State of free gaming in ubuntu & linux in general

[ShirishAg75]

hi all,
I was thinking that opengl was the issue to gaming meaning people do not have the graphics capability. Of course my hardware is lame for some gaming but good for casual gaming. Anyway then I tried http://grubbygames.com/fizzball/ which tells me its more of content issue . Either computer artists who can make good looking games as well as music which is missing. More so it seems it needs some kind of sponsorship. For e.g. Frozen-bubble seems to have gone through a regenesis after the development was sponsored by Mandriva. If each distro. can adopt one casual game, I'm sure we would have some pretty good games.
www.bigfishgames.com (http://www.bigfishgames.com) is also a good inspiration. Games on matching things, finding things in a picture, spot differences between pictures, some good story-telling binding those actions would go a long way. A.I. has been instrumental in this effort http://doc.gwos.org/index.php/Native_Games but even there it seems more for action, adventure stuff etc. rather than casual gaming. Moreover the independent efforts (in most of linux games) last for a yr. or two & then maintenance is not there. Has there been a move in this direction? Are there people who are thinking/making casual games for users at large, either under GPL license or something which is public-domain or something?

Edit: Further the games should have low requirements as some of the windows game have, payable without needing a hardware accelerator card (gaming on a budget).

Looking forward to flames, suggestions, additions to this. Esp. looking forward to A.I. for his king words on this subject. Thanx for your time :)

[FaceLeg]

Have you seen The Battle for Wesnoth (http://www.wesnoth.org/)?

A turn based strategy game for Linux OSX and Windows.

[Artificial Intelligence]

I dunno what you have me to say LOL, but the game subject on gnu/linux isn't that big which is one of the reason there aren't many games. Those who play on Linux are FPS's mostly.

But rest assure that if we get any tips of a new games we'll post the news.

[Bekker]

I think most people, even the ones using linux, nowadays have reasonable hardware for games. Look at compiz and beryl for example, both rely on 3d-acceleration and there are a lot of users for it. I too like small casual games (have you tried crack-attack btw? does require some 3d-acceleration...), but my love still goes out to large and elaborate games like I used to play on windows. Examples include C&C Generals, Half-life 2, GTA San Andreas and Call of Duty

To make those kind of games most work is in creating 3d-models and music as you stated. There are some pretty good engines out there like crystal space. I myself tried to code a 3d-engine too and got some pretty results, but when you realize the time/work/money has gone into the modeling of games like GTA San Andreas you know that you can never come up to that level with a small group part-time modelers.

You also talk about maintenance for older games, most projects get abandoned after a few year. That's a sad thing.
I see two categories of these:
Finished games that work fine for some years until linux changes to much (newer libraries, newer kernel). This also happens with windows games, win98 games probably won't run on vista.
The other category takes the majority. These are games abandoned while the game is unfinished. This finds its reasons in the free part of free gaming. The developers aren't making any money from it so they don't have an obligation to finish the game.

Also, a lot of developers of free games seem to spend more time bug fixing and making sure their games work on all the distributions then actually adding new features to it and delivering a finished product. Games I pay for are (almost) always finished, the developers occasionally make a patch for some bug, but when I play them freshly installed they work and gameplay is good.

All in all I think there isn't enough motivation to make free games. There are a lot of hills to be taken and only some teams manage to take them all. I have deepest respect for teams that do, like the people behind Padman or cube and sauerbraten. But I'd still rather pay some money and play elaborate games then play some free game that's only half finished, doesn't have the greatest graphics and might be abandoned like that.

[charlieg]

Hmm... I recognise this thread (http://www.happypenguin.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3939). Anyhow...

To be honest I think this is a bit harsh. There are some really, really good Free / open source games out there and a lot of effort goes into both them and their content.

I can reel a few of the top of my head without even thinking... Freeciv, Fish Fillets, Freecol, Oolite, Wesnoth. Those aren't quite the "simple" games you talk about but I'm sure I could come up with some of those as well if I put my mind to it [but my mind is busy right now].

