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Discussing Inkling/Octoling Biology

Globin347

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On that subject... what does squid body language look like? I think it's largely comprised of changing the color of their skin, which is the squid's primary means of communication... which leaves one wondering why the inklings have a spoken language at all.
 

swamphox

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Things to consider: very few adult squids is due to squid biology as most die after breeding.

I think some have human dna spliced into them...Callie and Marie, female octolings Im looking at you. Without getting too graphic, they have body parts no mollusk should have.

My guess is most squids are created by cloning and genetic engineering. Lack of adults leads to inbreeding unless theyre somewhere else.

Honestly tho, i think what splatoon is more than anything is a happy spin on the post apocalypse genre. Between the valley and inkoplis, youre seeing the last vestiges of their civilization. In 10k years or so since our time the creatures of their Earth have been dealt massive climate change and a major war. Even so, these creatures managed to evolve into intelligent beings capable of utilizing, reproducing, possibly brathing air, and manipulating leftover human technology

If theres ever a Spla2n id like to see a story mode explaing more about the inhabitants of their world.
 
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swamphox

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I mentioned breathing air earlier. What if its not air they breathe? What if theyve just evolved to be at home in water of lower salinity?

The saltier the water gets, the denser it becomes, hence it would sink and be in low lying areas. What if all the places we see are still being played under water? The "water" they fall into is just water with a higher saline content, making it poisonous and requiring a respawn.

This would also explain how the great zapfish i able to live outside of "water" and how super jumps are done.
 
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swamphox

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Another what if: do turf war and ranked battles happen at all? The lobby seems kind of arcade like. What if theyre just in a virtual environment playing as VR avatars of themselves?

Dude thats so meta!
 

Globin347

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yeah, sorry to dissapoint you, but water will never act like air, no matter how little salt is in it. These squids are terrestrial. After all, it's not as if water creatures have never moved to land before.

also, the super jump doesn't need a wild explanation. Real flying squid already launch themselves out of the water in much the same way: by expelling water (or ink, in our case) out of their siphons at high pressure. In other words, they literally take off like a rocket.

As for the zapfish... well, video games have a long tradition of things inexplicably floating. or maybe they have massive internal gas bladders.


The VR idea is interesting, but there's very little evidence to support it.


Curiously, we already brought up the genetic modification theory, although it was more of a joke than anything else.

as for the lack of adults, we had a lengthy discussion on that earlier. We may not see adults because the entire game takes place in areas where adults have no interest in going. Or, the playable inklings might be independant. In fact, even if there are inkling parents, they are likely to be more lax than human parents due to their squid ancestry.
 

R2D221

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as for the lack of adults, we had a lengthy discussion on that earlier. We may not see adults because the entire game takes place in areas where adults have no interest in going. Or, the playable inklings might be independant. In fact, even if there are inkling parents, they are likely to be more lax than human parents due to their squid ancestry.
Also, Callie and Marie are young adults, so we do see them every day (if only just them).
 

Ott

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I have noticed a bit of movement in the inkling tentacles in squid form, I don't know about y'all. If you try to swim around on land, their tentacles do kinda move in and out a bit, so they do have at least some control over their tentacles.

I wonder if adult inklings gain more control. Obviously their tentacles do get proportionally larger, as Callie's are tied in a bow and down to her hips/ankles. This also seems to allude to tentaclecuts being a strong possibility, as inkling girl tentacles aren't as long. Also, the male inkling doesn't have nearly as long tentacles. So male and female inklings likely have different tentacle growth lengths. I'm now also verging into headcanon territory and noticing that Marie's tentacles are SIGNIFICANTLY shorter. As the male and female heads, arms, legs, and literally everything else are identical, could Marie be trans?
 

Ansible

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I have noticed a bit of movement in the inkling tentacles in squid form, I don't know about y'all. If you try to swim around on land, their tentacles do kinda move in and out a bit, so they do have at least some control over their tentacles.

