One thought that helps me in such situations is that no game is just one thing. Dwarf Fortress is not just story generator, it’s also 2D top-down immersive colony sim in a fantasy setting. And your idea probably differs in those other aspects. Even if you’d have copied DFs story generator, but put it in a first person 3D movement based exploration game, you’d have a completely different experience. A new creator brings new perspective, which creates different games.
I wish you luck with your ideas!