turns out all this is just rubbish that strangers left. Just like empty cans and cigarette butts that people leave after a roadside picnic. Sixth Wanderers from Noon Universe by Strugatsky brothers. One of the important story arcs of those books addresses how the advanced human civilization covertly steers the development of those considered less advanced. Agents of humans are known as Progressors. At the same time, some humans suspect that a very advanced spacefaring race called Wanderers exists and is "progressing" humanity itself. People with all their zero gates and starships, genetic modifications and machines find themselves powerless in front of mysterious forces that they are not even able to detect. And most importantly, people do not believe that aliens wish them harm. They fear that they will do "good" in their understanding. Seventh, Puppeteers from Larry Niven's “Ringworld”, which are three-headed creatures with two heads. Civilization, whose main motivation is fear. Because of this, they secretly intervened in the development of people and kzin, making them safer for themselves. All this is just the first thing that came to mind.
Nah,his points are all valid. It´s boring af and it´s literally Heinlein jerking off for over 250 pages how great the military is. I get it,the appeal it has to many guys,but as someone who actually did military service I find Heinlein´s overidealised version of the military in the book, cringey af. I could tolerate the whole "oooh... I love beeing a good little submissive soldierboi"-message,if the book had an interesting story,but nah. Turning it into a batshit insane satire,was the best idea that Verhoeven had and the fact that "professional movie critics" were accusing him of "glorifying fascism" with the film,is even better. The whole Klendathu landing in the movie,is just glorious stupidity in his most epic form.
I think you need to read the Lensman series, if you think Power Armor is obvious, and Force-users are original. Also, how did a Light Saber make a list of Alien Races?
A interesting race is Larry Niven's *_Protectors,_* otherwise known as homo habilus, a early primate ancestor of humanity! They're from his Known Space series (that also introduced Ktzin cat aliens) that included the award winning novel *Ringworld.* Which was built by Protectors. The novel that introduces them is called … *Protector.* [I recommend you read it, it's not that long… if you want to, don't read further as I kind of spoil the specie's surprises, but I try not to spoil the plot]. They are the third stage of the primate species lifecycle (that originated near the centre of the galaxy). First there is the infant, then there's a breeder, a almost sentient primate that …breeds. Then when the breeder gets older they get an uncontrollable urge to eat a certain root plant that till then has seemed meh. It contains a genetic virus that causes certain alterations; The teeth fall out (it then forms a hard beak) The skin gets very wrinkled (and becomes like armour) The hair falls out. The joints swell (to provide greater muscle attachment points and leverage). A second heart grows near the groin from the main arteries. Sexual characteristics are lost. The brain greatly expands and they become so intelligent they don't need computers because they are smarter than a computer and better at calculation as well (one sat in a chair and guided a ram scoop ship for thousands of years without any distractions). They fingernails become retractable claws. They develop a overwhelming imperative to ensure the survival of their bloodline at all cost, in fact if all their descendants die they loose the will to eat. They live for thousands and thousands of years, in fact they are unsure because they never die of old age because they are constantly fighting other Protectors that aren't related to them for resources for their relatives, tribal warfare on a epic scale - forever. Now some of these changes seem similar to old age in humans, and that's because we are descended from a lost colony attempt by a group of childless Protectors that were trying to find a reason to live. Without the virus humans just get some of the changes without the benifits they are preparing for. Unfortunately when the Protectors reached Earth the genetic virus didn't grow properly so they died out and the breeders (kept in Cryo for the journey) were left to fend for themselves and evolved into all the primates. So what happens when another childless Protector finds the info about the colony (information and technology keeps getting lost because they can't co-operate long before one sees an advantage in attacking the other) and goes to rescue the breeders with the missing piece of the puzzle to make the root (called Tree of Life) grow true, a element common in the Galactic core but rare in the rim. And a human takes a bite and becomes a Protector stage human (even smarter that a Protector from a primative primate, and with the human experience). Humans are not Protectors, they are different, they are a threat, and the Protectors wipe out all alien races matter of factly as a possible risk. It's a interesting concept. A incredibly smart strong and focused race that is totally xenophobic from a purely logical perspective, but is really the missing part of our lifecycle. And that we can't adopt as part of our lifecycle because it would destroy human civilisation as we would all decend into tribal warfare controlled by practically immortal hyper intelligent super beings controlled by instinct. We are the abomination.
The Quarian from Mass Effect (Entire population lives in a giant roaming fleet of ships and have to stay in enviro-suits), Hunters from Halo (Literally a giant walking colony of worms armed and armored to hell), Umbarans from Star Wars (Bizarre & advanced technology with a crazy homeworld), Command & Conquer (Tiberium infestation/salvation at the same time is a cool concept), and Transformers (Giant space robots capable of transforming into things, space travel, and breeding), are all cool & unique ideas.
American Ben, "Starship Troopers" is one of my favorite books, and one of a select few I've revisited from time to time. But that doesn't mean you have to like it, and there's nothing wrong with you not liking it. Next time I'm at the bookstore I will keep an eye out, and consider the Halo book. I appreciate your lists, the effort you, and your associates, put into research, your logic and your presentation. (And your bits of humor.) As always thank you so very much for your videos.
40K races feel like somebody started by copy-pasting a fantasy race, then went nuts using sci-fi elements to explain their abilities. The results are interesting, if a little on the nose.
Most of the minor xenos races are a whole lot more original. You just don't get to see them often. And 40k literally is the Warhammer Fantasy in space, GW decided that since Fantasy was so successful that they would make a SciFi version.
The original Mondasian Cybermen from Doctor Who. They look like someone attached a pile of junk to their bodies - which is EXACTLY how they should look. They epitomize procrastination in the face of disaster. Tell yourself that it's not so bad, you've got time, there are other priorities, right up until the last moment - then rush like mad to get the job done. "No time for purpose based parts - what have we got that works?" And who cares what it looks like.
I do wish that you did talk a bit more about the actual visual designs of some of these creatures, as opposed to mainly technology and history. There was definitely a lot to talk about with the Xenomorph and The Flood, and I feel that you skimmed over that.
You should've definitely included Transformers in the list. Its one of the most unique sci-fi franchises after all, and has a lot of creativity and originality behind it. The character designs alone are incredibly impressive... 🙍
There are three flavors of Hive Mind , Uni mind where all subjects share a single conscience (Arachnids). Two Networked mind where everyone retains their individual traits but share or volunteer information to a collective memory(Borg). Three True Hive in where every member is only partially in control of their own bodies as they share sensory or tactile ability across multiple bodies thus requiring cooperation.
ok... some good points, but what about the aliens? last time i checked high Charity, The Citadel and the mass relay network, the warp, space hulks, Daleks cortex vault and lightsabers is not aliens, they things created by aliens, and in the case of the space hulks they are just giant collection of wreckage randomly floating about.
