This thread is inspired by another: view original post
The exclusion of the Tigerman probably points toward the Awoken and Exo not being aliens, as the Tigerman (obviously alien, am I right, guys?) did not fit the vibe they were going for. The two that made the cut are most likely human variations, The Food Chain pointed out that the existence of aliens with similar facial features is highly unlikely.
This is a little long but almost all of it hasn't been gone over.
As ShadowSlayer218 and a few others alluded to, this is a mythic sci-fi game, the Awoken clearly represent the Elven element of this mash-up. Evidenced by the screenshot from the Destiny Character Development video, they appear to be identified with the Hunter, a ranger-esce class (note the yellow hued warm colors, and the left variant doesn't even have an exposed face).
As for the Exo, previously we couldn't see the full concept but The Exalener has provided us with a [url=http://puu.sh/2pNg2]suitable reference[/url]. That helmet doesn't appear to have enough room for a full skull, notice the back top portion appears either blown out, broken, or stylized to have a chunk missing from what would be a full head. Also notice the hands, particularly the the thumbs, where the webbing and muscle should be instead there are mechanical tendons and a blacked out gap. To me the hands appear mechanical with the legs and feet simply being armored, indicating the Exo is not fully machine.
Where does this put the Exo?
[i]outside, external, turning out, outward[/i]- medically and scientifically this term is used to prefix something that produces something else, such as energy or waste, or something that lays outside of something else.
The most prominent term we might think of is [i]exoskeleton[/i] but we know that all classes utilize some form of armor, so maybe this is an external skeletal feature or replacement that does not supplement but attaches at the end of the body as prosthesis.
With human civilization facing annihilation it could make sense for recovered casualties to be repaired and sent back into battle, their disabilities replaced with prosthetics, their damaged brains/humanity sutured and cropped (offering a more useful disability: a mental familiarity with and propensity for violence).
Or perhaps they've willingly subjected themselves to medical procedures and cybernetic alterations aimed at enhancing their [i]physical[/i] or [i]outward[/i] presence on the battlefield, whereas the Awoken (filling the role of the Elves) might have more of an intellectual/spiritual prowess, scrying abilities or mental connection to physics, or similarly, as most have proposed, a more intense magical presence.
What do you think of this speculation, it's effect on story, and the gameplay implications of this may be?
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8 Replies in this Sub-ThreadWhy's it gotta be Elves? It's a well known fact in Neo-Tokyo that being an early-gen psychic mutant turns your skin blue and hair white.
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Edited by externalmemory: 4/7/2013 4:03:54 AMHa, by that I just meant "lithe / pretty" vs. "tough / macho". "Fem" and "butch" might be taking it in a... [i]different[/i] direction (but isn't Edward Cullen just [i]dreamy[/i])? Yeah, I do see what you mean in terms of archetypes. I am aware of Staten's kind of (IMO) flippant ownership of the reference, I read it as a sort of "well, people are gonna call them space elves until we reveal more in the story to be their own thing, so we just roll with it for now. Press note: Mythic Sci Fi; Elves, Wizards and Guns." Just thinking/hoping that Bungie would put their own twist on it and make the Awoken quite a bit different from those archetypes that IMO are really beaten into the ground. I mean, let's call the Cabal space trolls or space giants, too. You can see where it would start to lose a coherent identity of its own. Though they're definitely trying to get away from the arbitrary rules one might assume from a futuristic setting, I feel like a simple mash-up just isn't Bungie (think Shadowrun's literal take or Phantasy stars Nu/Newmans which really are just elves with a genetic engineering backstory to kinda shoehorn them in). We're probably thinking along the same lines, just at issue with semantics. All a matter of opinion of course, anyway, I'm just strongly pushing my own take on the Awoken in particular because I have high expectations for the story, and I'd expect every race to be compelling enough to [i]me[/i] to want to roll a character for each. Like "STOP CALLING THEM SPACE ELVES DAMMIT BUNGIE THAT'S LAME. OR I'M TAKING MY TOYS GOING HOME". Ha, anyway, you get the idea.
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Haha yeah I just thought it was funny. I agree with you though, I'd really like to see them go somewhere new with archetypes, make it more than a mash-up, and I think they will after all it's Bungie we're talking about. And yeah, that seems pretty likely they would just stick to 'space elf' because everyone will instantly get the gist of what they're going for. I think the fact they look more like Drow definitely hints that they'll be making it their own, ironic I know (but already the majority of them must be 'good guys'). Plus they're excluding Race specific benefits/pitfalls so a 'space elf' can be whatever it wants gameplay-wise. I think we'll be pleasantly surprised in the end.
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