Hum, I guess that's true enough.... I don't think I'm explaining myself very well at all here.
So in theory, the things and places we have are built around us and what we use them for. So what would a dwarf use things for and how would those things (and places) be best suited to that. Keep in mind, while you wanna be realistic, you also don't necessarily have to stick to the "Gods forsaken hole in the ground waiting to unleash hell of some sort" model.
This is actually one of the things about DF that sorta confuses me, though I guess it's cool cause it's in development. A dwarf has a "room." K, so aside from sleeping in it, he doesn't do a whole lot with or in it. Same with any social space, dwarves don't seem to have living rooms and I suppose the closest to that we get are dining halls.
I'm thinking I walk through some time as a hypothetical dwarf and see what sorta things I'd do (keeping it clean, because really there's enough of that on the internet).
Pretty much you build off all the stuff you have around you and it branches off.
Let's see, how about we start with a bed, because waking up seems like as good a place to start as any. So that means somewhere in this world, and very possibly nearby there's got to be some means (place and people) who make something akin to a bedframe or build it into the room. Also there's gotta be people who do things with cloth or otherwise making bedding, sheets, perhaps even pillows. Also, practically you've gotta have somewhere to wash that stuff at some point, if only to get rid of the possible fleas from the animals we all know adopt dwarves (cats). There's an entire supply chain there. That doesn't even touch the obvious building/mining trades to make a space for this bed, not really anyhow....
After that you're gonna wanna get OUT of bed eventually and onto some kinda floor. Now I guess it could be rough cave floor if we're talking about underground, but hey if you're going for a little more refined, then you could do some sort of smoothing, tile, or even rugs of some sort, perhaps even furs. This of course adds more people and places into the mix to create/install all of that.
Once you get up, despite the majority of the current dwarven race saying otherwise, cleaning yourself somewhat might be nice enough to consider. I'm imagining a mirror and at least a basin of water/bucket along with something akin to a table/long dresser upon which the miror rests. Have to have those beard combs somewhere (Now I can see a dwarven beard comb industry, complete with selling stands for them), and perhaps some ties or other manner in which to braid the beards, assuming that's your deal/you're male.
Storage of some sort of clothing and perhaps multiple sets might be something as well, either cabinets or drawers or shelving (built into the wall or free standing) would also be a feature. Some seating might also be part of it and I could picture something like stone flat benches (built in or not) or even a freestanding thing akin to a sofa of a sort. Again, entire industries/crafting guilds making these things and providing demand for raw materials.... All of the above could have art themes or otherwise match and add more than the usual "this is a room of X quality."
There's presumably more to the room than that ideally, perhaps including some other functional items, etc.
Would the room be part of a house. After the room itself, that can't exist in a vacuum, so it's connected to something, if nothing else a hallway, but I'm imagining a house or other structure rather than just stuck somewhere. Persumably it wouldn't be the only bedroom in such a structure/housing area. I'm trying to imagine what might be a shared space for a dwarven underground concern like this. Presumably some more sofas and a smaller, private dining area complete with food storage (though perhaps not preparation). There might even be some carved statue features worked into the room, or even a small water feature. Additionally a fireplace/chimney might be a thing here as well. Not sure if such spaces would be more open or composed of several closed off rooms.
Now let's look at the area immediately around the "house" that contains the room and presumably some other rooms. There may or may not be something akin to a small yard or outdoor feature, perhaps even some very small food crop areas, if only potted. I wonder what the spacial relationship to other houses would be, along with social areas not attached to various other houses. Public areas, if you will. Perhaps next to a giant staircase or rampway, there would be landings with seating and space for congregation. There might be water features, or an underground canal/river that the whole place is built up around. It's possible there's a public park or three that provides recreation and views, perhaps even from windows in the dwarven structures. You can expect labor and socialization to occur in these areas and dwarves to want to do things in them.
Then of course all of this takes place in context in a larger world. The areas immediately outside of the fort might provide certain types of wood (both surface and underground) for various things in the fort/city as well as game animals for meat/pelts, and just about every sort of resource you can imagine.
The system of interaction between theses dwarves (and presumably other humanoid races) could be quite interesting and complex. One of the things about DF that has saddened me to date is the feeling that it works best with under 20 dwarves, or else it seems like you've just got a faceless mob (ironically consisting of face icons) running about doing things. I'm trying to think what they would want, what they would want to do, where they would want to do it with and why/how they'd do it. You don't necessarily have to limit yourself to the current game or the game at all for this little exercise.
Example:
Hervin, Apprentice Bonesmith
Room:
Hervin sleeps in a room in his family clanhouse, which consists of 12 bedrooms arranged around a central living space. His personal bedroom features the colors red and white, a bed of carved stone frame and several layers of fabric bedding stuffed with goose feathers and washed pine needles (for semi rigidity). Immediately to the left of Hervin's bed is a long dresser with a mirror sticking up from the center back of it. The mirror frame is simple lines of polished tin and the dresser itself is made of stone with an interlocking weave pattern for decoration and it features 5 drawers. On the dresser are three stands made of polished bone holding a beard comb, a beard tie, and another beard comb. Hervin often braids his beard in various styles and his clan is known for sporting an intricate triple braid style.
Immediately to the right of Hervin's bed is a wooden armor stand holding his grandfather's heirloom armor, which has not been worn in some time. Immediately behind that stand, a heirloom sword is mounted on a bracket on the wall with a matching heirloom cape hanging down off the brackets below the sword, behind the armor.
... [I'd do more but currently I have an insane case and need to prep for it]
I dunno, does that make sense at all?
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Topic: If you were really a dwarf in a fortress, what would you want? (Read 5612 times)