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[Zaerosz]

Just posting to let you know this is bloody amazing.

[Sowelu]

I didn't get ahold of truly violent video games until I was 9 (when Wolfenstein came out).  And then pretty soon I was on to ROTT and Quake.  Eh...It's true what they say, it does get into your head.  It might not make you more prone to violence, but at some point years down the line you start wishing that when you're enjoying a nice relaxing sunny day, you weren't also imagining blowing someone into giblets with a shotgun.  Peace of mind is infinitely valuable, and can take work to regain once you grow up enough to appreciate its value.  So, I'd say that DF violence should be considered separately to graphic violence.  It's not as disturbing when you close your eyes and think about text messages.

Of course what really screws with childhood these days is the internet.  God.

...Still!  I'm glad your kid is enjoying the game, BB.  It does teach patience, hard work, and aesthetic sense!  And it doesn't (on its own) gratify violence...that's just the forums.

[Jordan~]

Also been playing violent games from an early age and never had any difficulty with peace of mind. I certainly don't imagine shooting people. Maybe it's because I never really enjoyed the grim task.

[Urist McAddict]

Well, i'd think that nerfing the world would seem less likely, but honestly, did you nerf the fairy tales? In Red Riding Hood, the Wolf gets killed, i can't imagine how many cartoons nowadays deal with violence...
Letting your 4 year old kid play GTA or some subversive morale-oriented games would really be kind of stupid, but nerfing the awesomeness of Dwarf Fortress is just a little bit overprotective...
This "violent games make violent people" bull is far from true, violent ppl come from violent homes, you just have to keep your kid from addiction to games, if he knows the difference between in-game fantasy violence  and real violence, you'll be fine. Just keep yourself from violence and teach him to avoid it.
I'm an advocate for the Games, f'ed up ppl are susceptible to transferring violence from games to real life, but they were already prone to it and could pretty much learn from violent movies or ordinary daily news.
Unless you're Vegan and proud, don't nerf anything, will make the game boring and he'll hate it nonetheless.

Learn with your dwarfy fellow, hammering ppl on the head builds character

[nordak]

I guess I've been numb to violence since a young age.... Played wolfenstein when it came out, I'm not sure what year it was but I'm 23 now.  I'm not a violent person, I'm military but I'm in the Signal Corp.  I'm not much of a hunter, it bores me and I can't stand the smell of field dressing a deer.  Though I find that shooting ranges are a load of fun...

[Furohman]

When I was 4 I was playing the demos of Doom and Wolfenstein 3D, I'm not a violent person in the slightest. Heck, it was my granny who introduced me to games of all kinds (From Myst to the sort mentioned before)

Granted I murder 3 people a week on average, but that's less than a normal person, right?

[0x517A5D]

Well, i'd think that nerfing the world would seem less likely, but honestly, did you nerf the fairy tales? In Red Riding Hood, the Wolf gets killed,

In the first written version,

"Grand-mamma, what great teeth you have got!"

"That is to eat thee up."

And, saying these words, this wicked Wolf fell upon poor Little Red
Riding-Hood, and ate her all up.

So yeah, fairy tales have been nerfed for centuries.

[SalmonGod]

I wasn't censored at any age from language or violence, only loosely from nudity/sex, and my parents would always speak with me frankly about anything.  My earliest memory is the first time I played a computer game (Frogger at 2 1/2) and plenty of violent games followed shortly after.  I'm pretty sure they never went out of their way to explain reality/fantasy to me.  I still love violent games but have been a decided hardcore pacifist since age 15 and never intentionally harmed another human being.

I have a kid who's about to turn 6 now.  He's grown up watching horror movies with us, sat in my lap with a plastic gun shooting at the screen when I played FPS from age 1-3, and has been playing games like TF2 since 3 years old.  I wouldn't call him prodigy, but he's pretty smart and very compassionate.

Anyway, he's taken an interest in Dwarf Fortress also.  He first noticed it after I'd been playing only a couple weeks.  He asked me what I was playing and got really excited as I explained it to him and described everything that was going on as he watched.  I wouldn't let him try it though, because he doesn't read yet and has never done anything as complex.  I told him that daddy's still trying to figure it out after a couple weeks, and he's definitely not ready for it.  I told him he could try it after he's learned to read.  There was some groaning and protest but he's since left it alone.

Reading this thread has me reconsidering.  I think I'm going to try and mod out some of the difficulty and see what happens.  I'm not the slightest bit concerned about G-Rating content.

Thanks for sharing.  Your kid is really impressive, and you sound like an awesome parent.  I would also love to see pics of your kid's work.

