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After 12 years, Dwarf Fortress gets graphics, heads to Steam

by: Randy -
More On: RimWorld Dwarf Fortress

After 12 years, Dwarf Fortress is finally coming to Steam. Dwarf Fortress is that game with text-based art and open-ended gameplay, where you lead a group of dwarves in a generated world, building a successful colony, fighting off goblin invasions, growing piles of gold, and taking care of your fellow dwarves. Each dwarf is modeled down to its individual personality traits with likes and dislikes, and can train specific labor skills.

Interestingly (and I'm only seeing this for the first time myself) it looks like you will be able to toggle a more graphics-intensive mode. I mean, it isn't running on Unreal or CryEngine, but...it's graphics-intensive for this game. In fact, the screenshots on Steam only show the updated graphics mode. 

Dwarf Fortress directly inspired games like MinecraftPrison Architect, and—one of my personal favorites—RimWorld. In fact, this coming-to-Steam announcement arrives only five months after RimWorld officially launched on Steam in October of last year. Who knows if the developers, brothers Tarn and Zach Adams, were inversely inspired by RimWorld's user review-shattering success. Either way, I have to pay respect due to Dwarf Fortress for serving as the wildly nerdy older brother to a game like Minecraft, which is arguably the most important game of its generation.

You can wishlist Dwarf Fortress on Steam right now. Although, in the Release Date line, you'll see the words "time is subjective" there. So, do not underestimate the amount of time the Adams Brothers are willing to take on this. This is, according to Tarn Adams, his life's work. In 2011 he said that version 1.0 would not be ready for at least another 20 years. I don't think he's kidding.