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Commercial Gaming, Coming Soon to Linux?
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Comments (18)
Doubtful...
The GDC is biased. It's only attended by the big companies. Change comes from the indy world and the start-ups. Many, many of those are now doing cross-platform development and support Linux.
Also remember that many of the games and engines showcased at GDC have started development 3-5 years ago. Linux was much smaller back then. Start-up and indy games have much shorter lead times, so it's only natural for Linux support to appear there first.
Also remember that many of the games and engines showcased at GDC have started development 3-5 years ago. Linux was much smaller back then. Start-up and indy games have much shorter lead times, so it's only natural for Linux support to appear there first.
Agreed, Indy games is the key. I hope that Hothead Games will release a Linux version of the upcoming Deathspank. The game is designed by the legendary Ron Gilbert, so even though it's an indy game, it'll be a big deal if a Linux port should happen. The CEO of Hothead has stated in the past that they always try to release on multiple platforms as they did with the Penny Arcade games.
I have a beef with Runic Games though. There is no reason for them not to have a Linux native version of Torchlight, since the game has been built on Ogre3D, but they are dragging their heels, and umming and aahing. From their forums I gather they are fully sold on all the myths surrounding Linux game development.
I have a beef with Runic Games though. There is no reason for them not to have a Linux native version of Torchlight, since the game has been built on Ogre3D, but they are dragging their heels, and umming and aahing. From their forums I gather they are fully sold on all the myths surrounding Linux game development.
Just curious, but who are the "many indy game companies" that are releasing games on Linux? All I've seen so far is World of Goo (which was awesome, and hopefully 2D Boy continue to release their future games for Linux). Any others?
It's funny, I used to classify myself as a gamer ... 20 to 30 hours a week easy. I dropped that somewhere, this year so far I have fired up a game on PC or console exactly never. I understand the draw, but anymore it generates zero interest for me. Linux could be a great gaming platform, but belaboring the issue pretty much gets a 'meh' vote from me.
@justintime:
Machinarium: http://machinarium.net/demo/ (God I *love* point-n-click adventures) Star Wars: Imperial Winter: http://www.imperialwinter.com/ Dominion series, by Illwinter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illwinter_Game_Design
There are many more. A few are listed on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_gaming
Machinarium: http://machinarium.net/demo/ (God I *love* point-n-click adventures) Star Wars: Imperial Winter: http://www.imperialwinter.com/ Dominion series, by Illwinter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illwinter_Game_Design
There are many more. A few are listed on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_gaming
> who are the "many indy game companies" that are releasing games on Linux?
Frist, in addition to World of Goo, Ken has posted about the Penumbra seris, which is also available for Linux (at http://www.penumbragame.com/ageGate.php ). However, if you want independents, then http://mygamecompany.com/ is one good example and http://www.hanakogames.com/ is another. As a general rule, I believe most of the ren'py games (for example, many of those found at http://www.renaigames.com/) are cross platform and will work under Linux.
Frist, in addition to World of Goo, Ken has posted about the Penumbra seris, which is also available for Linux (at http://www.penumbragame.com/ageGate.php ). However, if you want independents, then http://mygamecompany.com/ is one good example and http://www.hanakogames.com/ is another. As a general rule, I believe most of the ren'py games (for example, many of those found at http://www.renaigames.com/) are cross platform and will work under Linux.
Well. there's also the "not quite native but at least we acknowledge Linux as part of our market" corner. Two examples spring to mind:
Machinarium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinarium), a game that ws runner-up in Kotaku's Game of the Year award last year. The game was made in Flash, so that's why it's "not quite native" but at least it is possible to buy it for "Linux", meaning they are not ignorant of the fact that Linux users exist.
Dofus (http://www.dofus.com) is another example. It has been in the top 10 most popular MMOs for a number of years now, and they have always supported Linux users. The older version (1.29) was, like Machinarium, Flash-based, and the new one is build on Adobe AIR.
