Fantastyczne zwierzęta i jak je... stworzyć. Konstrukcja fantastycznych gatunków w kulturze popularnej

Abstract

Works of fantasy-based popular culture, including movies, comic books and novels, are inhabited by myriads of imagined, fictional species. Many of them are not properly constructed and as such may cause a feeling similar of ludonarrational dissonance. To make fictional species believable it has to be thought out with adherence to physical and biological laws, especially evolutionary processes. Specific features of said species should be presented as adaptations its native climate and geography or/and products of the evolutionary ‘race’ between different species. Predators have certain evolutionary features utilized for effective hunting, while other species adapt for efficient defense against predation. Such adaptations may be features of anatomy (morphology), physiology or behavior. If no additional explanation to the species’ specific (environmental etc.) circumstances is given, it should be created according to geological actualism, i.e. the same laws that govern life on Earth should be applied, regardless of the place and time of action (even if it does not take place on Earth). This article discusses some basic evolutionary laws and the means of using them in worldbuilding. It also provides examples of properly and improperly constructed fictional species.

Keywords

• fantasy
• science fiction
• biologia
• ewolucja
• organizmy
• adaptacja