Will ‘Human Farm’ Be the Video Game That Gets People to Go Vegan?

Pigs have been known to save the lives of others, including their human friends. These social, playful, protective animals would never treat another species the way some humans mistreat them. But in the soon-to-be-released video game Human Farm—in a parallel universe where evolution took a different turn and the dominant species has hooves instead of hands and a snout instead of a nose—fantasy takes over and all bets are off.

The game, which is being developed by JTown Games and published by Gaming Factory S.A., is designed to be more than just entertaining—playing as humanoid pigs, gamers will get a crash course in speciesism, human rights, and animal rights. And there’s nothing like assuming the role of a pig who slaughters humans for meat to make you think twice about supporting the pork industry.

Will Human Farm persuade gamers to go vegan?

We certainly think so. In many ways, the game parallels what’s done to real pigs in the pork industry—but even as video game characters, pigs can’t bring themselves to mistreat humans quite as badly as some humans mistreat them in real life. In the game, players (as the pigs) are encouraged to consider the needs of their human flock: “Make sure your animals have good living conditions.” So the humans get fed …

… get tucked in at night …

… and are given a spacious place to call home:

In real slaughterhouses, some pigs are improperly stunned and remain conscious as their throats are slit and they’re dumped into tanks of scalding-hot water to remove their hair and skin. In Human Farm, things are slightly less horrific (although certainly still nightmarish), as humans are first rendered unconscious …

… before they’re skinned …

… hacked apart …

… hung upside down to bleed and out …

… packaged up …

… and sold for pig consumption:

We think once gamers play Human Farm, they’ll realize that this …

… is just as weird as this:

Pigs, who are known for their empathy, could only display such aggressive speciesism in a video game or another fantasy. Humans, on the other hand, flex their unsightly speciesist muscles on the regular, routinely and systematically treating pigs and other animals as though we’re somehow more important than any other species. The irony of gentle pigs cutting up humans and eating them is what makes Human Farm so attention-grabbing.

Let’s Be the Humans Pigs Deserve

While we excitedly await the release of Human Farm, take time to discover who pigs are—they dream, recognize their own names, can learn tricks like sitting for a treat, and lead complex social lives, just like the dogs and cats who share our hearts and homes. We should show pigs and all other animals as much kindness as we show our beloved animal companions—for starters, by not eating them.

Gaming Factory plans to release Human Farm next year. For now, find out more about the game by checking out the message puzzle challenge. And if you’re interested in animal-friendly games, keep yourself entertained with Nintendo’s smash hit Animal Crossing: New Horizons—but first be sure to check out our vegan guide to playing it: