"Also, Facebook's evil-o-meter says I'm Satan, and that only happened after I started playing Dwarf Fortress. Everyone knows Facebook is always right, so that's irrefutable proof right there.
The side benefit is that I can assure you when I take over the world, everyone will die in a very humorous way that may or may not involve magma, kittens and a very, very big dining room." -umiman (sorry, for some reason quote tags weren't working for me)
"Dang it! Why does the world generator keep giving me these wacked dictators?! All of my adventurers are getting gruesomely murdered in their starting towns! I quit Dwarf Fortress!" -me
-=-=-
Now I'll be a bit more serious with my following comment.
Umiman, if Dwarf Fortress has desensitized you, it's at least partially because you have allowed it to. I don't know if you care, or have any desire to be otherwise, but I figured I may as well say this. When I began playing Dwarf Fortress (and it took me a while to actually do so because of some of its content), I decided that I wasn't going to allow it to desensitize me. I just don't do things in the game that I dislike from a moral standpoint. Most "evils" that I do in the game are accidental, and I work around them and try to avoid them in the future. Don't get me wrong; I can get some enjoyment out of the silly gruesome fights, morbid happenings, and the sillyness of the game, but I treat it in this manner because I want to avoid it affecting my real-world judgement. For instance, I refuse to let the game affect my thoughts on murder, as I believe in avoiding killing at all costs in reality.
Also, if you want to avoid being desinsitized, don't treat DF as more real than it really is. The way I see it, something's wrong when you allow your in-game decisions and choices to affect your real-life ideas and choices concerning the matter.
I apologize if I sound judgemental; I have my own problems (and I should know better than anyone). Actually it's to your credit that you recognise the change in your thinking. Simply knowing such things about yourself can give you much more control over your life on the personal level. I don't mean to instruct anyone, as these are my personal beliefs. You may choose for yourself whether to do anything with it or not, and I respect that choice.
Also, I recognise that the original post was meant partially as humor. My purpose isn't to kill that, so you may continue now. Don't worry; no more text blocks from me in this thread.
[ April 24, 2008: Message edited by: Sylverone ]
[ April 24, 2008: Message edited by: Sylverone ]