Dwarf Fortress might be the most interesting game ever made. It might even be the best. But it s certainly not the most accessible. It looks weird, its control scheme appears to be lifted from some sort of alien church organ, and a good proportion of its features are in fact collisions between the many, many bugs that have sprung up in its thirteen-year development history. There s a more user-friendly version of the game coming to Steam at some point, but with its release date listed as time is subjective , that might not be imminent.
But even if you re not keen to jump into the game as it stands, don t worry. The secret of Dwarf Fortress is that it s actually a weird story generator disguised as a management game, so games are just as fun to read about, as they are to play. And luckily for you, I ve been chronicling one such game since the start of the year. It s an epic tale of obsession, hubris and eagle intestines, and given that it s just finished its first 23-episode season (so I can go and meet the game s creator on stage at PAX West), now s the perfect time to read the story so far. You ll find every chapter linked below.
