The video titled "How Two People Created Gaming’s Most Complex Simulation System" by ThatGuyGlen is a documentary that explores the development of the indie management simulation video game Dwarf Fortress and the two brothers, Tarn and Zach Adams, who created it.
From a young age, the brothers were taught the basics of coding by their dad, which led to them creating around 400 games in the BASIC programming language. They were inspired by tabletop RPGs and roguelike games from the eighties, which eventually evolved into Dwarf Fortress. The documentary delves into the design decisions made by Bay 12 Games and why the game went from 3D graphics to using ASCII text-based graphics.
The video also highlights the hurdles the brothers faced, including struggling to become full-time indie developers, Tarn's bank account hitting zero multiple times, and completely overhauling the game's world generation system during the process of adding a z-axis to Dwarf Fortress. Additionally, after Zach got skin cancer, the two developers started thinking more about their health insurance and how expensive it is. Therefore, they decided to partner with publisher Kitfox Games and develop a commercial version of Dwarf Fortress that was released on Steam and Itch.io in 2022.
The documentary concludes by taking a look at what's next for the brothers, who are now millionaires, and their growing team, as well as what we can expect from Dwarf Fortress in the future.
Overall, the video provides a fascinating insight into the development of Dwarf Fortress and the challenges faced by the creators. It showcases the passion and dedication required to create a game that has become a cult classic in the gaming industry. The documentary is well-made and informative, and it's clear that the creators have a deep understanding of the subject matter.
