Popular colony simulator Dwarf Fortress gets major graphical update

A game which has long been in development, Dwarf Fortress is a survival construction game in which the player is tasked with managing a colony of dwarves and through its unique and endless possibilities, you must survive.   

Originally released to the public in 2006, the game was recently ported over to Steam with massive changes to its graphics. There’s no set goal in Dwarf Fortress except building a fortress and managing to keep your dwarves alive against attacks from goblins and monsters. You’ll also need to manage your own dwarves so that they don’t cause trouble within. There’s a second game mode called adventurer mode which is an individual character made by the player who must travel and survive in a hostile supernatural world.  

The original design prior to the graphical update. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The sheer detail of Dwarf Fortress is stunning considering it was made by two brothers, Tarn and Zach Adams. When starting a new game, 100 years of history (or more depending on what the player chooses), is procedurally generated, carving out your own unique world. What’s more impressive is that during this 100-year history, people are born, die and make a name for themselves all through artificial intelligence with no input from the player other than them pressing the start button. When this process has been completed, the player can then begin their own kingdom, building it from the ground up.  

The game goes as far as to have characters with thoughts, memories, emotions and relationships. Your own dwarves can kill each other over rivalries, get married, and divorced with no control from the player. Your kingdom must also produce an economic output, and as such, you are tasked with setting up trade agreements with neighbouring villages or kingdoms and ensuring your own kingdom is well supplied with food and water.   

The new graphics are easier on the eye. Credit: Kyle O’Hara

With the recent graphical changes, the game has opened itself up to a far bigger audience. Although the learning curve is difficult to get over at first, the enjoyment every time a new game begins with the infinite ways in which your kingdom can fall is what sells it for many. As the unofficial motto of the game goes, “Losing is fun!” and it’s even funnier with the recent changes. 

Dwarf Fortress can be found on Steam.