Space Sekigahara (working title) is a galactic-horror themed strategy game, featuring four factions: Demons, Humans, Oniso, and Technocore. It is based off the board game of a similar name, Sekigahara, which is based off of an ancient, Japanese battle. On this page, you'll find my sketches and drawings for the concept art developing each of them. The renderings will be organized based on the classes developed for the game. Each of the classes is designed using moodboards, which I've included at the beginning of each section. I have written the descriptions on the moodboards, but the class and ship descriptions for each race were written by Rafal Gromadzki. He is part of the team called Absurdomatic Games, which I worked with to produce this project.
A demon figure iteration.
Humans - Homo stellarum
After a century of peace and cooperation in its quest to explore the galaxy, humanity shed its militaristic tendencies. So, it was caught off guard when a human vessel made first contact with the eldritch horror and was immediately overwhelmed. It did not take long for them to carve their way through unsuspecting and defenseless human colonies.
Humanity was caught on the back foot in military capacity and had no ability to negotiate with their aggressors. The people of the stars put their expansive knowledge of the science of the universe into defending themselves by any means necessary. The era of great peace had come to an end and with it the luxuries of the age were converted once again to the means of war.
Humans have a preference for tubes, circles; modular construction; complex inner workings; friendship with technology.
human, current day
Human bases should show man's connection with nature; a sense of man's reach, unyielding; a sense of symmetry, rhythm, pattern; a kind of malleability of the materials, seen in final form.
human, base
HumanS, Assault
Small ships used primarily for travel within solar systems and around planets were so abundant at one point that practically everyone had one. When the war started every home printer (3d printer) was sent specs for parts that modified the vast array of personal craft into self-contained defense units. A hodgepodge of parts mounted onto a seemingly endless array of vehicles from thousands of manufacturers makes up the cheap, easy, fast, and nimble fingers of the defense fleet.
The moodboard for human, assault ships.
Human assault ships are endlessly customized, interwoven forms of plastic, metal, and miscellaneous due to the advent of 3D printing; very rarely pristine, largely utilitarian vehicles; they're an expression of culture, less of wealth.
human, assault
Humans, Cruiser
Vessels of scientific discovery were expensive ships that were designed for endeavors that would further humankind's’ knowledge of the universe; endeavors that were routinely undertaken. These ships could sustain large crews for years and sometimes decades as they were often self-sustaining and self-repairing. Although the ships themselves were not easily converted into implements of war, the onboard instrumentation could often be turned towards this purpose with little modification. The scanners, tools, probes, and other means for discovery turned onto the enemy give the humans a perspective they can understand, a knowledge of their aggressors. These great ships of cruise through the sky without the speed of the Frigates and nowhere near the size of the Destroyers, they are undoubtedly the brains of the defense fleet.
Human cruisers are made of mismatched arrays of instruments and arms; there are signs of use and wear; they are advanced forms of organization, with less food storage onboard, as it's fabricated onboard; modular elements are featured, such as smaller shifts that work in and around the larger vessels.
human, cruiser
Humans, Frigate
Eccentricity and great wealth were in abundance before it all fell apart. A common way to enjoy great wealth was to own a space-faring yacht. These were no mere personal craft and could sustain large family units or parties for months without the need to resupply. Although nowhere near as abundant as personal craft these elaborate yachts of the skies were not an unimaginable luxury. Built to cove great distances of dangerous and violent expanse in a reasonable time but still able to maneuver into any reasonably sized port, these ships converted well into the hard fist of the defense fleet.
Human frigates are seen as a "search for simpler times" and are romantic constructions of early earth; they are seen as "monuments" and beautiful pieces of earth culture, later seen as sacrificial lambs of the war. Highly organized inner structure of the vessels enables long-distance travel.
human, frigate, simpler times
Human frigates symbolize man's triumph over nature; they're a celebration of form and natural beauty, a crude form of elegance found in the demons. The ships are tacky and extravagant shows of wealth.
