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AutumnForever
January 7th, 2006, 06:21 PM
I'd just like to post my thoughts on games with linux.

Let's just take a moment to get beyond the Workingness of the games in Linux.

Let's look at the gameplay of the games that DO run on Linux.
All of the wonderful developers are working their best at creating workable solutions for us gamers. But look at it for a moment, the great people who work on these native games and such, other than the commercial ones, lack a sense of imagination. They create these games and are great at making them run, but, from my personal experience, the games lack quality of storyline or gameplay itself.

This isn't their fault, they are doing a really good job at making the games run smooth with decent graphics (some of the time). But really, they are busy, they don't have everyone they need, helping them. The Linux game developers need to get organized! If you're going to put time on something without getting any profit, that is your choice, but don't slow the process down with ill motivation. Organize yourselves, get the people you need, set up a Org board (a board consisting of seperate departments dealing with seperate areas that in all set up a chain that links together smoothly). We need to get away from this "Getting windows games running on Linux" junk and create our own! Yeah Planeshift has some flaws, but out of most of the games so far, it has storyline to it, it gives the Fantasy feeling which is should be giving. They are more organized. Wesnoth, is good, it is cute, graphics could be better (the 2D graphics are fine, but the artwork itself could be a bit better, like smoother, similar to starcraft graphics but more detailed like AoE.)

Basically what I'm trying to say, is that we need to say screw it to the windows games, stop trying to get them to run! You're wasting time that could be spent on actually developing a good product! OpenGL has always blown D3D out of the water performance wise and I personally think the graphics quality is a lot better.

We need to set up, if there isn't already, a group of Ubuntu people and will work on a game together. (An RPG if possible.) Something simple at first, but get ourselves organized so that we have people that are best in one area, working on that area. Programmers, Artists, Brainstormers!

I'm just sick of these Linux games that use the Linux theme in their game. It's cute at times, but I don't enjoy watching a Penguin killing people... And RPGs where you are Tux, on an adventure through a world (that looks like it was created on a piece of paper by a kindergardener, and scanned onto the computer). Face it, most computer users love to play games right? But we depend on the Developers who know how to create games, well most of the developers of the Linux world, program programs, not games. They lack (no offense) video game gameplay ideas and storyline. And the reason Linux is as slow as it is Developement-wise, is because these are people doing it on their free-time. We have to face that fact while dealing with something completely Free, there are consequences to that. If we really want to get serious about this, set up a community just for the linux game developement which donates money each month, just enough to keep the progress going. You have to give someone something to fight for, for them to fight at all. If not, they'll sit there, in idleness.

We need to get real here, or Windows will always be the top-notch. We don't want that do we?

Please let me know how you feel on these thoughts.

nalmeth
January 9th, 2006, 02:12 PM
I agree that we need to focus on linux-native games. And you are right that most developers are working on their free-time. But more imaginative titles and storylines will come when the developers get more support, and know that people will actually play the game they are writing. It may be just my thought, but I imagine that linux game developers are flooded with emails from linux users with 'an idea for the best rpg ever!' I think they have more than enough ideas, but not enough support, and having no marketing resources, no way other than word-of-mouth to get their game played.

The way I see it, the more financial and motivational support they get, the more apt they will be to develop that idea thats been scratching the back of their brains. And once it pushes through that threshold, and is released, then people will play, send feedback (including: this artwork sucks! or need cooler baddies!), and via snowball-effect, the game could have a chance to improve, and have more users, and so on.

I totally agree when you say we should spend less time getting windows games running under Wine/Cedega, and focus that energy on linux games, that Windows users will want to try to run on their system!

But I totally disagree with you on one point. I think tux running around killing people and blowing things up would be ****ing awesome!!!

akurashy
January 9th, 2006, 02:19 PM
Well, also you need to see it in the "marketing" way, I think game companies doesn't see linux "promising" because since Windows have the UPPER hand in the market. I think someone need to open the company's eye and tell them that there are millions of linux users too.

I bet they could find useful people. anyway I have cedega and Wine, they done a great job supporting games/apps. But like you said I think we all would prefer running it natively

Breepee
January 9th, 2006, 03:33 PM
A _very_ promising project, which will work on both Windows and Linux:

http://wildfiregames.com/0ad/

SteelValor
January 9th, 2006, 04:36 PM
This all boils down to Tech Support nothing more.

AutumnForever
January 12th, 2006, 07:47 PM
I see we all do want the same thing. Native. Also, the whole Tux running around blowing things up, yeah, now that I think about it, it does seem like fun. My point was that Windows users and a lot of people coming over to linux don't get the whole humor of it, they want something different, something original. Which is where I guess I'm pulling the thought from.

But yeah, someone get onto the ET modding and set up a Tux FPS. ;)

leech
January 12th, 2006, 07:54 PM
This all boils down to Tech Support nothing more.

I completely agree. Unfortunately most companies don't realize that most of the Linux side tech support is done freely by the Linux users themselves. I had a business plan formulated at one point to fix this problem... unfortunately I don't have the contacts in place to start it up though....

Leech

GameGod
January 12th, 2006, 10:57 PM
I agree with you completely, especially with the part about all the stupid Tux games.
Tux Racer - whatever... but everything else with the penguin theme is really really lame. (at least the penguin part of it.)

On top of what you said, I think it'd be very very good for the Linux community to have a few high-quality, original, Linux-only games.
I want a game that will make people want to install Linux just to play the game. (In order to do that, you'll need something very original and fun while maintaining great quality and polish...)