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What's different about the implementation of children in Dwarf Fortress that makes people ok with them? (hexbear.net)
submitted 9 months ago by Awoo@hexbear.net to c/games@hexbear.net
6 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Is it just because DF was developed on the fringe that it gets away with having infants and children that people use atom smashers on and have core game mechanics where monsters come snatch them?

Or is it something about the implementation that makes it drama-less to everyone?

As far as I'm aware anything that can happen to a Dwarf can happen to an infant or child.

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[–] vertexarray@hexbear.net 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The dilapitated chaos of the simulation makes it work on looney tunes logic.

I remember I had a hunter shoot a deer, which began vomiting. The hunter shot repeatedly again but never hit — the deer continuted to vomit. Dozens of combat report pages of the deer vomits. A mountainside covered in deer vomit. The suspension on your disbelief can't endure it.

In a simulation where, by a miracle dice roll, a baby can punch the head off an iron colossus, it's not a normal baby. The baby is Bugs Bunny.

[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The dilapitated chaos of the simulation makes it work on looney tunes logic.

That's an interesting point. Effectively what you're saying is that as long as the simulation is completely and totally insane and unpredictable that the horrible things that occur within it lose their morbidity and get replaced with complete and total fascination with what this insane machine that continually produce unpredictable results might produce next. You are completely distracted.

In a simulation where, by a miracle dice roll, a baby can punch the head off an iron colossus, it's not a normal baby. The baby is Bugs Bunny.

If I recall correctly children are insanely strong because some calculation or something uses body size to strength in calculating power. The children all have basic strength levels so they can do things like carrying rocks and materials as chores without being slowed down. This however combines with their tiny size to produce absurd power in combat.

This conversation is kinda proving your point because that whole paragraph I just wrote is insane and we're totally distracted from the topic of children fighting monsters already because of the absurdity.

[–] sharedburdens@hexbear.net 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Regarding the emergent nature of the chaos, I had a sworddwarf in my militia give birth mid-combat (it's not really clear when they're pregnant) and drop her shield to pick up the baby and continue fighting, the baby did manage to survive being used as a shield.

[–] Frank@hexbear.net 1 points 9 months ago

BJORN IN BATTLE!

[–] Eris235@hexbear.net 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I think its about intent. While the DF devs could spend more effort on keeping players from being maniacs, it still doesn't seem like the want the players to be terrible to children. In fact, some of the worst stuff (danger rooms as child abuse training zones, and mermaid bone farms), were specifically targeted in patches to no longer be 'good' strategies.

As opposed to a lot of other games, who's inclusion of 'punching children' seems like they're doing it to be 'edgy and subversive'. And the 'child snatching' thing is just classic fairy tale, and also would be a real danger if you're living in the wilderness around predator animals.

[–] Frank@hexbear.net 1 points 9 months ago

Plus afaik the child snatcher monsters just raise the dorf kids as members of their civs. Which, when you see what's going on in most dorf civs, basically makes them fantasy CPS.