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http://dwarffortresswiki.net/index.php/Carp
Damn carp.

The deepest Roguelike ever. If you aren't sure why you might want to play it, start here.

Get the Linux 40d16 version from this page

If you prefer graphical tiles to (nearly) pure ASCII (I certainly do) get the Mike Mayday tileset from this page and use the instructions to get it working.

Then watch the 40 tutorial videos to ease the neigh vertical learning curve. You will of course supplement the videos with lots of careful reading of the wiki.

This game is a time vampire, but lots of fun if you have a little patience and an attention span.

*button *button Fail

*button *button Succeed ENDORPHINS *button *button Fail

*button *button Succeed ENDORPHINS *button *button Succeed ++ENDORPHINS *button *button Fail ANGER

Continue ad infinitum

The trick is to space out the fails such that you don't give up to quickly, but not so far apart that you don't break the flow every now and then. The other trick is to have enough wiggle in your gameplay such that success can be defined many ways, not just winning.

Oh no, carp came in when I flooded the plump helmet field, there are skeletal elephants blocking the caravan, and someone has an odd mood for jello? I'm screwed! *massive endorphin rush*.

This reminds me of the way you can combine the various elements in Dwarf Fortress to be able to perform computations. The graphics are at a wee bit of a different level, though. :D

http://www.dwarffortresswiki.net/index.php/Mechanical_logic

I started playing it recently, and I just donated the amount I would've paid for a pathetic bundle of minigames called Spore.

I've got your emergent gameplay right here!

It's ok, Losing is fun.

Play it...
The learning curve isn't too bad if you've played a rogue-like or two.
First hurdle is the ASCII like graphics (actually openGL tiles), this puts most people off but if you've played nethack, angband or what ever then you're used to it all ready.

The controls seem a little hard to pick up, there are for example a few different 'look' keys, 'v' for Viewing creatures, 'k' for looKing at objects/terrain, 'q' for looking at and controlling buildings, and 't' for looking at iTems that might be IN the building.

It's not clear at first why this is the case, once you get used to it, it starts to make sense, there's a lot of information to dig out, but why the developer picked those keys is sill a mystery to me.

The game is still in alpha, there are new features arriving all the time and there are only so many keys.

A revamp of the interface is listed as things to fix. Along with a whole mess of features.

Strike the earth!

Losing is fun!
http://www.dwarffortresswiki.net/index.php/Losing

Dwarf Fortress's website looks like it came straight out of 1990. The game looks like something out of the 70's. The controls are confusing and inconsistent, and you get very little guidance from the game itself.

That doesn't stop it being incredibly deep, absorbing and rewarding; Looks aren't everything.

Dwarf Fortress's website looks like it came straight out of 1990. The game looks like something out of the 70's. The controls are confusing and inconsistent, and you get very little guidance from the game itself.

That doesn't stop it being incredibly deep, absorbing and rewarding; Looks aren't everything.

Dwarf Fortress's website looks like it came straight out of 1990. The game looks like something out of the 70's. The controls are confusing and inconsistent, and you get very little guidance from the game itself.

That doesn't stop it being incredibly deep, absorbing and rewarding; Looks aren't everything.

Dwarf Fortress's website looks like it came straight out of 1990. The game looks like something out of the 70's. The controls are confusing and inconsistent, and you get very little guidance from the game itself.

That doesn't stop it being incredibly deep, absorbing and rewarding; Looks aren't everything.