Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Caevin]

Hello there everybody who may read this post! I'm writing this because I plan to give an informative speech in a class of mine on (big surprise coming) Dwarf Fortress. Now I do not want to ask a lot from people, because this is after all my speech, but I consider this to be research (that's called justification).

So what I ask of the wonderful community here is: What would you include in a speech about Dwarf Fortress? What do you feel would be important to share?

*Edit: It's an informative speech, and I don't need help on how to give a speech 

[Capntastic]

Speak clearly, rotate eye contact, don't fidget or sway, and talk with rhythm.

[Gatleos]

Well, what was the writing prompt? What kind of speech is it?

[Andal]

Talk about how it spurs creativity due to its open ended structure, i.e. talk about how the lack of a set goal-reward system forces players to think creatively. Maybe venture into a discussion of how its disregard of visual stimulation via high-end graphics focuses the player onto the depth and complexity of game play, and how this has allowed it to gain a loyal following of fans despite modern gaming's over emphasis of presentation over content (Possibly discuss the ramifications of said over-emphasis on spoon-fed stimulation on the development of imagination/creativity in the modern youth). And of course, you could talk about the power of the individual creative process, as the game is the brainchild of one incredibly dedicated person.

Just some thoughts.

[outofpractice]

Make sure that one that you mention one of the key features of the game is the game actively incourages losing. Something you just don't see anywhere else. Also the community. Its very, very rare to find a community of players this tolerant of others and willing to help. Think it might have something to do with the learning cliff *(not curve, its like yay!! I got the basics, then smacking into a wall to learn more advanced stuff)*

[Farmerbob]

Dwarf Fortress speaks to the Evil Overlord in all of us.

Got a useless, badly wounded or untrained dwarf?  Drop them in magma.

Got a head dwarf that causes more problems than you feel like dealing with?  Drop them in magma.

Low on food or drink in the fortress?  Lock a few important dwarves in a room with the food, and booze.  Or just drop the less useful dwarves in magma.

Too many animals?  Don't drop them in magma.  Kill them and decorate your crafts with bone pieces, and make meals from the rest.

Megaprojects!  Sometimes with magma!

Dwarf Fortress is where you guide up to 200 cranky alcoholic monofocused underlings through their lives, laughing at the complete absurdity of it all.

[Andal]

Dwarf Fortress speaks to the Evil Overlord in all of us.

Got a useless, badly wounded or untrained dwarf?  Drop them in magma.

Got a head dwarf that causes more problems than you feel like dealing with?  Drop them in magma.

Low on food or drink in the fortress?  Lock a few important dwarves in a room with the food, and booze.  Or just drop the less useful dwarves in magma.

Too many animals?  Don't drop them in magma.  Kill them and decorate your crafts with bone pieces, and make meals from the rest.

Megaprojects!  Sometimes with magma!

Dwarf Fortress is where you guide up to 200 cranky alcoholic monofocused underlings through their lives, laughing at the complete absurdity of it all.

While this is all true, talking about the true joys of DF in unenlightened company would probably result in requests for psychiatric counseling, and make both professor and classmates eye you uneasily for the rest of your school career.

[askovdk]

My all time favorite comment about DF was made by Funburns on:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=73353.msg1927264#msg1927264

[Dutchling]

That post is awesome ^^

[caknuck]

Just read the description of Planepacked. Better yet, perform it as an interpretive dance number.

[Number7]

talk about how players work together to plan great projects for profit and success!

example: Capturing mermaids with the intentions of harvesting their children's bones for expensive trophies.

[MasterMorality]

Include mentions of the Saga of Boatmurdered, Calmacaculas or whatever his name was - the Elven Dwarf King who takes out a dragon with two shots from a warhammer, and the insanely elaborate traps which are possible which are both inhumane and horriffic, but also everybody just fucking loves.
The madly elaborate world-gen is also epic.
And the combat logs... ah, they are so very fun.
Also FUN and !!SCIENCE!!.

This game really is one of the epitomes of 'The Developer has Thought of Everything'. It's a fairly simple comcept with ridiculous depth. I figure it must be rather hard to know where to begin...

[TomiTapio]

Hmm... could mention how it sparks the imagination, makes people write stories, people imposing challenge on themselves, and how the game can be modded and fine-tuned, and what if the project had been a commercial venture form the start. Also, compare to nethack, simcity, the sims and The Settlers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Settlers

I would not mention any specific epic forts or characters.

And no, the developer has Not thought of everything. A 15-ton firebreathing dragon in a wooden cage that is much smaller than a wagon.

[PTTG??]

Speak clearly, rotate eye contact, don't fidget or sway, and talk with rhythm.

No! That'll attract the worm!

Anyway. I highly encourage anyone and everyone to join Toastmasters. Even a few meetings will improve anyone's speaking abilities. Of course,  for something like a simple assignment, it's overkill...

In this specific case, practice, practice, practice is the best suggestion I can give you.

[Chessrook44]

The game is not just about losing, in my eyes, but also about the "Now What?"

Once you get the hang of the controls and what's needed, it can be pretty easy to make a successful fortress.  Pick an easy place to build, make the fort, seal it off when gobs come until you can make an entrance filled with traps that no siege can pass... and when you make this ideal fort, that nobody can destroy, the mind wanders.  It thinks... "Now what?"

This is where the true creativity lies, and where the imagination takes hold, not in the combat logs or the constant losing.  When you first make your fort, and you get a hang of everything, all is functional.  Here's the dorms.  Here's the coffins.  Here's the workshops.  Here's the stockpiles.  But then you start thinking... these dwarves all worship Gods, perhaps they'd like a temple?  I like those seven dwarves I started with, but one died in an accident.  Perhaps I should honor them with their own private tombs.  These caverns I had sealed off, imagine if there was a miniature fort looking over them?  Imagine if I could see the whole land from a massive tower?  That cliff face would look nice with a face on it...

And when this fort is truly complete, one would perhaps try to challenge themselves.  Can I do as well if I embarked on a glacier?  What if there was an aquifer beneath, could I still mine through?  If the lands were evil, what would I find then?  What is this blue mineral I have heard so many legends of?

The boredom of pure success spawns the excitement of creativity, and the search for challenge.  THIS is who Dwarf Fortress was made for.