And don't forget the two Penny Arcade games. Hothead Games do seem committed to supporting Linux wherever they can.
Machinarium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinarium), a game that ws runner-up in Kotaku's Game of the Year award last year. The game was made in Flash, so that's why it's "not quite native" but at least it is possible to buy it for "Linux", meaning they are not ignorant of the fact that Linux users exist.
Dofus (http://www.dofus.com) is another example. It has been in the top 10 most popular MMOs for a number of years now, and they have always supported Linux users. The older version (1.29) was, like Machinarium, Flash-based, and the new one is build on Adobe AIR.
And don't forget the two Penny Arcade games. Hothead Games do seem committed to supporting Linux wherever they can.
And for mainstream games, there's more information than you probably want at http://www.tuxgames.com/
Here's a sneak peek of a great game written for Linux and other platforms By Mike D. Smith at elecom.com. The game is called Caster. We've put our basement-dwelling, house robe-wearing, redbull-drinking gaming staff on it and all have given it a thumbs up. In other words, I like it and I'm not a real fan of fps rpg's at all. Dead cheap too. We'll be writing about it shortly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeS74CuTctM
h
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeS74CuTctM
h
I take back what I said about Hothead Games and Deathspank - turns out that game will only be available on Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation equivalent. There won't even be a Windows version. So much for the CEO and his bold words about giving users choice.
Xbox or Playstation?
I choose "none of the above."
I choose "none of the above."
This quote was in regards to their two Penny Arcade games.
... and their COO in 2007.
I had this crazy idea that Hothead would be a good thing for Linux, but in the end they just end up screwing us like everyone else. *insert more embittered ramblings here*
Quoting:We keep getting emails asking why our Penny Arcade game is not on PSN,” said Hothead’s CEO, Vlad Ceraldi. “We have always said we wanted to have our games on as many platforms as possible to give choice to gamers. All good things take time and we are very excited to be debuting our first PS3 title and look forward to bringing more games to this platform in the future.
... and their COO in 2007.
Quoting:Our decision to support Linux was based on it being the right thing to do, not some in-depth analysis of the business case. We want to play a part in getting more games on the platform because we think long-term that benefits both Linux gamers and the indie development community that Hothead is a part of.
I had this crazy idea that Hothead would be a good thing for Linux, but in the end they just end up screwing us like everyone else. *insert more embittered ramblings here*
I have a licensed copy of Caster I am authorized to give out to people who want to play it and critique for publication on my blog.
Email me helios at fixedbylinux dott komm.
h
Email me helios at fixedbylinux dott komm.
h
> Xbox or Playstation?
This little piggy went Wii, Wii, Wii, all the way home. :)
Actually, we don't own any of the above, but if we got one it would either be a used PS2 or a Wii.
This little piggy went Wii, Wii, Wii, all the way home. :)
Actually, we don't own any of the above, but if we got one it would either be a used PS2 or a Wii.
There's no single "Linux"
This article makes an important mistake IMNSHO.
They only consider Linux Desktop Gaming. "Fat gaming" that would be, including "fat GPU's" from nVidia / Ati and "fat CPU's" from Intel and AMD.
However, the market for 'fat' is almost satisfied. The future isn't in a satisfied market, it's in a new market. The future isn't Windows Mobile / CE. The future is Android. The future isn't a fat desktop. The future is mobile, a bit less mobile, or a tablet. The future isn't x86. The future is ARM. The future isn't Intel. The future is competition. The future isn't nVidia / Ati. The futere is Imagination Technologies. The future isn't Geforde / Radion. The future is PowerVR.
Here's an interesting example: A PowerVR SGX543 MP4 ('embedded' quadcore GPU) delivers as much polygons per second as an Xbox360, two times as much as a PS3. It uses a bit of a different rendering-order of polygons though, more efficient.
Of course, there will always be desktop gaming, just as there will be console gaming (PS4, next Xbox, next Wii etc.)
