History Main / ProudIndustriousRace

A SubTrope of PlanetOfHats. Compare with its [[SisterTrope sister tropes]] -- ProudWarriorRace, ProudMerchantRace, ProudScholarRace, and ProudHunterRace. Supertrope to BusyBeaver, where beavers as a species are depicted as being fond of hard work, especially carpentry, lumber harvesting, and construction.

SubTrope of PlanetOfHats. Compare with the [[SisterTrope sister tropes]] -- ProudWarriorRace, ProudMerchantRace, ProudScholarRace, and ProudHunterRace. Supertrope to BusyBeaver, where beavers as a species are depicted as being fond of hard work, especially carpentry, lumber harvesting, and construction.

SubTrope of PlanetOfHats. Compare with the [[SisterTrope sister tropes]], ProudWarriorRace, ProudMerchantRace, ProudScholarRace, and ProudHunterRace. Supertrope to BusyBeaver, where beavers as a species are depicted as being fond of hard work, especially carpentry, lumber harvesting, and construction.

* What little we've seen of the Tellarites in "Franchise/StarTrek", they're shown to be natural engineers and argue as a pastime.

-->Ami reminded herself that most of the city was below ground and that the surface part was the proverbial tip of the iceberg

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfNations'': Each nation has a specific power, essentially its own set of benefits regarding different gameplay aspects. Almost all of them include bonuses for [[RidiculouslyFastConstruction faster]] and/or cheaper construction of a particular type of unit or building to complement the nation's preferred playstyle. Among the more illustrative examples are the Egyptians (Power of the Nile), since they are the ones who can build Wonders at a discounted price, earlier on one age, and with a higher limit on their number in one city, the Mayans (Power of Architecture), whose buildings are the most sustainable, always faster to be built, and almost universally need somewhat less Tinder, and the Germans ([[GermanicEfficiency Power of Industry]]), who can build Granaries, Lumber Mills, and Smelters right from the game's start, unlock production upgrades from them sooner and for a lesser price, and get a bit bigger number of resources from cities and for resource-gathering buildings' construction completion, thereby having both the opportunity and a solid reason to build as much as possible (not to mention their ability to create all air and some naval units faster, which, with all the other advantages, allows them to become a relentless war machine beginning with the Industrial Age). Besides, the Americans and the Iroquois from the ''Thrones and Patriots'' expansion [[DownplayedTrope also have a touch of this]], as they can instantly build their first Wonder and Senat, respectively.

Given that this specialization is remarkably costly, they are likely to be heavily engaged in exploitative activities, such as mining and logging, which will allow them to do their business to the extent they want (if they know no bounds, their ways might even become a trigger for GaiasVengeance). However, since resources in most works tend to be scarce, there is usually a choice between producing little but in a sophisticated way and producing much but without any zest. Although the Proud Industrious Race can combine the best of both, they will more often than not lean towards one of the two in the following variation of the QualityVsQuantity dichotomy:

* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': Dwarves, who are good at building very tiny wards, city-wide magical infrastructure and also cities where the surface is only a small portion of it, as said in "Ultimatum":
--> Even that comparatively low number was hard to believe when the parts enclosed by the city walls fit into an area of less than a square kilometre.
--> Ami reminded herself that most of the city was below ground and that the surface part was the proverbial tip of the iceberg
* ''Fanfic/InterNos'': The Himeans, standing in for the Roman Empire in the story, are renowned builders. In one instance, a kingdom with ties to the now overtaken Mentulean Empire, tears down a bridge that linked the two lands. The king believed it would take at least a year to restore the bridge and that the Himeans would have better things to do in the meanwhile. He is very surprised, then, when it takes General Fujino's engineers just over a month to reestablish the bridge. Shizuru does smugly inform the king they were aided by the fact that his people tore down the span, but left the caissons standing, meaning her people had much less work to do.

* ''Series/FraggleRock'': The Doozers are constantly building tall, crystalline structures which the Fraggles love to snack on. They actually ''like'' it when Fraggles destroy their towers, because it means they get to build more; if they didn't, they would run out of room to build and be forced to move away.
* What little we've seen of the Tellarites in "Franchise/StarTrek", they're shown to be natural engineers, and argue as a pastime.

** ''TabletopGame/{{Planegea}}'': Dwarves have a compulsion to build buildings, regardless whether they actually need to make them. The landscape is littered with abandoned dwarven structures.

