Dwarf Fortress is a spectacularly unique video game created by Bay 12 Games. Dwarf Fortress’s goal is to be a fantasy world simulator that covers all the interesting parts of a fantasy world.
The creation of this software is a multi-decade project, estimated to be about 43% done at the moment (Spring 2017.) It already can generate new fantasy worlds with their own unique histories, and then allow players to interact with those histories by taking control of some element of that world – be it a single person or an entire settlement.
The software can be downloaded for free, but the operation of the software requires the player to meet this work-in-progress half way. There is a steep learning curve. The focus is on simulation, not fairness. The motto of this game is “Losing is Fun”.
For those willing to work for their fun (and yes, that does mean “work for their losing”,) Dwarf Fortress can give some amazing experiences. There is a vast depth to the game. When your character meets a werewolf, you can pause the game, look at the world history, and see what the person did before they became a werewolf, who their family is, and what the members of that family have been up to going back many generations. When you peer into the depths of the worlds created by Dwarf Fortress, you will find the depths of the world peering back at you.