Dwarf Fortress, scientifically known as 'Slaves to Armok: God of Blood Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress' is two games in one. The first game is a deep roguelike that lets you explore a vast and dangerous world filled with friends and foes. The roguelike genre, and I quote the wikipedias for those who don't know, is a sub-genre of role-playing video games, characterized by randomization for replayability, permanent death, and turn-based movement. To put it simply, it is a simple way to play a very complex and often difficult role-playing game. There is another very important component of what makes a roguelike, but you're still not ready and I don't want to spoil the surprise.
The first game is not important. Well, at least not to this review and definitely not to me, and by extension, not to you either.
The second game is still set in the same world, same creatures and geography. This world is huge, with mountain ranges, forests, rivers, oceans, deserts and glaciers. Villages and cities are scattered about connected by roadway. Instead of being the lone adventurer, you control an expedition of 7 dwarfs who settle on a tiny patch of this immense world. Their mission? To mine the earth for all its resources. This is however, more of an afterthought, as you will always be preoccupied with more pressing matters.
You first start out small, you need to make shelter, food and booze for your dwarfs. You trade with the occasional caravan and slowly expand your fortress. New migrants steadily arrive and your dwarfs begin to specialize in some of the dozens of possible professions/skills, including carpentry, crafting, armour smithing and farming. You can build a vast fortress with dozens upon dozens of rooms ranging from kitchens, simple bedrooms for the workers, spectacular apparentness for the nobles, workshops and dinning halls. You will also need to build an army, equipped with armour and weapons made from your very own forges. These brave helpless dwarfs will protect your castle from a wide array of enemies. Finally, the available construction options for walls, floors, fortifications and much more will allow you to create practically any structure imaginable, from tall skyscrapers made of soap, to an underground labyrinth that penetrates Hell itself.
This review cannot begin to dive into the complexity that you can attain in your fortress. Your fortress truly becomes a thriving colony. As dwarfs are not directly controlled, you can often sit back and just watch. And here is where we reach the twist, the catch, the 'but.' Below is a screen shot...
Yes, that is the game. The one component that defines the roguelike genre is it is all in ASCII graphics. ASCII graphics is the use of computer characters to displaying pictures. Think of emoticons... :P :D :( ... but for a whole world. The view is a birds eye view, top-down, so each symbol represents a unique object or creature.
Anyway, I hope you can look past the graphics. I needed to follow a tutorial to get started, but I'm glad I did. Once you get the basics down, your fortress becomes a sandbox and the only limit is time and your imagination. The complexity and challenge only enhance the enjoyability of the game, whose tagline 'Losing is fun.' You will create a narrative for your fortress, become attached to certain dwarfs, you will triumph in their victories and mourn in their losses. I can guarantee these things if you give Dwarf Fortress your attention and patience.
The game is free, and is in constant development. Its community is strong and there are plenty of third party programs that will help you out, such as Dwarf Therapist.
Good luck
Main Page
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves
Dwarf Fortress Wiki - VERY useful
Main Page
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves
Dwarf Fortress Wiki - VERY useful
The story of Boatmurdered. A historical narrative of one of the most notorious fortresses ever created. Hilarious reading, especially for those who have played DF.
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