I mean the physical design of the gun, not the projectile or effect.
Noisy Cricket
I have way too little knowledge about the genre in general but there was something oddly satisfying about the Service Weapon a.k.a. Director’s Gun from the Federal Bureau od Control…
But I am guessing the part of using it as a game mechanic makes a big difference, there were plenty cool looking things in movies or series — but this one just jumped first to my mind.
I can see that, though I have allways thought it was a bit too chonky
6 different guns in a such compact form factor for a price of not dying while being chosen to actually use it, with a tiny little perk on the side of automagically becoming the Director of the Bureau with the side hustle of talking with Paranatural Entities/The Board — how’s that too chonky?
Fuck. Too many choices bru.
Halo’s OG AR, the MA5B has that utilitarian look to it, like the rest of that universe. I like that because it feels realistic in a way (think of the utilitarian designs to the armor and vehicles in Aliens, for example.)
The railguns in Eraser, with their oversized x-ray scopes. Nothing special in retrospect, but I thought they were awesome when I saw the movie in theaters.
Weta Workshop has put out some cool-looking stuff. The Chemrail in Elysium for instance. Although, I think I’m more enamored with the in-universe lore of it. From the fandom page:
It is a dual-stage weapon, use chemical propellant first and then electromagnetic rails as the second stage.
Pretty cool actuation! That and the Lightning Gun from Unreal Tournament 2003/2004 are the only two with memorable (lore-wise) firing mechanisms for me. Here’s the Lightning Gun’s:
Once the target has been acquired, the operator depresses the trigger, painting a proton “patch” on the target. Milliseconds later the rifle emits a high voltage arc of electricity, which seeks out the charge differential and annihilates the target.
Design-wise though, I think Weta’s weapons in District 9 were more appealing—more exotic, u noe? E.g., the ARC gun, and the Repeater.
I think the District 9 designs must have influenced the weapon design in the Titanfall franchise too, and I like the weapon designs there as well. The Flatline is maybe my favorite pilot weapon design (not to use though). Charge Rifle is pretty cool too though, with the ‘breathing’ capacitor banks on the sides. Titan-wise, gotta be Tone’s cannon, hands down.
But there’s so many more!
You only had to mention UT2004 to get my attention, design wise, the Lightning gun is great, I like the yellow shell and how the lightning emitter moves between shot, but for actual gameplay, I am definately a flak monkey.
I’m rather fond of Murphy’s burst-fire pistol and hide-away leg holster in Robocop. If we are talking the coolest gun, it’s got to be the Zorg ZF-1 from the Fifth Element.
https://grabcad.com/library/zorg-zf-1-with-shutters-1I always loved the Needler from the Halo series. It was a really unique design at the time and probably the most fun I’ve had with any weapon in a first person shooter. Also, the explosions and the ching it does when reloading are just perfect.
While I never got into Halo, I have allways liked the Needler’s design, it looks sort of biological…
All of the Covenant designs are meant to be very organic looking. In the novels, the ships and such are described as “looking like undersea predators”
Destiny 2 has some great ones. I always liked the design of the Sleeper Simulant.
Deckard’s gun in Blade Runner was always my favorite. Somewhat uncanny because it was clearly sci-fi, but retained that hard boiled detective aesthetic, like you misremembered a noir shootout.
All the Warhammer 40k guns are pretty thick.
I’m partial to the Judges’ guns, particularly from the Urban-led movie, as I’ve not delved much into the comics.
Also, I think this falls more into the fantasy category, but I love the chonkiness of Hellboy’s Samaritan.
The iconic and tastefully restrained design of the Blade Runner handgun https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/(Blade_Runner)_-_LAPD_2019_Blaster
I’m noticing a distinct lack of BFG
The BFG exists in several versions:
The original from Doom 1993 is just a rectantular box with a weird handle, the sides of the box is covered with techno pixelart, but nothing striking.
The Doom 64 version is very similar to the 1993 version.
The BFG in Doom 3 has a profile of a weird space potato: https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/BFG9000/Doom_3?file=BFG9000-BP.jpg
The ingame model is more like a rectantular box, but with an updated case: https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/BFG9000/Doom_3?file=Bfg3
In Doom 2016 is has a better styling, with an actual grip, it now actually looks like a gun!
In Doom Eternal it looks great, if a bit generic, but not bad.
The BFG does exist in Quake II and Quake 3 Arena, but the design is just terrible.
So while I like your enthusiasm, I don’t share your oppinion on the design of the BFG series.
I want to toss the Type-2 phaser from Star Trek (circa 24th century) as my personal favorite. It has this design which reads as a tool more than a weapon, which I love.
I prefer the retro aesthetics of the TOS Type 1, especially for the integrated Type 1, but regardless, it’s an excellent choice for the reason you state: it’s a very versatile tool!
You said Type-1 (the compact, key fob looking TOS phaser), but linked a picture to the TOS Type-2 (the pistol). Which did you prefer?
I love the concept of the Type-1, and it would definitely be my favorite pick of the phasers based on function. But for how it looks, I like how the TNG Type-2 kinda blended the TOS Type-1 concept as a tool, but sized it up to the TOS Type-2 pistol in size. Best of both worlds. Still feels like a tool, but more power drill, less garage door opener or handgun.
EDIT: my autocorrect kept messing up the link.
Yah, editing typo. I meant the TOS Type 2, which had a removable Type 1 in it.
Oh, cool. I never knew about that. Thanks.
They crazy gun from The Fifth Element.
The ZF-1. [activates a ZF-1 and holds it] It’s light; handle’s adjustable for easy carrying; good for righties and lefties; breaks down into four parts; undetectable by X-ray; ideal for quick discreet interventions. A word on firepower. Titanium recharger; 3000-round clip with bursts of 3 to 300. With the replay button, another Zorg invention, it’s even easier. [lights reveal a mannequin in police gear] One shot… [shoots mannequin]…and replay sends every following shot to the same location. [turns around, shooting in the direction of the Mangalores; bullets curve their trajectory and hit the mannequin instead] And to finish the job, all the Zorg oldies-but-goldies. [fires every weapon at the mannequin as he mentions them] Rocket launcher… arrow launcher, with exploding or poisonous gas heads, very practical… our famous net launcher… the always-efficient flamethrower, my favorite… [winks to the Mangalores] and for the grand finale, the all-new ‘Ice-cube System’! [fires a cloud of liquid nitrogen which freezes the remains of the mannequin. Mangalores applaud politely by carnage]
You forgot to mention the ‘little red button’ :) - Well played for putting his whole monologue here - I was going to suggest that gun.
Now a real killer, when he picked up the ZF-1, would’ve immediately asked about the little red button on the bottom of the gun…
A couple that come to mind:
Boltguns, and esspecially the bolt rifle from Warhammer 40k - specifically because its so massive and brutalist in design to look intimidating.
Ar-2 from Half-Life 2, for the more grounded yet still entirely sci-fi look.
Finally, the Shard Gun from Xcom 2