I was surprised the Cybermen didn't make the list. Then again they weren't very bright. Some being able to be killed with cleaning fluids. ( Stinky things then)
Well, Ben, we disagree on the Starship Troopers book, but it's wrong to hate someone for their opinions. On to interesting aliens! First, I'd suggest the Drej from Titan A.E.: they are energy beings that manage to be mysterious and unsettling, but without just being ethereal space-ghosts. Their technology and abilities really capitalize on everything of theirs being made up of Forerunner-style hard light - or maybe "hard lightning" is a better description. Second, the JAM from the novels and anime Yukikaze. I love these things because we know so little about them. They introduced themselves to humanity by opening a hurricane-sized portal over Antarctica, and launching a small invasion of Earth through it. Humanity prevailed, chased them back through the portal to their homeworld, and established a network of military bases to keep a foothold there - but it's never clear what they wanted, or even what they look like. They fight like they're trying to keep their tech _just_ one step ahead of us, but then they do things like teleport interesting people to pocket dimensions for a weird sort of chitchat. Analysis of wrecked JAM fighters never really figured out the difference between the fighter and any pilot it might have carried. Are they a race of little green men who only ever use drones? A machine collective intelligence like Mass Effect's Geth? Some sort of extradimensional godlike entity that's just screwing with humanity? We have no idea. I love it. And speaking of extradimensional entities, there's the Orz from Star Control. I love these guys. Any conversation with them is weirdly funny, as the translator system glitches continuously while trying to figure out their language, and goes kind of bananas trying to make best-fit guesses. As best I can tell, they are an expression of a single powerful being that lives in a sort of hyperspace dimension; they describe other beings as "many bubbles" and themselves as "fingers" (like I said, translator issues), and showed up when a race of cyborgs started experimenting with hyperspace. It's not clear what exactly happened to the synthetics, but they're completely gone, their cities are mostly destroyed by the synthetics' own weapons, and the Orz get really pissed off if you keep asking about them, so draw your own conclusions.
I wish aliens in sci-fi would look unique. They tend to have human-like bodies. Two arms, two legs, a head, two eyes, a mouth...etc. Like the aliens from Arrival were unique. Sure they sort of looked like a squid. But they didn't look familiar fully, even their language was different and they "wrote" different. I also enjoyed the MUTO(s) from Godzilla, though they did somewhat look like a giant insect. But they had a more unique sound I hadn't really heard. Love to see more aliens where you have no idea what you are looking at. Maybe it has no real features that make you say "Oh, thats the head!" or "Oh thats the eyes!"...etc. It's why I also enjoy No Mans Sky, sometimes you come across an alien and you are a bit confused because you haven't really seen anything like it before. I do realize human imagination may have some limits along with limits of how we can design such things. I also realize most aliens/monsters are made to have semi-human features so we can recognize its more like us.
The Wookies from Star Wars. They adapted the natural and mechanical in their villages, made an amazing star fighter that a huge species could fly, and can rip arms out of sockets when the lose a board game.
Proto molecule from the expanse, the prawns from district 9, the heptapods from arrival , the... whatever it is in annihilation, I mean you had plenty of choice when it come to alien which break the basic mold of what we generaly see from sci fi media.
@@vladimirtarasov9031 That is some high octane Heresy right there. Comparing the blessed form of humanity to only broadly anthropomorphic rats? The Inquisition frowns on that sort of thing, and by 'frowns on' I mean 'will horribly torture you and then turn you into a mindless mono-tasked servitor for even thinking about it'.
I think the Angel aliens from Doom are a really cool idea. The Forunner and Flood dynamic is really cool in my opinion, with one side being beautiful, artsy, and elegant with the opposing side being the embodiment of infection, biological machines, and cosmic horror.
The Aliens from Arrival were beyond phenomenal and mystifying! They take my breath were time they were on screen because they defiantly gave off the other-worldly feel to the audience. You just wanted to know more about them.
Was looking for someone else thatoves the heptapods, creative physical design, cool ships built for the perpsoe they fulfil, well thougt out quirks of the species
I'd put the starship troopers book along side Ender's Game or the giver, and should be read for the purpose of learning critical thinking, not for simple entertainment, like hunger games or divergent. I've not read fall of reach, so I cannot make that comparison. I put it along side Ender's Game and The Giver in that the intent of the book is to make the reader think about moral issues.
The visitor/s depicted in both Arrival and Annihilation stand out to me as the most unique and creative alien designs I've ever seen. Most others don't even come close.
One thing that kind of buggs me about alien races is, those where most of the population is warriors and/prediators. what do they eat, how builds all their stuff and how did they evolved before they got of their home planet. another thing is those wars high intensety wars that last for decades or more. Modern wars tend to be short brutal things or low intensety insergences.
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Aliens from movie "Arrival" are some creative ones. Although very little information we have, but the way they function and look is cool.
Great video. This is why I follow this channel. The snark is top notch but even when they (mostly) drop the snark to do a more serious video like this one the quality is still excellent.
I feel like it's a huge missed opportunity to mention that there are some pretty interesting alien races in Star Wars as well (which would have fit the video's theme pretty well too). The Chiss, the Kaleesh, the Lasat, and tons more not only with interesting designs, but interesting cultures, behaviors, etc etc. Not to say that lightsabers aren't awesome in their own right, but huuuge missed opportunity on a list talking about aliens :P
I agree about starship troopers. I always wondered why they wouldn't just use tanks, mechs, chemical/bio weapons, drones/droids, etc vs the giant insects.
A good military SF or rather antimilitaristic SF is The Forever War by Joe Haldeman : Few quotes Military training “So here we were, fifty men and fifty women, with IQs over 150 and bodies of unusual health and strength, slogging elitely through the mud and slush of central Missouri, reflecting on the usefulness of our skill in building bridges on worlds where the only fluid is an occasional standing pool of liquid helium.” ― Joe Haldeman, The Forever War Medecine “Doctors don’t seem to realize that most of us are perfectly content not having to visualize ourselves as animated bags of skin filled with obscene glop.” ― Joe Haldeman, The Forever War Live in the military “Reality becomes illusory and observer-oriented when you study general relativity. Or Buddhism. Or get drafted.” ― Joe Haldeman, The Forever War
I played the game Star Control 2 before I learned proper English. I misunderstood an alien race in a pretty creative way, later on I read the lore. But my understanding back then was an intelligent tumor life form, which took over a planet by infecting the inhabitant animals. They do control a body collectively and became space travelers. They became sort of symbiotic with the animals, since they have to keep the body alive as long as they can.
I didn't like Starship Troopers book either for pretty much the same reasons. I'm glad I read it but didn't really feel the need to go back and do it again. What I remember most is the talking grenade and how Rico's dad became part of his squad serving under him.
As much as I hate Tholians, they are pretty alien for a Star Trek alien race, not like most of the humanoids they encounter all the time. Crystalline arthropods from a 'demon' world...
+Victor Bruant I know this would be a genuinely cringeworthy answer but; most of the new 'designers' and alien enthusaiats genuinely and blatantly ignore the phenomenon known as *Covergent Evolution*
@@hudadaragyadmansoo8428 The thing is that we only know about evolution on Earth and that while simple life exists on Earth since at least 3.5 billion years ago, complex life only evolved about 600 million years ago, so it's possible that complex life is actually Divergent Evolution and that it barely exists in the Universe, maybe we even hit the Universal Jackpot.
@@victorbruant389 I genuinely am against the main 'belief' that is almost onset as a cult mentality that surrounds the scientific minds; that is the life being the most impossible thing to exist on universe, and contracting the earth as akin to the religious people's deitification of humans as the prime species on universe, it is a wrong speculation that truly shows the human species ignorant and superiority fixated nature
@@hudadaragyadmansoo8428 Science has nothing to do with belief, I never said that life was "impossible thing to exist on universe", onlythat is possible, just as it is possible that life exists outside of the solar system. Until there is scientific proof for or against Alien life, I'm not persuaded by any of the two options.