** The Nynrah Ghosts are a group of Matoran crafters from the island of Nynrah known for their weapon making business. Various objects throughout the series are their handiwork.
** The Vortixx species are both a ProudMerchantRace and Proud Industrious Race who turned their island Xia into an industrialized land with few natural resources. They also employ some members of the beforementioned Nynrah Ghosts on their island.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': Gorons are a race of rock-like people whose [[EatDirtCheap diet consists only of rocks]]. They usually live in volcanic environments, and said environments are quite industrial. Gorons often act as blacksmiths and are usually seen mining (after all, it's how they eat), with there being mine carts and tracks everywhere around where they live.

* ''VideoGame/APrimerOnTheCaptureAndIdentificationOfTheLittleFolk'': As the writer says, "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menehune Menehune]] are said to be incredible craftspeople". Capturing, subduing, then giving them tools to marvel at the resultant creation is encouraged.

* ''WebComic/{{Vexxarr}}'': The Engineers are (or, rather, ''were'') a genetically-engineered SlaveRace of [[PreCursors a long-extinct race of builders]], who see little to no difference in work and play. After the titular Vexxarr liberates them, they show up to Earth to help build their fleet of starships. The Engineers ask to get paid in junk food and entertainment media, so they can spend their leisure time 1) eating junk food, and 2) building stuff to play their media on. If there's time left, they'll actually experience the contents of their media.

* '''Artisan Race''': Being not only skillful workers but also imaginative designers, this type is able to combine a grandiose scale with a delicate approach, resulting in pieces of work that are inspiring for generations. When they take up hammers and anvils, they always put a piece of both their heart and soul into the work, viewing their final creations as a way of self-expression, [[LegacySeeker a legacy to be left behind after their ruin someday]], or visual examples of their talent, greatness, or chosenness, the very existence of which will already please the ego. If a setting has something widely recognized as a true Wonder (which is often a structure analogous to the UsefulNotes/SevenWondersOfTheWorld), your best guess it is a culture of this type that was behind its creation.

* ''WebComic/{{Vexxarr}}'': The Engineers are (or, rather, ''were'') a genetically-engineered SlaveRace of [[PreCursors a long-extinct race of builders]], who see little to no difference in work and play. After the titular Vexxarr liberates them, they show up to Earth to help build their fleet of starships. The engineers ask to get paid in junk food and entertainment media, so they can spend their leisure time 1) eating junk food, and 2) building stuff to play their media on. If there's time left, they'll actually experience the contents of their media.

SubTrope of PlanetOfHats. Compare with the [[SisterTrope sister tropes]], ProudWarriorRace, ProudMerchantRace, ProudScholarRace, and ProudHunterRace.

* The [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampiric]] people of planet Pel from Creator/SergeyLukyanenko's SpaceOpera ''Literature/ALordFromPlanetEarth'' are described as (among others) excellent builders and architects.

* The Xi Char in the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse are described as caring more about the engineering of their machines than their intended use, and even their workshops have a lot of similarities with cathedrals.

* Quaddies in the Literature/VorkosiganSaga are genetically engineered to live in zero-g and thus need to build their own space habitats. Their unit of cultural organization is the "work gang" and Miles notes (and takes advantage of) the fact that "work" was a word with extra resonance in Quaddiespace, much as "honor" has extra resonance on Barrayar.

** Dwarves in the TabletopGame/{{Planegea}} campaign setting have a compulsion to build buildings, regardless whether they actually need to make them. The landscape is littered with abandoned dwarven structures.
** In the ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}'' setting, the Dwarven Citadel is an [[PlanetSpaceship asteroid spaceship]] that is ''powered'' by the industrial energy of all the dwarves within as they mine their way through it.

* The dwarves of ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' are literally defined by their affinity for drink and industry, and as the game's main playable race they have access to a huge variety of industries, from smithing and masonry to beekeeping and soap-making. They are also the only major civilization that can craft steel equipment.

