History VideoGame / TerraInvicta

* TutorialFailure: The so-called tutorial for the game does a horrible job explaining anything beyond the bare bones of UI, forcing new players to go through wikias and online guides to even figure out what the game's goals are.

* TwentyMinutesIntoThePast: The start date is fixed to October 1st, 2022.

* AnAesop: [[spoiler:How [[Literature/TheDarkForest Dark Forest theory]] can generate a cycle of violence, xenophobia and trauma repeated across entire species.]]

* CivilWarVsArmageddon: The entire premise of the game is how Earth may respond to the sudden presence of a hostile alien force that has the means and the will to bring about the end of humanity as we know it. Some of the factions aren't even necessarily convinced that that's a ''bad'' thing, or at least that Earth can do anything meaningful to stop them, but even beyond the basic "pro-alien" vs. "anti-alien" divide, some factions that are notionally on the same side differ wildly in their methods and ultimate goals, and everyone is competing for influence and control in the world's most powerful governments.

** [[spoiler:The invading aliens' homeworld was destroyed by a planetkiller from a species of these. The victims managed to pull off an upset through mind control, but their dreadful ordeal, complemented by the destruction of their culture, traditions, and virtually entire civilian population, resulted in them joining the club by deciding they will enslave all intelligent life that can be potential threats to them.]]

* AliensAreBastards: The aliens are attacking Earth for no apparent reason. [[spoiler:Downplayed, in that interrogating them gradually reveals they are HeWhoFightsMonsters and are pathologically afraid of being enslaved again. The reason humanity has a chance is that the aliens themselves are divided on what to do about Earth; the Academy's path ends with a pro-peace faction winning out and making a non-aggression pact with humanity.]]
* AllForNothing: One faction's philosophy is hopelessly flawed and doomed to fail abjectly, especially if they come out on top. It's [[spoiler:the Protectorate, who believe humanity can't fight a star-faring species, and must reach a conditional surrender. They fail to offer anything a superior attacker couldn't take, and the Hydras exploit the Protectorate's terror to pressure them into handing over everything the Hydras wanted and doing the hard work of subjugating humanity. The only "consolation" is that they're still [[TheQuisling given power over mankind]], at least for so long as the Hydras are content. Even the alien-worshiping Servants get humanity a better deal by at least sticking to their ideals of how this subjugation business is supposed to go.]]

** The Protectorate genuinely believes that its plans of arranging a conditional surrender are for the greater good, even if the rest of humanity will hate its members for it. [[spoiler:Not only does it install orbital weaponry to keep Earth contained in its ending, but its leadership will even stage an "accidental" misfire on the UN Headquarters, taking out the ''entirety'' of New York City, in order to destroy any organized opposition to [[VichyEarth alien hegemony]].]]

** [[spoiler: One of the antagonist aliens the player interrogate is this (albeit in a quite tragic way), it is said that the species of that alien have its home planet destroyed by another alien species (the reason for the conflict remains unknown), but they managed to mind control them at the very last moment from a space station, securing their survival. However, their dreadful ordeal, complemented by the destruction of their culture and traditions, turned them to be more militarist and decided that they will enslave all intelligent life that can be potential threats to them.]]

* NebulousCriminalConspiracy: The Initiative is a cabal of corporations and industrialists who want to exploit the ongoing crisis to amass wealth and power. [[spoiler:At first. They gradually coalesce into TheIlluminati in all but name.]]

* [[LesCollaborateurs The Protectorate]], who want to figure out the aliens' true motives, hoping they can use this knowledge to appease them and use this as leverage to preserve human independence;

* [[LesCollaborateurs The Protectorate]], who want to appease the aliens to avoid human extinction;

** Downplayed with the Initiative. Its members are opportunistically taking advantage of the chaos to fill their pockets and to accumulate more power. Even as the organization becomes more cohesive and develops more of an identity, it's not until they're forced to defend themselves from Hydra attacks that they treat the extraterrestrials as anything ''other'' than a means to consolidate more control and they’re quick to catch on. They're a nascent corporate/government conspiracy straight out of ''Franchise/MetalGear'' and ''VideoGame/DeusEx'', thrust into an AlienInvasion setting.

* [[OccupiersOutOfOurCountry The Resistance]], who aim to resist the alien conquest of the solar system by any means necessary;

* [[VoluntaryVassal The Servants]], who worship the aliens and want humanity to submit to them;

* GuideDangIt: Layered Defense Arrays on a planetary surface will shoot back at enemy ships during OrbitalBombardment, but unlike in space, they won't intercept enemy projectiles that are targeting your modules -- for that you need a Point-Defense Array. Not only does the game not tell you this, but the latter module upgrades ''into'' the former, with no indication that you need both.

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: [[spoiler:It turns out that, prior to being enslaved, the Salamanders conquered the Hydras' homeworld and exterminated the population out of rabid xenophobia. The trauma of losing the majority of their people and culture is what drove the surviving Hydras to become the militaristic slavers they are now.]]

* GlobalWarming: A minor game mechanic. Climate Change lowers GDP in every nation and brings about negative events including eruptions of arctic methane, environmental degradation and rising sea levels caused by ice sheet melts. Spoils and Economy priority makes climate change worse, Welfare priority mitigates the worst of it. Protracted nuclear exchanges can induce a nuclear winter, which reverses climate change... [[FromBadToWorse but then you have worse problems]]. [[spoiler:Xenoflora is also good for fighting climate change, because it consumes CO2 in vast quantities.]]

* HomeworldEvacuation: Project Exodus considers fighting the aliens to be pointless, and are instead building TheArk to leave the Solar System entirely. [[spoiler:Though the resulting arkship can only carry thousands at most and the launch is made potentially at the skin of its teeth, Project Exodus can nonetheless succeed, giving humanity another chance at civilization.]]

** Project Exodus' sole concern is simply [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere to get humanity to a new homeworld]], and couldn't care less about the Aliens' plans or fighting against them, unless they directly intervene in said HomeworldEvacuation.

** [[spoiler:Just because Project Exodus achieves its goal of [[HomeworldEvacuation escaping the solar system]] doesn't mean it's mission accomplished just yet, when its members can buy more time by taking out as many Alien forces as they can. While other factions can still gain ''their'' victory conditions.]]

** The Resistance and Academy are both idealistic factions who seek not just to defend Earth, but to protect what makes it worth defending and avoid committing atrocities or unnecessarily wasting human life. That said, they can employ criminals, exploit countries for profit, and commit war crimes as easily as any other faction.

** The remaining factions are more complicated, with varying shades of grey. The Protectorate truly believe their attempts to arrange a conditional surrender is the best way to resolve the crisis with minimal loss of life, but they are manipulative and GenreBlind. Humanity First are {{absolute xenophobe}}s willing to go much further than the Resistance against both the aliens and their human sympathizers, but [[AliensAreBastards their initial theories about the aliens are proven painfully accurate]]. Project Exodus just want to get off the planet, hoping to find a better home for humanity among the stars.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: ]

* IDidWhatIHadToDo:

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: Just because Earth is under the threat of an alien invasion does not mean that all human nations are immediately willing to cooperate with each other. Therefore, preventing or ending conflicts is essential as they can escalate even further into a global war.

->Remember, while they're building empires down there, we're building an empire up ''here''.