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[Xavier]

Dear Toady One,

I was hoping you could tell us a bit about the history of Dwarf Fortress, how it came to be, where did you get your ideas from. I am not sure if this kind of information is available anywhere...

I would also be thrilled if you could tell us a bit about how you went about starting designing such a game, which computer language did you pick (python?) what problems arose etc....

I wish to congratulate you for this game, it's seems to me that sometimes one man seems to beat a whole industry but showing what is really possible just with original ideas and great talent!

Thanks very very much for the many hours I've spend playing DF. Keep up the good work.

T.

[praguepride]

Toady's busy. read the wiki

http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Dwarf_Fortress:About
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/History_of_Dwarf_Fortress
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Category:Game_development

[Footkerchief]

I was hoping you could tell us a bit about the history of Dwarf Fortress, how it came to be, where did you get your ideas from. I am not sure if this kind of information is available anywhere...

I would also be thrilled if you could tell us a bit about how you went about starting designing such a game, which computer language did you pick (python?) what problems arose etc....

This has been covered many times in podcasts Toady's done for other sites.  You can find those here.  Bay 12 also has its own podcast, Dwarf Fortress Talk, where you can hear Toady talk about the game's history and future.

When Toady was working on the first release of DF, he posted a lot of his thoughts in the "Back to the dwarf game..." thread.

DF is written in C++.

Armok 1 was in many ways a precursor to DF, so you can gain a lot of insight into DF's development by reading the Armok dev pages.  Also, DF has its own dev pages, of course.

If you have specific questions that aren't addressed by the resources above, I can probably dig up answers for you, but you shouldn't expect a direct response from Toady since he's currently very busy working on the next release.

[sproingie]

Well I just found the Dwarven National Anthem on that page:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

    Slaughter for Armok! The time is now!
    Slaughter for Armok forever more.
    Slaughter for Armok, who made my fist
    And the blade it holds, stained with gore.

    Violence and death: they are our lot.
    Armok brings them: they are His love.
    We, His children, must love Him well
    And love others with studded gloves.

    Slaughter for Armok! The time is now!
    Slaughter for Armok forever more.
    Slaughter for Armok, who made my fist
    And the blade it holds, stained with gore.

    Violence and death: they are our lot.
    Armok needs them: they are His bread.
    We, His children, must harvest well
    And feed Him mangled, shattered dead.

    Slaughter for Armok! The time is now!
    Slaughter for Armok forever more.
    Slaughter for Armok, who made my fist
    And the blade it holds, stained with gore.

Man, remind me to not piss ThreeToe off...

I remember seeing Slaves to Armok a while back, and I dismissed it outright because of its incredibly lame graphics.  Had I known what kind of mad genius was behind its design, I might have paid more attention.  But a roguelike really is a much more appropriate place for the vision, so hands down Toady made the right choice.