Some things are obvious – a capital E on the map, for example, represents an elephant, while a smiling face (☻) shows the presence of a dwarf. The human imagination, after all, is capable of creating much more powerful and varied imagery than a great deal of other games can do with actual polygons and shapes.ĭwarf Fortress’s initially-jarring ASCII style soon becomes normal to the seasoned player. If the player is made to imagine the world that their dwarves live (and frequently die) in as opposed to simply having it shown to them, they will often come out with a much more vivid image of the game world. However, this lack of ‘traditional’ game graphics actually greatly aids player immersion. Initially, this unique method of graphical rendering may be very off-putting. The most striking thing about Dwarf Fortress, at least to the first-time player or casual observer, is that the game’s graphics are not rendered in images or polygons, but are instead made up entirely of ASCII symbols and characters. One of the game’s most (in)famous features is the fact that there is no way to ‘win’ – simply preventing the destruction of the colony for as long as possible is the game’s primary goal. Various threats, such as disease, lava floods, sieges laid by enemy armies or even demons from deep below the earth often threaten the settlement, which is where the challenge of the game comes in as the player struggles to battle external dangers while feeding and housing the town’s ever-growing pool of occupants. The main focus of the game is managing, constructing and securing the colony while keeping all of the dwarves within it happy as the population climbs. Dwarf Fortress is a city management simulation set in a classic fantasy setting, in which the player takes on the role of the manager of a small team of diminutive dwarves setting up a colony.