Monster Evolution Sketch Game.
polycounter lvl 18
This came out of a game I've played in #MD with a few guys a few times.
The idea is to take a sketch of a creature, then whoever is playing can grab that sketch and "evolve" that creature by emphasizing or minimizing various traits, making changes to the color, details, etc. Then anyone else can grab that sketch (or the original) and continue the process. Eventually you end up with a whole evolutionary tree of creatures to riff off of.
Example:
As the game continues you can start taking into consideration the other creatures and the various niches your creature is filling so you're not only putting your spin on it, you're also thinking about how your creature is supposed to compete with/hunt/avoid being hunted by the rest of the monstrous menagerie. This is helped by including a brief bestiary entry with your sketch to explain its environment and how your changes to the creature helped it adapt, though that isn't necessary.
Popular sketches will probably get lots of attention and make it to a new generation of creatures while design dead ends (or overly polished ones) will likewise probably be evolutionary ones, so be creative but also leave lots of room for the people riffing on it to add their own changes.
To start, Sayanora, bounchfx and I are starting out with three fairly amphibious entries, all on the verge of being able to head out of the water, or return to the oceans:
Saya's Electromander:
"Part salamander, part electric eel. An aquatic vulture by nature, electromander uses electricity to stun weakened opponents, but is quick to avoid direct confrontation, relying on its speed and a cartilaginous skeleton to force its way through tight spaces. A scourge upon plankton and the incapacitated."
Naru's Tideclaw:
"A predator of the shoreline. Protected from most would-be attackers by the painful nematocysts covering most of its back, the Tideclaw lives in shallow pools and lagoons, feeding off most anything that makes its home there on the edges of the ocean. The mostly solitary creature scours miles of rocky territory for slow-moving crustaceans and mollusks but can be surprisingly quick if faster prey gets too close to its razor-sharp claws."
bounch's Spinestacean:
"Skittering along the sandy beaches and tidepools of the coean, this creature feeds on the detritus that washes ashore and happily adds any fellow scavengers to its meal. A sturdy exoskeleton and thorny extremities keeps all but the most tenacious predators at bay. The suctioning surface of its tentacle-like body allows the creature to cling to nearly any surface, sensing vibrations in the nearby environment so as to always be one step ahead of its predators or prey. "
SO that is about it. Go for it, take the designs wherever you like but remember that half the fun is watching small changes take form into larger ones as each artist builds and builds upon the last.
Have fun, can't wait to see what you all come up with.
The idea is to take a sketch of a creature, then whoever is playing can grab that sketch and "evolve" that creature by emphasizing or minimizing various traits, making changes to the color, details, etc. Then anyone else can grab that sketch (or the original) and continue the process. Eventually you end up with a whole evolutionary tree of creatures to riff off of.
Example:
As the game continues you can start taking into consideration the other creatures and the various niches your creature is filling so you're not only putting your spin on it, you're also thinking about how your creature is supposed to compete with/hunt/avoid being hunted by the rest of the monstrous menagerie. This is helped by including a brief bestiary entry with your sketch to explain its environment and how your changes to the creature helped it adapt, though that isn't necessary.
Popular sketches will probably get lots of attention and make it to a new generation of creatures while design dead ends (or overly polished ones) will likewise probably be evolutionary ones, so be creative but also leave lots of room for the people riffing on it to add their own changes.
To start, Sayanora, bounchfx and I are starting out with three fairly amphibious entries, all on the verge of being able to head out of the water, or return to the oceans:
Saya's Electromander:
"Part salamander, part electric eel. An aquatic vulture by nature, electromander uses electricity to stun weakened opponents, but is quick to avoid direct confrontation, relying on its speed and a cartilaginous skeleton to force its way through tight spaces. A scourge upon plankton and the incapacitated."
Naru's Tideclaw:
"A predator of the shoreline. Protected from most would-be attackers by the painful nematocysts covering most of its back, the Tideclaw lives in shallow pools and lagoons, feeding off most anything that makes its home there on the edges of the ocean. The mostly solitary creature scours miles of rocky territory for slow-moving crustaceans and mollusks but can be surprisingly quick if faster prey gets too close to its razor-sharp claws."
bounch's Spinestacean:
"Skittering along the sandy beaches and tidepools of the coean, this creature feeds on the detritus that washes ashore and happily adds any fellow scavengers to its meal. A sturdy exoskeleton and thorny extremities keeps all but the most tenacious predators at bay. The suctioning surface of its tentacle-like body allows the creature to cling to nearly any surface, sensing vibrations in the nearby environment so as to always be one step ahead of its predators or prey. "
SO that is about it. Go for it, take the designs wherever you like but remember that half the fun is watching small changes take form into larger ones as each artist builds and builds upon the last.
Have fun, can't wait to see what you all come up with.
Replies
no clue what happened to this poor bastard but he is now part rooster I guess!
I see this as the return to the sea for this fella, with his tail tentacle becoming a snake-like body and his legs becoming graspers. Probably still a scavenger, and likely competing with the Electromander.
w-w-what? Your creature is evolving!
After thousands of years of evolution, a more aggressive species has been created. It is a fighter, it has big ass thorns for arms to stab its prey, and has developed legs and an abdomen! Sorry if I took this thing in the wrong direction :S
Electromandus Selaznogus has red markings along its tail and spine, to warn off predators that it still retains the electrical defensive properties of its ancestors. The long things on the chin are vestigal features which are now purely for decoration and attracting mates.
The electromander has evolved a greener skin to better blend in with its forest surroundings.
That is some nice rendering buddy. I gotta learn how to do that
Rare glimpse of an enraged Wakawaka Chikan. A distant relative of early Tideclaws. Photographer unknown.
Due to flooding rivers blocking off the mainland, part of the spinestacean population adapted to the tide pools.