This seems like more of an ongoing idea than an actual game then.I mean, obviously, if we're in our 50s, we'll have all kinds of life decisions we're making, so there's no reason to think that we'll stick with this plan for even another five years or whatever.
Have you played it? It certainly is a game. I haven't played a serious game of DF in about a year, but I always know I'll go back. It's much more game than most games. It isn't even vaguely on rails, the player has an amazing number of decisions to make. There is a pretty intense and necessary time investment needed to be even minimally successful at it. I'd say it's the most impressive game that I've ever played.
Nope. Never played it. I can tell by the temperament of the article that it's well loved and respected. My response was slightly troll-y but also genuine because I'm curious to know more. I'm just wondering if they release bits of the game as they finish - or is version 1.0 just going to be something that no one ever plays? Or is the free version big enough that people will be satiated forever?
Version 1 is some kind of aspirational dream, I don't think that they would be able to tell you what it would take for the game to be complete. I don't think they would ever charge for the game. So far the main dev has been making 30-50k a year for many years off donations. It's a complete playable game that improves or get buggier from one release to another. As for size, there are two modes, a massive rouge like that I don't care for and a colonization fortress mode that I do enjoy. Fortress mode is like minecraft but 100% more complex.