The game allows one to disable the wildlife, no mods required, so it’s possible to focus solely on game without dealing with it at all.
However. I do think it’s a pretty amazing mechanic that the game designers put in the game, and is a great tool to shine light on the darkest aspect of the human race: our unbelievable capacity to subdue and destroy.
Factorio isn’t just about being dropped in a war zone and shooting the bad guys. It’s about scaling up destruction to a planetary scale. Often unintentionally (pollution) but also intentionally (nukes). These are all very rich and interesting things to speculate on, none of it is “shallow”.
What do you mean "speculate"? Seems pretty straightforward: you're polluting and killing the native life. And? Do that in real life = bad. Do that in a game = ok. I think we all know that.
This post is titled "The Factorio Mindset" and the author spends a lot of time talking about why it's something positive that should be cultivated. I'm not so sure we do all know that.
Call of Duty can teach you teamwork without making you think every problem is solved by an AK-47. Kids play Minecraft but don't expect buildings to float in the air.
Humans are reasonably intelligent and context-sensitive. They understand the difference between "video game" and "real life situation"
honestly, I though the pollution and wildlife aggression were put in the game as balancing elements (urge to switch power source, force to invest in defences, slow expansion) rather than any commentary
However. I do think it’s a pretty amazing mechanic that the game designers put in the game, and is a great tool to shine light on the darkest aspect of the human race: our unbelievable capacity to subdue and destroy.
Factorio isn’t just about being dropped in a war zone and shooting the bad guys. It’s about scaling up destruction to a planetary scale. Often unintentionally (pollution) but also intentionally (nukes). These are all very rich and interesting things to speculate on, none of it is “shallow”.