- 14 Dec, 2025 *
It starts as a relatively normal econ-focused game, where you’re building your empire, making money, etc. As you progress, you unlock new mechanics, and in doing so, the game becomes progressively more realistic - both in its graphics and its realism.
The one scene in my mind is this:
You unlock an advancement to Dairy farming.
You switch to a first-person view where a cow is giving birth, and the baby cow goes to feed on the mother.
It is your task to take away the baby cow, and the game will not let you proceed until you do.
The baby moos, crying. So does the mother.
As the cyring (distressed moos) continue from the mother, you walk the mother to the dairy machines to be milked, overhearing banal conversation from your co-workers. It’s just another day…
- 14 Dec, 2025 *
It starts as a relatively normal econ-focused game, where you’re building your empire, making money, etc. As you progress, you unlock new mechanics, and in doing so, the game becomes progressively more realistic - both in its graphics and its realism.
The one scene in my mind is this:
You unlock an advancement to Dairy farming.
You switch to a first-person view where a cow is giving birth, and the baby cow goes to feed on the mother.
It is your task to take away the baby cow, and the game will not let you proceed until you do.
The baby moos, crying. So does the mother.
As the cyring (distressed moos) continue from the mother, you walk the mother to the dairy machines to be milked, overhearing banal conversation from your co-workers. It’s just another day at the office.
No background music. No ability to skip the scene. For a minute, you just wait, and listen to her cry.
Then you return to business as usual, growing your empire, until you’re met with the next unlock, which shows yet another example of the utter torture we put animals through with modern farming.
This is an idea I had today. I’m not a games dev and will not be pursuing this. I think this concept could be effective at communicating the cost of eating animals raised under modern farming practices. It would rope people in with the promise of a good game (which somebody else would need to figure out). If you are interested in this idea, please use it, no attribution required. The idea is dedicated to the public domain.
This is inspired by Everyone Should Watch Andrea Arnold’s “Cow”. The phrase "It’s just another day at the office" is directly copied from their writing.
This is also somewhat inspired by Inscryption, a roguelike game that begins with much realism and immersion then progresses into more game-like worlds.