We may be in a post-Minecraft world but Dwarf Fortress does not come from one. It predates, and was in fact a major source of inspiration for, Minecraft.
If we're talking about whether the highly obtuse ASCII version of DF should have monetized earlier we cannot point to its highly accessible direct descendant from seven years later.
If we're talking about whether the highly obtuse ASCII version of DF should have monetized earlier we cannot point to its highly accessible direct descendant from seven years later.