* Even millennia after their [[EminentlyEnigmaticRace mysterious]] [[RiddleForTheAges disappearance]], [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame the Dwemer]] from ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' retain the reputation of the most skilled crafters Tamriel has ever seen. First and foremost, the Dwemer were a ProudScholarRace that had reached a level of progress no one else had ever come close to matching. As much as they revered science, they also loved engineering, being brilliant masters of every imaginable facet of this trope. In many regions of Hammerfell, Skyrim, and Morrowind, there are still dozens of [[AdvancedAncientAcropolis Dwemer cities' remnants]], even a cursory examination of which tells that they apparently were built using techniques [[LostTechnology whose secrets died with the disappearance of their inventors]]. The Dwemer were the ones who designed a unique device for safe reading of the Elder Scrolls, a WeatherControlMachine known as the Karstangz-Bcharn, and an incredibly large number of [[MechaMooks Animunculi]] that, as befits Dwemer creations, have stood the test of time and [[RagnarokProofing remain as active in the Dwemer ruins as they were on the day of their assembly]]. Finally, probably most importantly -- the Dwemer went so far as to make [[HumongousMecha the Numidium]] -- a hand-made god, around a thousand feet tall, whose influence on the history of the entire continent of Tamriel can hardly be truly overestimated.

* Cultures with Builder affinity in ''{{VideoGame/Humankind}}'' are this. The game rewards every such culture for new districts constructed, and they are encouraged to increase their Industry output as well as build Cultural Wonders whenever possible.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series features Gorons, a race of rock-like people whose [[EatDirtCheap diet consists only of rocks]]. They usually live in volcanic environments, and said environments are quite industrial. Gorons often act as blacksmiths and are usually seen mining (after all, it's how they eat), with there being mine carts and tracks everywhere around where they live.

* In the VideoGame/{{Oddworld}} franchise, there's a dichotomy between the [[https://oddworld.fandom.com/wiki/Industrialists?file=RAMO0233-me.jpg Industrial]] and the Native species. The natives, like the Mudokons, live InHarmonyWithNature being MagicalNativeAmerican expies, while the Glukkons and Vykkers are interested in science and industry. In the backstory, the Glukkons used to be friends with the Mudokons until the latter started seeing themselves as superior to the former. Part of the Glukkons' motivation other than money is to destroy nature the Mudokons care about and turn Oddworld into an industrial wasteland. A simpler way to put it is that Vykkers [[MadScientist "invent"]] things and Glukkons [[ProudMerchantRace "sell"]] things, but ultimately the Industrialists as a whole are about "making" things, either inventing them or mass producing them in factories.

* Each nation in ''VideoGame/RiseOfNations'' has a specific power, essentially its own set of benefits regarding different gameplay aspects. Almost all of them include bonuses for [[RidiculouslyFastConstruction faster]] and/or cheaper construction of a particular type of unit or building to complement the nation's preferred playstyle. Among the more illustrative examples are the Egyptians (Power of the Nile), since they are the ones who can build Wonders at a discounted price, earlier on one age, and with a higher limit on their number in one city, the Mayans (Power of Architecture), whose buildings are the most sustainable, always faster to be built, and almost universally need somewhat less Tinder, and the Germans ([[GermanicEfficiency Power of Industry]]), who can build Granaries, Lumber Mills, and Smelters right from the game's start, unlock production upgrades from them sooner and for a lesser price, and get a bit bigger number of resources from cities and for resource-gathering buildings' construction completion, thereby having both the opportunity and a solid reason to build as much as possible (not to mention their ability to create all air and some naval units faster, which, with all the other advantages, allows them to become a relentless war machine beginning with the Industrial Age). Besides, the Americans and the Iroquois from the ''Thrones and Patriots'' expansion [[DownplayedTrope also have a touch of this]], as they can instantly build their first Wonder and Senat, respectively.

* ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'': Described by the game itself as a faction of "excellent craftsmen and skilled workers", [[ChummyCommies the Free Drones]] naturally have +2 to Industry, thus needing fewer minerals to build new units and facilities. Not only that, the "Industrial Base" technology is available to them from the start, providing a quick and easy way to get a foothold for the development of large-scale infrastructure while also befitting their ultimate ambition of creating a [[{{Utopia}} workingman's paradise]] -- a goal that attracts the oppressed and deprived to them, making it more likely that [[SlaveLiberation revolting bases will join the Drones]] rather than anyone else. On the other hand, their fixation on production leads to several logical disadvantages as well: the Free Drones treat technological progress as a not applicable enough investment that is secondary compared to hard work here and now, [[WorkingClassPeopleAreMorons thereby having -2 to Research]], and they [[GaiasLament cannot choose Green Economics]], as this very frugal approach is incompatible with their labor-driven philosophy.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', you can give your empire the "Masterful Craftsmen" civic (or, if you're playing as a MegaCorp, the identical in function "Mastercraft Inc."). It replaces Artisan jobs with Artificer, whose consumer goods output is slightly increased, while also adding trade value to the planet on which they are employed.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The Engineers of ''WebComic/{{Vexxarr}}'' are (or, rather, ''were'') a genetically-engineered SlaveRace of [[PreCursors a long-extinct race of builders]], who see little to no difference in work and play. After the titular Vexxarr liberates them, they show up to Earth to help build their fleet of starships. The engineers ask to get paid in junk food and entertainment media, so they can spend their leisure time 1) eating junk food, and 2) building stuff to play their media on. If there's time left, they'll actually experience the contents of their media.

