Jump to content
XCOMUFO & Xenocide

Ufo Originality


kwirl

Recommended Posts

I see many referrences to 'UFO' this or that in various posts in here, and my mind comes back to a comment from a senior member regarding a need to distinguish this project from that of X-Com: UFO Defense.

 

Is there another term we could use beyond 'UFO' for interacting with the aliens? If our organization knows as much as we need to combat the menace, it seems that they are no longer Unidentified Flying Objects, but if not, what are we combating?

 

There are several alien races, so what unifies them against us? Are they servile races, or a unified collective against the Earth? I mentioned in a post on UFO naming that we could perhaps use star/spaceship classification names to refer to their ships, but perhaps we could expand on that even further and apply it throughout the game.

 

Xenocide is not a real word, and so I am going to assume it is an extended version of the word 'Genocide' - and then realize when applying that to the game, that our entire planet is under attack, and we face extinction. Calling them UFO's seems just a bit silly in that context, or should we stick to what all the other generic naming protocols have proved to work?

 

I realize the deep integration of the UFO context already in the game, but any attempts at distinctivity could be simplified by expanding on this concept during the creative phase. Just how much originality are we seeking in this game?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Though there have been a few contradictions here in there referring to the story's plot so far, the general idea seems to be quite simple in ambition: the aliens are little more than genetically-enchanced killing machines used to fuel the lust for domination set forth by a greater being. There are a lot of different directions one can go from there, but as of now, a lot of that potential remains slightly untapped. I suppose that it'll only be a matter of time before we settle down on the main storyline--and if you've got any ideas, please don't hesitate to venture them. Just because this is a successor in spirit to X-Com, doesn't mean the story's identical by any means.

 

I do share your views on the usage of "UFOs," however, the term appears to be a subtle generalization for the time being. Delving into that matter will obviously take a fair degree of time and effort, but it's definitely worthwhile. Any bits of individuality and creativeness are definitely savored in the sci-fi realm. I think the time for brainstorming begins...now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For the next couple of months I am in the process of moving to california, where I will be continuing my computer animation degree. Eventually I plan on working for one of the major game publishers, but for now, that is years away.

 

In the meantime, I am going to spend my time getting up to date with all the work you have all done before I arrived, and occasionally chiming in. By january, when I'm settled in my new house with my new monster (my pimp computer for doing heavy graphic rendering :P), I will be able to seriously amplify my contributions in terms of original work.

 

Anyway, that served as a bit of an introduction to me, for the other people I will learn of as regular contributors to the forums.

 

Thanks!

-Kwirl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, though my experience here is limited at best, I know I speak for the rest of us here when I say that you're definitely welcome here. As always, any extra input or ideas are always looked into. It goes without saying that we've all got a bit of work to do, so any help sure does count.

 

Hmm, that new computer idea sounds quite interesting--I'm sure the art department would be more than happy to recieve some contributions or help of any kind. I would actually love to help in those areas myself, but, again, my experience in such fields is piddling at best. And, erm, my most-used computer can barely play Half-Life, and my better one is suffering from some serious downtime. Predictably enough.

 

It seems that you have quite an inquisitive manner about you in terms of story pacing and such. We can definitely use that here. If you have any ideas at all on how to make Xenocide that little bit better, please don't hesitate to put it forth here. Again, we need all the help we can get. Thanks for joining up, by the way. Nice to have you onboard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

UFO is a classic in which regards to alien spaceships (in our times, an on earth). Even nowadays, when you see a picture of what's supposed to be an alien spacecraft, people call it an UFO, even if they are convinced that it is an alien ship. For sake of simplicity, I'd say to keep it that way, perhaps for V2.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm, I kind of agree. People might be a bit confused if we decided to swap the UFO dub for something like "starships" or what have you. I think UFO is fine in this case, as Xenocide starts with no prior knowledge of where the aliens came from, or what exactly they truly are, so "Unidentified Flying Object" isn't too far off for the time being.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A UFO has nothing to do with aliens.. It's an old airforce acronym for Unidentified Flying Object. Anything that is flying that is not identified is a UFO. Modern fighter pilots call them 'bogies.'

 

It's kind of silly for xcom to refer to the various UFOs as 'Harverster UFOs' and so forth, because at the point you can call it a harvester is ceases to be a UFO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A UFO has nothing to do with aliens.. It's an old airforce acronym for Unidentified Flying Object.  Anything that is flying that is not identified is a UFO.  Modern fighter pilots call them 'bogies.'

 

It's kind of silly for xcom to refer to the various UFOs as 'Harverster UFOs' and so forth, because at the point you can call it a harvester is ceases to be a UFO.

 

As I said, it's a classic to call alien spaceships "UFOs", besides, it's simpler and most people will prefer to have them called UFOs.

