30 votes

The origins of Dwarf Fortress (Episode One)

19 comments

  1. [7]
    cfabbro
    (edited )
    Link
    The second episode is actually already out too: How Dwarf Fortress Evolved over 16 Years of Development - Dwarf Fortress Series (Episode Two) I was going to wait until the series was done then...

    The second episode is actually already out too:
    How Dwarf Fortress Evolved over 16 Years of Development - Dwarf Fortress Series (Episode Two)

    I was going to wait until the series was done then make a text topic, but now I'll just comment here whenever a new episodes comes out. ;)

    10 votes
    1. [5]
      cfabbro
      Link Parent
      How Dwarf Fortress Coming to Steam Changed Everything - (Series Episode 3)
      5 votes
      1. [4]
        Nemoder
        Link Parent
        It's so great they found a good indie publisher to help them, there's so many ways it could have gone wrong with a different one. Granted the game was likely destined to sell well regardless!

        It's so great they found a good indie publisher to help them, there's so many ways it could have gone wrong with a different one. Granted the game was likely destined to sell well regardless!

        2 votes
        1. [3]
          cfabbro
          Link Parent
          Yeah, there were soooooo many people waiting in the wings to give them money once it hit Steam... myself included! :P

          Yeah, there were soooooo many people waiting in the wings to give them money once it hit Steam... myself included! :P

          2 votes
          1. [2]
            Nemoder
            Link Parent
            I sent money before it was on steam and got one of his amazing drawings: https://i.imgur.com/SIHBJfM.jpeg Funny that it looks more like Valheim than DF but I love that game too :)

            I sent money before it was on steam and got one of his amazing drawings:
            https://i.imgur.com/SIHBJfM.jpeg
            Funny that it looks more like Valheim than DF but I love that game too :)

            2 votes
            1. cfabbro
              Link Parent
              Oh damn, that's super cool, and an awesome memento!

              Oh damn, that's super cool, and an awesome memento!

              2 votes
  2. Nemoder
    Link
    I really like this documentary on the creators and creation of my favorite game Dwarf Fortress. While it's not likely to ever hit the same player numbers of larger budget games its influence has...

    I really like this documentary on the creators and creation of my favorite game Dwarf Fortress. While it's not likely to ever hit the same player numbers of larger budget games its influence has become legendary in game development circles. This is part 1 of 4, parts 3 and 4 aren't public yet but will be soon.

    7 votes
  3. [2]
    password1
    Link
    I used to love this game, and I bought it on Steam to support the creator. Unfortunately, they never did follow up with a MacOS release so I haven't played it in over a decade at this point. Life...

    I used to love this game, and I bought it on Steam to support the creator. Unfortunately, they never did follow up with a MacOS release so I haven't played it in over a decade at this point. Life moves on, and this is a hard game to jump back into after such a long break. I'm hopeful that at some point I'll be able to play it again.

    6 votes
    1. Nemoder
      Link Parent
      Yeah the Linux support is what really got me into playing it early on. Apple has not made it easy for indie devs to support their hardware anymore.

      Yeah the Linux support is what really got me into playing it early on. Apple has not made it easy for indie devs to support their hardware anymore.

      7 votes
  4. [8]
    hamstergeddon
    Link
    Admittedly, I haven't watched this (yet. I do plan to!), but can anyone recommend a good Let's Play for Dwarf Fortress? I've tried to get into a few times over the years, and even grabbed it on...

    Admittedly, I haven't watched this (yet. I do plan to!), but can anyone recommend a good Let's Play for Dwarf Fortress? I've tried to get into a few times over the years, and even grabbed it on Steam and tried the noob packs and it just never clicked. How it usually goes is wanting to play DF, realizing I could just play Rim World instead, and then forgetting about DF for a while.

    3 votes
    1. [3]
      Dr_Amazing
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      I don't think any Let's Play is going to compete with Boatmurdered https://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/Introduction/ The Something Awful forums used to do "succession games" where...

      I don't think any Let's Play is going to compete with Boatmurdered
      https://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/Introduction/

      The Something Awful forums used to do "succession games" where each person played one year of game time, then turned over the fortress to the next player. This of course leads to hilarious chaos as each leader tries their own tactics to fix the messes left behind by the previous rulers. People often would write their entries in character so it becomes something of a big multi-author story about the forts history

      9 votes
      1. [2]
        Hollow
        Link Parent
        The Boatmurdered saga has been adapted into a narrated video by Fredrik Knudsen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI1UmlfP1Cg

        The Boatmurdered saga has been adapted into a narrated video by Fredrik Knudsen:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI1UmlfP1Cg

        7 votes
        1. Dr_Amazing
          Link Parent
          Thanks! I finally got a chance to sit down and watch this and it was a great way to experience this story. I'm also really cracking up at this comment

          Thanks! I finally got a chance to sit down and watch this and it was a great way to experience this story.

          I'm also really cracking up at this comment

          "As someone who's never played Dwarf fortress, the dramatic zooms on a screen full of colorful ASCII characters is EXTREMELY funny."

          3 votes
    2. [3]
      sparksbet
      Link Parent
      In addition to Blind IRL and Kruggsmash, who were already mentioned, I enjoy hoodie hair's Dwarf Fortress videos, though they're more little stories than let's plays. They're bite-sized compared...

      In addition to Blind IRL and Kruggsmash, who were already mentioned, I enjoy hoodie hair's Dwarf Fortress videos, though they're more little stories than let's plays. They're bite-sized compared to most, which makes them good for a casual watch.

      Funnily enough, I've had the opposite experience with Rimworld and Dwarf Fortress. I used to play a fair bit of Rimworld, but ever since I played Dwarf Fortress for the first time (when the Steam version released), I haven't been able to go back to it.

      4 votes
      1. [2]
        RoyalHenOil
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        Similar here. I played a lot of Dwarf Fortress for years, backed Rimworld on Kickstarter because the creator was inspired by Dwarf Fortress, played Rimworld a while, and then went back to Dwarf...

        Funnily enough, I've had the opposite experience with Rimworld and Dwarf Fortress. I used to play a fair bit of Rimworld, but ever since I played Dwarf Fortress for the first time (when the Steam version released), I haven't been able to go back to it.

        Similar here. I played a lot of Dwarf Fortress for years, backed Rimworld on Kickstarter because the creator was inspired by Dwarf Fortress, played Rimworld a while, and then went back to Dwarf Fortress because I find it so much more interesting and satisfying.

        I admittedly don't play it as much as I used to, but it will always be very special to me — not just because of the countless hours of wonder and entertainment, but because it materially changed my life:

        Back in 2009, I had just recently graduated with a job and then lost it when the recession hit, and I was living with my parents and at a loss for what to do with myself in between fruitless job hunts for any kind of work whatsoever. I decided I wanted to learn how to play this free game called Dwarf Fortress, but I didn't know where to begin, and there was nobody in my life who had any interest in it or had even heard of it — except for some random online penpal I very occasionally exchanged emails with from the other side of the world.

        It turned out that he was an avid Dwarf Fortress fan (he even had some of Toady's famous crayon drawings), but he also didn't know anybody else who knew or cared about it, and he was thrilled to finally share this passion with someone else. As soon as we discovered our mutual interest in the game, we immediately started making plans to meet in-person (he could afford plane tickets because the 2008 recession didn't hit his country) so he could show me the ropes and we could play together. Long story short, we're approaching our 15th anniversary, I'm a dual citizen, and we both work in tech education.

        8 votes
        1. sparksbet
          Link Parent
          Aw this is the sweetest thing ever!

          Aw this is the sweetest thing ever!

          3 votes