Curious Archive

Welcome to Darwin IV, an alien world unlike any other. An analysis of the speculative biology of Wayne Barlowe’s incredible book ‘Expedition.’ Perhaps no single artist has had a greater impact on how we imagine alien life than Wayne Barlowe. Widely considered the father of modern Speculative Biology, Barlowe has worked for decades as a creature designer for everything from Avatar to Pacific Rim. Yet perhaps Barlow’s most monumental alien world comes from his book ‘Expedition’ — which depicts an extraterrestrial ecosystem with so much detail that reading it feels like getting lost on another planet. The book was even made into a TV special for the Discovery Channel called ‘Alien Planet,’ which was honestly one of my favorite things to watch as a kid. The world at the center of the book and documentary — called ‘Darwin IV’ — is one I’ve wanted to document myself for a long time.

More incredible life is waiting on Darwin IV. The final chapter in my analysis of Wayne Barlowe’s incredible speculative biology book ‘Expedition.’ Welcome back to Curious Archive. This video is the finale of my two-part series on the biology of Darwin IV — an alien planet explored in the book ‘Expedition’ by Wayne Barlowe, which I have a link to in the description. On this perilous world, deadly predators, strange herbivores, and uncategorizable oddities are still waiting to be discovered.

Imagine a future where humanity is the most dangerous species in the universe. An exploration of Callum Stephen Diggle’s incredible speculative biology project ‘Humanity Lost.’ ‘Humanity Lost,’ a worldbuilding project and graphic novel series by artist Callum Diggle, imagines a future where humans have merged with a god-like artificial intelligence, and are now the most dangerous lifeforms in a galaxy full of aliens. It’s an exciting twist on the genre, and a story that features some particularly inventive speculative lifeforms. At the start of the 26th century, humanity has yet to give itself over to the AI. Under the oversight of the United Earth government, humans populate every major celestial body in our solar system. On Earth’s moon, giant lava-tubes are terraformed and become home to great cities larger than any on Earth.

A documentary-style deep dive into the oceans of Subnautica: Below Zero. Explore the ocean of Sector Zero, and discover the biology of incredible alien lifeforms. The frigid ocean of the video game Subnautica: Below Zero teems with incredible life — from gigantic herbivores to vicious carnivores. Like the tropical seas of the game’s predecessor, this environment feels truly unique: an undersea world of bewildering landscapes, detailed ecosystems, and surprising mysteries. Many of the aliens in Below Zero were created by Alex Ries, one of the most talented creature designers out there. And unlike the first game, in Below Zero, dangers lurk both above and below the water… So, for this entry into the archive, we’ll embark on one of our documentary-style expeditions, charting biomes under the waves and upon ice; encountering both friendly — and deadly — forms of arctic life.

More alien life lurks deeper in the oceans of Subnautica: Below Zero… Part Two of a documentary style deep dive into the ocean of Planet 4546B. Welcome back to Curious Archive. This video is the finale of my two-part series on the biology of the video game Subnautica: Below Zero. Deeper within this alien ocean, astonishing ecosystems, shocking mysteries, and chilling terrors still await discovery. And much like how the strangest life in Earth’s oceans dwells in the abyss, the depths of Sector Zero open a whole new world of surprises. I’ve also found it an even more frightening place to do field work. And with a mysterious signal calling out from the deep at the end of the last video, who knows what final secrets Planet 4546B is hiding.

Discover the unique life of the desert planet of Tatooine, from Banthas to Sarlaccs. Star Wars belongs to Disney/Lucasfilm. Imagine a planet of endless sand and scorching sun. A world where every day is a race for survival, and every night a fearsome competition for resources. The infamous desert planet of Tatooine — located in a galaxy far, far away — is known for being an inhospitable wasteland. Yet the creatures that brave this unforgiving environment are among the most fascinating, and possess hidden intricacies that deserve to be studied further. So, for this entry into the archive, I’ll be documenting this arid biosphere firsthand — analyzing the biology of these extreme lifeforms, and seeing how their survival strategies compare to those present in Earth’s deserts.

A breakdown of the biology of ‘The Future is Wild,’ an incredible and nostalgic series that detailed speculative lifeforms which might evolve millions of years in the future. Imagine a world where evolution has written a new chapter in the story of life. That was the tagline of ‘The Future is Wild,’ a miniseries that aired in the early 2000s exploring the speculative lifeforms of the far future. And it was… amazing. The fictional world is fantastically detailed, and an impressive team of real scientists came up with the creatures that inhabit it. And I think these creatures definitely deserve a second look, even if you’ve never heard of them before. For this extra-long entry into the archive, we’ll be exploring this hypothetical future — having fun incorporating contemporary scientific discoveries that might provide new insight into these speculative lifeforms, and just appreciating the richness of the world the series created.

