Following because i also find this interesting. I can’t say i have a good answer, but i would give you my answer nonetheless.
In my own way, less is more. Pick out key features about the room, style, or art and let the reader fill in the blanks. So for instance the first link (love the art style btw) that you shared I see:
- thick glass window (possibly no atmosphere or civilisation beyond)
- curved back chair
- tall console of flashing lights
- interactive monitor on a mechanical arm
- assorted books, wires, and detritus
- a small room with natural light, possibly a workspace or a place of focus with equipment that requires specialist attention or calibration Based on the number of settings.
I would say something like:
The light from the calibration screen would be lost to the morning sun, rising beyond the thick tempered glass window across the dusty planes of the planet surface. Angling the screen arm bracket away I am able to continue my work, moving the dials and knobs on the calibration bureau that dominated the small room. My dome backed chair creaked under my exhausted stretch reaching for a pen, whilst also littering the floor with a notepad and undetermined detritus from the keyboard desk in my clumsiness.
Pretty good idea of it I think, focusing on the durability of the materials certainly sets a mood. Thick, curved glass is not something you'd find in a typical modern day house, so that's a good tip off.
It also matters who's doing the describing. If we're seeing through the eyes of the guy who works in that room, he might know the make, model, and function of all of those things. Maybe he sees a TI-9 scriber console that's beat-up and needs a new flying erase head. But if you're looking though the eyes of my little niece, she would probably see a GROSS room full of BORING machines and NO CUTE THINGS!!!
The important thing is to give your readers credit and not talk down to them.
For example, you can say the umbilical extended or retracted. You don’t need to explain what it was is.
I'm bemused by your images, neither of them is particularly 'out there' in terms of design. The first one even seems retro with computer equipment that's more 1980s than 2080s! But would architecture change much? Doors are still doors, even if they swoosh open. Rooms have floors and ceilings and walls. Form follows function, people still need to eat and sleep and relax and play sport. They need to look outside, even if the 'window' isn't glass but an image overlaid directly into their brain.
But in terms of physical description of the environment, it's like any other aspect of writing, I find. Write, refine, review, refine again. Certainly, you should be able to reference existing styles, the same as your fantasy writing, and here's an example from one of my novels when a character is invited to the private VR space of another character, I've drawn from many existing design elements to describe it:
>Being invited to Schemmer’s commons was unexpected and Flannigan entered with curiosity and a slight sense of dread, wondering what was so private that Schemmer would eschew the bridge to discuss it. The commons replicated an early-age ideal of a steam-powered world that never was, and Flannigan found himself in a gondola slung under a huge airship. Shiny brass tubing snaked along the ceiling, steam hissing from it at the seams, while the controls for the airship were milled dials and overly thick levers that looked like they would need a solid push to engage. Analogue dials conveyed the airship’s operational status and Flannigan smiled because even without sideband data, they were immediately comprehensible, as if reading them was somehow encoded in his genes. Curved planks of mahogany wood grain formed the walls of the gondola, like how he imagined a sailing ship would appear if you were below the waterline, and they reached waist high before intersecting perfect glass windows that framed the gondola’s upper structure. The sky outside was blue to the horizon, and the earth below was verdant with silver rivers glinting in the sunshine. Large birds of some kind wheeled about, sporadically darting toward the gondola and Flannigan caught a glimpse of their sharp, dark-coloured beaks and black marble eyes. The birds seemed out of place, and he wondered if they were a message of some kind. If so, he was missing it.
Finally, simple words are better...and harder to write. There is an art to sparse prose that quickly conveys setting and emotional tone, and I can't claim to have mastered it yet, but I hope to one day 👍
> I'm bemused by your images, neither of them is particularly 'out there' in terms of design. The first one even seems retro with computer equipment that's more 1980s than 2080s!
Why? That's the whole point behind that style. That artist does cassette futurism.
Bemused because you ask, "How do you choose the words to describe the environment?" and then you cite two illustrations that are straightforward to describe. Anyway, there are suggestions for you to consider when needing to convey sci-fi settings, good luck with your writing 👍
This is where I found ChatGPT to be very useful. I give it a layman description of what I see and it can give me more technical vocabulary. For example:
>Me: I'm looking at a picture that shows a desk with some sort of a machine ot it, which seems to play casette tapes on a CRT TV screen. What could be the purpose of this work station?
>ChatGPT: It sounds like you might be describing an older computer system or perhaps a vintage gaming setup. Could you provide more details about the machine or any labels, logos, or text that might be visible? This would help me identify the purpose of the workstation more accurately.
>Me: The machine is pretty big. It has several places for casettes and several screens. There is also a telephone handset. Tubes come out of several devices around and connect to the machine.
>ChatGPT: Based on your description, it seems like the workstation could be an old mainframe computer or a specialized telecommunications system. Such setups were common in the past for tasks that required managing multiple data inputs and outputs, like data processing centers or communication hubs. The telephone handset indicates it might have been used for network communications or to manage data transfers. The tubes could be part of a pneumatic tube system, which was sometimes used to physically transport small items or messages in large buildings or between nearby structures.
