Indie classic Dwarf Fortress gets a second life on Steam

Cult among independent video game enthusiasts, “Dwarf Fortress” has been available for purchase on the Steam online store since December, a first for this title distributed free of charge since its debut in 2006.

This real-time management game, whose action takes place in a medieval-fantasy universe and consists of overseeing a group of dwarves seeking to build a powerful fortress, rose to fourth place in the best weekly sales on Steam .

For the occasion, it offered a complete facelift with a new graphic interface and an original soundtrack, abandoning its austere style, likely to put off less seasoned players.

“It’s great to see that a lot more people can play it,” says Tarn Adams, co-creator with his brother Zach of “Dwarf Fortress” via their studio Bay 12 Games.

The most nostalgic will still be able to play the original version, without music and in which the characters, objects and scenery are represented by keyboard keys.

For the two brothers, who reside in Poulsbo, west of Seattle (Washington), the marketing of the game was not obvious.

“I got sick,” says Zach Adams. “I had medical insurance (thanks to his wife, editor’s note), which allowed me to pay for my health care, but not Tarn.”

The exorbitant cost of Tarn’s possible hospitalization in the United States made the Adams brothers, who until then were paid by donations from their fans, aware of the need to monetize their creation.

The new version of “Dwarf Fortress”, available for 29 euros, has received an enthusiastic reception from the public, as evidenced by the many positive reviews on Steam.

“The heart of the game has not changed, but it is much more accessible and ergonomic”, underlines one of the commentators of the download platform. “I strongly recommend, for former players as well as for those who would like to start!”

– “Fun to lose” –

The singularity of “Dwarf Fortress” is as much due to its complexity as to the richness and depth of its universes, randomly generated and offering an almost infinite number of possibilities.

“It’s a bit like opening a history book and finding yourself immersed inside,” describes New Zealand blogger Peter Tyson, author of a book on the game in 2012.

“Your actions are important, but it’s not like you’re the most important person in the world,” he adds.

The player’s choices have only a marginal influence on the course of a game and the development of the fortress, almost inexorably doomed to be destroyed by enemies, whether cyclops, dragons or giant spiders.

The objective is therefore not so much the final victory as the myriad of events that can lead to failure. The slogan “Losing is fun” (“It’s fun to lose”) has also become over the years very popular among players.

Humor is omnipresent, giving rise to often comical situations.

“If goblins invade your fortress, you can pull a lever to create a flood and drown them”, illustrates Tarn Adams. “You can then pull another lever which will open trapdoors dropping them into the goblin disposal area.”

“Players can let their imaginations run wild to decide how they want to tackle various issues and threats,” the developer sums up.

– “Ongoing project” –

A precursor in many fields, “Dwarf Fortress” had a considerable impact on the world of video games, inspiring global successes such as Minecraft or RimWorld.

The game was also chosen in 2012 to appear in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York alongside classics like “Pac-Man” or “Tetris”.

Its creators are always hard at work to continue to enrich it.

“The game is out but it’s not finished,” says Zach Adams.

“We’re more or less halfway there. We’re not just going to move on. It’s an ongoing project,” he said.