Dwarf Fortress, the most inscrutable game of two decades, is getting a tutorial
Enlarge / Part of the tutorial that will give new Dwarf Fortress players some pointers, if not full understanding, when the game is available on Steam at some point. (credit: Bay 12 Games / Steam)
Dwarf Fortress, the fantasy mining simulation with the motto "losing is fun," is softening its learning curve just the tiniest bit. In its upcoming (but not yet dated) Steam release, a new tutorial will explain what you can do and how things work-if not, exactly, how to survive.
Co-creator Zach Adams showed off some images from an optional tutorial in an update on the game's Steam Store page. Even with the upgraded pixel art and improved control scheme of the Steam release, the team thought the newcomer experience "still needs something." So they built a tutorial that walks a player through camera controls, mining, stockpiling, woodcutting, and, at a basic level, survival.
What's more, the developers are testing it on Annie, Zach Adams' wife. After a failed attempt with an earlier version, the latest tutorial took Annie far enough to where she could "tunnel under a bog and drown her fortress." Presumably, that is good.