Interview: The Making Of Dwarf Fortress
Gamasutra article. Dwarf Fortress is a very deep RPG/simulation game, with two different game modes. In the first, "Fortress Mode," you direct a group of vaguely autonomous dwarves in building a (what else?) fortress and defending themselves against various enemy creatures. In "Adventure Mode," you take control of an adventurer, who is able to explore the world that you created in Fortress Mode.
The game is appealing, yet also fairly off-putting, due to its complexity. It definitely doesn't seem like something that the casual player can pick up and completely understand in a few play sessions. The learning curve is exacerbated by the ASCII graphics; each entity in the game is represented by a special symbol that the player must memorize.
However, there are definitely quite a few hardcore fans out there. I imagine that once the player becomes familiar with the game, he or she is able to appreciate the insane amount of detail that is packed into it. I hope that one day I'll be able to overcome my initial apprehension of this game and give it a shot.
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