The world is rapidly automating. As technology develops and society continues its advancement into the Information Age, the power of mankind grows increasingly dependent on the power of the machine. First, the Industrial Revolution stripped man of his strength and endurance. Now, the Information Revolution is stripping man of his intellect. In a world where artificial intelligence may very well surpass - possibly destroy - the prowess of humanity, the human of tomorrow must possess ingenuity, awareness of the human condition. The human of tomorrow is not a mindless worker, but an acute and versatile scientist.
Bad Piggies is a 2012 mobile video game developed by Rovio Entertainment as a spinoff to the Angry Birds franchise. It stars the titular Bad Piggies as they haphazardly engineer contraptions in a dastardly scheme to steal the Eggs. Yet this seemingly lighthearted mobile game transcends entertainment; it marks an advent in the history of human education. This seemingly simple time-killer holds the key to the future of mankind, to the development of the scientist of tomorrow. It is the key to ensuring a thriving society, a thriving world; Bad Piggies is the future of education.
Bad Piggies sees the student engineering specialized contraptions for their titular hog pilots as they progress throughout linear worlds, proving a vital tool in the education and attainment of engineering, biological science, and physical science understanding. The simple grid system of part placement provides an intuitive basis to which a deeper understanding of engineering and design can arise. Moreover, variation in weight and size of different mechanisms conditions the student to ponder acutely over physical concepts such as weight distribution, part stability, part stress, and other cardinal considerations on which modern engineering has built itself on. An advanced level of animal biology is also necessary in creating effective, ergonomic, and intuitive contraptions the titular protagonists can pilot successfully. If engineered correctly with ample scientific knowledge, machines can greatly surpass the feeble abilities of their swine creators, collecting Star-Boxes and reaching goals with unmatched speed and precision.
However, although Bad Piggies demonstrates with great effectiveness the prowess of the machine, it highlights the destructiveness of its blunders; a quintessential realization in a world seemingly fixated on the indestructibility of technology. Every part has a unique drawback: wooden frames are light but fragile; metal frames are durable yet strenuously heavy; soda bottles help accelerate vehicles, yet propulsion cannot be manually ended; TNT launches contraptions at unmatched speed and acceleration, yet is volatile and thus difficult to transport. Compounded, these weaknesses can result in catastrophic failure and tremendous pig loss-of-life. Highlighting the potentially destructive control our creations have on us. Additionally, each level only allocates a limited quantity of predetermined parts. Enabling the student to understand the finite nature of human civilization and the Earth. Ultimately, the limitation of resources and the inherent fragility of contraptions reflect the volatile socioeconomic situation of the world’s civilizations as we march towards unknown environmental and political complications.
Moreover, the infrequent inclusion of the King Pig forces the student to confront firsthand an age-old ethical dilemma: should we design with minorities and special needs into consideration? In a world which idealizes the “perfect human,” understanding the unique nature of mankind will only grow in importance as our civilization continues to strive towards eliminating difference. The King Pig is far larger than the miniature protagonist the student grows accustomed to throughout the duration of the experience. With this additional size arrives additional engineering challenges with regard to weight and size. Thus, in almost all scenarios, the King Pig is a burden to design for. As such, does the student choose to design for the oversized monarch? Ultimately, the choice is theirs to choose, the implications for all to bear. Such is the reality of the ethics of creation, the choice to design for forgotten demographics that may otherwise be excluded from progress.
Yet the King and his empire serve a greater purpose within the field of humanities: representing the despotic feudalism of absolute monarchs and other realizations of autocratic government. We see through the lens of an abused worker how the oversized monarch has been consumed by greed and gluttony, growing to a considerable weight whilst his subordinates toil and starve. We see how the King, with all his dictatorial might, freely wages war against the Angry Birds. We see how he sends hundreds - possibly thousands - of indoctrinated pigs to their demise in a fruitless and unnecessarily bid to capture the eggs, all despite the clear abundance of food in the form of cakes and other confectionery products. We witness through the Bad Piggies experience the grave quantities of pig suffering needed to sustain the despotic lifestyle of a dictator as he sacrifices fundamental rights for personal gain. In a world eroding its democracies, identifying the abuse and tyranny of the despot shall be a vital - and lifesaving - skill in the civilizations of tomorrow.
Ultimately, Bad Piggies proves a turning point in human education, a revolution in how we as a society educate our youth. This seemingly simple game is capable of conveying essential concepts of engineering, physics, ethics, and humanities in a revolutionary and innovative new medium. Skills which will only grow, develop in importance as the machines we build continue to shape our lives in both optimistic, and foreboding ways. The student of tomorrow – the human of the future – must realize the reality of human society, creation, and ethics if they are to live among the machines rapidly surpassing them. Bad Piggies is this realization, a bridge to the ingenuity and versatility we as a civilization are only beginning to unlock.
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