Nobody knows what to do with their hands

A small makeover for the people of Red Hope, who have enough to deal with on Mars without those hands.

By MattOctober 28, 2026

Two front-facing Red Hope character studies: the old figure at left has a large head and long, flat fingers; the selected study at right has a smaller head, shorter fingers and arms closer to the body. Development revisions 936d0fe0 and 5d790d78. — Same pioneer, same height: before on the left, after on the right, with the environment removed for comparison.

The pioneer on the left looks as though he’s washed his hands and can’t find a towel. Huge fingers, elbows out, trying very hard not to touch anything. It’s quite a look for someone who’s supposed to be settling Mars.

I’ve been giving the people in Red Hope, my Mars colony game, a small visual overhaul. The aim is to keep their oddball charm while making them look more comfortable in their own bodies. These pictures are development studies for 0.4, ahead of the current free demo, 0.3.

Start with the comparison at the top. He’s still the same height. The smaller head gives the rest of him a chance: a bit more neck, a longer torso, shoulders that aren’t competing with his face. The big eyes and simple shapes stay. I want a slightly wonky person, and the old version was leaning heavily on the wonky.

Then there are the hands. They used to be large enough to distract from the rest of him. Shrinking them helped, but reshaping them mattered too. The fingers are shorter and rounder, with a slight curl instead of sticking straight out. You can see the difference in the close-up below.

Matched hand details at six times magnification. The old hand on the left has long, straight fingers; the selected hand on the right has shorter, fuller fingers with a slight curl. Development revisions 936d0fe0 and 905e8054. — Before and after, both enlarged six times: shorter fingers, a smaller palm and a little curl.

At normal play distance, you won’t be inspecting individual fingers. But oversized hands can still steal the whole silhouette. I’d rather your eye went to the person, especially when several pioneers are sharing a small patch of colony. I still need to see how the new shapes hold up there, with buildings and other pioneers around.

The arms sit closer to the body now, too. He looks more at ease.

A few odd angles suit him. Tidy everything up too far and you get someone who seems perfectly qualified to demonstrate office furniture. These are the people you’ll be keeping fed, housed and breathing. I want them to be pleasant company, even when the colony is having a difficult afternoon.

A Red Hope pioneer in a mustard shirt and blue trousers holds one arm up in a wave. The other hand rests near the thigh. Isolated development pose study at revision 905e8054. — A separate posed wave study, with the environment removed.

Same mustard shirt, same blue trousers, same sensible shoes. Even with his arm up, the hand looks like it belongs to the rest of him. He still looks slightly unsure about the whole business, which seems a reasonable attitude to settling Mars.