dwarf fortress - the most complex video game that is more fun to read about than play

[rpayton]

Dwarf Fortress is a video game made by Tarn Adams and his brother. The game is free and Adams lives off the donations of rabid DF fans. It is perhaps the most complex video game ever devised and it is horribly counter-intuitive and hard to learn.

So what is Dwarf Fortress about? It is a fantasy simulation game where you guide settlers (dwarfs of course) as they build a colony in a harsh wilderness. The world is randomly generated. The interface and graphics are ASCII text symbols so it takes time just to learn how to 'read' the screen.

The complexity of DF is staggering. It simulates many of the laws of physics including fluid dynamics. The dwarfs are great engineers able to build elaborate stone and metal devices (as directed by you) but the dwarfs are controlled by the AI. Their emotions range from joyous to suicidal. They do things on their own initiative.

It is perhaps the only game in the world where you can be a fan and never play it. Reading stories about DF can be quite entertaining. The dynamic nature of the game means that no 2 games are alike and you will be surprised as to what may happen.

Read this illustrated story about a DF colony to get started http://www.nzfortress.co.nz/forum/sh...ad.php?t=20768

Then look at this:
http://www.metafilter.com/91093/Dwarf-powered-computing

Computation doesn't require complicated electronic circuitry. It can be done with mechanical gears, fluids, marbles, tinkertoys and dominoes, even the human eye. Recently folks have been building computers inside of virtual realities. It's been done with Minesweeper, Little Big Planet, and perhaps most ambitiously, a complete 8-bit computer built within Dwarf Fortress.

Someone made a mechanical computer INSIDE the video game.

So why is this relevant? The procedurally generated nature of the game is beyond what multi million dollar commercial games can do. DF is in many ways the bleeding edge of computer technology, because it shows what a dedicated community of fans and a few skilled developers can do. It's inspiring and mad at the same time.