• 10Mar 08

  Dwarf Fortress

  

  People often claim that gameplay is more important than graphics. Dwarf Fortress takes that notion farther than any other game.

  Dwarf Fortress is an incredibly complex, freeware PC game developed by Bay 12 Games. It's in alpha, but it's still very playable. The amount of content already present is simply staggering and the remaining planned material is beyond ambitious.

  When you play it for the first time, the game undergoes a lengthy world generation process. This process details landmasses, elevation, regional climate, vegetation, biomes, wildlife, erosion, & river/lake formation. Individual regions are then mapped out, and the game generates 1000 years of civilization history. A number of randomly generated countries are formed along with a detailed history of their rulers, cities, & religions. The end result is an enormous, wholly unique, Tolkien-esque world populated by Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Kobolds, Goblins, Giants & various other things. From this point the game can be played in one of two ways; fortress or adventure mode.

  In fortress mode, you guide a small caravan of Dwarven colonists to settle an uncivilized area. The Dwarves have varying proficiency in over 70 skills. The skills encompass different aspects of mining, wood cutting, weapon making, carpentry, stoneworking, metalsmithing, hunting, fishing, animal training, jeweling, craftsmanship, administration, farming, brewing, cooking, engineering, combat, & socializing. Due to the game's depth and random nature, an almost unlimited number of crazy things can happen as you turn your small caravan into a bustling fortress. Perhaps some frogmen will creep up from the fortress well and eat your children. Maybe while digging out tunnels under a mountain, your miners will accidentally strike into a pool of magma, obliterating everyone in your fortress. Whatever harm befalls your poor Dwarves, as the creators say, "losing is fun!"

  In adventure mode, you create and play as a Human, Elf, or Dwarf warrior. In the current version, you simply explore your vast world (including any fortresses you may have built) taking on quests to kill various monsters. The main appeal to this mode is the extremely detailed combat. Wounds bleed, bones can be broken, limbs can be lost, and actions as intricate as throwing vomit or grabbing your enemies pinky finger can be executed. Just like fortress mode, countless anecdotes have surfaced due to the immense possibilities.

  In one such story, the player had tracked down a Minotaur to it's cave. Amidst the struggle, his axe became firmly lodged in the creature's skull. He started to wrench at the handle which caused the Minotaur to pass out from sheer pain. He then strangled the helpless beast until it stopped breathing.

  One of the creators, Tarn Adams, shared a story of his own. His character was sent to fortress Skullsprofane to assassinate a legendary Goblin named Kutsmob. Kutsmob was a hammerlord and carried a grand iron shield with a personalized leopard bone engraving of himself. Tarn had already lost 4 adventurers to Kutsmob before making one last halberdier. As this warrior approached Skullsprofrane, Kutsmob began shouting insults about the previous 4 victims. The warrior rushed in at the Goblin and ran him through with his spear. Kutsmob's chest split open and all of his major organs were pierced. The victory was short-lived, though, as some stray Goblin marksmen took out the hero immediately after.

  Focusing on gameplay over graphics has proven to be a double-edged sword thus far for Dwarf Fortress. It's created a truly remarkable gaming experience, but without the proper presentation, it's somewhat inacessible. The pixel artwork at the top of this page is actually just a mockup of what might come to be. The official game uses minimalistic ASCII graphics.

  

  Typical Dwarf Fortress Screenshot

  If these ASCII characters are intolerable to you, there's still hope. Various Dwarf Fortress graphics mods were combined into a single neat package that can be downloaded here.

  

  Dwarf Fortress Graphics Mod

  If the above screenshot is acceptable, then by all means, start generating a world ASAP. If not, there may still be further hope. Among the planned features for the finished version is a graphic user interface. The included manual is pretty sparse, but there's a wealth of help available at the game's official wiki. If you try it out, or have already played it, let me know what you thought.

  • Posted Mar 10, 2008 1:18 pm PT
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