That article looks like the worst instance of missed-the-damned-point I've seen in a long time WRT dwarf fortress. A poorly researched piece based almost entirely on the assumptions of the writer rather than the facts.
Take the comment about the DF graphics...
I’ve always wanted ‘more hand craftiness’, more gameplay, more imagination coming from the player, but to go all the way back to the non-graphics of 1978 where all images are words and symbols is too primitive. It will never become mainstream looking like that.
He seems to assume that the simple, old-fashioned design is purely aesthetic. Truth is, you can't have your computer simulating everything down to the progress and changes of scars from battles and the growth of hair and nails up to the political relationship between the fortress and local elves, and also have it rendering even simple graphics at the same time. Not on any household computer that exists today. I can only assume that the writer isn't appreciating, or aware of, the sheer complexity of DF.
And that isn't even getting into the issue that a lack of marketability and mainstream potential is only a tragedy if the game developer
wants those things in the first place. Toady clearly doesn't. If he wanted that, the game would need to be so cut down and simplified, and prettied up, that it would basically end up being dwarf-based dungeon keeper.
I was saddened to learn how sparingly Toady lives, and would love for him to have a better life for the effort he puts into his work, but this is just ridiculous.
EDIT
On a happier note, some small nugget of proof that DF does have the potential to appeal to a surprising range of people exactly as it is. The other half and I brought a saved copy of DF with a simple tileset around to the MIL's, and got little sis' to try it. After an hour of repeatedly telling us "it is so boring" and "nothing happens" we told her she didn't have to play if she didn't want to. The reply? "Okay, just let me finish up what I'm doing and I'll quit." Three hours later she experienced her first ambush and, after much swearing and panic and complaints of "noooo I don't want to fail now I've just worked out my system!", she fought off the attack (with our help) and had to be forced away from the computer for dinner. She was still playing it the next day when we left. I feel so proud.