5 things we can learn from Dwarf Fortress
Dwarf Fortress is an amazing game, and it’s not even done. Its mantra - “losing is fun” - implies a way of thinking about design that is innovative and, dare I say, important. It’s not that no one has ever made a game before where losing is fun; in fact, many games have failure that isn’t exclusively an expression of admonition. But DF does it the best, and it’s identified the failure state as a relatively unexplored corner of game design. The point is, there’s a lot to learn from DF.
So here are 5 things to learn, one per day:
1) Tradition is OK, except for when it isn’t
One of my favorite things about Dwarf Fortress is its crazy and inventive damage system. I say crazy, because it detours in almost every way from tradition RPG systems in that it tracks damage in different ways and for a multitude of different body parts. For instance, you will see Dwarves with brain injuries in DF that don’t heal. You’ll see a Dwarven spearman injure an opponent’s kidney, or crush a finger. Enemies use the use of their legs or arms and they drop things or fall down.
Locational damage is not all that new, but you rarely see it in RPGs. There are exceptions: Fallout’s SPECIAL system, for example. But in a world of hitpoints and lifebars, DF’s system seems like the difference between a warm summer day and a night in the Antarctic. The damage system in DF is more interesting than the systems in most games, and its complexity can lead to a wide variety of fun.
The reason other RPGs haven’t used systems like this is twofold. First of all, many big name (western) RPGs are tied to a specific system, like Knights of The Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights are linked to D20. Second, most other RPGs have clung to the lineage of traditional tabletop RPG systems which used hitpoints and the like because they needed to be easy enough to calculate with a paper and pencil at the gaming table.
The systems are not bad, and many times a system as minor as calculating damage doesn’t really affect a game all that much. What makes Mass Effect or Planescape: Torment work so well has nothing to do with how you measure physical pain and suffering. But by challenging traditional design ideas, DF proves that far more complex and challenging systems can be effective when these systems are no longer imprisoned in the tabletop roleplaying environment.
Finally, here is an example of a short fight in DF, scrounged from the DF forums:
The giant mole charges at You!
The giant mole bites You in the upper body!
It is badly ripped!
Your heart has been pierced!
The giant mole collides with you!
You tangle together and fall over!
The giant mole stands up.
You stand up.
The giant mole attacks You but You jump away!
You charge at the The giant mole!
You bash The giant mole in the lower body with your Steel war hammer!
It explodes in gore!
The giant mole is propelled away by the force of the blow!
The giant mole slams into an obstacle!
The giant mole has been struck down.
You lie on the ground.
You have bled to death.
Awesome.