5 things we can learn from Dwarf Fortress 2: #4
4) Randomness is good
Every game of Dwarf Fortress is an act of creation: creating stories, creating characters, and at the beginning, creating an entire world. In DF, creation is inextricably mixed up with chaos. Every world you create, every story you tell, and yes every goblin you drop in a lava pit, becomes a more interesting act because it takes place in your world.
Games approach randomness differently. Some of my favorite games eschew it in every way; the Half Life series with its perfectly scripted interlocking hallways is a good example. I’m not saying that all games should be random, but the chaos and possibility lurking beneath the surface everytime I double-click on the DF icon never fails to intrigue me.
In my first post about what to learn from DF, I said that some elements of tabletop roleplaying, specifically the systems they use for damage, are archaic and maybe a bit past their time. Randomness, however, is one of the best elements of a good tabletop game. Chaos is organic, it’s the stuff of everyday life, and, leveraged in the right way, it’s a useful tool in game design.