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Author Topic: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...  (Read 26100 times)

Miuramir

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #60 on: August 05, 2016, 01:15:02 pm »

Statistically speaking, DF players are not normal. 

The majority of humans are not gamers.  Of the gamers, the majority of them play only mobile games.  Of those who have a gaming device other than a phone, a significant number only play on consoles.  Of the PC gamers, a significant fraction (quite probably a majority) play only very simple games (Minesweeper, solitaire, PopCap-style games such as Bejeweled, and so on).  Of the remaining "serious PC gamers", a significant fraction only or primarily plays "action" games (FPS, RTS, etc.), and a different (although frequently overlapping) significant fraction only plays PvP games. 

That leaves anyone who plays *any* sort of turn-based PC strategy game against/with the computer as a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a small fraction of a small fraction. 

Within that, you have the people who only play games which can be completed within a single session of a few hours, people who only play games with elaborate eye and ear candy (graphics and sound beyond what is needed to convey the elements of play), people who really don't like playing games where it is probable (or in some cases possible) to loose, people who don't like to read and only play very visual games, people who don't have enough familiarity with English to play games with a dependence on complex text (in the game or exterior wikis, etc.), significantly disabled gamers who are limited in their input and/or output processing in such a way that it is difficult to interact with more complex games, people who only play "popular" or "trendy" games due to social factors, people who prefer games with low or very low levels of violence and/or realism, and so on. 

So we've taken a *very* small fraction of humanity, and shaved away all these other chunks.  Even a massive classic like the Civilization series aims at a pretty small chunk.  Anyone who plays DF, by virtue of all the above, is by any rational definition many standard deviations away from human average. 

That said... the average DF player's age is highly likely to be *far* higher than you think.  Older gamers are significantly more used to text-based interfaces, tile "graphics", turn-based games, and various other criteria.  People who grew up on classic roguelikes (in the original sense... Rogue, Moria, Angband, Nethack, and so on) find the similar interface of DF comparatively easy to understand.  Those with outside responsibilities (jobs, kids, volunteer commitments, and so on) are more likely to gravitate toward games that don't require specific times, don't require coordinating with other people, and can be paused, stopped and resumed at any point with no problems. 

I"d guess that the two largest groups would be Gen X-ers (grew up with older computers, have a life these days) in the 35-50 year old range (and probably sliding toward the upper end of that); and current or recent college and graduate students (expanding horizons, tend to get obsessed, seemingly lots of free time) in the 18-25 year old range. 

As for me?  If you remember what "frog-knows" means as a version number without having to search it, you're in the right category. 
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Fleeting Frames

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #61 on: August 05, 2016, 01:35:44 pm »

Statistically speaking, I do expect that the question stated didn't mean "there are no asian people playing DF", for instance. Normal is matter of who you know.

Xgen

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #62 on: August 05, 2016, 02:51:37 pm »

My friend says that all df players are 13 to 14 or lone programmers...I need to show him a proof "normal" people play this game...Any help?

Dwarf Fortress is the most complex game I ever played, 13-14-year-old players must be very smart. Has he ever tried DF?
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90908

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #63 on: August 05, 2016, 04:47:48 pm »

My friend says that all df players are 13 to 14 or lone programmers...I need to show him a proof "normal" people play this game...Any help?

Dwarf Fortress is the most complex game I ever played, 13-14-year-old players must be very smart. Has he ever tried DF?
As someone who is 15 I can attest to the worryingly large amount of time one might take to learn how to play such a thing just for the purpose of, well, learning it. Although the time I spent (and the time a friend of mine took) to become something that might resemble competent with some squinting is relatively inconsequential, this is largely due to a year long interest in the things before actually playing it.
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Xgen

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #64 on: August 05, 2016, 05:02:19 pm »

My friend says that all df players are 13 to 14 or lone programmers...I need to show him a proof "normal" people play this game...Any help?

Dwarf Fortress is the most complex game I ever played, 13-14-year-old players must be very smart. Has he ever tried DF?
As someone who is 15 I can attest to the worryingly large amount of time one might take to learn how to play such a thing just for the purpose of, well, learning it. Although the time I spent (and the time a friend of mine took) to become something that might resemble competent with some squinting is relatively inconsequential, this is largely due to a year long interest in the things before actually playing it.
The funny thing is... I'm (almost) 15 too. I have been interested in learning how to play DF since I was 13. I wanted to learn it because I was told it was the most complex game, and I like complex games! Although I started in December 2014, I completely learned how to play it in 2015 thanks to a Lazy Newb Pack and DFHack. Now, I am fully capable of playing this game in vanilla (even though the ASCII graphics give me a headache to this day).
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askovdk

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #65 on: August 08, 2016, 02:41:49 am »

(Male 42, coding financial software fulltime for 9 years).

