Something I enjoy

Some things exist that (probably) can’t be brought into the classroom. Not because of any inappropriate content, but because it is designed for a subgroup of a subgroup and the majority of students would get little out of it unless they found it naturally, and they would all have to around the same time. Vanishingly unlikely.

This is about one of those things.

Computer Games have had a tendency to focus on improving the visuals alongside everything else. there is usually a balance between content and appearance, but for those with a desire for detail Dwarf Fortress gives nothing to see but everything to imagine.

https://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/

Dwarf Fortress is less a game and more a “Fantasy World Simulator” meaning that nearly everything is generated and relies on the things that exist to give you options. Characters that exist in the world have history and events they are involved in.

For example lets take this creature:

A Roc, a great bird that was “born” 188 years before the simulation began. Each named creature that it killed is listed, and it destroyed 133 of them. It’s lair exists in a discrete location in the world, which means if you start a settlement near it you will probably meet the beast.

Here is a world map I generated. I would be able to start a little dwarf settlement in any of the locations where there were no other settlements. It would be technically possible to survive in most of the places there but you would need to adapt what you start with, which is

I’ll start an example world, and hope my computer doesn’t overheat.

It begins with the world processing two weeks of time, so if you return to the same failed settlement again and again it will be slightly different. Things could be stolen or other neighbours could decide to move in.

On the left there’s a small box that shows exactly where you will start. I once started with a river directly in the middle which led to immediate drowning.

If you start the game you need to make pretty much every decision that the dwarves would. Where to dig, grow crops, store crops. Each dwarf has its own desires and needs so if you make a dwarf whose greatest desire is to become a master brewer mine every waking hour they might not be happy. An unhappy dwarf has tantrums that hurt and make other dwarfs unhappy. And even if one of your dwarfs is actually a werewolf and needs to be stopped the other dwarves won’t feel happy about it. You need to balance their lives, likes, dislikes, and make sure that each one them has a good enough living space.

Being a “Fantasy World Simulator” also means that it can be unfairly difficult. I once tried to reclaim a city that fell to a Giant, only to have my expedition generate right next to the creature. They did not last long.

The one great thing about it is that to download the game is free, which means that it is easy to access. There’s a paid version that makes it slightly more approachable, but there are also modifications to the original game that can help as well.

It’s not for everyone, or even me most of the time. What I enjoy more is exporting the world and its history and looking at it with an outside application. You can see the lives of little importance on the world stage (there are options to have every secret revealed in the world document so you could choose to not know the location of every legendary artifact right when you start a game).

What I might do is give students an art project to try to depict some of the “Forgotten Beasts”, unique creatures that act as mini bosses and can range from trivially easy to destroy to devistating. They each have a unique description that impacts how it lives in the world. If it breathes fire or spits silk it is dangerous and different. I’ve seen winged fire breathing slugs and puddles of slime that die to a single punch. If you were to draw one creative liberties are required.

There’s a website that generates them automatically.

https://perchance.org/fionjfcb4u

Here’s some examples.

Xxyoguth Cansa the Earth Shatterer is a Forgotten Beast. A Empty Socket, Undectapedal, One Headed, Feces Goose covered in a Diamond Fat. It posseses Cartalidge Gills. Beware it’s Alluring Fire.

It is said to have dominion over Typhoons and Poison. It has awaken due to Some Mining.

Hirrog Goldjewl the False God is a Forgotten Beast. A Six Eyed, Hexapedal, One Headed, Flesh Tapeworm covered in a Violet Fire. It posseses Camoflauged Tendrils. Beware it’s Alluring Breath.

It is said to have dominion over Wood and Sky. It has awaken due to Construction.

Zego Delbin the Lost Forest is a Forgotten Beast. A One Eyed, Undectapedal, One Headed, Flesh Moth covered in a Amethyst Flesh. It posseses Glowing Crown. Beware it’s Flaming Spines.

It is said to have dominion over Blizzard and Alchohol. It has awaken due to a Hurricane.

Vibbare Vibbare the Deep One is a Forgotten Beast. A Nine Eyed, Centipedal, Two Headed, Flesh Whale covered in a Thick Scales. It posseses Scaly Shell. Beware it’s Molten Feces.

It is said to have dominion over Undeath and Rain. It has awaken due to Another Forgotten Beast.

This little subset of a subset has ideas that can be used in the classroom and show someone a thing they can grasp on to. If you like something there are other people like you or people unlike you who would still like what you like. The only way you are sure they won’t enjoy it is if they don’t know it exists.