The races of Starbound 

For the next stage of my research, as I have now learnt the basis and different elements that build up the game Starbound I decide to move on and focus in more detail on the different races and character customisation that can be found within the game. This element is one of the main focuses for our promo art art test so I knew it would be important for me to research in great detail.

At the very beginning of the Starbound the player is introduced to a options screen which allowed them to choose a character they will be playing as for the entirety of the game. There are several different options to interact with to be able to customise the pixel character given to you to make them more personal to the player which is always a important feature in a role playing game. Essentially there are two options that the player can choose from when it comes to the character creation process. Option one is randomise what your character will look like if you don't want to take the time to personally tweak for sprites design or would rather not think of a design yourself. Option two however involves going through the different tabs provided to change your character yourself to suit what you want them to look like. There are lots of different options antithetical options such as changing the colour of your characters hair or the clothings colour and design but one of the most interesting options is changing which race you want your character to be.

In Starbound there are six different available races for the player to choose from, Human, Avian, Apex, Floran, Hylotl and Glitch. Each race has their own detailed back story and stereotype personality which the player will learn about as they progress through the game back in the character creation process it is a bit of a mystery and you just have to go with one that appeal to you.

I decided as one of our tasks for our promo art art test is to redesign each race from the original pixel art it would be important for me to read up on the back story and traits for each of the races as it could lead to and help me come up with some interesting design concepts. All the information below has been copied and pasted from the Starbound Wikipedia page as it I wanted accurate information on the different back stories and it was easier for me to post everything I needed for research in a blog post instead of just flicking back and forth from the wiki page.


The link to the Wikipedia page: http://starbound.gamepedia.com/Starbound_Wiki

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Information and back stories of the different Starbound races 

Apex 

The Apex were close to human in appearance until a breakthrough in research into accelerated evolution led to the creation of the “Vestigi-Evo Process” (VEP). The VEP allowed the Apex to trade physical devolution for intellectual evolution. The Apex operate under a collectivist regime controlled by the MiniKnog (The Ministry of Scientific Progression). Each Apex dedicates his/her life to the survival and progression of the Apex as a whole. The nature of this regime allowed the VEP to be administered species-wide in less than 10 years. The most honored members of Apex society are those chosen by the MiniKnog to donate their bodies to furthering the VEP. Those chosen for the experimentation process are rarely seen again, but their names are said to be inscribed on the wall of the chosen which sits deep within the Ministry. For a time, the MiniKnog received criticism from several prominent Apex for what appeared to be a bias towards selecting only the poorest in society to be members of the chosen. However, this criticism was silenced when the critics themselves were selected. There are whispers of a rebel group ready to denounce the MiniKnog and lead the Apex into revolution...but in Apex society even discussion of dissension is punishable by death

Apex are mammals similar both to humans and the "great apes" commonly found on Earth. Before the introduction of the VEP, it is likely they resembled humans even more closely than they currently do, with the "devolution" effect of the VEP causing their more ape-like features (I.E. greater body hair, monochromatic eyes). Distinguishing features of the species include their body hair, absent mostly on their faces, palms and likely the bottoms of their feet and stomachs. They have large ears and distinguished facial hair (often females will also have facial hair), and particularly monochromatic eyes, taking on a glossy black color. Apex society seems to be based around a technocratic totalitarian regime which prioritises the advancement of their species through a highly scientific governmentality. 

It appears that this regime has held power since before the Apex began experimenting with VEP, which is the primary reason the species was so quickly and so uniformly altered by the process. At the center of this power structure is the Ministry of Scientific Progression (Miniknog). The main drive of Miniknog is to ensure the ever-escalating socio-scientific development of the race, evolving to become ever more intelligent and technologically advanced. This motivation can be seen both in the systematic efficiency of the species-wide implementation of VEP over only a few short generations, as well as in the technology and architecture of Apex star vessels and planetside facilities, all of which share a uniform ultramodern design which is both highly utilitarian and futuristic.Apex recorded history only extends backwards a few hundred years, earlier records apparently having been deliberately destroyed by the regime in order to deracinate modern Apex society from any sense of loyalty to or investment in their presumably premodern ancestors. 