* The Olkari from ''[[WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender Voltron: Legendary Defender]]'' are a race of skilled engineers who can manipulate metal and plants with a touch.
* PlayedForComedy in ''WesternAnimation/WhatOnEarth'', where an alien probe mistakes the cars and trucks for a living populace. The aliens deduce that when the earthlings encounter an obstacle, they complain loudly (honking) to summon workers (construction machines) to clear a path. These "workers" are shown devouring a mountain range, paving a roadway, and even building a bridge over a chasm in less than one minute. Traffic flows smoothly in their wake.
[[/folder]]

Diligent yet envious, patient yet stubborn, ingenious yet haughty - the Proud Industrious Race is a one that has devoted itself to working in workshops and factories. No matter what they put their hands to, the result always turns out to be perfection. Usually, it is their monuments and palaces that are the most exemplary in their beauty and splendor, their tools and crafts that are of the highest quality, their knowledge and experience in the field of engineering that are the deepest, and so on.

* '''Craftsman Race''': For anyone of this type, what they do is not art - rather an effective way to solve issues of the day. Such a culture is much known for their ability to produce impressive amounts of nearly anything in a relatively short time, be it consumer goods, luxury items, weapons, or whatever else that is possible to make on a large scale and is deemed necessary for their society. It is not uncommon for labor to play a prominent role in their social customs and worldview, with the most typical example being manual labor considered a duty for one and all. Another distinctive feature is that they tend to approach the use of their skills from a purely pragmatic, utilitarian standpoint, perceiving everything beyond that as needless and excessive.

By default, the former will focus on buildings and the latter on something smaller, but it can also be the other way around. The main criteria here are the number and complexity of production - the Artisan Race may instead produce, say, extremely powerful, very finely crafted, and often aesthetically stunning artifacts, while the Craftsman Race can be engaged in the development of infrastructure, simple yet functional, over an enormous territory.

Type can also influence an attitude towards controversial questions within a setting, like robotics and its use in manufacturing. The Artisan Race may oppose robots because of the view that anything created with their use is deprived of its charm, or vice versa - consider that their ability to do monotonous work well can be used to focus on all the creatively significant aspects of construction. Likewise, the Craftsman Race can resist any mechanical touch due to its impact on their strict work ethic, in line with the JobStealingRobot trope, or, if they are all about efficiency, be instead the best roboticists themselves and see robots as the most useful invention ever made.

The Proud Industrious Race is typically highly self-centered, though not [[HiddenElfVillage outright isolationist]]. On the contrary, they will not object to trade, sometimes seeing it as a way to obtain some of the materials they need for their activities. Other races, if allowed, can even hire their finest masters for a decent reward to use the skills they have to their own benefit. Nonetheless, the Proud Industrious Race is often inclined to resort to some CulturalPosturing in relation to outsiders because of [[{{Pride}} undisguised pride]] about their ability to build more beautifully than others, the comparatively greater diligence of their people, or [[InsufferableGenius both]]. Don't get it wrong - they can show a likable attitude but still are unlikely to do so without being at least somewhat patronizing.

And yes, if there are several such cultures at once, they will usually perceive one another as the [[TheRival worst rivals]], meaning that it will be a matter of principle for them to prove their ultimate superiority. Obviously, [[ViolenceIsNotAnOption without resorting to violence]] - the point is not that someone is a [[PerfectPacifistPeople pacifist]], but that there is a common understanding that no one can prove their mastery by simply annihilating an opponent. However, if they, for one reason or another, get involved in a war and end up with a complete victory, they celebrate it by erecting a MonumentOfHumiliationAndDefeat in their enemy's most iconic place.

SubTrope of PlanetOfHats. Compare with the [[SisterTrope sister tropes]] - ProudWarriorRace, ProudMerchantRace, ProudScholarRace, and ProudHunterRace.

