Why did the creators call it 'Natural Selection'?
HazMatt
Join Date: 2013-07-25 Member: 186391Members
Join Date: 2013-07-25 Member: 186391Members
I do have a few ideas in mind, but I'd like to see what the community thinks.
Maybe it's obvious, but I'm thinking that there might be more to it.
My thought is that the name derives from the Kharaa's ability to evolve and adapt to the situation and environment around them. Therefore, those who possess higher 'upgrades' are the ones more likely to survive. As the game progresses, the breed of say, Skulks, who did not have a tougher carapace (from the upgrade) would eventually die out in favour of those who do (because most players would use the Carapace upgrade from then on). In this, the higher lifeforms with better upgrades are those who have been victorious through the process of natural selection.
Do you agree? Any other ideas?
Maybe it's obvious, but I'm thinking that there might be more to it.
My thought is that the name derives from the Kharaa's ability to evolve and adapt to the situation and environment around them. Therefore, those who possess higher 'upgrades' are the ones more likely to survive. As the game progresses, the breed of say, Skulks, who did not have a tougher carapace (from the upgrade) would eventually die out in favour of those who do (because most players would use the Carapace upgrade from then on). In this, the higher lifeforms with better upgrades are those who have been victorious through the process of natural selection.
Do you agree? Any other ideas?
Comments
In the end, only one species is going to come out at the top of the food chain
sciency
Geee, nope, I can't think of any connection at all. Hmmm, I wonder where that phrase even comes from? Wow, it just seems so random and unfathomable...
That isn't what survival of the fittest is describing *SCIENCE RAGE AAAHHHH*
But yeah that is probably what UWE was thinking at the time regardless of accurately describing the theory or not, also I agree SCIENCY name for half life mod makes sense.
EDIT: PsiWarp - Your statement may be technically correct, although missing the point of the idea of Natural Selection, but I apologize for nerd raging about you. To clarify my frustration Natural Selection occurs within a species not between two species. So the Kharra will put pressure, in the form of biting tasty rines, on the Humans, since only the strongest/fastest/bad tasting humans survive to reproduce over time the population of humans predominantly display that trait... likewise in the reverse the Humans are putting pressure on the Kharra and only those that have the traits which allow them to survive pass on their genes and there for the populations change over time...
While the process can lead to the extinction of one species or the other, asking which one is Fittest human or Kharra is a misrepresentation of the concept. The questions are two fold, which humans are fittest against the Kharra and which Kharra are fittest against the Humans. Both species will evolve. This gets muddled of course when you look at the Kharra as being a giant sentient colony of bacteria... Then evolution and survival of the fittest is happening on a much smaller, much faster scale but still only on the Kharra bacteria.
Now if these were true aliens there is no reason they would be forced to use the DNA molecule (there are probably others that share similar traits). Also they would most likely look completely different from the creatures on this planet. So in effect, based on the information at hand, this battle must be within the same family tree -->
"Natural Selection"
Of course the blob like goo called infestation or bacteria is the center of their world and that's probably the Kharaa's primal state, which could suggest an alien (non-DNA) lifeform. But there are some bacteria that behave quite similar to some extend. A parasitic life form that absorbs and adapts creatures to serve or be sacrificed for it's cause. Now if it wasn't DNA, I'm having a hard time seeing how it could absorb DNA so easily and quickly and adapt other species to serve it, heal it and spawn/grow it (the life forms and the structures). Two completely different programming languages tend to not play nice together. It's interesting though, to see it showing signs of being self aware like us...
-more information required :P
How they left the planet/solar system is up for grabs though, if it did originate here (similar looking creatures suggest this very thing, as I said). Maybe our future mission to Europa is where the Kharaa originated and afaik we don't have the technology to deal with that kind of threat yet, not now not in 30-50 years...
But in terms of isolation and somewhat different looking creatures, within the same family tree... We do have a few examples on our planet as well, Australia being one of them :>
@HazMatt, I find it amusing you used the word "creators" in your thread title :P
The purpose of this thread was to explore the idea further. The game has obvious elements relating to the concept of natural selection, but as most have proven here, there's more than one idea to it.
@Kouji_San
Funny that you mention that whole Australian thing. We don't look too different, do we? :P
The full title for Darwin's work "The Origin of Species" (which can be found HERE) is:
"On The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection, Or The Preservation Of Favoured Races In The Struggle For Life."
I think that sums up the NS games in one, beautiful line absolutely perfectly!