I think it's important to remember that a "system" in a video game is a work of art just like the game itself. The systems, in a lot of ways, reflect the ideas and thoughts of the authors of that game. Magnasati's highlights and flaws help illustrate that thinking, or what tax rates are best for doing well in the game.
An example that comes to mind is Factorio, where solar panels are more tricky to operate than generators, but minimize conflict with the ingame fauna. Earlier versions of Rimworld were programmed to have men be either gay or straight, but women to be bisexual. I think both of those gameplay mechanics illustrate (or at least point to) the author(s) idea about the world.
> I think both of those gameplay mechanics illustrate (or at least point to) the author(s) idea about the world.
For good games, I don't think so. The #1 concern of any video game is "is it fun??".
Case in point: Factorio oil is infinite and a renewable resource (pumpjacks never run out). This isn't there because of some preconceived notion of infinite oil. This mechanic exists because planting new pumpjacks is far more annoying than planting iron mines / coal mines. In fact, pumpjacks are basically the only endgame mine that cannot be automated with blueprints.
As such, its best to have pumpjacks pump infinite oil for the rest of time. Because it'd be too an annoying of a game if oil ran out.
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In the case of Factorio solar vs nuclear vs coal: the game developer made them different enough to make the difference fun to think about and fun to play with. But I don't believe it necessarily reflects upon the political opinion of the creator.
Huh? Pumpjacks give less oil over time. They never really run out, but eventually you’ll stop running regular trains to an oil depot because your reservoir tanks take hours to fill. Unless you have a small base and dozens of oil fields, you could never run on depleted fields alone, and thus you’re constantly needing to expand and seek out more oil fields (just like the other resource types) mimicking the way that maintaining fossil fuel based industry requires continuous petroleum exploration.
Back in 0.13, they dropped to 0.1 oil/second. Today, this minimum has been grossly buffed, greatly reducing the number of depleted pumpjacks you need in endgame. The output is also improved by infinite-productivity research, increasing their output the longer your megabase runs.
There's also Coal Liquefaction, which came a few years after 0.13. That also reduces the need to find new pumpjacks (and again: because coal mines use electric mines, its possible to automate mines with blueprints).
So Coal runs out, but is far easier + automatic to expand compared to oil. So you just turn your coal into oil products.
I think you're likely right, and that I'm being a bit overzealous in assuming that the mechanics are statements about the real world. Perhaps it might have been better to suggest from a "death of the author" viewpoint.
> Perhaps it might have been better to suggest from a "death of the author" viewpoint.
Well, I can agree with that viewpoint regardless. Even if the author didn't intend for something to be taken a certain way... if the audience took it one way, then that's what matters (unfortunately)
A friend of mine told me that old capped oil wells that ran dry decades ago are frequently opened up and found to be full of oil again. (in real life, not factorio)
As an aside, why do you say that in Factorio solar panels are trickier than generators. To me it seems you can stick panels down infinitely and just make more power. Generators require coal trains, nuclear power, steam conversion, water lines and everything else? Or did you mean purely in construction from the start?
I think they're reading a lot into a small survey, there... You could make a similar argument about men based on the Kinsey Report, but it's now considered fairly flawed.
Yeah, I think a lot of the ideas around women being more sexually fluid are hard to separate from societal pressures. Or, I think the ways men are expected to behave romantically is a big reason why we have the term "MSM" [1].
An example that comes to mind is Factorio, where solar panels are more tricky to operate than generators, but minimize conflict with the ingame fauna. Earlier versions of Rimworld were programmed to have men be either gay or straight, but women to be bisexual. I think both of those gameplay mechanics illustrate (or at least point to) the author(s) idea about the world.