Okay, so, this idea is probably gunna be pretty terrible in one way or another, but, I just feel the need to put this to you guys.
This topic is gunna assume that you've played Dwarf Fortress in all three game modes, to cut down on how long it's gunna take for me to explain this.
So, this is pretty much a compilation of ideas I've had running around in my head for awhile, which have just suddenly merged, producing something that I feel I should try. What exactly it should end up though, is still foggy to me. I'm going to share these ideas now, to get a better idea of where this idea actually stands.
Put basically, this game engine is heavily inspired by Dwarf Fortress' adventurer mode...
Everything in UTF-8, or ANSII.. Players represented by @s, loads of fatalities dealt out by local wildlife, and of course, the occational ampersand. (Perhaps similar terrain too, if I can't work something out.)
Though, I'm not just suggesting this should be an online multiplayer version of Dwarf Fortress. Far from it, infact. Besides reprogramming everything from scratch anyway, I've already had ideas for things like simulated factions -- with live politics, that change alliegances within a player's lifetime at least.
I'd love to be able to put some of this into action, or at least see some of this happen, because it just strikes me as a fantastic idea of a game that will keep changing, and always have playability to it.
First thing I'd like feed back on the idea about though, is:
Are the similarities to Dwarf Fortress in this a little bit too heavy? I want to take inspiration from it's engine design, but I don't want to be stealing parts of the game.
And, while I can make some of this right this moment, I'd like to hear what how this idea comes across - and how it can be made better.
Post-Preview/Pre-Post Edit: Sheesh! This is more of a Wall of Text than I realised!