I think the beginning is worth a read in any case. This:
> The answer is simple: Nethack does what computers do best - what computers were invented for. It hands you a symbolic representation of something, and lets you interact with it. The symbols are utterly mundane ... but the interaction is extraordinarily complicated.
is a beautiful idea, and had never occurred to me, despite my longterm adventures in Angband. (I'm also not quite sure that it's not pushing a metaphor too far, but it's lovely anyway.)
Dwarf Fortress is one of my all time favourite twists on the Roguelike genre. Something Awful had a very amusing succession game that's worth a read too; http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Boatmurdered
If you have the right kind of mind to get into Dwarf Fortress, it is one of the most interesting games I've ever played. You start to really care about these ASCII characters, especially when one devastated by his wife being killed by raiding goblins goes into mourning, snaps, and murders your blacksmith to turn his skin into gloves... and they're the best gloves your town has ever produced, worthy of a name out of legend.
That read is absolutely HILARIOUS.
"A few more war dogs ran out and attacked. I have to say I'm slightly terrified by them. One of the bitches actually gave birth while she was attacking, and her puppies joined in on the carnage"
