Dwarf Fortress co-creator Tarn Adams has shared his surprise at the widespread recognition his game achieved, particularly among his peers in the development community. Adams recounted an experience from a 2013 or 2014 visit to PAX in Seattle, where he encountered numerous other developers who were familiar with Dwarf Fortress.
"It was something like 2013, 14 going to PAX in Seattle, and there was an indie mega booth at the time," Adams told PC Gamer. "Of the 50 or 60 games showing—I'm just ballparking the numbers—I'd say 90% of them heard of Dwarf Fortress and also had a very amazed fan-ish response when we were introduced."
This event marked the first time Adams had a clear sense of the game's reach. "That was crazy. I had no idea that that was even a thing," he admitted. "I didn't know that anyone knew what we were doing… I try to have good moral qualities, but I am apparently subject to all forms of flattery and vanity and such."
Reflecting on the early days of Dwarf Fortress, which was released in 2006, Adams noted a significant lack of interaction with other game developers until around 2013. "From the release of the game in 2006 up until around 2013, I didn't meet another game developer really, except maybe one or two at a Dwarf Fortress-specific meet," he said.
While Adams acknowledged that he was not a very social person during that period and that Dwarf Fortress was considered "outsider art" for many years, he expressed a hypothetical desire to have been more proactive in promoting the game earlier. "I'd probably be more confident about getting it in front of more people sooner. I didn't know the people to do that, though, so I'd probably be like 'go meet some more people,'" he mused. If he could go back in time without the risk of disrupting the timeline, he might offer his past self some encouragement. "I'd still give my old self 'a little pep talk, maybe,'" Adams stated.