Max Vs. The Internet

Dwarf Fortress is an ASCII game which includes both a roguelike adventure mode, and the more popular Dwarf Fortress Mode, which focuses on the creation and survival of a small dwarven settlement. It has a very steep learning curve, partly due to its ASCII graphics, but also due to the fact that it is one of the most complex games ever released. Dwarf Fortress is completely free.
Before you play, you must generate a world to play in, which persists until you create a new one. World generation can be time consuming, even on modern computers, but be patient. It's worth it.

This post is to test out the new Diigo's "publish to my blog" feature. That done, I'd like to talk a little bit about my Dwarf Fortress obession. Dwarf Fortress is the under taking of two brothers, Tarn and Zach Adams. In spite (or perhaps, because) of the simple, ASCII graphics, the game has one of the highest learning curves I've ever seen. There are 4 game modes built on top of a persistent world which in turn is built by a random world generator. The game has been over four years in the making, meaning it's been tested and rebuilt extensively. You can build a fortress, Dungeon Keeper style, lose it, fight to reclaim it, adventure like Net Hack, or read through the legends you discover (make?) while playing the game.

Every effort seems to have been made to flesh out the depth of the game. Despite its graphics, Dwarf Fortress is incredibly immersive. The Adams brothers have a flair for keeping new features a secret until they've been robustly implemented: recently, a Z-axis mode was added to the game, allowing players to look down into ponds and lakes. A rabid fan base has coded custom modules, including a 3D visualizer which brings ASCII character world to life in full relief.

The wiki is as good a place to start as any, but I would also recommend googling "Let's Play: Dwarf Fortress." The Something Awful goons have recorded a number of games of Dwarf Fortress, and written a rich history behind each one. They've even managed to work out a kind of multiplayer, where each player controls the fortress for a year, and the passes the save file on to the next person in line, creating a tiny history of the fortress under different rulers. I could go on for days about how deeply, deeply geeky this is, but also how inspiring it is to see a world built by a community and a dedicated hobbyist developer.