human, frigate, triumphant
Humans, Destroyer
Massive mechanical beasts of burden that once plodded through empty expanse moved vast amounts of goods, supplies and sometimes even people between the stars. Like mammoth train cars of the skies, these slow, lumbering brutes were rarely in any rush. To make up for their deficit in speed they were virtually unstoppable. Very few of the events of the universe and the debris of empty space could derail the fixed routes of these behemoths. Their multitudinous cargo protected by hulls impenetrable by radiation or fast-moving space matter. Although in no way easy or cheap to convert, once made into ships of war their hulls can take an unbelievable beating and their cargo bays can hold an unimaginable amount of ordnance. Even countless ships of all other sizes can be packed inside these Trojan horses and ploughed directly behind enemy lines. The Destroyers make up the long-lasting legs of the defense fleet.
Human destroyer ships are braced and fortified; Their sense of order can be seen at the grand scale. Cosmetically, they're ancient pieces of human technology but still technically sound. They are exceptionally functional.
human, destroyer
Demons - Piouters /The Pious/
Piouters exist only to expiate. Their appearance in the universe was as sudden as that of Oniso. Humans found themselves overrun by Oniso and unable to withstand the endless waves of monsters. Even the most successful campaigns to repel advancement did little more than slow down the encroachment of the foam and the creatures which spawned from it. In an early conflict, during the darkest moment when doom seemed inevitable there broke through a seemingly divine shaft of light, cutting down any Oniso along its righteous path. The light appeared first but not from nothing. At its source was a powerful armada in beautiful formation. As it broke formation the light disappeared and what was left of the Oniso creatures was dispatched swiftly by stunningly brilliant ships of a design never before seen in this galaxy. Human celebration of this event was short lived as once no Oniso remained on the battlefield the gleaming Piouter ships turned their gaze and weapons on the remainder of the human forces in the area.
This event was no isolated encounter. Anywhere that humans fought Oniso forces the Piouter armada eventually arrived and repeated the process. Organized they fight as one but disperse for greater maneuverability or if possessing of insufficient forces for a cohesive unit. Clearing out the Oniso is their obvious mission but punishing the impious that unleashed them permeates their cause of expiation. They punish those who through their unquenchable thirst for knowledge unwittingly attempted to undo the universe. The words of Spinoza have taken on a grim prescience. “Anyone who seeks for the true causes of miracles, and strives to understand natural phenomena as an intelligent being, and not to gaze at them like a fool, is set down and denounced as an impious heretic.”
Demons are elegant and picturesque, but sinister; they are flowing and hypnotic.
demon, identity, figures
Demons, a: demons living in symbiosis with primitive life, bodies covered with different specimens of moss, mold, and algae..
Demons, b: demons as a mirage, akin to their human historic proclivity to seduce, confuse or persuade.
Demons, b: demons as a mirage, akin to their human historic proclivity to seduce, confuse or persuade.
demon, identity, "face"
Demon ships are methodical, zen shapes that echo into grand forms; they have areas of unimaginable detail in contrast with not-quite empty space.
demon, architecture
Busts, bodies and head iterations of demon identity, featuring moss.
A demon iteration.
A demon bust, with an alternate face illustrated.
A crystalline demon bust, with a pair of colour iterations.
A slightly abstract demon bust, with mushrooms and growing moss on it's otherwise metallic, reflective body.
A crystal, general demon bust iteration.
A dark and lanky demon iteration, with many kinds of things growing off of it.
Oniso
Oniso are beings that were once eradicated from the mortal plane. Banished to a dimension rolled up within the fabric of the universe by an ancient intelligence, they have existed in a timeless state for untold eons. The Oniso were inadvertently liberated by unwitting humans swept up in an endless quest for knowledge and are once again free to reorder the universe back into chaos.
The motives of immortal, primordial forces simply cannot be known or understood. However, their actions can be observed and judged from the perspective of the observer. In the case of the Oniso very few have ever observed them and lived to tell the tale. Exploding into existence wherever life and technology see sophistication, they seem to feed on the energy of complex patterns, consuming anything in their path and leaving behind only the base constituents of matter without any order.
Oniso, Assault
The Oniso are no traditional space-faring civilization and as such they do not really have bases. Appearing anywhere that man has poked holes into the fabric of space, Oniso bases are an outpouring of a froth or foam which is not made of any previously observed form of matter. These expanding pockets of seemingly newly created substance are most akin to clutches of amphibian eggs that birth unspeakable horrors.