@@victorbruant389 I meant the fact that most scientific organizations and science themed people have this overexagrattion, and ignorance almost openly. Not for you individually but as a social network - conseus Btw Solar system has Europa, Titan, Encaladus...etc.
Ah crap… should've suggested the Dominion from Star Trek for strongest Aliens series, they are pretty damn formidable and only lost…(draw) due to some serious plot armour. Perhaps do a bit on them anyway someday.
One of my favorites is the original predator, and I like that because the predator because of how he fought. He used stealth and hit and run tactics. He knew in a one on one fight with the protagonists he would lose, and he used his tech to aid him, always taking one, clean shot and retreating before they could shoot him.
As much as I love tyranids, honestly the aliens from Arrival would probably make a good addition to this list. Similar enough to us we can communicate with them, but strange enough that their mere presence puts all the world's military's on high alert.
For me the most interesting(and most alien) concepts come from Star Carrier books. The semi-hivemind Turush with their twisted philosophy and biology, the blind Slan and their psychology and many more are some of the most creative concepts i'vs seen so far
@ Ha, you're making a sarcastic comment when the joke is on you. Look, I agree, a lot of movies based off of books aren't that great, which definitely includes Starship Troopers, but whenever people say, "that's just how film works," as if film was just one single thing, I usually take it with a grain of salt. You've got the whole world to look to when you're looking for good movies based off of books, but I'd say most people just base things off of what they know. And way too many people say that there aren't a lot of good movies based off of books, but I'm starting to become skeptical of that.
@@vladimirtarasov9031 the xeelee, downstreamers, the new gods and both time lords and daleks though dr who isn't consistent in power levels at all so the unstoppable multiverse killing threat can be stoped with a paintball gun depending on the episode, the celestials from marvel, alien x from ben ten probably the q from star trek,
What about "The Beast" from Homeworld Cataclysm. I know its obscure but it predated the flood and most of the *organic alien that can infect every other life form for their own ends* trope.
I know they are not technically Aliens, however I WOULD add the different Orbital Frames from Zone of the Enders. Machines powered by a rare substance/element called Metatron Ore. The machines are wildly different from eachother and all fight in different ways, some being the size of cities...while others have the firepower to level cities. Aside from the mass produced stuff, no two Orbital Frames are the same.
My understanding is Heinlein wrote starship troopers to offend hippies. He wrote stranger in a strange land and started having hippies visits his home so he wrote starship troopers.
Basically that's how you end up with the Tyranid. Hive minds, heavy armour, and nasty bugs that can survive basically anywhere. Also technically in the Aliens EU, what your talking about kind of exists. The xenoborgs, it's a xenomorph thats modified with technology, giving it heavy firepower, powerful armour, and potential for a hive mind with some tweaks. Not a fan of them tho, sure they are powerful, but far less creepy.
The Aliens from Arrival where the most independently designed Aliens I ever saw in a movie (Also the interaction between Aliens and humans). They were (As the aliens out there in the Universe probably are) not even remotely close to anything on earth and the producers of Arrival did a good job in portraying the obstacles which ocure when trying to interact with such different species. I can only recomend that movie.
In terms of technology .... The Andorian Flabjellah for combining a weapon with a musical instrument. The Vulcan Vorl-tak for being a psychic superweapon which is highly illogical. The alien ship in "Beyond the Farthest Star" in "Star Trek: The Animated Series" may just be the most creatively designed alien ship in science fiction. Most creative alien species? Probably the Tribbles. The lightsaber of alien species in terms of their simple design, but also the ability to reproduce asexually and sniff out Klingon agents. There's also the Elcor from Mass Effect and that slaver from the Star Wars prequels.
Honestly, the Animorphs series spoiled me for creative aliens. The deer/man/scorpion Andalites, the blade covered and herbivorous Hork-Bajir, Father in the deep places of his home... these are but a few.
admittably the book of Starship troopers is slow- although that was actually the point. The book was specifically designed to present a specific idea for the future of humanity in what the author believed would be the best potential future, which just happened to be presented with a background setting to explain how it all happened. It's more a political idea than it is a story.
Do love the Zerg. Starcraft 1 Zerg that is. Then Blizzard hit a wall. Everything in Starcraft 1 and Broodwar was great, especially the Zerg. The books that came after that game is pretty amazing.
thing about starship troopers book - I've read it, watched the movie, and it would take me "only" couple YEARS to realise I've read the book movie was based off xD
What I want to see is the most creatively designed humans and human societies in Science Fiction. I think that we rarely see humans as being the same as people of today with better technology. I want to see SF Human societies like the ones in Dune. Still human, but different. The Fremen and the Mentats are human, but Circumstances shaped them into something different to the people of Today.
Dear sweet American Ben, while your dislike for the first( and, arguably best) manual on organizing against an alien threat is misguided and unfortunate, we still admire and respect your leadership. May your Inquisition be swift and we pray you are not found wanting.
@@ojisanhoward8940 Your're right I forgot about that, thanks for reminding me. I just wanted to have something from Trek in the discussion, and not Targ
I do have the book star ship trooper. A lot of people hate it as they don't understand it For me it was the best book I have read in years And remember star craft was ment to be 40k game but it was never ment to be so we have this heresy of a game Don't hate as I am a inquisitior of the imperial inquisition Burn the heritc the alien and the unclean In the name of the empora
Personally I quite like the Tau in 40K- not from a stylised standpoint but from their position as the underdogs, they're a relatively normal sci-fi alien race who operate somewhat logically and assume everyone else does- Only to find out they're in 40K and are surrounded by religious zealots, planet devouring space roaches, Orky boyz and Ghost terminators. And yet somehow they still manage to just about fit in (in concept, at least) by being a sort of brutal hiearchical dictatorship, Tau are all born in to a specific role and will serve that role without question until the day they die, with a few rare exceptions, for the sake of the Etherials. They're just presented as "normal" because they want to seem appealing and nice (and their living conditions are generally better than what everyone around them has)
Title: “Creatively designed Sci-Fi Aliens”
Me: “Oh, sweet! Time to see some aliens with unique visual/biological/cultural attributes!”
Video: *_Half is about technology & environment._*
Yes, I don't like seeing so many humanoids
@@rommdan2716 Humanoids are fine but the fact that they've become the standard choice in sci-fi has made them somewhat boring to look at.
Loltank53 That's why I still uphold star control 2 as the SciFi media with the most diverse (also colourful) alien cast.
@@loltank5315 ya humanoids are fine if still creative and given a reason for why they're that way
A Simple Answer would be the *Aliens & The Tripods* from the 2005's War of The Worlds
Not only because the Tripods were Bio-Mechenical consructs that show perfectly and unique ''exterrestrial'' design; but their Pilot Aliens (3 legged large dome heads with death dark eyes) perfectly balance out the 'unique - alien' look with human esque 'convergent evolution'
nah
Sorry, 2005 WotW was an abysmal lack of creativity. Keep in mind the book was made and set in 1897. Tanks and military aircraft weren't a thing yet. Thus a mobile weapons platform and later a flying machine could be overpowering weapons for the time.
