Lol! Well a software building does not need to support itself at all, unless that software has some serious gravity and material simulating behaviours. I don't think the analogy works other than with a real structure, it must require the sturdy foundations in place to hold the rest in place, the sturdier, the longer that structure is likely to stay functional and stable.
Ethicalfive, we are talking about software. An entertainment software called "Slaves to Armok: God of Blood: Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress". Not a real world house.
Sturdy houses have been built for litarlly hundreds of thousands of years without any foundation. They often last longer then the humans dwelling in them, so again, problems with your analogy.
Software stability isn't deteremined by "foundation". It is determined by good memory management technology and very little else in the modern language Toady is using. Memory (Resource) management is only an issue in modern coding when you are dealing with graphical resources. Toady is avoiding most of that, thanks to his approach.
And Toady has been ripping the heart and foundation out of DF on a regular basis, using his own words and what he has told us.
Games need a solid vision of what they are to bring to fruition. They are a digital work of art. The clearer the vision, the better the chance the software will reflect that. If it is a fun vision, then people will enjoy the game. If it isn't, well--- hopefully the coders had fun making it, if it isn't a commercial venture.