Some games, like Dwarf Fortress, bolster this by creating worlds that undeniably proceed and function according to rules, but not necessarily strict narrative rules that we would recognize in the real world nor that have their bearing in familiar traditional structure. RimWorld's appeal, as with so many games with randomized elements, lies in encouraging the player to think of (hopefully) intelligent solutions to unexpected problems and situations the game throws at them. In a universe where space travel is easy and affordable and regular, why would a planet be occupied by only a tiny number of people? These characters can be ordered to build things, acquire natural resources, interact in various ways with other simulated characters, and carry out research for newer and better technologies and tools. The practical core of the game is similar to Prison Architect, Dwarf Fortress, or other 'small-scale' management games in which the player controls a limited number of individuals. You need to eke out a living while surviving environmental hazards, rival human groups, dangerous fauna, the needs, desires, and ailments of your team, and the ever-present possibility of quasi-random catastrophic misfortune.

In RimWorld the player is tasked with managing a colony upon an eponymous 'rimworld' (a planet at the borders of known space). But hidden behind all of those charts is a game that is very concerned with storytelling. At a glance, RimWorld-a sci-fi management sim that's been climbing the Steam charts -comes across as a very dry game: Statistics charts, assignment charts, trade charts.

Rimworld tv tropes