When the filmmakers set the film in 2005, because they were lazy, this created a problem as the weapons the aliens had wouldn't fare as well against modern technology. So, the writers gave the aliens...invincible force shields.
The illustrations in the book the movie is based off of are less humanoid looking
@@ailius1520 The 1953 movie, staring Gene Berry was a much closer adaptation of the book set in a modern time. It, too, used force fields to protect the invaders. No matter how irritating the 2005 version was, that at least, held true to the original.
@@ailius1520 war of the worlds was made to show the effect of British colonization on native tribes. I think the 2005 story was molded so that it would fit the modern world we know today
Farscape TV series: Found the Leviathans interesting, particularly when the arc for the ship named Talyn unfolded. A race of living ships engineered to serve and embrace pacifism, and then one gives birth to a gunship due to genetic tampering.
Babylon 5: The Shadows. Not overly original with the Lovecraftian ancient beyond comprehension angle, but I loved their philosophy that as both caretakers of the younger sentient races, and yet also as extreme believers in survival of the fittest, they saw it as a type of paternal and guardian duty to come out of hiding every millennia or two and start massive wars between the younger races. Their bio-mechanical nanotech was creepy as hell and their integration of Telepaths to protect their living ships was a weird, creepy and awesome touch.
Warhammer 40k: The Demiurg. Until recently almost unheard of by the larger fandom until they got included as auxiliaries/allies to the Tau in the Battlefleet Gothic PC game. They are truly mysterious as there has never been a canon description of one outside of an encounter suit. They tentatively fill the role of classic fantasy setting dwarves but aliens, complete with a penchant for industry and hatred for Orks. Even with that the rules of the tabletop version of Battlefleet Gothic gives some information without revealing too much. Their social structure is organized into "Brotherhoods", of which we do not know the size or cultural significance. Only that usually 1x Brotherhood is found on ships of cruiser displacement while 2-3 Brotherhoods can be found on battleships. Given that this race also relies heavily on automation, it's unclear on whether the number of Brotherhoods present on a ship is related to crewing requirements or that larger vessels function as social/trade/cultural hubs between brotherhoods. Their mining and prospecting drones are reconfigured into capable drone guided star fighters and bombers in short order, while their automated cargo transfer pods can be easily reconfigured into torpedoes. They also have served as a mentor species to the Tau, providing them with Ion cannon technology and occasionally as mercenaries to other races. Despite being spotted all across the Galaxy in small numbers, little else is known about them.
Warhammer 40k: The Kroot. Instead of being a generic hive mind, or a transposition from a fantasy setting (ala Orks, Eldar, Dark Eldar, etc), they are physiologically unique. Descended from predatory Avians, they evolve by absorbing genetic material from the creatures they eat. This is guided by Kroot who can sense and guide the genetic process called Shapers. The end result is that one Kroot warband will eventually look very different from another depending on what they have fought and consumed recently. Kroot who have fought Orks in the past will typicaly be bulkier, brutish and have some of the Orkish resilience. Also typically they are more green. Other Kroot may have chameleon skin, venomous glands, or even wings for rudimentary flight. While not great innovators, they have inherited the knowledge and capability for space flight from Orks that crash landed on their homeworld early in their history.
Edit: As an additional cultural note about the Kroot, they do not fear death in the conventional sense. They fear the discontinuance of their genetic line. There are references to Kroot warbands which know they are about to be wiped out having each member cut off a spare finger or digit, give it to a member of the warband and then sending them away. The idea is that this lone survivor can consume the remains provided by their kin and thus absorb and reinforce their genetically distinct adaptations which they have cultivated. While the warband fights to the last, buying the lone survivor time to escape, that same survivor now has a primary goal of returning to larger Kroot society to ensure the genetic advantages which they and their now dead kin gained are provided to and integrated into the wider Kroot population at home. Which brings me to one final item that was not outright stated prior to the edit: They are indiscriminate cannibals. Because of how their genetics work, when one of their number dies, the dead is consumed by it's kindred as that will literally guarantee their genetic line continues on by way of the Kroot evolutionary system. They are also typically honorable and exceedingly talented linguists.
Yes, the Tau have the best allies
@@rommdan2716 Tau have the only allies. At least in the notion that an ally would consider your best interests as well as their own.
@@zhaimorenn8273
Well, not really... IoM hav Abhumans and Orks have humans slaves.
@@rommdan2716 I wouldn't really classify Abhumans as allies as much as disadvantaged subjects. Their genetics still derive from the blessed and holy human genome and thus are still blessed and part of the grand designs of the God Emperor. As for Orks and human slaves, I'd argue slaves are not allies. If we wanna talk about subjugated servants then sure, Orks and their Human slaves count, but then Dark Eldar with their weird menagerie of slaves, subjects, servants and domesticated monsters would be on the table and the Dark Eldar have a lot of neat and terrifying stuff like Sslyth, Mandrakes, Ur-Ghuls, razorwing flocks, Khimerae warp beasts, clawed fiends and medusae.
An interesting fact about the Demiurg is that the Imperium generally leaves their ships alone. This is because they tend to be peaceful and keep to themselves but also because their ships are very powerful and it just isn't worth the cost to fight them.
American Ben: I hated the book.
Me: ***Stares at Ben in Mobile Infantry***
Darkhorse13Golf Gaming I haven’t read the book since I was a kid, but I don’t recall any problem with the storyline.
@@lawrencehaguewood5857 I rather dug it myself.
the universe of the book is awesome. its quite a ride learning the world with jonny. but plot wise, its rather boring.
@@Spider-Too-Too wait does it even have a plot? I feel like heinlein just forgot to insert a plot.
@@pougetguillaume4632 lmao
Not sure if technically they are aliens, but the Angels from Neon Genesis are pretty sick.
9:18 "though it set a lot of the standards for sci fi when it came out back then in the 70s"
This is very important as I sometimes have the feeling, that people forget that SW is now over 40 years old and people were blown away by it back in the day. You just cannot compare it to anything made in this century.
Best mech based armies in sci-fi next please. My suggestions are the UN Spacey from SDF Macross and the Clans from Battletech.
If its mech's you like, look to Warhammer 40k. With the Tau (who have Mech's similar to the gundam and macross universes) Whilst the Imperium of mans Imperial Knights are of a whole different level to any other scifi, Especially with how Dreadnaughts work, and how the Noble Pilots are placed into their Titans.
@@FutureFlash2034 Ahh, dreadnaughts... when the ultrasmurfs need a power armor for their power armor...
*Steel Beam* less power armour for power armour, more like armoured life support with Gatling cannons.
@@cogboy3587 They came up with a new Primaris Dreadnaughts where a living and healthy Space Marine in Power Armor sits in a cockpit of a Mecha Dreadnaught.
Told y'all this nigga posts this shit in every video
Everyone is talking about the Borg and forgetting about the cybermen which came first and have more depth to them
@Manuel Sacha only the new terrible ones from parallel universe earth, the origional cybermen came from mondas and had agood reason for the invasion of earth. Mondas had been highly irradiated ad they are now cyber men as an atempt to dlow the effect
IDKTOXICITY . . . It’s not the parallel universe Cybermen that are bad, it’s the newest designed, unstoppable Cybermen that are the worst.