I wonder if adult inklings gain more control. Obviously their tentacles do get proportionally larger, as Callie's are tied in a bow and down to her hips/ankles. This also seems to allude to tentaclecuts being a strong possibility, as inkling girl tentacles aren't as long. Also, the male inkling doesn't have nearly as long tentacles. So male and female inklings likely have different tentacle growth lengths. I'm now also verging into headcanon territory and noticing that Marie's tentacles are SIGNIFICANTLY shorter. As the male and female heads, arms, legs, and literally everything else are identical, could Marie be trans?
It came up way earlier in this thread I believe, but there is are images or a link to fanon measurements of their tentacles. Callie's, when unbound, reaches to about the floor. Meanwhile Marie's are rather proportional for a female inkling and is just bun shorter/higher, which you can better notice whenever she turns around.
 

Ott

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It came up way earlier in this thread I believe, but there is are images or a link to fanon measurements of their tentacles. Callie's, when unbound, reaches to about the floor. Meanwhile Marie's are rather proportional for a female inkling and is just bun shorter/higher, which you can better notice whenever she turns around.
Ah, I didn't read the whole thread, I was just looking at my copy of the Ikasu Artbook. If Marie's are proportional, then why are Callie's so much longer? Could inkling tentacles grow at wildly different rates? And if they can get haircuts, do they affect the Squid form?
 

Globin347

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We'll find out in the Splatoon port for Nintendo switch next year- Inklings will have multiple hairstyle options.
 

Lyn

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This is all way to advanced for me.
This is all I know of them:
- They're a kid.
- They're a squid.

I imagine they aren't really based around actual science, just cartoony characters with the ability to shoot and turn into ink squids.
 

peat-warrior

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In our version (EU/AU (closer to the japanese version as well)) that scroll says "Brain: Simple and hedonistic"
and that word means this
http://prntscr.com/8y1vrk

That pleasure means the most to them. They like pleasure.

Otherwise I don't know how I can contribute to this. Not that I don't want to, just dunno how.
This fits very well to the whole concept of the environment in the game. With all these brands, pop-idols and the consume-mentality, it represents perfectly
a young generation of people who are imprisoned in the capitalist system.
 

swamphox

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Well this crops up in the human world as well...all Ill say is that I think Callie and Katy Perry have aomething in common

Ah, I didn't read the whole thread, I was just looking at my copy of the Ikasu Artbook. If Marie's are proportional, then why are Callie's so much longer? Could inkling tentacles grow at wildly different rates? And if they can get haircuts, do they affect the Squid form?
 

G1ng3rGar1

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Ah, I didn't read the whole thread, I was just looking at my copy of the Ikasu Artbook. If Marie's are proportional, then why are Callie's so much longer? Could inkling tentacles grow at wildly different rates? And if they can get haircuts, do they affect the Squid form?
For the first question, it could just be different species. The Squid Sisters' Japanese names are names of different types of squid-the Firefly Squid and the Bigfin Squid. I myself have OCs of those species, but my Bigfin Inkling does not have long tentacles. It's kinda like mid back length but yeah.
 

BoxSquid01

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I've read through this entire thread, and just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

First of all, on the topic of squid families, it's worth noting that Callie and Marie are called cousins in one of the sunken scrolls. This means, to me at least, that their parents either are or identified as siblings, and to be honest I feel inclined to agree that squids can survive after mating. At the very least it means that squids do have a sense of family tied to the people who made them.

Also, I think we should put a little more thought into the influence of humans on their evolution, as I can't fathom why some inkling traits would exist unless they had developed human standards of beauty somehow. After all, their beaks were perfectly serviceable, and now they're large blunt objects with 3 points on them. There's also the physical differences between female and male inklings that are reasonable for humans to have, but seem like odd results of squid evolution. I'm aware evolution doesn't have an end goal, but if female humans have bigger hips specifically for aiding in pregnancy,mwhy do squids have them when laying eggs is probably superior?
 

swamphox

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I've read through this entire thread, and just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

First of all, on the topic of squid families, it's worth noting that Callie and Marie are called cousins in one of the sunken scrolls. This means, to me at least, that their parents either are or identified as siblings, and to be honest I feel inclined to agree that squids can survive after mating. At the very least it means that squids do have a sense of family tied to the people who made them.