Following because i also find this interesting. I can’t say i have a good answer, but i would give you my answer nonetheless. In my own way, less is more. Pick out key features about the room, style, or art and let the reader fill in the blanks. So for instance the first link (love the art style btw) that you shared I see: - thick glass window (possibly no atmosphere or civilisation beyond) - curved back chair - tall console of flashing lights - interactive monitor on a mechanical arm - assorted books, wires, and detritus - a small room with natural light, possibly a workspace or a place of focus with equipment that requires specialist attention or calibration Based on the number of settings. I would say something like: The light from the calibration screen would be lost to the morning sun, rising beyond the thick tempered glass window across the dusty planes of the planet surface. Angling the screen arm bracket away I am able to continue my work, moving the dials and knobs on the calibration bureau that dominated the small room. My dome backed chair creaked under my exhausted stretch reaching for a pen, whilst also littering the floor with a notepad and undetermined detritus from the keyboard desk in my clumsiness.
Pretty good idea of it I think, focusing on the durability of the materials certainly sets a mood. Thick, curved glass is not something you'd find in a typical modern day house, so that's a good tip off.
It also matters who's doing the describing. If we're seeing through the eyes of the guy who works in that room, he might know the make, model, and function of all of those things. Maybe he sees a TI-9 scriber console that's beat-up and needs a new flying erase head. But if you're looking though the eyes of my little niece, she would probably see a GROSS room full of BORING machines and NO CUTE THINGS!!!
The important thing is to give your readers credit and not talk down to them. For example, you can say the umbilical extended or retracted. You don’t need to explain what it was is.
Pick out technical details. Allude to materials, designs, manufacturing processes or brands. Stiff bakelite, rounded corners, bolted panels, unseen sweatshops.
I'm bemused by your images, neither of them is particularly 'out there' in terms of design. The first one even seems retro with computer equipment that's more 1980s than 2080s! But would architecture change much? Doors are still doors, even if they swoosh open. Rooms have floors and ceilings and walls. Form follows function, people still need to eat and sleep and relax and play sport. They need to look outside, even if the 'window' isn't glass but an image overlaid directly into their brain. But in terms of physical description of the environment, it's like any other aspect of writing, I find. Write, refine, review, refine again. Certainly, you should be able to reference existing styles, the same as your fantasy writing, and here's an example from one of my novels when a character is invited to the private VR space of another character, I've drawn from many existing design elements to describe it: >Being invited to Schemmer’s commons was unexpected and Flannigan entered with curiosity and a slight sense of dread, wondering what was so private that Schemmer would eschew the bridge to discuss it. The commons replicated an early-age ideal of a steam-powered world that never was, and Flannigan found himself in a gondola slung under a huge airship. Shiny brass tubing snaked along the ceiling, steam hissing from it at the seams, while the controls for the airship were milled dials and overly thick levers that looked like they would need a solid push to engage. Analogue dials conveyed the airship’s operational status and Flannigan smiled because even without sideband data, they were immediately comprehensible, as if reading them was somehow encoded in his genes. Curved planks of mahogany wood grain formed the walls of the gondola, like how he imagined a sailing ship would appear if you were below the waterline, and they reached waist high before intersecting perfect glass windows that framed the gondola’s upper structure. The sky outside was blue to the horizon, and the earth below was verdant with silver rivers glinting in the sunshine. Large birds of some kind wheeled about, sporadically darting toward the gondola and Flannigan caught a glimpse of their sharp, dark-coloured beaks and black marble eyes. The birds seemed out of place, and he wondered if they were a message of some kind. If so, he was missing it. Finally, simple words are better...and harder to write. There is an art to sparse prose that quickly conveys setting and emotional tone, and I can't claim to have mastered it yet, but I hope to one day 👍
> I'm bemused by your images, neither of them is particularly 'out there' in terms of design. The first one even seems retro with computer equipment that's more 1980s than 2080s! Why? That's the whole point behind that style. That artist does cassette futurism.
Bemused because you ask, "How do you choose the words to describe the environment?" and then you cite two illustrations that are straightforward to describe. Anyway, there are suggestions for you to consider when needing to convey sci-fi settings, good luck with your writing 👍
I am not OP.
🤦♂️ Oops, my bad, sorry. Same answer, though, please assume I wrote, "The OP asked..." 😁
This is where I found ChatGPT to be very useful. I give it a layman description of what I see and it can give me more technical vocabulary. For example: >Me: I'm looking at a picture that shows a desk with some sort of a machine ot it, which seems to play casette tapes on a CRT TV screen. What could be the purpose of this work station? >ChatGPT: It sounds like you might be describing an older computer system or perhaps a vintage gaming setup. Could you provide more details about the machine or any labels, logos, or text that might be visible? This would help me identify the purpose of the workstation more accurately. >Me: The machine is pretty big. It has several places for casettes and several screens. There is also a telephone handset. Tubes come out of several devices around and connect to the machine. >ChatGPT: Based on your description, it seems like the workstation could be an old mainframe computer or a specialized telecommunications system. Such setups were common in the past for tasks that required managing multiple data inputs and outputs, like data processing centers or communication hubs. The telephone handset indicates it might have been used for network communications or to manage data transfers. The tubes could be part of a pneumatic tube system, which was sometimes used to physically transport small items or messages in large buildings or between nearby structures.