Alter Ego vs Dwarf Fortress
Alter Ego
Alter Ego is a text-based interactive story that's based on the "choose your own adventure" formula used by gamebooks back in the 90s. However, being a digital version has its advantages, the game can be packed with more choices and multiple-choice questions, allowing it to be a lot more in-depth than any of the traditional gamebooks.The storyline in this game is pretty unique too. Alter Ego details the story of a human - you can choose the gender - from birth to death. You'll be going through his or her lifespan, making decisions and in general, living the life of a virtual person.
The game claims to be able to change your life and in some way, it can. If you enjoy story-based games, Alter Ego might just be the game you seek. It's so realistic in its way and that's where its charm lies.
Dwarf Fortress
Dwarf Fortress is one of the most unique and massive fantasy game ever made using only ASCII characters and colors. The game is completely open world in the sense that you are given the freedom to play as an adventurer and set off alone or with other adventurers on an exciting journey above or below ground (or both) to seek glory, fame and riches, or to settle down and help develop your very own dwarven outpost where you can then build a fortress, establish a barony, and in general, order your dwarven subjects around. Aside from the obviously different "art style" used, the freedom of choice, and the amazing amount of details in its gameplay, the game is also unique in its world building. The virtual world created is not only randomly generated with distinct civilizations with detailed histories, hundred of points of interests like towns and caves, as well as a flourishing nature, which includes both flora and fauna.With so many amazing features packaged into a simple-looking game, it is no wonder why Dwarf Fortress is a game that has inspired a wide variety of other modern games, both indie and big triple-A ones, until today. Due to its size, you might feel daunted to dive into a game like this, but once you've learned the basics, you will find yourself fully immersed in this completely open world of symbols and colors.