Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Speculative biology is simultaneously a science and form of art in which one speculates on the possibilities of life and evolution. What could the world look like if dinosaurs had never gone extinct? What could alien lifeforms look like? What kinds of plants and animals might exist in the far future? These questions and more are tackled by speculative biologists, and the Speculative Evolution welcomes all relevant ideas, inquiries, and world-building projects alike. With a member base comprising users from across the world, our community is the largest and longest-running place of gathering for speculative biologists on the web.

While unregistered users are able to browse the forum on a basic level, registering an account provides additional forum access not visible to guests as well as the ability to join in discussions and contribute yourself! Registration is free and instantaneous.

Join our community today!

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
SE Census - Favorite Projects; LAST ONE, I SWEAR!
Topic Started: May 23 2018, 10:43 PM (1,114 Views)
Abacaba
Member Avatar
Pointy
 *  *  *  *  *
My favorite projects are (in no particular order): Serina, Diyu, Geometroids, Settlers From The Deep, Ishtar, Solais, Cinder, Lance that Pierced the Stars, and Wodnoria.
About Me

Obligatory Quotes

Spec

Math
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
LittleLazyLass
Member Avatar
Proud quilt in a bag

Since I've recently started reading it again from the start in addition to catching up on all the updates on behind on, and because though it's been invoked but not really explained yet, I'll take this opportunity to talk about Serina. Me and Sheather don't always get along perfectly, but I'm consistently left in awe at his writing and spec abilities. His work has certainly me been an inspiration for me to continue to flesh out my own project ideas (but don't hold your breath), and I've already given one of his COM entries the honour of my favorite piece of speculative evolution over in the favorite spec creature census. Anyway, I'm here today to say something similar about Serina - it's my favorite spec project ever. On forum, off forum, whatever. Dixon, Steiner? Their work just isn't the same. Serina demonstrate an understanding of evolution and ecological dynamics above just about any other project the forum has seen, and it truly separates itself from creature design in how fully its organisms must be viewed in the lens of their evolution.

It's not just the super derived postbirds that make the project tick though, even just reading the Hypostecene content shows something above the level of most spec work. It constructs a logical yet interesting ecology that makes perfect sense given the situation, and then moves forward with it in a great demonstration of cause and effect. Than as time marches on the project moves on to more and more derived animals, but because of the sequential nature of the project, a march through time, it never stops feeling grounded. As IIGS said upthread, it feels real, despite how divergent its life can be. The success isn't all tied to the logic, though. As I've remarked a few times in the thread, creativity is very much at play here too. Not just in the pure abberance of some creatures, either One of my favorite examples remains the archangels. I'll repeat my past words about them:
Quote:
 
I really love how this creature nails balancing familiarity with creativity and uniqueness. Quadrupedal birds are a tired concept, but instead of just using it to re-create dinosaurs and force birds to be other animals, we switch right back to looking at the implication it has for birds doing what birds do best - flying. It's a surprisingly unexplored area, to my knowledge. Additionally, these things show clear inspiration from pterosaurs in multiple ways, but the first thing we do is focus on a lineage that's gone and done something pterosaurs never did, to our knowledge - become grazing herbivores. It's taking familiar ideas yet making sure to not only stand out from good execution, but original takes on those ideas.
All these things, of course, only work so well as they do thanks to a great writing style. Many projects run into hurdles with multiple time periods (or even just the one) as they struggle to make a world feel full and fleshed out, and just trip over a lack of focus. In any given one time (in-universe), Serina really isn't that fleshed out either, but everything feels deliberate and connected in a way that it doesn't give off that unfocused feel. We're not here to explore every inch of a planet, but to see the evolutionary story of this world.

If by some small chance you haven't read it yet, I give it my highest recommendation.
totally not British, b-baka!
Posted Image You like me (Unlike)
I don't even really like this song that much but the title is pretty relatable sometimes, I guess.
Me
What, you want me to tell you what these mean?
Read First
Words Maybe
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ragnar
Member Avatar
Cephalopod Fetus
 *  *
Good evening!

Personally, I mainly praise Diyu, Settlers from the Deep, Serina, Solais, Cinder and Sunrise on Illion, among others.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Free Forums. Reliable service with over 8 years of experience.
« Previous Topic · General Spec · Next Topic »
Add Reply