[MaGicBush]

Dang massive thread, read the first and last pages don't have hours to sit here and read lol. But my son is 3 now(will be 4 on Thanksgiving), and I have not really restricted his gameplay much other than not letting him play more than a few hours a day. He currently plays CoD Modern Warfare 2 with me and friends(actually managed to kill us a few times so far as well lol), and now is playing Left for Dead or Halo Reach. He looks at "scary" stuff on games as being fake(in which I drill it in his head every time he plays lol). As long as a kid knows the difference, I don't really see the harm in it.

As for DF, I just started playing a few days ago so am completely new. But my son has taken a interest as well in watching the little dwarfs run around, but this game is much less violent then Left for Dead(well, what I have seen so far.. though I have read threads or seen screenshots of very gory violence in text. However he cannot read yet so not really a issue till he can).

Of course, I am a single parent and his mom doesn't really agree lol  (Yet she curses around him all the time, I love hypocrites).

*edit* Woah, just saw that this thread is like 2 years old sheez.

[i2amroy]

Yeah its pretty old, but we don't mind a little necromancy now and then.

Anyways, a new player, now thats something you don't see every day. Hope that you stick with DF long enough to get past the whole "I don't know anything what do I do this game sucks" moment and learn to love DF for what it is. (The most awesomest game in existence of course. Hope to see you around later.

[HungryHobo]

Sorry to be away so long, I just looked back at this post.
My son is 5 now and pretty much gets his own fortresses up and running alone.

This is an oddly heart-warming thread.
Also his kid has gotta be damn bright- I have college classmates who can program computers who can't handle the interface of DF or who have fallen off the learning curve of death.
You've got something special there.

I'm glad this thread got necroed.
wonder how long before his son will have a forums account to discuss whatever tricks he's come up with or diabolical mechanisms he's created.

Quick question: Has your son developed an eloquent writing style revolving around blood and gore, severed parts and poisonous fangs? if so have any school teachers ever questioned this?

Kids are far more accepting of violence than many adults might think.

otherwise I love seeing people share their hobbies with their kids.
Dwarf on good sir.
Dwarf on.

[The Doctor]

I find it funny that people are still offering ways to tone down DF, after the OP has gone on to say that the kid is playing full-blown DF, minus invaders.

[Eugenitor]

(Disclosure: I find the whole concept of trying to hide unlovely truths from children to be disgusting, even offensive. I run a forum where mentioning that you censor/spy on any kid older than about 7 = instant purge and autoban.)

Kids fantasize about violence from the moment they're old enough to have an imagination. If you didn't, I hope you're enjoying your pony collection, Princess. If you think that trying to restrict their intake of violent media will change that, you're dreamin'; give your kids to an orphanage and go cry in a basement.

Video gaming in particular teaches critical lessons- not just hand-eye coordination, but the fact that if you don't stay alert you can get creamed.

And DF is even better in this regard than most games because it teaches important medical lessons kids can understand; there's no hit point system. When your hand is broken in DF your hand is fucking broken. "No, he's not getting up again, ever. He fell three stories down and his spine snapped from the impact. He's not getting out of bed for the rest of his life." "He got the deadly liquid in his eyes. He's blind. It might be permanent." "He couldn't swim, and he drowned." This may make your kid cry. It will also keep him away from railings in high places, household chemicals, and deep water.

What's more, having a game that they can't play if they can't read is a great teaching tool. Read dwarf names and other things out loud with your kids. "This is a smelter. That means it melts down metal." Sooner or later you'll be able to let your kid have a turn because he'll understand most of the words and can ask you what other things mean.

"Hor-rif-eff-ying?" "Horrifying. That means really scary." "Horrifying.. screams.. come from.. the dark-ness.. below."

[piecewise]

Of course now you could just give the kid Minecraft and be done with it.

[MaximumZero]

Well, since the thread is necro'd and up and running again, my two year old loves to sit in my lap and watch me build stuff. Every once in a while, she'll point at the screen and ask, "What's that?" My response: "[Insert something benign]." Her: "Is that bad?" Me: "No." Her: "Okay."

or..

Her: "What's that?" Me: "A monster." Her: "KILL IT!"

I've explained to her on several occasions that violence in games is just that, in games. She has no problem with that concept. Heck, every once in a while, she'll steal my controller while I'm in the middle of a Fallout 3 session or something and run around shooting Super Mutants everything, giggling gleefully the whole time.  She knows the difference between "Win" and "Lose" and if she dies, or loses a soldier, or gets me knocked out in the cage or whatever, it's because she "Lost," and that's the end of it.