@@elsauce4873 oh right from that stupid theme park 🙄
@@leorothstein579 tbh the cybermen and borg would probably merge if they both encountered eachother, it would benefit both of them
You should have at a minimum given honorable mention to the original War of the Worlds book. The depiction of Martians is imaginatively detailed and quite visionary given that it was written in 1897. This book inspired alien scifi for more than a century.
I always thought the Huragok from Halo were very interesting and creatively designed aliens. They have very few human or even earthly traits. Huragok psychology is almost solely focused on examining, fixing, and restructuring machines. They were created artificially as construction tools and reproduce by actually building new ones.
The Vorlon from Babylon 5. Shadows too.
While all their aliens didn't look alien, just humans in suits, they also had a lot of non-humanoid, non-bipedel species that frequented the show.
To be fair - Shadows did not look like humans in costumes at all. In fact they were some of the most interesting among early sci-fi aliens.
A spider, big as death and twice as ugly, a shade of black so deep, your eye just slides off it... Oh, that was the ships, lol.
Yeah, it is amazing how much they did on the budget they had.
George Lucas may have popularised lightsabers, but he didn't create the concept. That honour belongs to the Japanese sci fi tv shows in the 70s.
First of all Scramblers from "Blindsight" by Peter Watts. They do not have self-awareness, only pure intelligence and high-speed reflexes. They are anaerobic life forms that accumulate ATP during periods of long sleep. You can’t say exactly where they end and their ship Rorschach begins. It is not even known whether the crew or drones. For them, the boundary of the living and nonliving is too blurred. For them, our words and empty speech are already considered an attack.
Secondly, Portia from Echopraxia by Peter Watts. It uses the timesharing of its computing power for complex high-level strategies. A change in its mass affects only the speed of calculations, but not the quality of strategies.
The third is Solaris from the book of the same name by Stanislav Lem. The intelligent ocean of protoplasm, which people have been trying to understand for decades. And at the same time, he himself is trying to understand people. Both species simply cannot understand each other and make contact.
The fourth is Galanet from the book of Robert Ibatullin "Rose and the Worm." This is a distributed other-level collective mind located in a network of radio transmitters in the gravitational foci of stars. The trouble is the young races, which out of curiosity can damage the transmitters. Because of this, relativistic fleets are always ready(All this happens in a universe without FTL).The components of the holonet retain their individuality, while being themselves collective manifestations of alien civilizations. It is based on the theory of the complication of organisms from unicellular to multicellular, then to many-body ones. For example, our civilization has already begun the process of unification via the Internet.
Fifthly, the nameless civilization from the "Roadside Picnic" by the Strugatsky brothers. After visiting the Earth, the aliens left six zones full of artifacts and anomalies, which are indistinguishable for earth science from magic. However, as it turns out all this is just rubbish that strangers left. Just like empty cans and cigarette butts that people leave after a roadside picnic.
Sixth Wanderers from Noon Universe by Strugatsky brothers. One of the important story arcs of those books addresses how the advanced human civilization covertly steers the development of those considered less advanced. Agents of humans are known as Progressors. At the same time, some humans suspect that a very advanced spacefaring race called Wanderers exists and is "progressing" humanity itself. People with all their zero gates and starships, genetic modifications and machines find themselves powerless in front of mysterious forces that they are not even able to detect. And most importantly, people do not believe that aliens wish them harm. They fear that they will do "good" in their understanding.
Seventh, Puppeteers from Larry Niven's “Ringworld”, which are three-headed creatures with two heads. Civilization, whose main motivation is fear. Because of this, they secretly intervened in the development of people and kzin, making them safer for themselves.
All this is just the first thing that came to mind.
Stanisław or Stanislaw, not Stanislav.
But overall interesting examples.
That's the stuff I thought of when reading most creativly designed aliens.
You didn't like Starship Troopers the book? I smell heresy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have to specify the Book. Book Starship Troopers has more common with WH40k than the Film of the same name.
Oh fuck off!!
Nah,his points are all valid.
It´s boring af and it´s literally Heinlein jerking off for over 250 pages how great the military is.
I get it,the appeal it has to many guys,but as someone who actually did military service I find Heinlein´s overidealised version of the military in the book, cringey af.
I could tolerate the whole "oooh... I love beeing a good little submissive soldierboi"-message,if the book had an interesting story,but nah.
Turning it into a batshit insane satire,was the best idea that Verhoeven had and the fact that "professional movie critics" were accusing him of "glorifying fascism" with the film,is even better. The whole Klendathu landing in the movie,is just glorious stupidity in his most epic form.
I think you need to read the Lensman series, if you think Power Armor is obvious, and Force-users are original. Also, how did a Light Saber make a list of Alien Races?
He had to come up with a unique alien from Star Wars, gave up and said "fuck it, lightsaber crystals a sentient, right? Close enough."
a man, a lightsaber, an x-wing, and an R2 unit = Jedi
@@protiod yuuzhan vong
most of star wars is ripped off from buck rogers, flash gordon and star trek.
A interesting race is Larry Niven's *_Protectors,_* otherwise known as homo habilus, a early primate ancestor of humanity!
They're from his Known Space series (that also introduced Ktzin cat aliens) that included the award winning novel *Ringworld.* Which was built by Protectors.
The novel that introduces them is called … *Protector.*
[I recommend you read it, it's not that long… if you want to, don't read further as I kind of spoil the specie's surprises, but I try not to spoil the plot].
They are the third stage of the primate species lifecycle (that originated near the centre of the galaxy).
First there is the infant, then there's a breeder, a almost sentient primate that …breeds.
Then when the breeder gets older they get an uncontrollable urge to eat a certain root plant that till then has seemed meh.
It contains a genetic virus that causes certain alterations;
The teeth fall out (it then forms a hard beak)
The skin gets very wrinkled (and becomes like armour)
The hair falls out.
The joints swell (to provide greater muscle attachment points and leverage).
A second heart grows near the groin from the main arteries.
Sexual characteristics are lost.
The brain greatly expands and they become so intelligent they don't need computers because they are smarter than a computer and better at calculation as well (one sat in a chair and guided a ram scoop ship for thousands of years without any distractions).
They fingernails become retractable claws.
They develop a overwhelming imperative to ensure the survival of their bloodline at all cost, in fact if all their descendants die they loose the will to eat.
They live for thousands and thousands of years, in fact they are unsure because they never die of old age because they are constantly fighting other Protectors that aren't related to them for resources for their relatives, tribal warfare on a epic scale - forever.
Now some of these changes seem similar to old age in humans, and that's because we are descended from a lost colony attempt by a group of childless Protectors that were trying to find a reason to live.
Without the virus humans just get some of the changes without the benifits they are preparing for.
Unfortunately when the Protectors reached Earth the genetic virus didn't grow properly so they died out and the breeders (kept in Cryo for the journey) were left to fend for themselves and evolved into all the primates.
So what happens when another childless Protector finds the info about the colony (information and technology keeps getting lost because they can't co-operate long before one sees an advantage in attacking the other) and goes to rescue the breeders with the missing piece of the puzzle to make the root (called Tree of Life) grow true, a element common in the Galactic core but rare in the rim.
And a human takes a bite and becomes a Protector stage human (even smarter that a Protector from a primative primate, and with the human experience).
Humans are not Protectors, they are different, they are a threat, and the Protectors wipe out all alien races matter of factly as a possible risk.