“Hatching” in great numbers with horrifying speed from the smallest pockets of Oniso froth are acidic, tarry creatures that do not adhere to a particular form. When stationary they are bulging, swelling, pulsating spheres and while in motion they develop comet like tails that flow behind them. They seek out the complex patterns of life and order with the resolve of unrelenting predators. If their targets are small, they envelop them completely and melt away leaving only a cloud of particles in their place. If their target is large however, they spread to cover the maximum possible surface and melt all that they can reach. Their attacks obliterate matter and energy but also destroy themselves in the process.
Oniso assault pieces are formless and disgusting; they're textured, but not in a uniform way.
oniso, assault
Oniso, Frigate
Taking longer to spew forth from the foam are larger more developed creatures of a terrifying visage. If one can imagine a moray eel and a goblin shark producing unholy progeny it may begin to describe the basic shape of the monster and its mode of locomotion. However unlike either animal they seem to possess no organs or flesh or at least all that is visible would be most akin to bones. The head of the creature has a sharp point and many rows of horrifying teeth. Behind those teeth lies a proboscis capable of protruding far forward of the head and excreting the same acidic tarry substance that the smallest Oniso creatures are made from but only as a projectile with no will of its own. A sharp jagged spine runs from the terrible head of the creature and constitutes the majority of its length. Down almost the full length of this spine are ribs that encircle an empty cavity down the length of the beast but also extend above the spine as sharp protrusions. In the front quarter about a head length past the base of the head are seemingly vestigial protuberances that resemble arms or flippers but seem to serve no purpose.
Oniso, frigates bring out a sense of reaching; they're spiky and protruding, yet spongy and eerily empty.
oniso, frigate
Oniso, Cruiser
The largest of the creatures that spawn from the infernal foam and a beast of insatiable hunger. Like a giant sea anemone, its many tentacles pull anything unfortunate enough to get close into a mouth that seems capable of expanding or contracting to accommodate any size meal. The tentacles are also capable of expanding or contracting into the mass of the creature and create either many small arms or a single giant arm that can reach across great distances to bring in its meal. Once ensnared ships can still make attempts to blow the creature apart, but escape is impossible if it still lives. The mouth is made up of layers of crushing plates arranged like several strata of camera like apertures. A sack on the backside of the creature engorges as it consumes anything unfortunate enough to be captured by its tentacles until it reaches a critical mass. Upon reaching critical mass the monster transforms into the final observed form of the Oniso.
Oniso cruisers have an unavoidable growth and reach spurred on by any kind of moment, and crave complexity; they move forth without seemingly any restraint from resources.
oniso, cruiser
Oniso, Destroyer
The final form of the Oniso is that of a massive formless beast of mouths and eyes and tentacles that can move as quickly as any spaceship, discharge acidic sludge that can melt through any material, and consume and digest any substance that falls close enough to one of its many mouths. Although not itself immortal as the creature can have parts of itself destroyed it seems to be able to consume even explosives and projectiles which are rendered ineffective if fired into one of the mouths.
Oniso destroyers are a leveled up version of the cruisers. They have more precise nets of many arms; they are growth upon growth, which forms a tight network of mouth, arm and "stomach" parts. Each kilometer of itself writhes in eerie harmony to fill up its many waiting mouths.
oniso, destroyer
Technocore
The technocore bases and small ships build onto themselves, adding extensions and wiring, weaponry, and storage as needed; functionality dominates the smaller classes of ships. You would be hard pressed to find a situation that a squad of technocore ships couldn't handle.
technocore, base + small ships
The larger technocore ships are repetitious, with smaller technology nestled into an inter-woven network of tunnels and holes; the hulls of larger ships and carriers are barren of anything but the occasional rocky pock-mark, which are systematically filled and restored.
technocore, larger ships
Space station concept development for the Technocore.
Different renditions of space stations that might harbour some of the Technocore. Many are based on the mathematical fascination of the mobius strip, which is an infinite, two sided strip.