What's the most realistic apocalypse version in gaming and movies?

We have seen lots of video games and movies portraying events of global catastrophe that would leave the world filled with dead bodies, and survivors that would need to do everything they can in order to survive. So what's the most likely apocalypse that humanity would face in the near future? A nuclear fallout? An epidemic without a cure that slaughters millions? Economic collapse and the fall of governments? What do you guys think?

 

According to an article I read a few months ago, society will collapse in less than 3 decades due to food shortage. If that's true then what everyone should be aiming for is to start depending on less store bought food. Grow crops and raise animals that will provide you with meat, milk, eggs, etc. When the time comes and all hell breaks loose because people want food, you'll be fine.

 

Or more likely you'll become a target from desperate lunatics who want your crops and animals. It's still probably the right thing to do, but I certainly wouldn't say you'll be fine.

I think the most likely apocalypse version is going to be caused by human greed. Whether this is the environment becoming uninhabitable, the economy collapsing and us losing all of our modern ways of life, or just a nuclear war that goes way too far.

 

With a just in time food system, next to no reserves and seven billion mouths to feed
There are many things that will make disaster! A tungusta event on the Russian/American wheat plains would do it! Yellowstone too!
Or any of the super volcanos!
We have experienced 11,000y of relatively nice weather to bloom, that alone is due to end!

 

I think what everyone has touched on so far is correct: human greed and food shortages. There are just some truly greedy jerks out there who want to hoard the best things for themselves as others suffer endlessly due to starvation and disease. As the rich continue to increase their wealth and the poor class eats away at the middle class, people are getting more stressed. Food is already becoming scare. With climate change and the extinction (or possible extinction) of animals that are critical to the balance of the environment, we are devising our own end. Or that's my opinion anyway.

For all we know, an asteroid might collide with Earth and wipe us out like the dinosaurs.

 

I disagree that foot shortage is going to be a problem (unless scenario a) mentioned bellow happens). The world already produces enough food to sustain 12 billion people. So, why is there hunger? Distribution. It's all about the distribution of resources, not their production or scarcity.

IMO, the most likely apocalyptic scenarios are:

a) extinction of species that are beneficial to humanity (like bees and other pollinators): now that is when food shortage really becomes a major problem
b) asteorid impact: humanity still does not have proper defence against this threat
c) terrorists engineer a virus that kills people, they use it on civilians, the virus evolves and adapts too fast for us to contain it in time and proceeds to kill millions...it does not necessarily have to kill billions of people in order to cause an apocalypse - the ensuing panic would radically change social relations between people and political relations between countries, possibly providing a casus belli for an international war

There are other possibilities of course: rise of oceans due to global warming, war between humans and transhumans etc. but those would have a lesser impact on humanity as a whole.

 

You'd like to think that if there was an extinction of bees and other pollinators that science would find a way to work around the issue. Whether that was with mechanical bees, or modifying plants to not need pollination. But then the world depends too much on science, and even science can't save us from the greedy CEOs and corporations who have fifteen mansions and are looking for more, while people in some third world countries are living ten to a room and drinking dirty water. I can't help but feel that eventually there will be a revolt and that it will be catastrophic.

 

I think the most realistic apocalypse would be caused by an economic collapse and the fall of governments. It's seems like this could cause all kinds of chaos. If there's no government no one would follow rules and people would be fighting everywhere. The world looks like it's headed that way
hopefully we won't see this in our lifetime or we'll be well prepared for it. I think that super natural events will be definitely a part of this, a war between heaven and hell as predicted in the bible.

 

The world of the Fallout games following a nuclear war is probably one of the more realistic. At least in terms of how the world functions and how the landscapes are. Makeshift human settlements appearing everywhere and people being generally more suspicious of strangers. Places that are too radioactive to go to. I doubt there'd be monsters though.

 

Well, if books count too. I'd have to say The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I think they made a movie of it too.

But, I think that's probably what it would be like realistically for a survivor. Although the book never says what caused the Apocalypse.

 

Good point and well taken.
This planet is more crowded that ever in human history.
Micro-bugs have a nasty habit of morphing into medicine resistant strains
seemingly within hours.
A super bug could morph from a strain humans have a resistance too today
and become a pandemic tomorrow.
Air travel world wide brings people across the globe into contact with one
another.
Consider this scenario: Terrorists of the middle eastern types often get
money from oil rich Arabs who have no qualms about seeing you and me
get dead.
Islam, the religion of peace don'cha'know.
And if members here don't "get it" the goal of Islam is TOTAL world dominance.
PERIOD. End of story. Google it, don't take my word for it.
Conversion at the point of a sword.
Lets say Arabs fund rogue biologists to create a super bug then send infected
Muslims world wide to spread the bug.
Thing it can't happen?
Think again.
Rich Arabs have already cloned themselves!
Those biologists and researchers that cloned sheep have secretly cloned
the richest of Arabs.
No one can prove it but it's been rumored to have happened. It will likely
never be proven.
Money talks and bull#hit walks.
Clone a super bug? Infect the world with a super bug?
Sure.
If it's possible it will be done.
Then Islam can be written upon the new clean slate of the planet.
After all...................Allah Akbar.

 

Having listed a whole load of apocalyptic scenarios I'm suprised that no one mentioned alien invasion (no, not migrant workers but a malevolent alien race intent on wiping us out and stealing our resources) don't shoot me down for being an alien conspiracy nutcase, this is supposed to be for a game scenario after all.

 

It's depend about the type of games.
I'll say a earthquake or a alien's evasion.

 

It's always like that too in movies. I have yet to see a movie where aliens come, but we destroy them easily and they run back to their mothership and we never hear from them again. It's always the same type; we're the underdogs and we're always gonna be the ones who lose the first conflict. It gets old, you know?