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[hermes]

A question for B12ers, inspired by this article on Gamasutra.  Basically it looks at how some people, looking at gaming from a historical perspective, would play just one game their whole life (e.g. chess or igo), an "evergreen" hobby, and merely dabble in others.  But now people consume many games, and it looks at the reasons why.

DF is mentioned in the article, so do you think DF is your game for life?  Why?

Personally, I don't know.  I mean, DF is right up there, but I love Igo, or maybe a Hironobu Sakaguchi game I could replay forever (starting FF9, again).  Maybe.  I'll admit this idea has never occurred to me before.  Can you imagine playing just one game and trying to master it your whole life??

[Matoro]

Meh, not the only game. DF is awesome and one of the best games ever made, and I have used hundreds of hours with it, but I need other games, too. After all, even if DF has the depth for infinite amount of different games and scenarios, I grow sometimes bored to it. After a little break it feels so fresh to play again some Dwarf Fortress.

[itisnotlogical]

I get pretty bored with DF after a while. Fortress Mode doesn't hold that much for me, not being a really big strategy/simulation gamer, and there's only so many things to do in Adventure Mode before you get into a rut. I'm hoping the next release will have a lot more stuff for adventurers.

[ORCACommander]

there are many games i play but there are only a few i will actively go back to

[Loud Whispers]

DF is mentioned in the article, so do you think DF is your game for life?  Why?

It's definitely at the top of a core; Dwarf Fortress, Alpha Centauri, Stronghold and Age of Mythology. No other game builds on itself quite like Dwarf Fortress.

[DwarfOfTheLand]

My theory is simple.

Players of Dwarf Fortress spend a lot of time learning, developing and actually playing the game. The playerbase of DF are not Call of Duty shoot'em ups, they're strategical and point by point players who think of what they do.

It's somewhat like saying, "What job do I want to procure once I get my degree in <enter specific job title here>."

You spend time learning what to do, therefore you have a reason to play. On average, the time it takes to "learn" how to play a FPS, MMO, etc. is 15 minutes.

Now, I'm not average(hue), but I spent 3 weeks learning how to mine down without a tutorial. I still don't know how to do most stuff.

[Dwarf Kitty]

For me, it's the randomness and endless playability.  You never know if the next migrant group will contain a vicious werewolf.  Maybe you embark too close to an evil biome, and get a constant influx of zombies.  Conquer one element, and ten more interesting features have popped up in a new release of vanilla or an active mod.  Master an easy embark on a forested hillside?  Try a site in a desert, or a glacier!
 
You can get an endless to-do list of stuff to try.   
 
Heck, merely embarking in the same type of biome in different spots or worlds presents you with small challenges each time.  Where do I put the trade depot?  Where are the dining hall and kitchens going to go?  What ore veins did I get this time?
 
It also helps that the DFhack community takes care of what vanilla DF bugs they can.  Their patches, tweaks, and outright cheats make DF much more enjoyable.
 
Come to think of it, it's the entire mad modding community that makes DF fun, borrowing ideas off one another, each making their own vision and thereby creating a little something for everyone.  (Only a DF player would think to combine My Little Pony with DF!)
 
With a little exploration and patience, I can find the configuration that works for me.  And should I become bored, there's always something new around the corner.   

[hermes]

DF is mentioned in the article, so do you think DF is your game for life?  Why?

It's definitely at the top of a core; Dwarf Fortress, Alpha Centauri, Stronghold and Age of Mythology. No other game builds on itself quite like Dwarf Fortress.

I shudder to think of LoudWhispers' skill with DF when he's an old man.  I imagine by that time he'll be playing on some ex-military supercomputer to build the kinds of forts he visualises.   

[Krevsin]

2134: Toady's preserved brain in a jar ports DF to Quantum Computers.

Now THAT'D have endless possibilites of randomness.

Still, I wouldn't play DF for the rest of my life for Variety is the Spice of Life. I would go mad if I had to play DF as it is now for the rest of my natural life. With updates, however, that option becomes more and more appealing (Economy, War, Quests To Not Slay Something...)

[AutomataKittay]

No game can be the game for life, for me. I flip flop between various games that I find appealing, I plays DF in bursts with drought of months between such bursts

Mostly what I looks in games for are decently simple or straightforward interface, good background complexity, randomness and flexiblity. It tend to end up with 4x types of games, preferrably turn-based since I get pretty sluggish sometimes

[BronzeElemental]

Of all the games I've ever played, DF the Baldur's Gate series have taken the more hours of my life than the rest of them combined

[superbob]

With the upcoming ability to keep retired fortresses in play, fortress mode will ascend to whole new level - players will effectively be able to expand civilizations and significantly influence the generated world. Simply keep building and retiring successful fortresses.

Imagine starting in a relatively young world and eventually arriving at the point where majority of the history involves your creations and routinely getting migrants from retired fortresses.

[Xantalos]

I'll probably keep playing it until I die, just as I'll keep playing Spore in a quest to colonize every planet in the galaxy before I die.

[Button]

I tend to be a for-life gamer. I pick up one game and play it into the ground. I was like that with Civ 3, I was like that with WoW, and I'm like that with Dwarf Fortress.

I stopped playing Civ 3 because I accidentally left the CD at home when I went off to college. I stopped playing WoW because they changed my for-life class to the point of unrecognizability. I haven't stopped playing DF yet, and I don't see either of those circumstances cropping up for it. We'll see if there's another circumstance which can cause me to stop playing.