Like other races in Starbound, Apex towns can be found throughout the cosmos. They tend to consist primarily of large buildings with a large number of metallic parts, posters which often honor Big Ape and dispense information, televisions, and security cameras. Like Avian villages, none of the local Apex are automatically hostile to the player, making them a welcome find for new players; in addition, their enclosed nature gives players a good deal of protection from any local hostile creatures. However, Apex guards are quite sparse compared to their Avian counterparts, so they will not be of much help in the event of a fight: in addition, Apex villages tend to be vulnerable to armed takeovers for the same reason.
An Interrogation Table is located in some Apex facilities, it has a light color scheme and has saws and drills above. Despite the name it has one of the highest health regeneration rates of all beds. 

Human 

Very little information has been given about the human race. Though a few wallpapers have been released that feature humans, more information was recently discovered from the open beta about the humans. All info here should be regarded as a Work in Progress. Humans are a technologically advanced and intelligent species, rapidly advancing technologically and socially. They were the first species to research and engage in space travel for science and entertainment. Humanity began to explore the stars, however a certain currently-unspecified "limitation" constrained their colonization efforts to their own solar system.  

With resources rapidly depleting on Earth, humanity turned to war as the major Earth Superpowers fought over the limited resources in the solar system. During a lengthy conflict over the planet Mars an unknown and huge tentacle-like entity attacked and lay waste to earth, destroying the single unified nations of Earth and casting the few survivors into the galaxy. The player is one of the few survivors of the Earth massacre, your crewmates having recently being slaughtered by a smaller tentacle entity you brought onboard. It should be noted that the WIP human intro video portrays humanity as a single unified and peaceful empire instead of a more modern day representation of separate nation-states.  

Glitch 

The Glitch were part of a program invented and built by an unknown race of enormous intelligence as a means of simulating the social and technological progress of a non-human civilization. These experiments took place in a vast number of regions across the universe. Despite changing a plethora of variables, each civilization eventually destroyed itself when its technological progression began to overtake its social progression. The only exception was the Glitch. For reasons unknown a fault caused the Glitch to become stuck early in the simulation, where they now remain. The experiment long abandoned, the Glitch are unable to shake their medieval values and beliefs. They're entirely unaware of their origin and are built to experience feelings and desires, like all other sentient organisms.

Aside from their role as playable characters, the Glitch can be encountered both in towns - similarly to other races - and in castles reminiscent of those from the medieval period. Glitch villages are quite useful to players early in the game, but the castles frequently have a large number of guards that tend to attack immediately if the player gets too close to the castle, meaning that Glitch castles are less useful for early players than are some other villages. The Glitch civilians, however, behave similarly to any other sentient race encountered in the game, and some Glitch will even trade with the player for pixels.Most large castles also have a single Glitch king, adorned in gold with a crown: like his soldiers, he is hostile on sight and will try to strike down even the most peaceful of visitors, and he will drop his crown upon death. Notably, the Glitch King is often the only occupant of the smaller castles; some of these smaller castles can also house a single wizard instead, who will sell the player stim packs. According to Tiy's description of the race, the Glitch apparently reproduce when a pair of Glitch literally construct a new Glitch from scratch. Occasionally, however, errors emerge in the process, and this results in Glitches who are fully self-aware and freed of their medieval programming. These Glitch (often called "outcasts") are hunted down mercilessly by their own kind, who deem them as being insane: some, however, escape, forming villages across the cosmos.

Avian 

Avian culture revolves around the worship of Kluex, the winged god of the Aether. Kluex was originally a prominent judge and ruler of the Avians who played a critical role in the Avian's advancement into the space age: some years after his death, he was deified by his people.
Avians have since separated into two factions; the Stargazers, who believe in and worship Kluex, and the Grounded, who reject Kluex and often deny his very existence. Stargazers believe they were stripped of their wings as punishment for entering the mortal world and will only regain their wings in the afterlife should they achieve absolution through worship. Throughout their history Avians have always been a primitive race, making little scientific progress. Avian numbers were beginning to dwindle when a superior race took pity and bestowed the gift of advanced technology upon them. This new found tech allowed the Avians to flourish and spread across the universe, building temples of worship as they went.

