Dwarf Fortress was a staple of my childhood, even if I only understood maybe 5% of the mechanics going on at any given time (even back when I used to play it). That was part of the appeal though: if you could learn how to do something in Dwarf Fortress, it felt like an accomplishment. Learning to dig better bases is a several-hour research project, and simple tasks like brewing beer can proliferate into any number of different problems. This kind of trial-and-error problem solving is probably responsible for getting me into development.
Nowadays though, I mostly play Rimworld for my colony management fix. I love Dwarf Fortress, but I could never comfortably learn it's mechanics in a lifetime (let alone several). Even still, the emergent, chaotic gameplay of Dwarf Fortress should be picked apart by any budding game developers. Even after 15 years of playing PC games, Dwarf Fortress still feels the most "next gen" out of them all.
Nowadays though, I mostly play Rimworld for my colony management fix. I love Dwarf Fortress, but I could never comfortably learn it's mechanics in a lifetime (let alone several). Even still, the emergent, chaotic gameplay of Dwarf Fortress should be picked apart by any budding game developers. Even after 15 years of playing PC games, Dwarf Fortress still feels the most "next gen" out of them all.