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[Phibes]

After years of playing Dwarf Fortress off and on I have finally reached the point where most other games feel like empty husks by comparison. It's not a fair or rational way to feel, in that most games have very different design goals, but it's true.

I play and enjoy many different types of games, but the expectations that Dwarf Fortress has planted in my brain always make the experiences, however good, seem...small. It has nothing to do with style, genre or mechanics. It's about emergence, ambition, interactivity and attention to detail. Nothing else comes close.

I can't say that Dwarf Fortress has decreased my enjoyment of other titles per se, but it has forever altered my expectations. No matter what I'm playing, there are always moments when the dwarf goggles slip over my eyes and I see the unexplored possibilities that were left to rot on the vine.

Has anyone else experienced Dwarf Fortress expectation syndrome?

[hermes]

Ultimate ditto here.  I will caveat that by saying that some games still do some things better than DF, but the list is getting smaller.  Xcom is a good example IMO, because the makers went all out to put you in the role of the leader of earth's defence, and the fear, tension and wonder you experience playing is fantastic.... games that are focused enough and pull it off are safe from DF comparison.  But they are rare, and as DF marches onwards, the bar is getting higher.  Which is all good if other devs follow suit, right?

[Phibes]

XCOM is awesome, though the upcoming dlc seems a little flat. I need more maps!

I hope that the DF mentality catches on with other devs. I'm looking forward to Prison Architect, so that's one possible example.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Yeah, now that I have DF all other games pale in comparison.

Anyone know of some way to convince both games companies and consumers that such a focused approach is ideal?

[WaffleEggnog]

Anyone know of some way to convince both games companies and consumers that such a focused approach is ideal?

Give them more money

Like, alot more money. And time.

The simple reason that most games don't have the amount of detail DF has is because they have blown all their budget on things like dedicated Multiplayer, PC ports, AAA graphics, and other things.

Another point that I should bring up is that most companies build their game then release it on a "release date" with mabye a closed beta or something, with about 1-5 years in development depending on the game, were as DF has been in the makes public since 2006, and has been availible at every single point during development, and even still isn't done.

[GreatWyrmGold]

How could it possibly take so much tine each game to remake each of those basic things?
I know I'm showing my ignorance, but I'm doing so in an attempt to provoke discussion.

[AutomataKittay]

How could it possibly take so much tine each game to remake each of those basic things?
I know I'm showing my ignorance, but I'm doing so in an attempt to provoke discussion.

Licensing issues, having to update to newest platform and interface, new people in management booting out the devs that knows stuff, having to make it specificly to their game, new people that just got hired on and so on. Graphic stuffs' probably the worst part of game making, from my observation.

[GreatWyrmGold]

How could it possibly take so much tine each game to remake each of those basic things?
I know I'm showing my ignorance, but I'm doing so in an attempt to provoke discussion.

Licensing issues, having to update to newest platform and interface, new people in management booting out the devs that knows stuff, having to make it specificly to their game, new people that just got hired on and so on. Graphic stuffs' probably the worst part of game making, from my observation.

Wow. That's a lot...

[Putnam]

Anyone know of some way to convince both games companies and consumers that such a focused approach is ideal?

Another point that I should bring up is that most companies build their game then release it on a "release date" with mabye a closed beta or something, with about 1-5 years in development depending on the game, were as DF has been in the makes since 2006, and has been availible at every single point during development, and even still isn't done.

DF has been in the works since 2002.

[WaffleEggnog]

Anyone know of some way to convince both games companies and consumers that such a focused approach is ideal?

Another point that I should bring up is that most companies build their game then release it on a "release date" with mabye a closed beta or something, with about 1-5 years in development depending on the game, were as DF has been in the makes since 2006, and has been availible at every single point during development, and even still isn't done.

DF has been in the works since 2002.

But it was released open-source public in 2006, if im not wrong

[Phibes]

But it was released open-source in 2006, if im not wrong

The source code has not been released, and there are no plans to do so that I am aware of. The 2006 date refers to the first public release, but development started well before that time (otherwise, there would have been nothing to release).

[Azated]

There are three games I use to measure all other games.

~Mount and Blade for first person medieval combat.
~Simcity4 for large scale city building (I played it for the first time a few weeks ago. I was instantly impressed by the scale of the game, which was even more impressive due to its age).
~Dwarf Fortress for immersion, complexity, depth, attention to detail and everything else not covered by M&B or SC4.

In my opinion, nothing currently, previously or planned to be available at any time in the near future can best these three games in their genre.

[misko27]

Personally, I get a little disappointed by DF's world-gennin, mostly because of my immense interest in foreign policy. The problem is, it's realistic enough that I feel like it could happen, yet it's just short of actually happening.

But yes, If any game involves a sphere where gameplay is simlar to DF, I get upset. It'll get worse later. Imagine when we can send out sieges ourselves, imagine how less-fulfilling all war games will become.

[Urist_McGamer]

After years of playing Dwarf Fortress off and on I have finally reached the point where most other games feel like empty husks by comparison. It's not a fair or rational way to feel, in that most games have very different design goals, but it's true.

I play and enjoy many different types of games, but the expectations that Dwarf Fortress has planted in my brain always make the experiences, however good, seem...small. It has nothing to do with style, genre or mechanics. It's about emergence, ambition, interactivity and attention to detail. Nothing else comes close.

I can't say that Dwarf Fortress has decreased my enjoyment of other titles per se, but it has forever altered my expectations. No matter what I'm playing, there are always moments when the dwarf goggles slip over my eyes and I see the unexplored possibilities that were left to rot on the vine.

Has anyone else experienced Dwarf Fortress expectation syndrome?

Absolutely. Whenever I play a game like Minecraft or Wurm (used to play it), I always think about how much there could be that just isn't there. The Technic Pack for Minecraft has helped a good bit, but I always think about how much more there could be to the game thanks to my experiences with DF.

[hops]

Seeing as to how powerful gaming companies are, there will soon be an awesome sandbox game soon in the near future.

And by my personal experience I think everyone like sandbox games (and me, the one who proclaims he like sandbox, seems to enjoy it less than them) and they just don't know it, so soon when they realize sandbox games are awesome we will have a better game.