Yeah, once you get accustomed to the tilesets for a bit it becomes trivial to switch to ascii. But I think it's nice to learn using the tileset because it's usually pretty clear what something is.

I think the joke went flying over your head.

Edit: It is a Matrix reference, where Neo asks Tank if he can understand what is going on by just looking at the green characters whizzing in the screen. He answers "You get used to it after a while. ... For example, I see blondes, brunettes, redheads ... "

Edit 2: I guess I remembered it wrong, it was Cypher!

I figured it was a half-joke half-serious comment so I responded to the serious part

Except for anyone playing Hack or Dwarf Fortress or any other ascii based game it's not a joke, it's reality.

Small nitpick, it was Cipher, not Tank.

Smaller nitpick, it was Cypher.

Weirdly enough, they make that same joke in the video within the first few minutes.