Factorio players discussed the concept of the player's invasion of an alien planet and the genocide of its native population.
A recent post by Reddit user brodo97 has sparked an insightful debate within the Factorio community. Brodo97 reflected on their shifting emotional perspective of biters, from viewing them as oppressive enemies to seeing them as victims of the engineer's expansive pollution and destruction. This revelation led them to pose thoughtful questions about the complex engineer-biter relationship:
How do you relate to biters in-game? Do you seek coexistence or extermination?
Are there memes or other media representing the biter viewpoint of engineers?
The post resonated with many, eliciting philosophical yet pragmatic responses. Some take a mutually beneficial stance, seeing pollution as an evolutionary energizer. Others discuss self-imposed boundaries and avoidance of unnecessary encroachment. Some conduct precise reprisals when bases are attacked, while others proactively push back pollution as an olive branch.
However, dominant perspectives appear to be large-scale extermination or utilization of biters as renewable resources. Players cite reasons ranging from progression practicality to imaginative roleplay. Yet as brodo97’s questions highlight, valid ethical complexities underlie the engineer-biter relationship regarding colonization, ecological disruption, and military expansion. The line blurs between attack and defense, utilization and exploitation.
Clearly, there is no consensus, with opinions dependent on factors like mods, chosen difficulty, and philosophical outlook. Yet the raised questions underline valid ethical dilemmas about colonization, technological disruption of ecosystems, and military-industrial inevitabilities. They touch on the blurry lines between attack and defense, utilization and exploitation. This raises questions applicable not just to Factorio gameplay but also to real-world complexities. This topic is especially relevant now, against the backdrop of the recent Helldivers 2 release, where developers satirize the theme of space democracy through force.
As for other media on this topic, those interested are recommended to read Harry Harrison's Deathworld series. One can also read the Factorio biter's diary, published a few years ago. It also has a continuation.