User avatar
SamuelBrett
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue 23 Feb 2021, 02:13

Re: Inspiration thread: Books, comics, movies set in a similar setting to Alien + Aliens?

Thu 26 Aug 2021, 01:49

The films Outland, Predator, and The Abyss, the novella Who Goes There? (likely better known as the film The Thing), the novels Almayer's Folly and Heart of Darkness (both by Joseph Conrad), and the graphic novel Whiteout (also made into a film) have all been inspirational.

Edit: I just watched DeepStar Six while doing laundry and, although it's by no means a great film, it does have a similarly claustrophobic, isolated, perilous situation that fits right in with the Alien aesthetic.
 
ErikModi
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed 08 Dec 2021, 16:27

Re: Alien Inspiration thread: Books, comics, movies set in a similar setting to Alien + Aliens?

Thu 09 Dec 2021, 18:28

The recent Netflix Lost In Space series. The third (and I believe, final) season was recently released. Drawing a bit more heavily from The Martian than the previous iterations of the show, it still has some good commonalities for fans of the original while being a solid update. The tech is simultaneously a bit more primitive and bit more advanced than usual for Alien (for spoiler reasons), but it does definitely lean into the fact that space travel is simultaneously awesome and stupid dangerous. And if you were disappointed by the apparent lack of competence of the crews of Prometheus and Covenant, you'll enjoy seeing characters who are able to knuckle down and work the problem.
 
rennarda
Posts: 94
Joined: Fri 20 Dec 2019, 15:28

Re: Alien Inspiration thread: Books, comics, movies set in a similar setting to Alien + Aliens?

Mon 31 Jan 2022, 12:02

Not a book, comic or movie - but you absolutely should play the Alien: Isolation computer game. You could probably rip off the entire things as a scenario for your game in fact.

I think this game is up there with Alien and Aliens as one of the best parts of the entire Alien franchise - the attention to detail is astounding, from the visuals to the sound design and the storyline. It has just been recently released for iOS, and I've been playing through on an iPad and it loses nothing in the translation to a mobile device. It is absolutely intense, the way it builds and maintains tension is great - and very informative for a GM of the RPG. The first time you are trapped in a level with the creature (in the medical level) is absolutely terrifying. It uses some clever coding so that the alien is not pre-programmed, but has certain behaviours that are driven by AI - so it will patrol and hunt, and it is attracted by sound, and can spot you at a distance and through windows. But at other times it will retreat to the overheard vents and become dormant.

Again - this is an absolute "must play" for any GM.
 
User avatar
Gebohq
Posts: 148
Joined: Mon 07 Oct 2019, 03:05
Location: Maryland, USA
Contact:

Re: Alien Inspiration thread: Books, comics, movies set in a similar setting to Alien + Aliens?

Mon 31 Jan 2022, 22:41

There's an anime movie you should be able to find easily enough on Youtube called "Lily C.A.T." and, while I won't claim it's a masterpiece, certainly fits easily enough in the Alien universe.
The Plothole: a home for amateur, inclusive, collaborative stories
http://forums.theplothole.net
 
ThaLux
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue 24 May 2022, 05:22

Re: Alien Inspiration thread: Books, comics, movies set in a similar setting to Alien + Aliens?

Tue 24 May 2022, 05:32

YUATJA better known as the Predators

and

the Warhammer 40k universe come to mind

as places Xenomorphs could thrive
 
Midnightplat
Posts: 60
Joined: Mon 13 Jun 2022, 09:48

Re: Alien Inspiration thread: Books, comics, movies set in a similar setting to Alien + Aliens?

Mon 13 Jun 2022, 20:07

You might want to take a look at the 1972 movie Silent Running. Not so much for the "Alien" dread atmosphere, but more on world building angle, like Outland. The ships on an environmental / ecological preservation mission give off a design vibe somewhere between the The Prometheus and Nostromo (but lean more toward the retrotech latter if the latter had go carts). In the context of some of the colony unrest/uprising, I could see a Gamemother using the Valley Forge Incident as a thing a team of Colonial Marshals might investigate on behalf of the ship's owners. Maybe they intervene sometime between the homicidal psychosis and the ship's self destruction. Maybe bring in that Coast Guard mentioned in the game's universe.

It's a _decent_ movie, more on par with Outland in quality than Alien, but I think the overall plot and the production design, ships, utility droid tech etc could fit real well in the Alien universe. I'd see Outland first though.

To push it further, it'd be a stretch but I'd be interested in something that mashes up Alien with 2001/2010 universe. Like have the Monolith culture out there as something the Engineers don't understand either. But make the Monolith's existence more dreadful than hopeful, like Event Horizon bad. You could actually have it that the powers that be in humanity either have or have knowledge of the first Monolith/sentinel found on the Moon, and maybe even did the Discovery mission to Jupiter, it's all highly classified stuff but fit into a universe if you wanted multiple "great powers" in the galaxy.
 
LucasDiercouff
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue 15 Feb 2022, 18:30
Location: Denver, Colorado
Contact:

Re: Inspiration thread: Books, comics, movies set in a similar setting to Alien + Aliens?

Fri 17 Jun 2022, 17:09

Fantastic suggestions.
Last edited by LucasDiercouff on Fri 17 Jun 2022, 17:16, edited 1 time in total.
 
LucasDiercouff
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue 15 Feb 2022, 18:30
Location: Denver, Colorado
Contact:

Re: Inspiration thread: Books, comics, movies set in a similar setting to Alien + Aliens?

Fri 17 Jun 2022, 17:12

Yes! I love this film and want to do a scenario like this SO bad!

The Abyss. It's set underwater, not in space, and modern-day (well, 90's) but the claustrophobia, the sense of impending doom, is classic Alien. Could be great inspiration for an underwater Alien adventure (presumably the Xenomorphs are great swimmers...).

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest