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Pretty Good Hat

Dwarf Fortress

Casey Johnston spends some time with Dwarf Fortress:

I went into Dwarf Fortress knowing the barrier to entry was dizzyingly high, but I consider (or considered) problem-solving, iterative experimentation, and quick learning to be among my personal strengths. In Dwarf Fortress, I feel like I’m trying to build a skyscraper by banging two rocks together.

I’d like to think I’m not the problem here. Dwarf Fortress wants to be understood about as much as the average teenager. The more it confuses you, the more accomplished it feels. Perhaps that’s too harsh an assessment. It is possible to tinker, after all. But tinkering is endless instead of productive, and there are so many ways to go wrong.

The depth of narrative that some players find in their games of Dwarf Fortress is seriously intriguing, but every time I think “Hey, maybe I’ll try it”, I read something like Casey’s great write-up. It’s not a game that rewards “hey, maybe” players.