Also, I think we should put a little more thought into the influence of humans on their evolution, as I can't fathom why some inkling traits would exist unless they had developed human standards of beauty somehow. After all, their beaks were perfectly serviceable, and now they're large blunt objects with 3 points on them. There's also the physical differences between female and male inklings that are reasonable for humans to have, but seem like odd results of squid evolution. I'm aware evolution doesn't have an end goal, but if female humans have bigger hips specifically for aiding in pregnancy,mwhy do squids have them when laying eggs is probably superior?
The inklings are made of ink. Think of it as an Intelligent Nanoswarm Kollective :) For a long time Ive compared them to squids that evolved humanoid traits but I think those are just the forms they like to take as human society is a massive influence on their culture.

ever hear of "grey goo"? its a theory that says a group of nanomachines that self replicate could eventually destroy the planet due to its ceaseless replication with using whatever matter is around it. Why? because theyre stupid...theyre no different than an old clock in prague. it knows how to tick and knows how to tock but thats the end of it's abilities

But what if they were a lot brighter? what if the grouping came together and had hive intelligence? what if the nanomachines were able to choose a form at will? what if those formations developed individual wills, personalities, thoughts, and memories?

the splatoon world seems very plausible from that standpoint. our civilization is gone. somewhere in a lab was an experimental intelligent nanomachine colony and a cryogenically frozen cat. the rest as they say...is history, even if it is in the distant future
 

Globin347

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The inklings are made of ink. Think of it as an Intelligent Nanoswarm Kollective :) For a long time Ive compared them to squids that evolved humanoid traits but I think those are just the forms they like to take as human society is a massive influence on their culture.

ever hear of "grey goo"? its a theory that says a group of nanomachines that self replicate could eventually destroy the planet due to its ceaseless replication with using whatever matter is around it. Why? because theyre stupid...theyre no different than an old clock in prague. it knows how to tick and knows how to tock but thats the end of it's abilities

But what if they were a lot brighter? what if the grouping came together and had hive intelligence? what if the nanomachines were able to choose a form at will? what if those formations developed individual wills, personalities, thoughts, and memories?

the splatoon world seems very plausible from that standpoint. our civilization is gone. somewhere in a lab was an experimental intelligent nanomachine colony and a cryogenically frozen cat. the rest as they say...is history, even if it is in the distant future
Personally, I've developed the idea that the inklings and the ink were two different organisms that evolved a symbiotic relationship and have now started to merge with one another like a Portuguese Man-O-War. It would be somewhat similar to a theory I heard about the evolution of chloroplasts or mitochondria or something on the cell level- at one point, a predatory single-celled organism consumed a smaller, more self-sufficient one, but did not digest it. Eventually the two evolved to effectively become one organism.

My conception of Inkling evolution is similar. a primitive ancestor of the inkling encountered this ink, or "grey goo" and somehow, instead of consuming or being digested by it, the proto-inkling became a permanent host with specialized ink sacs for mass-producing the ink. the ink, in turn, evolved to be less destructive, targeting primarily enemy ink and inkling flesh (which itself probably consists significantly of ink at this point). As mentioned earlier in the thread, the ink would identify enemy ink via some sort of identifier protein, and the inklings would have to be able to change the type of proteins they are using.

Also, once again, the ink creates a pocket dimension which allows things to sink into a puddle of ink that should be at most an inch deep.

Was that anything like what I said earlier in this thread? Probably not. It's been so long... Anyway, I have no support for this idea. I don't even remember when I first thought about this. All the same, I figured I'd mention it, because why not?

Edit: Actually, this idea does explain something. The splatoon cannon seems to state quite clearly that inklings evolved from real squids. While this could be a misconception on the inkling's part, it would explain some of their qualities. The idea that the ink (or, as I could call it, amazing technicolor goo) was a human genetic experiment actually fits quite well with this idea, although it doesn't explain why the Inklings evolved to resemble humans... maybe humans tampered with the squids before kicking the bucket as well?

Forgive me if I'm rambling here.
 
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Globin347

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So... It's been a while. I wonder if anyone is still watching this... anyway, I just came here to relay new information. According to the squid sister stories, It seems that Callie and Marie's parents still live. This indicates that inklings can indeed survive reproduction. So, that's that.
 

Ansible

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This thread will certainly pick up once more within the first week of the sequel's release.

I'm quite excited for what new input we'll receive and theories can be crafted!
 

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