There are some games not for those who lack patience, drive, or the ability to laugh at their own failings. Dwarf Fortress, a free, rogue-like game of exploration, construction, survival, prosperity, and inevitable failure is one of these. Boasting one of the highest learning curves I have ever seen (less of a curve and more of a steep cliff), it’s easy to say that Dwarf Fortress is the most complex games I’ve played, which might seem odd to someone looking at a screenshot, given its simplistic graphics. However, just because I’m losing doesn’t mean I’m not having fun doing it.
Slaves to Armok II: God of Blood Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress (called Dwarf Fortress for short) is a top-down amalgamation of a game, featuring strategy, simulation, and role-playing characteristics, all displayed with incredibly simple graphics reminiscent of early computer games. The game is a sequel to Slaves of Armok: God of Blood, a hack-n-slash game that was never released. The depth of the game is amazing, considering that it was mostly developed by a single person, Tam Adams (“ToadyOne“, as he is often known), with help from his brother, Zachary. Though the game is an Alpha right now, it’s still thoroughly playable.
Before starting, a player must generate a “world”, where all the action takes place. The history, geography, civilizations, climate, and geology of the world are randomly generated, with a high-fantasy setting serving as the backdrop. Once a world is generated, a player can choose to play on Fortress, Adventure, or Legends Mode. Adventure Mode allows a player to explore their world as an adventurer seeking fame and fortune, and Legends offers a view at a particular world’s history, but the meat of the game is in Fortress Mode.
In Fortress Mode, players are tasked with building, expanding, maintaining, and defending a home for seven dwarves that they start the game with, but from then on, everything is up to them. The player can choose where to build the fort, with areas rich in resources and far from danger most preferred, though a wise player should consider the climate and wildlife as well. Once the location is chosen, players can equip their starting dwarves with skills and items to help on the journey, or select to start playing with randomly chosen equipment. Players can also name specific dwarves, as well as their fortress, with many giving them humorous or memorable names. When ready, the player sets out with a wagon and a few animals into the wilds to begin life anew.
If that sounds simple, it really isn’t. Even choosing where to build a fort can be a complex process, as it is necessary to take into account whether water is available (and in places where it won’t be a bother), trees are ready for cutting, soil for farming, stone for sculpting, and so on. The local climate has to be considered, as water in colder places will tend to freeze up, while in warmer areas it will evaporate, either of which could spell doom for an unprepared fortress. Also, one would take care not to build near a haunted forest or a Goblin lair, as the inhabitants of those places are a little less than friendly.
The dwarves themselves aren’t directly controlled by the player, but run automatically on orders the player gives them. Sometimes it can take them a while to get around to doing something, but they will get it done eventually. The player can task the dwarves with a multitude of jobs. Miners dig new tunnels and rooms, masons make items and furnishings from stone, farmers farm, planters plant, woodcutters cut wood, and so on. There are also military occupations specializing in specific weapons, and these dwarves can be organized into an army and used to defend the fortress from raids by Goblins and Kobolds and, if the fortress grows big enough, dragons and titans.
As dwarves do their jobs, they become better at them, and may eventually go into a “mood.” While in a mood, a dwarf will request certain items to craft a creation of legendary quality. However, if they are not given these items within a period of time, they will become insane. Every dwarf has a unique randomly-generated personality, with some quick to anger, other calm and collected, but they all have one thing in common; that stereotypical love for a good ale. Every so often, immigrants will come to the fortress, ranging from simple peasants to royalty, bolstering the population and allowing for more versatility. A fortress can hold a maximum of 200 dwarves.
The world does not simply stop evolving once it has been generated. Civilizations rise and fall, monsters are slain, lands are conquered, people are born, and legends arise. Caravans of humans, dwarves, and elves visit the fort to trade goods, or engage in diplomacy, even declaring war. The seasons pass, each unique, with the leaves changing color to reflect this. When the fortress eventually succumbs to raids, resource deprivations, or simple ennui, all is not lost. The old fort can be revisited in Adventure Mode, and reclaimed for later use. When dwarves make art objects, such as engravings, they can tell the history of the fortress, relating past events, battles, deaths, births, and encounters. An old and well-developed fortress may even become one of the most important places in the game world.
As mentioned earlier, the game has an incredibly steep learning curve, higher than most other games of the genre, and players should expect to experience plenty of trial-and-error, or research on the Dwarf Fortress Wiki. A player’s first fortress will likely end in complete disaster, as an improperly constructed deathtrap or consumed by the surrounding environment. Hence the games’ motto “Losing is Fun.” Even utter defeat can be an amusing process, as the dwarves scurry about vainly in an attempt to save the fort from disaster, or the little oversights become fortress-killers. Many a fort has been flooded by magma or water due to a careless error on the builders’ part, inciting frustration at the lost fort, but amusement at what was learned and how the dwarfs reacted. No two games are ever alike, lending the game unlimited replay ability, even more than traditional sandbox-style games.
However, once past the initially daunting process of figuring out how everything works, the game quickly becomes an addicting experience unlike any other. Some might criticize the simplicity of the graphics, but they add a certain charm to how the game handles itself by forcing players to use their imagination, and besides, anything more complex would make the game run slowly. This is a game that is well-suited to the indie crowd; something that wouldn’t appeal much to a casual gamer. Only those with plenty of spare time and patience need apply, but the payoff is definitely worth it in the end.
