Dwarf Fortress appears on Steam with mouse support and graphics update

Dwarf Fortress is available on PC via Steam and itch.io with pixel graphics and mouse support. The game had been in development at game studio Bay 12 Games since 2002 and was originally constructed from ASCII characters.

Dwarf Fortress is developed by two brothers Zach and Tarn Adams. They started working on Dwarf Fortress in 2002 and built the game from ASCII characters. A first version of the game was released in 2006, but the brothers did not stop developing it there. The game was expanded and in 2019 Bay 12 Games announced that the game would receive a visual update and abandon the ASCII characters. Instead, the game received more accessible pixel graphics.

Although the game looks completely different due to the new graphics, it is still basically the same game. Dwarf Fortress is a simulation game in which you have to manage a colony of dwarfs. Players cannot directly control the dwarves, but they can give orders to set up and maintain the colony. Furthermore, these dwarfs mainly do what they feel like.

The new version now available for PC adds mouse support in addition to the new graphics. Previously, the game could only be controlled with a keyboard. There is also a tutorial to introduce new players to Dwarf Fortress.

Although the game is only now officially released, it has inspired many other game makers since its release. Titles such as Rimworld, Prison Architect and Minecraft borrow elements from Dwarf Fortress.

The game costs 29 euros and is available via Steam and itch.io. The ascii version of Dwarf Fortress remains available for free.