The problem is not the lack of games or poor game content, it's the lack of marketing and awareness. This is why I started Free Gamer (http://freegamer.blogspot.com/), so I could promote such games and really expose them in a way that the Game Tome (http://www.happypenguin.org/) fails to.

Once I have finished organising the games lists you will be able to see what I mean. I will have isolated the best games for each purpose and listed them in a consistent way so people will be able to drop by, knowing what they want, and find it easily.

And then I will conquer the WORLD !!! HAAHAAAhah h a a er ummmmm...

[Artificial Intelligence]

And then I will conquer the WORLD !!! HAAHAAAhah h a a er ummmmm...

Okay Darth Vader, time for your medication :mrgreen:

[Cresho]

Hmm... I recognise this thread (http://www.happypenguin.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3939). Anyhow...

To be honest I think this is a bit harsh. There are some really, really good Free / open source games out there and a lot of effort goes into both them and their content.

I can reel a few of the top of my head without even thinking... Freeciv, Fish Fillets, Freecol, Oolite, Wesnoth. Those aren't quite the "simple" games you talk about but I'm sure I could come up with some of those as well if I put my mind to it [but my mind is busy right now].

The problem is not the lack of games or poor game content, it's the lack of marketing and awareness. This is why I started Free Gamer (http://freegamer.blogspot.com/), so I could promote such games and really expose them in a way that the Game Tome (http://www.happypenguin.org/) fails to.

Once I have finished organising the games lists you will be able to see what I mean. I will have isolated the best games for each purpose and listed them in a consistent way so people will be able to drop by, knowing what they want, and find it easily.

And then I will conquer the WORLD !!! HAAHAAAhah h a a er ummmmm...

thanks for the site! I been googlin for good places and i have a few. Yours has information I have not seen in other sites so it's a keeper. the reason why i never found your site is because i googled linux free games or something.

[Lord Illidan]

As for my part, I concur that free game developers do have a disadvantage.

First, many free games are usually done as hobbyist projects. They may be a work of love, but they don't generate much money.

Also, while their progamming skills might be on par or average that of commercial game developers (I doubt this, given that commercial devs probably have more experience), they don't have access to good quality artists.

Third, they usually develop not what the public wants, but what they want. If they want to produce an RTS, they produce an RTS, if not, they do something else.

That said. my fav free games are Wesnoth and Tremulous...Wesnoth is the best atm.

[Bekker]

Hmm... I recognise this thread (http://www.happypenguin.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3939). Anyhow...

To be honest I think this is a bit harsh. There are some really, really good Free / open source games out there and a lot of effort goes into both them and their content.

I can reel a few of the top of my head without even thinking... Freeciv, Fish Fillets, Freecol, Oolite, Wesnoth. Those aren't quite the "simple" games you talk about but I'm sure I could come up with some of those as well if I put my mind to it [but my mind is busy right now].

The problem is not the lack of games or poor game content, it's the lack of marketing and awareness. This is why I started Free Gamer (http://freegamer.blogspot.com/), so I could promote such games and really expose them in a way that the Game Tome (http://www.happypenguin.org/) fails to.

Once I have finished organising the games lists you will be able to see what I mean. I will have isolated the best games for each purpose and listed them in a consistent way so people will be able to drop by, knowing what they want, and find it easily.

And then I will conquer the WORLD !!! HAAHAAAhah h a a er ummmmm...

I tried not to be harsh, as I mentioned I have great respect for the people developing free games. And from what I read there are people really enjoying these games.

I think our definition of "simple" games differs. By simple games I mean games that don't have beautiful 3d-graphics and great music/sound effects. I like grotesque Hollywood movie like games, often with loads of violence (I'm just being plane honest). Maybe I'm spoiled by games like San Andreas, Half-life 2 and Medieval 2: Total war (yes I'm dual-booting just for that). Sometimes I just want to vent some aggression and feel the adrenaline flow.

