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[PainRack]

Don't worry. Human pyschologists have long figured out that this is the end state of placing people with absolute power over prisoners.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment

So, none of you are abnormal.

Having said that, I won't trust any of us in power:D

[KtosoX]

At first I thought DF was just a random world generator :]
After seeing the main page, all I was expecting was something like the Legends viewer...
It took me about 15 min. to realize what was going on, and 2 more days of trial and error to learn the basics.
From that point on, I consider this the best sandbox type game ever...

[Tevish Szat]

I know I chimed in earlier (on the matter of sadism) but I think perhaps I ought to chime in on my own "destined for DF" situation.

When it comes to games, I'm a builder and a storyteller.  The storyteller aspect usually doesn't interfere with gameplay (though it means I won't let any of my forts die the straw death of terminal low FPS.  With no way to win DF, I have a need to lose in style), so that leaves me as the Builder.

And ever since my elementary school encounter with Civilization II: Test of Time, I've built in video games.  I can proudly say I've had an empire that controlled every single wonder of the world available in game.  I've even hit the hard cap on number of cities (betchya didn't know there was one!).  In the sci-fi game, I used out-of-control pollution to terraform, cleaning it up when I had found the legendary Eidolon.  (That also let me know that cities DON'T appear to have a reachable population hard cap and that managing a city with more citizens than most forts have dwarves is basically a lost cause.)  If I go to evil, it's not the rampant sadism sort, but the cackling Bond villain.  Some day, I'll probably build a fort dedicated to seeing how many doomsday devices one embark can handle.  I enjoy feats of psychotic engineering, even if I haven't made so many yet... but with DF I'm just starting out, so I figure get the clear glass pyramid down before trying to build an orbit-to-surface cave-in defense network

[King DZA]

Spoiler: kindhearted stuff (click to show/hide)

Well, shit.

I think i may be the only one here who doesn't feel a rush of pleasure from watching my video game characters suffer. This is awkward....

In DF i always strive to have the most successful fort possible, while trying to have my dwarves lead somewhat enjoyable lives.

When my little brother got Sims 3 for his birthday and wanted me to play with him, i eventually started trying to become the most powerful person in the town. With a kickass mansion i built from scratch, i might add. None of that trailer trash starting house bullshit.

In Black&White 2, i walled myself in and tried making life a paradise for all who resided within, i remember how happy i felt knowing that i was defeating the other rulers purely because their civilisations looked like crap compared to mine.
God i loved my giant wolf....

I could go on and on about all my obsession with wanting to be the best/provide the best for any little game character i have control of. I don't mind mercilessly slaughtering those who dare try to harm the little buggers too much, though.

Well, you know I used to feel similar way not a long ago, I was striving to not let anyone die, to get them best stuff ever, I was dumping hammerers weapon back in 40d, I was even able to savescum if I felt guilty for some really stupid death. I thought I would ever become like Sancis and the other guy, who tried to built a gecko outside Boatmurdered when shit got loose. That was before a dozen of forts meeting their fps death. Then, I began crushing unwanted migrants with drawbridge.... Now look at me, I have a kid going bersek in a care center, and I mechanic who punched some jeweler skull in, but that's fine because that was crappy jeweler and this is almost legendary mechanic, and I don't even twitch an eye when I lose several dwarves trying to capture live FB. Look at me and get used to thought that this is what awaits you ahead.

Hey, who knows, you may be right. But like i said, it's a habit that i've had far before DF.

It's a desire to be able to freely do whatever i want in a game, with the knowledge that i am the single most powerful entity within it. To ensure that everyone under my control lives in a utopia that all of my opponents could only dream of. Make the world a paradise for all who follow me, and hell for those against me. A divine creator unquestionably unmatched in power.
Same thing if i'm controlling a single character. I want the character to be the single greatest goddamn being within the game. To obtain all the best stuff, do all the best things, and have all my enemies crumble before me.

I'm thrilled when i have become so unstoppable that there is not a single challenge left in the game i cannot overcome with ease, and only get bored after i have finished making everything as ideal as possible. Whether or not that will change with Dwarf Fortress, only time will tell.

On a slightly unrelated note:
This is going to sound a tad arrogant, but a problem i always have with games that allow character customization, is that it i always find it incredibly difficult to create a character as awesome as myself, and since i usually want to create a character as closely related to me as possible, this tends to be quite a problem.

[Psieye]

Regarding masochism, there's a standard gaming rule where my family is concerned where "There's no such mode as 'Easy'". in other words, minimum difficulty is always Normal or Hard, never Easy.

You ever tried the Touhou games? Always interesting seeing newcomes start at Normal and then have the dilemma of whether to swallow and go for Easy or grind away at Normal.

[Itnetlolor]

Regarding masochism, there's a standard gaming rule where my family is concerned where "There's no such mode as 'Easy'". in other words, minimum difficulty is always Normal or Hard, never Easy.

You ever tried the Touhou games? Always interesting seeing newcomes start at Normal and then have the dilemma of whether to swallow and go for Easy or grind away at Normal.

Oh, I've tried Touhou. Made it a good maybe 4 levels into the Scarlet Devil game (6th in the series I think) before I gave up. Maybe 5 runs in I made it that far (first game I checked out; first few losses were getting the hang of it, 4th try was when I actually made some progress and went much further). However, the later games, at least the ones involving dueling a second screen, I managed to unlock Extra mode in a single *cough*first*cough* playthrough.

My main issue playing Touhou on my computer is key-locking on the keyboard, making nimble maneuvering and focusing my shooting harder. I'm not much for playing these kind of games on a gamepad either. Still made it just as far however, but it was less pleasant to play it. Less precision.

Even with the classic flaw of key-locking from hitting too many at the same time (like CTRL+SHIFT and the WSAD buttons) was an issue for me. Made dodging big waves of bullets or leading a shot a bit harder than usual while firing back. Switching to ←↑↓→ buttons didn't help out much either.

[JDF117]

 I don't particularly enjoy killing dwarves, as they're so well characterized that their deaths seem more tragic than funny, but coming up with new ways to kill things like goblins is one of those activities that keep the game interesting.

[nerdyboy321123]

Ah sorry, due to school i haven't been able to stalk the forums. I should clear up I'm not 9, I guess it was sims two... I'm 15. You don't have to worry you met a dorfy 9 year old... that'd just be disturbing.