Tarn Adams, creator of Dwarf Fortress.

Tarn Adams, creator of Dwarf Fortress.

My guest today is the American co-creator of one of the longest-running and most popular independent games yet made. In high school he and his older brother Zach designed adventure games based on fantasy and science fiction stories they invented together. He taught himself computer programming and received fifteen offers to enrol in PhD math programs.


At Stanford University, he and his brother continued work on a procedural adventure game called Dwarf Fortress, in which players guide successive generations of dwarves to build and maintain a settlement.


He quit university to work on the game full-time; in 2011 the New York Times described an early version as “perhaps the most complex video game ever made”. Dwarf Fortress became his life’s work, with a vast and committed cult following, but it remained a work in progress until December 2022, when a commercial version finally released, and promptly sold half a million copies.


Play the console:



Thank you for listening to My Perfect Console. Please consider becoming a Patreon supporter; your small monthly subscription will help to make the podcast sustainable for the long term, and you'll receive bonus content, and access to the My Perfect Console community: https://www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole

Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole


Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(185)

Kieron Gillen, comic book author (Star Wars, X-Men, Iron Man, DIE).

Kieron Gillen, comic book author (Star Wars, X-Men, Iron Man, DIE).

My guest today is an award-winning creator and writer of comic books. Born into a Staffordshire working-class family, he was a student of Applied Biology at Bath University when he started contributin...

25 Sep 20231h 16min

Annabel Ashalley-Anthony, founder Melanin Gamers.

Annabel Ashalley-Anthony, founder Melanin Gamers.

My guest today is a British-Ghanaian writer and advocate for inclusion and diversity in the video game industry. Having graduated from the University of Westminster with a degree in creative writing w...

18 Sep 20231h 10min

Clint Hocking, creative director (Splinter Cell, Far Cry 4, Watch Dogs Legion, Assassin's Creed Infinity)

Clint Hocking, creative director (Splinter Cell, Far Cry 4, Watch Dogs Legion, Assassin's Creed Infinity)

My guest today is a Canadian video game designer and director. After graduating from the University of British Columbia with an MFA in creative writing, he joined Ubisoft Montreal where he co-wrote th...

11 Sep 20231h 21min

Peter Molyneux O.B.E., video game designer (Populous, Theme Park, Fable).

Peter Molyneux O.B.E., video game designer (Populous, Theme Park, Fable).

My guest today is an English video game designer and programmer. In 1984 he designed The Entrepreneur, a simulation game about running a start-up company. When it sold just two copies, however, my gue...

4 Sep 20231h 14min

Frank Lantz, founding chair, NYU Game Center.

Frank Lantz, founding chair, NYU Game Center.

My guest today is a game designer and Founding Chair of New York University’s Game Center. An influential writer, speaker, and thinker on video games he has taught generations of emerging young design...

28 Aug 20231h 16min

Stella Wisdom, digital curator, British Library.

Stella Wisdom, digital curator, British Library.

My guest today is Digital Curator for Contemporary Collections at The British Library. After graduating from Aberystwyth University with a degree in Library Studies and Art History, my guest was award...

21 Aug 20231h 5min

Sam Barlow, game director (Silent Hill, Her Story, Immortality).

Sam Barlow, game director (Silent Hill, Her Story, Immortality).

My guest today is a game director who has pioneered new forms of nonlinear storytelling that blend film and games. After twelve-year stint at the British development studio Climax, where he directed S...

14 Aug 20231h 12min

Joseph Mackertich, editor, Time Out.

Joseph Mackertich, editor, Time Out.

My guest today is editor-in-chief of Time Out London. After graduating from SOAS University with a degree in religion and the history of art, he moved to China for a few years, then struck out as a fr...

7 Aug 20231h 12min

Populært innen Fritid

rss-spartsklubben
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
mil-etter-mil-en-podcast-om-bil
interiorradet
nerdelandslaget
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
rss-gatebilpodden
jegerpodden
jakt-og-fiskepodden
0-100-med-broom-mats-og-remi
rss-avskiltet
rss-jegerpodden
klokkepodden
rss-jeg-fikser-vin
villmarksliv
level-backup
grontpodden
fjellsportpodden
rss-scooch-pod
hagespiren-podcast