It's a interesting concept.
A incredibly smart strong and focused race that is totally xenophobic from a purely logical perspective, but is really the missing part of our lifecycle. And that we can't adopt as part of our lifecycle because it would destroy human civilisation as we would all decend into tribal warfare controlled by practically immortal hyper intelligent super beings controlled by instinct.
We are the abomination.
The Quarian from Mass Effect (Entire population lives in a giant roaming fleet of ships and have to stay in enviro-suits), Hunters from Halo (Literally a giant walking colony of worms armed and armored to hell), Umbarans from Star Wars (Bizarre & advanced technology with a crazy homeworld), Command & Conquer (Tiberium infestation/salvation at the same time is a cool concept), and Transformers (Giant space robots capable of transforming into things, space travel, and breeding), are all cool & unique ideas.
American Ben, "Starship Troopers" is one of my favorite books, and one of a select few I've revisited from time to time. But that doesn't mean you have to like it, and there's nothing wrong with you not liking it. Next time I'm at the bookstore I will keep an eye out, and consider the Halo book. I appreciate your lists, the effort you, and your associates, put into research, your logic and your presentation. (And your bits of humor.)
As always thank you so very much for your videos.
Thanks for watching dude!
I loved Halo: The Fall of Reach is one of my favorite books of all time, but I also LOVED Starship Trooper.
40K races feel like somebody started by copy-pasting a fantasy race, then went nuts using sci-fi elements to explain their abilities.
The results are interesting, if a little on the nose.
Yeaah ... Warhammer doesn't get an A in originality
Most of the minor xenos races are a whole lot more original. You just don't get to see them often. And 40k literally is the Warhammer Fantasy in space, GW decided that since Fantasy was so successful that they would make a SciFi version.
Warhammer 40k started as a parody of the usual Sci-Fi tropes,according to the creators.They took inspiration from many satirical "2000 A.D." comics.
@@doublep1980 Yah sorry, that was the original theme of 40k. I meant that they made scifi versions of their fantasy races.
I thought that was basically the point of taking Warhammer and making a sci fi game out ot it. :)
The original Mondasian Cybermen from Doctor Who. They look like someone attached a pile of junk to their bodies - which is EXACTLY how they should look. They epitomize procrastination in the face of disaster. Tell yourself that it's not so bad, you've got time, there are other priorities, right up until the last moment - then rush like mad to get the job done. "No time for purpose based parts - what have we got that works?" And who cares what it looks like.
Gotta love the angelic mechanize looking Guardian
Ben you are wrong we should have favorite aliens, favorite aliens to kill and that is all
The shape of the covenant energy sword kinda look creative to me
I do wish that you did talk a bit more about the actual visual designs of some of these creatures, as opposed to mainly technology and history. There was definitely a lot to talk about with the Xenomorph and The Flood, and I feel that you skimmed over that.
I've never heard about the zerg before, and I love that since they have one, overarching intelligence they play Sims with their own species
You should've definitely included Transformers in the list. Its one of the most unique sci-fi franchises after all, and has a lot of creativity and originality behind it. The character designs alone are incredibly impressive... 🙍
They're character art and design is really well done. The characters themselves sound like poorly written anime.
@@protiod Some of the names are a bit dumb tbh. Like Erector for example (yes, that is an actual Transformers character)...
100% agree
There are three flavors of Hive Mind , Uni mind where all subjects share a single conscience (Arachnids). Two Networked mind where everyone retains their individual traits but share or volunteer information to a collective memory(Borg). Three True Hive in where every member is only partially in control of their own bodies as they share sensory or tactile ability across multiple bodies thus requiring cooperation.
ok... some good points, but what about the aliens? last time i checked high Charity, The Citadel and the mass relay network, the warp, space hulks, Daleks cortex vault and lightsabers is not aliens, they things created by aliens, and in the case of the space hulks they are just giant collection of wreckage randomly floating about.
I am fairly sure the Daleks are quite a original designs. :D
I was surprised the Cybermen didn't make the list. Then again they weren't very bright. Some being able to be killed with cleaning fluids. ( Stinky things then)
Tbh Dr Who has some better more original enemies, the Wheeping Angels, the Vashta Nerada and the Silence all are very unique.
yeah how much you like Starship troopers depends on your personal politics
Well, Ben, we disagree on the Starship Troopers book, but it's wrong to hate someone for their opinions. On to interesting aliens!
First, I'd suggest the Drej from Titan A.E.: they are energy beings that manage to be mysterious and unsettling, but without just being ethereal space-ghosts. Their technology and abilities really capitalize on everything of theirs being made up of Forerunner-style hard light - or maybe "hard lightning" is a better description.
Second, the JAM from the novels and anime Yukikaze. I love these things because we know so little about them. They introduced themselves to humanity by opening a hurricane-sized portal over Antarctica, and launching a small invasion of Earth through it. Humanity prevailed, chased them back through the portal to their homeworld, and established a network of military bases to keep a foothold there - but it's never clear what they wanted, or even what they look like. They fight like they're trying to keep their tech _just_ one step ahead of us, but then they do things like teleport interesting people to pocket dimensions for a weird sort of chitchat. Analysis of wrecked JAM fighters never really figured out the difference between the fighter and any pilot it might have carried. Are they a race of little green men who only ever use drones? A machine collective intelligence like Mass Effect's Geth? Some sort of extradimensional godlike entity that's just screwing with humanity? We have no idea. I love it.
And speaking of extradimensional entities, there's the Orz from Star Control. I love these guys. Any conversation with them is weirdly funny, as the translator system glitches continuously while trying to figure out their language, and goes kind of bananas trying to make best-fit guesses. As best I can tell, they are an expression of a single powerful being that lives in a sort of hyperspace dimension; they describe other beings as "many bubbles" and themselves as "fingers" (like I said, translator issues), and showed up when a race of cyborgs started experimenting with hyperspace. It's not clear what exactly happened to the synthetics, but they're completely gone, their cities are mostly destroyed by the synthetics' own weapons, and the Orz get really pissed off if you keep asking about them, so draw your own conclusions.
High Charity is indeed really well designed. It's like a mushroom tip.
Hey, it's you.
I wish aliens in sci-fi would look unique. They tend to have human-like bodies. Two arms, two legs, a head, two eyes, a mouth...etc. Like the aliens from Arrival were unique. Sure they sort of looked like a squid. But they didn't look familiar fully, even their language was different and they "wrote" different. I also enjoyed the MUTO(s) from Godzilla, though they did somewhat look like a giant insect. But they had a more unique sound I hadn't really heard. Love to see more aliens where you have no idea what you are looking at. Maybe it has no real features that make you say "Oh, thats the head!" or "Oh thats the eyes!"...etc.
It's why I also enjoy No Mans Sky, sometimes you come across an alien and you are a bit confused because you haven't really seen anything like it before. I do realize human imagination may have some limits along with limits of how we can design such things. I also realize most aliens/monsters are made to have semi-human features so we can recognize its more like us.
The Wookies from Star Wars. They adapted the natural and mechanical in their villages, made an amazing star fighter that a huge species could fly, and can rip arms out of sockets when the lose a board game.
