Game Du Jour: Dwarf Fortress

Today, we'll take a look at the instant cult classic, Dwarf Fortress.

Premise: Seven dwarves (Snow white not included, har har) set out to establish a new place to live, seek fortune through mineral wealth and/or craftsdwarfship, and ultimately establish a Dwarf Fortress.

Hook: Starvation, thirst, drowning, goblin invasions, elven ambushes, human retribution, elephants, carp, child-snatchers, thieves, lava, cave-ins, fire, colossi, dragons, insanity, and nobles, to name a few.

Gameplay: Dwarf Fortress is like a mix of Spore, Nethack, Dungeon Keeper, and the Sims.

Spore: Right when you start playing, the game procedurally generates an entire world, running rivers and lakes, eroding cliffs, scattering mineral wealth... It's interesting to watch. The world also stays persistent from one game to another, so if you defeat a colossus in one fortress, expect to see references to it in your next ones.

Nethack: This is where most people get turned off on the game. Dwarf Fortress shares a steep learning curve (more like a sheer cliff than a curve) with Nethack, and also its graphical simplicity. Your dwarves are bearded smiley faces, but everything else, from the ground to your pet dogs, are colored ASCII characters. So until you learn the code ("All I see now is blonde, brunette, redhead...") it'll look like a mess of stuff.

The interface isn't that optimized either, unfortunately, so you'll be using the thankfully easy-to-bring-up cheat-sheet for a while.

Dungeon Keeper: You don't control your dwarves directly. Instead, you set what they can and can't do (on an individual basis), and designate where to mine and where to build. If they're not doing something else, they'll get right on it. Unfortunately, they often are doing something else, so you'll want to set up tasks in advance of when you need them done. If you're planning on building a new wing of bedrooms, it's wise to order new beds, doors etc at the same time you start digging.

The Sims: Your dwarves are creatures of flesh (unlike Dungeon Keeper's imps, which are made of magic and can work non-stop) and they have their own needs, wants, and happiness. They need food, and if there's none available, they'll drop whatever they're doing (including, say, making more food) to hunt for small vermin to eat. They want a constant supply of alcohol, and if they're forced to drink *shudder* water instead, they'll drag their heels in their tasks as the massive hangover they've been holding at bay sets in. (Literally, they move and work at half speed if they're sober.) And there's a long list of things that can chip away at their happiness, including smelling rotting food, being outside in the rain, or having pets/family members die (and taking a further hit if they don't get a proper burial).


Should a dwarf remain too unhappy for long enough, he will throw a tantrum and start brawling and wrecking stuff. And since dwarves don't like being punched, they might in turn start a tantrum, and set off a chain reaction that decimates your entire fortress. Good stuff.

Really, I could go on and on about this game. Go and get it already.