Galaxy Prime Art 9: Gear & Equipment

Flying away from superheroes and heading back into space, this week I thought I'd show you a little something different that I created for the Galaxy Prime Role Playing Game project. My previous pictures were all of space ships and vehicles, which I admit was a lot of fun. But then came Chapter 9, which included equipment. The fact is, this section was seeming pretty empty, so I had to dig up some designs for gear that looked both alien and familiar. To be honest, I think it came out looking more familiar than not, but at least it looked suitably futuristic.

Galaxy Prime, page 89

The rifle and glasses were free models I downloaded from the StrataCafe.com website (it's a community of Strata Design 3D users who share models, textures, and tips with each other). The pad is my own original creation that I made for a client who kept pushing me to create a more unusual interface for a software control panel. I finally popped this out, and it's all black and chrome and funky. Yup... too funky. We went with something a lot simpler. The model languished in my files, unseen for 6 or 7 years, but, when this project came along, I thought it was a great place to put it to some use.

After the game had been out for a year or so, I met up with game creator James Shade at a convention (OwlCon in Houston, I think), and he mentioned to me that a lot of people had commented on this particular illustration, wanting to know two things: What does it say on the tablet, and what the heck are those those three little things on the right?

The symbols on the tablet are in an "alien font" I downloaded for use int he book. It's name is actually ALIEN, and I'm sorry, but I don't remember where I downloaded it. If I can remember (or find it again), I'll let you know. At any rate, this was the "standard" alien language font that I used in the book. As filler, I wrote a variety of quotes and attributed them to the various races. For example, one such quote (and one of my favorites on pg. 193) states: "Translation of an old Kor saying: 'Don't be afraid to bite the hand that feeds you... sometimes it has the tastiest meat!" The Kor are the Warlords of the galaxy, and not afraid to take power by force.

But back to the tablet. Here's what it says:

If you actually take the time to decode this, you probably have too much time on your hands! But thanks for your enthusiasm.

As for those little things on the side? They're energy cartridges for the laser rifle. They plug in somewhere at the back or bottom. I don't know. I just made it all up, so don't spend too much time trying to find any logic or hidden meanings..