It's a game people, let's not get over realistic :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's nothing wrong with authenticity now and again, don't get me wrong, but I have to go with Az on this one--UFOs are commenly identified as UFOs. We don't want to get TOO sci-fi here with other, hokey names. It's a pop-culture thing, it seems. Edited by The Master Maniac
Link to comment
Share on other sites

objection your honour!

 

I think that UFO should be abolished because it doesn't make sense. Also, I think it sounds better without the 'UFO' suffix - I believe that any popup or CTD should refer to a XYZ CLASS UFO, rather than a XYZ UFO. I think that it is a minor issue, but as I am a CTD person, I like to quibble CTD issues :argue:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Xenocide means something. "Xeno" is 'something alien', and "cide" is 'extinction' so, roughly, it means "killing aliens".

 

As for using UFO, we might use another word, but people tend to correspond "UFO" with "Alien Craft", so if we change it, they will just think "Why the heck isn't that thing called a UFO?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Xenocide means something. "Xeno" is 'something alien', and "cide" is 'extinction' so, roughly, it means "killing aliens".

 

As for using UFO, we might use another word, but people tend to correspond "UFO" with "Alien Craft", so if we change it, they will just think "Why the heck isn't that thing called a UFO?"

 

That issue would be solved by calling them 'alien craft'

 

As in (for the Xnet) Alien Craft ===> Harverster Class

Battle Ship Class

etc.

 

So they would be referred to as 'Harverster Class (Alien) Vessel/craft/ship' If they were being talked about. Alien would be redundant in this case because there is no such thing as a human Harvester Class ship.

Edited by fux0r666
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Xenocide means something. "Xeno" is 'something alien', and "cide" is 'extinction' so, roughly, it means "killing aliens".

 

As for using UFO, we might use another word, but people tend to correspond "UFO" with "Alien Craft", so if we change it, they will just think "Why the heck isn't that thing called a UFO?"

 

That issue would be solved by calling them 'alien craft'

 

As in (for the Xnet) Alien Craft ===> Harverster Class

Battle Ship Class

etc.

 

So they would be referred to as 'Harverster Class (Alien) Vessel/craft/ship' If they were being talked about. Alien would be redundant in this case because there is no such thing as a human Harvester Class ship.

 

What's the point?, UFO is nowadays like a synonim of alien ship (for us puny civillians).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's the point?, UFO is nowadays like a synonim of alien ship (for us puny civillians).

 

You know what my point is. It is your point I'm having a little trouble with.

 

If I follow, your argument is that we should call them UFO's because UFO is synonymous with alien space-ship. My argument to that is that alien space-ship is even more accurate and less cliche.

 

So are you saying that UFO is better because it is easier to understand, or are you saying that UFO is ok too?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My point is that UFO is so commonly associated with Alien ships that changing it may be a little confusing, or at least like Mikker said, would lead to some "why isn't it called an UFO?"

I agree that if Aliens return in V2, we could change the name to Alien Ship or such, maybe a poll by then?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

remember that when the game starts, knowledge about the aliens is limited. most people haven't even spoted one(how i see it). useing the word ufo in the begining of the game seems correct. and changing that in the middle of the game would be strange. i think we should use ufo in v1, and somthing else in later versions.

 

we could use ufo when a alien craft is detected, but somthing else in the ufopedia, when you have researched the ufo's.

Edited by Qonfused
Link to comment
Share on other sites

remember that when the game starts, knowledge about the aliens is limited. most people haven't even spoted one(how i see it). useing the word ufo in the begining of the game seems correct. and changing that in the middle of the game would be strange. i think we should use ufo in v1, and somthing else in later versions.

 

we could use ufo when a alien craft is detected, but somthing else in the ufopedia, when you have researched the ufo's.

 

Yeah my argument was that those objects that are unidentified should be UFOs. Like. 'UFO detected' is accurate... but for the xnet entries for ship information, calling something a UFO when there is a picture of it right in front of you and it is being described is a little strange. Or, you could put in a little nod as to why you call them UFOs.. like a little blurb in one of the entries saying that the radar and sensor operators got used to referring to them as UFOs. Therefore, the Xcorps common vernacular is to refer to alien ships as UFOs even after they started identifying them using the Hyperwave decoder... It would be easy to see why this would be because, in the time between the hyperwave decoder detects a transmission and the time at which it has enough information for the operator to make an assessment, it would still be a UFO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Its all about flava'

 

UFO is just a buzzword that "everyone" knows about. When the player reads the word "UFO", he does not think "Unidentified Flying Object" he thinks "Aliens". No player will have a problem with the word UFO because it conjurs up the correct images of Flying Saucers and big headed grey aliens out to get us, which is exactly what Xcom, and so Xeno, is based on. Lets just try to keep that in mind.

 

 

"Whos got the flava'?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...