But look at CES, CeBit and Computex. What did Intel deliver? What new desktops are coming? How much excitement was there about the newest Radeon or Core i7? About none. Sure, they delivered some new stuff with 10% speed improvements maybe.
Allmost all the buzz&fuzz was about 'Android devices', be it tablets, smartphones, smartbooks, netbooks (real ones, not the 'Fat Windows / Intel Atom netbooks'), tablets, TV's doing PC tasks etc. There were announcements such as "300% speed gain for Flash on ARM", "60% speed gain for Java on ARM", "Linear speed improvements with multicore architecture for PowerVR cores" (meaning a 16 core SGX543 delivers 8 times the number of polygons per second a PS3 does). These improvements are much more dramatic than the 'slow but steady' evolution of desktop / console hardware. However, these mobile gaming devices are cheaper.
And cheap is an issue these days. More than half of the world population can't afford a PS3/ XBox360 / Fat gaming desktop. The Wii sold way above expectations while the PS3 and Xbox360 didn't, maybe the price was a part of that success.
Gaming on the iPhone is a huge success, it seems. Look at the number of Apps sold, it's an exponential growth.
Only looking at how CrossOver is able to play some 'fat desktop Windows games' surely is interesting, but I doubt if it's relevant.
They only consider Linux Desktop Gaming. "Fat gaming" that would be, including "fat GPU's" from nVidia / Ati and "fat CPU's" from Intel and AMD.
However, the market for 'fat' is almost satisfied. The future isn't in a satisfied market, it's in a new market. The future isn't Windows Mobile / CE. The future is Android. The future isn't a fat desktop. The future is mobile, a bit less mobile, or a tablet. The future isn't x86. The future is ARM. The future isn't Intel. The future is competition. The future isn't nVidia / Ati. The futere is Imagination Technologies. The future isn't Geforde / Radion. The future is PowerVR.
Here's an interesting example: A PowerVR SGX543 MP4 ('embedded' quadcore GPU) delivers as much polygons per second as an Xbox360, two times as much as a PS3. It uses a bit of a different rendering-order of polygons though, more efficient.
Of course, there will always be desktop gaming, just as there will be console gaming (PS4, next Xbox, next Wii etc.)
But look at CES, CeBit and Computex. What did Intel deliver? What new desktops are coming? How much excitement was there about the newest Radeon or Core i7? About none. Sure, they delivered some new stuff with 10% speed improvements maybe.
Allmost all the buzz&fuzz was about 'Android devices', be it tablets, smartphones, smartbooks, netbooks (real ones, not the 'Fat Windows / Intel Atom netbooks'), tablets, TV's doing PC tasks etc. There were announcements such as "300% speed gain for Flash on ARM", "60% speed gain for Java on ARM", "Linear speed improvements with multicore architecture for PowerVR cores" (meaning a 16 core SGX543 delivers 8 times the number of polygons per second a PS3 does). These improvements are much more dramatic than the 'slow but steady' evolution of desktop / console hardware. However, these mobile gaming devices are cheaper.
And cheap is an issue these days. More than half of the world population can't afford a PS3/ XBox360 / Fat gaming desktop. The Wii sold way above expectations while the PS3 and Xbox360 didn't, maybe the price was a part of that success.
Gaming on the iPhone is a huge success, it seems. Look at the number of Apps sold, it's an exponential growth.
Only looking at how CrossOver is able to play some 'fat desktop Windows games' surely is interesting, but I doubt if it's relevant.
Your post has the makings of a great editorial Hans..
I was afraid of that, but I have yet to finish the previous two of them. But yeah, I'll consider that.
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As an exercise showcasing this paucity of commercial gaming attention paid to Linux, one may wish to visit the Game Developers Conference site http://www.gdconf.com/ covering the current conference occuring in San Francisco, CA for serious game development. Then from the gdconf mainsite itself, perform a search on "Linux" or even "Open Source Software." Results? Meaningless; Linux and F/OSS even considered almost as they were an afterthought! Smart's point avidly demonstrated.