A new chapter in the epic story of Serina, which will change the moon forever. A breakdown of Dylan Bajda’s speculative biology project ‘Serina.’ This video is a new chapter in my long-running series exploring the incredible speculative evolution project of Serina, the world of birds. Serina was created by Dylan Bajda — a terrific artist and worldbuilder — and many exciting developments have occurred since we last explored his creation. You may remember the fascinating premise of the Serina project: an unknown force leaves a colony of finches on the moon of Serina, along with a few other plant and animal species to serve as their food supply. The project imagines the amazing lifeforms that evolve from these humble beginnings over millions of years — creatures that I’ve explored in past videos. For this entry into the archive, we’ll chronicle the next era in this evolutionary epic, and witness the rise and fall of countless species as the world of Serina continues to change…

Imagine a planet controlled by frogs. What kinds of species might evolve? This is a breakdown of Roxy Valdez’s incredible speculative biology project ‘Amphiterra.’ Hypothetical question for you: what if frogs ruled the Earth? Not just terms in terms of numbers… but in terms of their position in the ecosystem. Amphiterra is a speculative biology project by the talented artist and writer Roxy Valdez, which imagines the incredible and surreal forms frogs might achieve if given the perfect environment to evolve. While the world of Amphiterra often looks like an alien planet, the artist imagines it’s actually an alternate timeline of Earth, where subtly different climatic conditions led to early amphibians outcompeting the first dinosaurs and protomammals. What creatures will develop and thrive in this drastically different history? Let’s leap back 252 million years, and begin our tour through the timeline of Amphiterra...

Could the game 'Spore' teach us about life on alien worlds? You'll see. Experience an epic journey from a tiny cell to a complex organism... I don’t think there’s ever been a video game quite like Spore. Released in the late 2000s, the game lets you create and then guide a lifeform from a microorganism in a tidepool to an advanced creature in a galaxy-spanning civilization. Being able to, essentially, design and play as your own speculative creature really blew my mind when I was younger. I remember spending hours trying to make my creations as detailed as possible, and coming up with fake scientific attributes about how they functioned in the ecosystems around them. Of course, you could also use Spore to create bizarre creatures, and throw the rulebook of biology out the window. I also know a lot of content was cut during its development. Yet Spore remains an evolution simulator that’s quite nostalgic to many.

Imagine a world of aquatic organisms. What species might emerge? A breakdown of J. J. Aniorte’s excellent speculative biology project ‘Polinices.’ At this very moment, in the depths of Earth’s oceans, alien lifeforms are waiting. Not alien in the sense they come from another planet, but alien in the sense that they’re so different from what we think of as life, they seem not of this Earth. If our oceans harbor organisms that appear extraterrestrial, imagine what we’d find in a literal alien sea? Polinices is a speculative biology project by the brilliant artist and worldbuilder J. J. Aniorte, which explores life on a planet ruled by aquatic organisms. The infinite forms of this tropical paradise are among the most creative I’ve ever featured on this channel — pushing the boundaries of life as we know it. There’s a tremendous amount to discover. So, let’s dive in to these teeming waters, and see what awaits us upon planet Polinices.

Subnautica could have contained even more incredible lifeforms. Discover numerous cut creatures designed by Alex Ries and explore their unique biology. Many of the speculative creatures that swim in the seas of Planet 4546 B started off as the idea of Alex Ries (the creator of the Birrin), going through multiple iterations of concept art to arrive at the awe-inspiring final designs we see in game. Yet there’s a lot of incredible art of unique speculative lifeforms that — for one reason or another — never made it into the final product. Not implementing all designs from early development stages is a normal part of behind-the-scenes, but some of these designs are so well thought-out, they deserve to be studied further. So, for this entry into the archive, we’ll explore the incredible unseen creatures of Subnautica, exploring their potential biology and how they might fit into the existing environments of Planet 4546B.

Discover the secrets of a mysterious alien world. A breakdown of Planet Veteris from Michael Beaudry’s inventive speculative biology project ‘Exobiotica.’ Let’s say you’re visiting Earth for the first time. And the tour of the planet consists of being dropped into random locations for about five seconds before being whisked away to an entirely different spot on the globe. If you knew nothing whatsoever about life on Earth, how might you interpret what you saw? At first, these narrow glimpses of a vast world would be confusing, and probably a little bizarre. But over time, as the brief snapshots formed a greater whole — you might be able to get a sense of broader patterns of life here on Earth. ‘Exobiotica’ is a speculative biology project by incredible artist Michael Beaudry that offers similarly limited windows into the sprawling alien biosphere of a planet called Veteris. And the lifeforms we can document are uniquely alien — even by the standards of speculative biology.