Rimworld may be a good bridge between normal people and normal df-gamers.  :) I.e. it is easy to get into, have a similar gameplay and some of the complexity of DF.
When the normal people have learned to appreciate Rimworld they may understand, that DF prioritize the complex situations and storytellling over the user interface, but DF is not really that 'not-normal' as most people think.
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Imic

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #66 on: August 08, 2016, 02:47:55 am »

(Male 42, coding financial software fulltime for 9 years).

Rimworld may be a good bridge between normal people and normal df-gamers.  :) I.e. it is easy to get into, have a similar gameplay and some of the complexity of DF.
When the normal people have learned to appreciate Rimworld they may understand, that DF prioritize the complex situations and storytellling over the user interface, but DF is not really that 'not-normal' as most people think.
Rimworld is a good game. I wish that I had it.
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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #67 on: August 08, 2016, 07:37:48 pm »

(Male 42, coding financial software fulltime for 9 years).

Rimworld may be a good bridge between normal people and normal df-gamers.  :) I.e. it is easy to get into, have a similar gameplay and some of the complexity of DF.
When the normal people have learned to appreciate Rimworld they may understand, that DF prioritize the complex situations and storytellling over the user interface, but DF is not really that 'not-normal' as most people think.
Rimworld is a good game. I wish that I had it.
You can still buy it. As far as I know on Steam or other game...download(?) sites, there are sales every year on select and certain occasions. :D

That said, we need feedback from the OP. I love many of the posts people posted here, assuring the idea of diversity of the community. \o/
And also grumpiness at social stereotypes. :P
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BlackBronze

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #68 on: August 09, 2016, 03:43:13 pm »

18, and heading off to college! As for being "Normal", what can be said that hasn't been addressed already? It's a big world out there, filled to the brim with every kind of person you can imagine(and about 7 billion that you can't think of).
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pikachu17

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #69 on: August 10, 2016, 09:49:17 am »

My friend says that all df players are 13 to 14 or lone programmers...I need to show him a proof "normal" people play this game...Any help?
Well, if everyone playing DF was 13 or 14 or was a lone programmer, wouldn't that mean that's "normal", at least for DF?
Tell your friend we think he's weird.
Seconded
« Last Edit: August 10, 2016, 09:53:41 am by pikachu17 »
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Arthropleura

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #70 on: August 10, 2016, 01:16:57 pm »

Tell your friend we think he's weird.

Yeah, people who don't play DF are weird.
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Gwolfski

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #71 on: August 12, 2016, 11:37:30 am »

Tell your friend we think he's weird.

Yeah, people who don't play DF are weird.

Yeah.
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IronTomato

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #72 on: August 13, 2016, 10:46:06 am »

Tell your friend we think he's weird.

Yeah, people who don't play DF are weird.

Yeah.
What a fucking casual he is.
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MobRules

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #73 on: August 13, 2016, 12:27:26 pm »

My friend says that all df players are 13 to 14 or lone programmers...I need to show him a proof "normal" people play this game...Any help?

Given that we know nothing about how your friend defines "normal" (other than that it excludes "13-14 year olds" and "lone programmers" -- and we don't know how he's defining "lone programmers" either) this question is impossible to answer.

There is no objective, universally-agreed upon standard as to what constitutes a "normal person". Therefore, if your friend wants to know if any "normal" people play DF, he has to first define what he means by "normal people".

I'm 43, female, a software developer (lone stuff at home, team stuff at work, so don't know if I'm a 'lone programmer' or not by his definition) engaged, no kids, active in the local boardgames meetup, currently laying on the couch with a cat curled up asleep in my lap, and have a Black Sabbath album-name as my forum handle.

I have no idea what a "normal  person" is, so I don't know how close or far I am from being one.
« Last Edit: August 13, 2016, 12:41:46 pm by MobRules »
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Starver

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Re: So my friend says there are no normal people playing df...
« Reply #74 on: August 13, 2016, 12:40:11 pm »

I have no idea what a "normal  person" is, so I don't know how close or far I am from being one.
Mu.
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