"Let's think about that for a moment. Dwarf Fortress This article is a mess. It's incomplete, sinfully ugly outlined, the interface flow was designed by a drunk hummingbirddwarf, and only a few people in the world actually understand it enough to play it not hate me. Yet, this utterly free article pulled in more than a $2,000 a month on average a dozen in donations hateful comments."
Fix'd.
The largest problem with the article has been stated, the single line, "I doubt anyone who plays it right now thinks it's a good game." Some of you seem to know David from other articles, but sans this knowledge, would you view the article in a different light? There needs to be a proceeding link if I need to read his other articles prior, otherwise using past quotations isn't a suitable defense. I can accept his retractions and that I misunderstood his intent, but his new disclaimer rubs me poorly more than anything now. No, the article isn't complex, it's complicated. There is a difference.
My first read left me with the impression he was once a fan of the game, but for whatever reason, had become jaded/bored/unfulfilled with his time spent with DF. He enjoys what DF could be, but, assuming this aforementioned quote wasn't just more of his sophisticated writing technique, he doesn't much enjoy playing it now. Obviously he can't be too in touch with the community, since almost all I read here involves people enjoying the current version of the game. And yes, I find his final sentence to be ambiguous, because it relies on your interpretation of the article just finished. Either he is surprised more people aren't willing to throw money at some Promise, or he thinks it is so much more valuable. I found him to be displeased that DF duped him, or continued to do so despite his efforts/love, and would never actually become what he wanted and would remain "a crappy ASCII game."
Yeah, strange first post, I know. But, I was too offended by those stating the article being too "sophisticated" was the problem. Maybe he can lower the comprehension required next time for me collage edjumacated types. Congrats if you interpreted it correctly, though... here, your prize is a cat! I'm going to assume writing isn't his day job given an inability to connect with much of the target audience (not that I care, but don't always assume it's your reader's intellect that cannot fathom your incredible literary anthologies). Then again, no one liked Melville during his lifetime, so hopefully David hits it big before the drowning chamber.