The AIAS Game Maker's Notebook

The History of Dwarf Fortress with Zach and Tarn Adams - Part 1

Mar 27, 2023

01:13:20

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Episode notes

Introduction

4min

The War Fortress: A Settlement Management Game

3min

The History of War Fortress

2min

The Early Days of Computer Programming

3min

The Early Days of Programming

2min

The Strangest Thing I Can Even Understand

2min

The History of Dwarf Fortress

4min

The History of Slaves to Armock Arm

2min

The History of Bay 12 Games

3min

10.

Dwarf Workers: A Dragsling Game

2min

11.

Drag Slay and Slave Snow Arm

2min

12.

Door Fortress: A History of Computer Games

3min

13.

The Error in the Space Junk Game

2min

14.

Dwarf Fortress: A Mining Game

4min

15.

How Zach and I Worked Together During Grad School

2min

16.

Dwarf Fortress: A Game About Dwarves

3min

17.

The Rise and Fall of Dwarf Fortress

2min

18.

Dwarf Fortress: The Story of a Dwarve's Adventure

5min

19.

The Importance of Commercialization in Gaming

5min

20.

The War Fortress: A Game About Adventure Mode

4min

21.

How Dwarf Fortress Made Money

4min

22.

The Inflection Point of War Fortress Development

3min

23.

The Crazy Story of YASD

2min

24.

The Power of Storytelling in Games

3min

25.

The History of Battle Fortress

4min

26.

The Game Maker's Notebook

2min

Trent Kusters chats with Tarn Adams and Zach Adams, brothers who together created Dwarf Fortress. This is part 1 of a 2 part extended interview where they discuss the 20 year journey in creating the aforementioned title including the early inspirations that led them to learn programming; the games they developed before Dwarf Fortress; crucial creative and community milestones; working together with Kitfox Games on the updated version for Steam; and their favorite stories from their ever growing community. Listen to the full episode here or watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

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