Boring
No Babylon 5 love eh? IMO they have some of the most unique alien races in Sci-Fi! 😎
Weeping Angels (Dr. Who)
Proto molecule from the expanse, the prawns from district 9, the heptapods from arrival , the... whatever it is in annihilation, I mean you had plenty of choice when it come to alien which break the basic mold of what we generaly see from sci fi media.
Look for lore about the 40k version of skaven
Oh, you talk about Imperium of Man?
@@vladimirtarasov9031 That is some high octane Heresy right there. Comparing the blessed form of humanity to only broadly anthropomorphic rats? The Inquisition frowns on that sort of thing, and by 'frowns on' I mean 'will horribly torture you and then turn you into a mindless mono-tasked servitor for even thinking about it'.
@@gregorygreenwood-nimmo4954 *laughing in heresy*
You guys a a very thoughtful channel. Your list videos are much more interesting than similar ones.
"Despite it only being written in two months". I think Starship Troopers beat that time by a couple of weeks.
I think the Angel aliens from Doom are a really cool idea. The Forunner and Flood dynamic is really cool in my opinion, with one side being beautiful, artsy, and elegant with the opposing side being the embodiment of infection, biological machines, and cosmic horror.
The Aliens from Arrival were beyond phenomenal and mystifying! They take my breath were time they were on screen because they defiantly gave off the other-worldly feel to the audience. You just wanted to know more about them.
Was looking for someone else thatoves the heptapods, creative physical design, cool ships built for the perpsoe they fulfil, well thougt out quirks of the species
@@d.thieud.1056 EXACTLY! Phenomenal movie with a PHENOMENAL story! Love it so much as it's Top 10 easily!
I'd put the starship troopers book along side Ender's Game or the giver, and should be read for the purpose of learning critical thinking, not for simple entertainment, like hunger games or divergent. I've not read fall of reach, so I cannot make that comparison. I put it along side Ender's Game and The Giver in that the intent of the book is to make the reader think about moral issues.
The visitor/s depicted in both Arrival and Annihilation stand out to me as the most unique and creative alien designs I've ever seen. Most others don't even come close.
One thing that kind of buggs me about alien races is, those where most of the population is warriors and/prediators. what do they eat, how builds all their stuff and how did they evolved before they got of their home planet. another thing is those wars high intensety wars that last for decades or more. Modern wars tend to be short brutal things or low intensety insergences.
Aliens from movie "Arrival" are some creative ones. Although very little information we have, but the way they function and look is cool.
Great video. This is why I follow this channel. The snark is top notch but even when they (mostly) drop the snark to do a more serious video like this one the quality is still excellent.
I feel like it's a huge missed opportunity to mention that there are some pretty interesting alien races in Star Wars as well (which would have fit the video's theme pretty well too). The Chiss, the Kaleesh, the Lasat, and tons more not only with interesting designs, but interesting cultures, behaviors, etc etc. Not to say that lightsabers aren't awesome in their own right, but huuuge missed opportunity on a list talking about aliens :P
I agree about starship troopers. I always wondered why they wouldn't just use tanks, mechs, chemical/bio weapons, drones/droids, etc vs the giant insects.
A good military SF or rather antimilitaristic SF is The Forever War by Joe Haldeman :
Few quotes
Military training
“So here we were, fifty men and fifty women, with IQs over 150 and bodies of unusual health and strength, slogging elitely through the mud and slush of central Missouri, reflecting on the usefulness of our skill in building bridges on worlds where the only fluid is an occasional standing pool of liquid helium.”
― Joe Haldeman, The Forever War
Medecine
“Doctors don’t seem to realize that most of us are perfectly content not having to visualize ourselves as animated bags of skin filled with obscene glop.”
― Joe Haldeman, The Forever War
Live in the military
“Reality becomes illusory and observer-oriented when you study general relativity. Or Buddhism. Or get drafted.”
― Joe Haldeman, The Forever War
I played the game Star Control 2 before I learned proper English. I misunderstood an alien race in a pretty creative way, later on I read the lore. But my understanding back then was an intelligent tumor life form, which took over a planet by infecting the inhabitant animals. They do control a body collectively and became space travelers. They became sort of symbiotic with the animals, since they have to keep the body alive as long as they can.
I didn't like Starship Troopers book either for pretty much the same reasons. I'm glad I read it but didn't really feel the need to go back and do it again. What I remember most is the talking grenade and how Rico's dad became part of his squad serving under him.
As much as I hate Tholians, they are pretty alien for a Star Trek alien race, not like most of the humanoids they encounter all the time. Crystalline arthropods from a 'demon' world...
I love Tholian ships and the fact that they're not humanoid. It's refreshing.
Definitely the xenomorph. The design is so original, unique and scary in a very special way.
The Aliens from Star Trek, most of them are barely recognisable as having a human actor below the surface
+Victor Bruant I know this would be a genuinely cringeworthy answer but; most of the new 'designers' and alien enthusaiats genuinely and blatantly ignore the phenomenon known as *Covergent Evolution*
@@hudadaragyadmansoo8428 The thing is that we only know about evolution on Earth and that while simple life exists on Earth since at least 3.5 billion years ago, complex life only evolved about 600 million years ago, so it's possible that complex life is actually Divergent Evolution and that it barely exists in the Universe, maybe we even hit the Universal Jackpot.
@@victorbruant389 I genuinely am against the main 'belief' that is almost onset as a cult mentality that surrounds the scientific minds; that is the life being the most impossible thing to exist on universe, and contracting the earth as akin to the religious people's deitification of humans as the prime species on universe, it is a wrong speculation that truly shows the human species ignorant and superiority fixated nature
@@hudadaragyadmansoo8428 Science has nothing to do with belief, I never said that life was "impossible thing to exist on universe", onlythat is possible, just as it is possible that life exists outside of the solar system. Until there is scientific proof for or against Alien life, I'm not persuaded by any of the two options.
@@victorbruant389 I meant the fact that most scientific organizations and science themed people have this overexagrattion, and ignorance almost openly. Not for you individually but as a social network - conseus
Btw Solar system has Europa, Titan, Encaladus...etc.
Ah crap… should've suggested the Dominion from Star Trek for strongest Aliens series, they are pretty damn formidable and only lost…(draw) due to some serious plot armour.
Perhaps do a bit on them anyway someday.
Why I just imagine the Dominion, mostly the Shapelings being beaten by the Zerg or the Tryanids with a drinking straw?
The Prophets / Wormhole Aliens were very creatively thought up. It was sad that they were treated as little more than MacGuffins.
@@lukasperuzovic1429 Zerg or tryanids with changeling abilities is very scary
One of my favorites is the original predator, and I like that because the predator because of how he fought. He used stealth and hit and run tactics. He knew in a one on one fight with the protagonists he would lose, and he used his tech to aid him, always taking one, clean shot and retreating before they could shoot him.
As much as I love tyranids, honestly the aliens from Arrival would probably make a good addition to this list. Similar enough to us we can communicate with them, but strange enough that their mere presence puts all the world's military's on high alert.
For me the most interesting(and most alien) concepts come from Star Carrier books. The semi-hivemind Turush with their twisted philosophy and biology, the blind Slan and their psychology and many more are some of the most creative concepts i'vs seen so far
For me it's the Neomorphs from Alien Covenant. They work perfectly with the Alien lore, they look damn cool and they are just brutal as hell 👽
Starship troopers ( film) is a satire on facism , it's basicly a propaganda. The film is more about the characters and satire rather than aliens
Nesren Utkan And the film still sucks cock compared to the book, but I guess that’s just how film works.