** In ''V'', traits as they were before are abolished and replaced with unique abilities, each of which, as the name implies, is unique to the civilization that has it. Two civs, Rome and Egypt, are classic examples of the Craftsman and Artisan Races, respectively: the former has a +25% Production bonus towards any buildings that already exist in the Capital ("The Glory of Rome"), which is very valuable if playing as a Wide Empire with a lot of small cities (a little but fitting bonus - one of their unique units, Legion, can construct Roads and Forts just like ordinary Workers do), while the latter gets a +20% Production bonus towards Wonder construction ("Monument Builders"), which prompts them to develop as a Tall Empire with only a couple of very developed cities. Additionally, the leader of Egypt, Ramesses II, has some matching AI Traits, namely a 10 in "Wonder Emphasis", a 9 in "Wonder Competitiveness", and a 7 in "Production Emphasis", indicating that Egypt under AI control ''always'' tries to build as many Wonders as possible, is [[GreenEyedMonster extremely jealous]] of other civs with a [[TheResenter significant enough number of them]], and usually succeeds in being the most wonder-filled civilization in the game due to having large enough production capacity.

*** All three abovementioned leaders - Victoria (The Age of Steam), Amanitore, and Qin Shi Huang (Mandate of Heaven) - have a historical agenda that drives them to both judge you regarding whether you meet it or not and turn civilization under their rule into one or the other variation of this trope. The agendas of Ramses II and Hammurabi make them fit the bill as well, and, apart from historical agendas, the same applies to any leader who has any of the "Exploitative" (identical to Ramses II's "Ma'at" agenda), "Heavy Industry" (identical to Victoria's "Industrial Revolution" agenda), and "Wonder Obsessed" (identical to Qin Shi Huang's "Wall of 10,000 Li" agenda) hidden agendas.

* Even millennia after their [[EminentlyEnigmaticRace mysterious]] [[RiddleForTheAges disappearance]], [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame the Dwemer]] from ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' retain the reputation of the most skilled crafters Tamriel has ever seen. First and foremost, the Dwemer were a ProudScholarRace that had reached a level of progress no one else had ever come close to matching. As much as they revered science, they also loved engineering, being brilliant masters of every imaginable facet of this trope. In many regions of Hammerfell, Skyrim, and Morrowind, there are still dozens of [[AdvancedAncientAcropolis Dwemer cities' remnants]], even a cursory examination of which tells that they apparently were built using techniques [[LostTechnology whose secrets died with the disappearance of their inventors]]. The Dwemer were the ones who designed a unique device for safe reading of the Elder Scrolls, a WeatherControlMachine known as the Karstangz-Bcharn, and an incredibly large number of [[MechaMooks Animunculi]] that, as befits Dwemer creations, have stood the test of time and [[RagnarokProofing remain as active in the Dwemer ruins as they were on the day of their assembly]]. Finally, probably most importantly - the Dwemer went so far as to make [[HumongousMecha the Numidium]] - a hand-made god, around a thousand feet tall, whose influence on the history of the entire continent of Tamriel can hardly be truly overestimated.

* ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'': Described by the game itself as a faction of "excellent craftsmen and skilled workers", [[ChummyCommies the Free Drones]] naturally have +2 to Industry, thus needing fewer minerals to build new units and facilities. Not only that, the "Industrial Base" technology is available to them from the start, providing a quick and easy way to get a foothold for the development of large-scale infrastructure while also befitting their ultimate ambition of creating a [[{{Utopia}} workingman's paradise]] - a goal that attracts the oppressed and deprived to them, making it more likely that [[SlaveLiberation revolting bases will join the Drones]] rather than anyone else. On the other hand, their fixation on production leads to several logical disadvantages as well: the Free Drones treat technological progress as a not applicable enough investment that is secondary compared to hard work here and now, [[WorkingClassPeopleAreMorons thereby having -2 to Research]], and they [[GaiasLament cannot choose Green Economics]], as this very frugal approach is incompatible with their labor-driven philosophy.

** [[RepressiveButEfficient The Human Hive]] counts as well, even though the ability to build a lot is a consequence of their ideology rather than its basis and essence. Their name hints at what this faction is - a unique experiment to create a collectivist totalitarian society defined to the smallest detail. The tendency to over-control and build bases mostly [[UndergroundCity underground]] makes having a fairly high level of output an inevitable requirement to keep their mode of operation afloat, so hard work for the common good is mandatory for all Hive's residents. For this reason, they get a +1 to Industry (as the game puts it, because of the [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans "brutal serfdom"]]), being able to produce slightly more than other factions.