Though rarer, Avians have been known to stray from their religious culture. Dubbed the Grounded, these Avians became outcasts and find solace amongst other races. Avian soldiers are trained from birth to be fierce warriors and will protect their settlements at any cost. Avian weaponry may look primitive at first glance, but the incorporation of advanced technology makes them particularly formidable. Avian generals forge wings for themselves that function much like jetpacks.

Hylotl 

Not much is known about the Hylotl. They appear to have "fins", as shown by the character creation screen. They slightly resemble the Mexican Axolotl; the inspiration seeming more apparent in the suffix of the name. It is also demonstrated that the Hylotl are inspired by East Asian culture. Their starter clothing options include a Kimono which could be a reference to Japanese culture as well.

Through reading the codex logs, it can be found that the Hylotl are a peaceful and empathic race. They concern themselves with beauty, perfection, and culture, and have a strong urge to share this with other organisms. They are pacifists and herbivores.
Unfortunately, despite their noble ideals, the Hylotl's kind nature has regularly put them on the receiving end of another race's weapons Just prior to the game's events, the Hylotl were evicted from their planet by the Floran this is the event that leads to the player's flight on his/her spaceship that leads to the start of the game. It is also revealed in the codexes that the Avian regularly use Hylotl as sacrifices.  When a Hylotl player encounters Floran, they may mention their fondness for eating Hylotl flesh.

Floran 

One would expect a race of sentient humanoid plants to be peaceful, nature-loving environmentalists – that presumption is what allows this hyper-aggressive tribal civilization to thrive. Unwitting explorers are prey of choice to the carnivorous Florans, who frequently salvage or reverse engineer the technology they bring to enable their colonization of the stars. Introducing space travel to the primitive Florans had the undesired effect of Floran colonies spanning across star systems, each with their own customs and levels of aggression. Despite this, individual Florans have been known to split apart from their society to lead their own lives in isolation or in the solace of other races, at the cost of being cut off from the collective and considered enemies of all flora for good.

Though a unisex race, Floran culture values survival through reproduction and expansion over environmentalism or any perceived bond to Mother Nature. Funeral rituals and wars with rival factions are commonplace, though it remains unclear whether it’s out of conservation or simple tradition. Their aggressive nature appears to be borne from a lack of a concept of non-plant life as opposed to outright contempt. Owing to their relatively young age as a species, this tenet dominates their culture and justifies their treatment of visiting races, though there are signs of some beginning to question this, implying that Floran individuals may not be inherently “evil” as previously thought, but that they are able to make peaceful societies that are able to live in harmony with the other non-plant races.

Novakid 

Forged eons ago in the fusion furnaces of a now-dead star, the Novakid are a perfect example of nature’s emergent beauty. These creatures, described by a human astronomer as “interstellar gas-bag people”, have no known single origin point: that information is long lost, as the Novakid have little to no desire to record their history, or even pass it on to their offspring. Though they are (generally) more intelligent and intuitive than the “fleshy” races, their attention spans are lacking. This does not make them any less effective in combat, but has the effect of restricting their technology research (and any groundbreaking research is Just build good enough before they lose interest in it ).
The force that drives the Novakid is contained within the brand on their faces. Charged with huge amounts of energy, these pieces of metal generate the hard plasma “shells” which stop their constituent gases from leaking – if a Novakid is depleted of his or her vital gases, the energy contained within their brand is instantly vented into the very fabric of spacetime, leaving only a twisted metal symbol and a nearly undetectable warping of light around the area of death.

Since the Novakid have a short attention span, diplomatic relations can be strained at times. Because of their completely different composition to other lifeforms, Novakid are sometimes unable to grasp the nuances of interracial social interactions, and have thus attained a slightly dubious reputation amongst other races. In particular, an Avian diplomat reportedly described a Novakid he met as “dense”, and elaborated upon his statement by mentioning that the Novakid in question had cheerily asked him if his god, Kluex, was real. Novakids could have some major aspects in common with Sun/Stars, an example being that the colour of their " gas " may show their current lifespan, and how long they have left ( White, Blue, Yellow, Red ), this is all speculation, though