@ You guess? You don't know for sure? Your comment is pretty stupid, but hey I guess that's just how the internet works.
@ Ha, you're making a sarcastic comment when the joke is on you. Look, I agree, a lot of movies based off of books aren't that great, which definitely includes Starship Troopers, but whenever people say, "that's just how film works," as if film was just one single thing, I usually take it with a grain of salt. You've got the whole world to look to when you're looking for good movies based off of books, but I'd say most people just base things off of what they know. And way too many people say that there aren't a lot of good movies based off of books, but I'm starting to become skeptical of that.
"I always get the shakes on a drop."
How about 10 scifi civilizations that would make warhammer 40k fans cry about being OP
Culture, Orion arm univers, Gurren Laggan. Any more?
@@vladimirtarasov9031 the xeelee, downstreamers, the new gods and both time lords and daleks though dr who isn't consistent in power levels at all so the unstoppable multiverse killing threat can be stoped with a paintball gun depending on the episode, the celestials from marvel, alien x from ben ten probably the q from star trek,
What about "The Beast" from Homeworld Cataclysm. I know its obscure but it predated the flood and most of the *organic alien that can infect every other life form for their own ends* trope.
I know they are not technically Aliens, however I WOULD add the different Orbital Frames from Zone of the Enders. Machines powered by a rare substance/element called Metatron Ore. The machines are wildly different from eachother and all fight in different ways, some being the size of cities...while others have the firepower to level cities. Aside from the mass produced stuff, no two Orbital Frames are the same.
I hope the Commonwealth Saga sees its time on television. The aliens and technology are awesome
The Prime aliens from the Commonwealth universe, Peter F Hamilton.
Most weirdly logical consistent psychology ive seen
My understanding is Heinlein wrote starship troopers to offend hippies. He wrote stranger in a strange land and started having hippies visits his home so he wrote starship troopers.
2:13 “Nay it was heresy!”
Xenomorphs + hive mind like the Borgs + armour like in Halo will make other aliens like ... you know! ☺☺☺
Basically that's how you end up with the Tyranid. Hive minds, heavy armour, and nasty bugs that can survive basically anywhere.
Also technically in the Aliens EU, what your talking about kind of exists. The xenoborgs, it's a xenomorph thats modified with technology, giving it heavy firepower, powerful armour, and potential for a hive mind with some tweaks. Not a fan of them tho, sure they are powerful, but far less creepy.
THE RIFTBORN IS MY FAVOURITE
Superman is an alien
Cylons (original), Cardassians, Dominion (relationship between the Changelings, Vorta, and Jem'Hadar), Klingons
The Aliens from Arrival where the most independently designed Aliens I ever saw in a movie (Also the interaction between Aliens and humans). They were (As the aliens out there in the Universe probably are) not even remotely close to anything on earth and the producers of Arrival did a good job in portraying the obstacles which ocure when trying to interact with such different species. I can only recomend that movie.
Ben, we all have a favorite alien. The best aliens are dead aliens, no matter the species.
In terms of technology ....
The Andorian Flabjellah for combining a weapon with a musical instrument.
The Vulcan Vorl-tak for being a psychic superweapon which is highly illogical.
The alien ship in "Beyond the Farthest Star" in "Star Trek: The Animated Series" may just be the most creatively designed alien ship in science fiction.
Most creative alien species? Probably the Tribbles. The lightsaber of alien species in terms of their simple design, but also the ability to reproduce asexually and sniff out Klingon agents.
There's also the Elcor from Mass Effect and that slaver from the Star Wars prequels.
Honestly, the Animorphs series spoiled me for creative aliens. The deer/man/scorpion Andalites, the blade covered and herbivorous Hork-Bajir, Father in the deep places of his home... these are but a few.
admittably the book of Starship troopers is slow- although that was actually the point. The book was specifically designed to present a specific idea for the future of humanity in what the author believed would be the best potential future, which just happened to be presented with a background setting to explain how it all happened.
It's more a political idea than it is a story.
The leviathans and there polites in Farscape.
where are "The Mimics" from Edge of tomorrow???
Yup. Creating and living in time loops is some new idea!
The film is a temporal anomaly because they got unexisted.
Do love the Zerg. Starcraft 1 Zerg that is. Then Blizzard hit a wall. Everything in Starcraft 1 and Broodwar was great, especially the Zerg. The books that came after that game is pretty amazing.
You didn't like starship troopers, and i thought I couldn't hate you any more than I already did.
thing about starship troopers book - I've read it, watched the movie, and it would take me "only" couple YEARS to realise I've read the book movie was based off xD
Nice video m8 keep it up the good work
What I want to see is the most creatively designed humans and human societies in Science Fiction. I think that we rarely see humans as being the same as people of today with better technology.
I want to see SF Human societies like the ones in Dune. Still human, but different. The Fremen and the Mentats are human, but Circumstances shaped them into something different to the people of Today.
Dear sweet American Ben,
while your dislike for the first( and, arguably best) manual on organizing against an alien threat is misguided and unfortunate, we still admire and respect your leadership.
May your Inquisition be swift and we pray you are not found wanting.
I think that The Borg is the one of the most interesting hive mind races there is.
Favorite alien? Ewoks and Porgs! They are delicious!
BBQ sause makes them even better.
So are Tribbles! Try some today!
@@seanmcgrath3826 I seem to remember the TOS episode saying Tribbles weren't very good and had very little to nothing edible.
@@ojisanhoward8940 Your're right I forgot about that, thanks for reminding me. I just wanted to have something from Trek in the discussion, and not Targ
@@seanmcgrath3826 hmmmm *thinking* Well from Star Trek...WE GOT GAGH!
H.R Giger takes the cake.
Did you ignore the tyranids in favor for the zergs to avoid to much wh40K? Because the latter are based on the former.
*AMERICAN BEN HAS BEEN REPLACED*
We should all have a favourite alien race....
A favourite one to kill, that is
I do have the book star ship trooper.
A lot of people hate it as they don't understand it
For me it was the best book I have read in years
And remember star craft was ment to be 40k game but it was never ment to be so we have this heresy of a game
Don't hate as I am a inquisitior of the imperial inquisition
Burn the heritc the alien and the unclean
In the name of the empora
I would include the protomolecule from the Expanse here as well. While not an alien race per see it does host some unique properties.
I agree with you on this list you did a good job.
Do a race comparison between halo races and mass effect races maybe a versus
Yesssss, give us more aliens!!!
Best hive mind: The bugs from In Death Ground and the Shiva Option. They can use and innovate new tech and are killing machines.
Personally I quite like the Tau in 40K- not from a stylised standpoint but from their position as the underdogs, they're a relatively normal sci-fi alien race who operate somewhat logically and assume everyone else does- Only to find out they're in 40K and are surrounded by religious zealots, planet devouring space roaches, Orky boyz and Ghost terminators. And yet somehow they still manage to just about fit in (in concept, at least) by being a sort of brutal hiearchical dictatorship, Tau are all born in to a specific role and will serve that role without question until the day they die, with a few rare exceptions, for the sake of the Etherials. They're just presented as "normal" because they want to seem appealing and nice (and their living conditions are generally better than what everyone around them has)