I agree, there are creative free games with good playability. I just don't have the "urge" to play these games, and I don't think that has to do with marketing. It's just a matter of taste.

The problem with those grotesque games is that they depend on new technology that's often closed source (nvidia/ati drivers). Most free games are developed over the course of many years so that in the end their game seems old. Although those free games have superior stories and creative gameplay I'll stick with dual-booting and commercial games.

[Lord Illidan]

I tried not to be harsh, as I mentioned I have great respect for the people developing free games. And from what I read there are people really enjoying these games.

I think our definition of "simple" games differs. By simple games I mean games that don't have beautiful 3d-graphics and great music/sound effects. I like grotesque Hollywood movie like games, often with loads of violence (I'm just being plane honest). Maybe I'm spoiled by games like San Andreas, Half-life 2 and Medieval 2: Total war (yes I'm dual-booting just for that). Sometimes I just want to vent some aggression and feel the adrenaline flow.

I agree, there are creative free games with good playability. I just don't have the "urge" to play these games, and I don't think that has to do with marketing. It's just a matter of taste.

The problem with those grotesque games is that they depend on new technology that's often closed source (nvidia/ati drivers). Most free games are developed over the course of many years so that in the end their game seems old. Although those free games have superior stories and creative gameplay I'll stick with dual-booting and commercial games.

Hmm, I don't think the problem is with drivers...opengl is free. Perhaps, it's more about engine availability and taste.

[Bekker]

Hmm, I don't think the problem is with drivers...opengl is free. Perhaps, it's more about engine availability and taste.

Good point.

Indeed, personal taste plays a big roll in it all. Engine availability doesn't seem to be a problem, there's Crystal Space and Ogre, both good engines.

On charliegs' blog free gamer (http://freegamer.blogspot.com/) some beautiful games build on these engines are mentioned. If some of those games are finished within two months I'd pay for them. By finished I mean I can install them painlessly within an hour and have fun playing a story line which takes some 5 hours, like any regular commercial game.

[charlieg]

thanks for the site! I been googlin for good places and i have a few. Yours has information I have not seen in other sites so it's a keeper. the reason why i never found your site is because i googled linux free games or something.

Search Engine Optimization tips... cheers :D

Back to global domination...

[ShirishAg75]

Good to finally see some responses in general. The reason behind putting it up at linux game tome was simply to generate responses also from people who are into making games, telling them things that work.
While some people like violent games & thats there choice, there are plenty of people who would rather go for good graphics, good gameplay & some story even if its a thin story. Women, children, adolscents all have a stake in this if there is a good game. For e.g. I like games which are spin-offs of scrabble so I can improve my language skills a bit which otherwise I might not. Similarly sometimes when I make or come across a new just by sheer-chance while playing games like those I look it up on some dict. on the net . It would be cool though to be able to do that in-game or after the round is finished.
I also know that developers who might have idea about programming lack finding good art for their projects. The open clipart site/library is contemplating such a contest , please look at http://openclipart.org/wiki/Contests under Fantasy Map symbols. If this contest happens & there are people who submit stuff there is possibility of getting some good RTS games. Perhaps you can talk about the contest and the need on the site also.
Charlieg, some more tips for you, while I like your site, the free gamer list http://freegamer.blogspot.com/2001/01/free-games-list.html#start really needs to be done in a better way. Apart from the list being pretty old (incomplete) , either make it as an .odf document or do something where people . There is quite a vast list of the various genres at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_computer_and_video_game_genres which could be used to categorize, clean the game list & actually have an idea what we have. You could also take a look at A.I. site/wiki for an idea as to how he has gone about it. Not necessary that you take the same route but it does help to know what's on.
A little known site perhaps, http://www.pyweek.org/ . The gem is in the about page http://media.pyweek.org/static/rules.html although don't know how the licensing happens there but still I guess it should be worthy of consideration.

That's enough I guess for the moment. Feel free to add stuff, flame or whatever you have your mind on. Inputs are always welcome :)

[charlieg]

The Free Gamer lists are being redone. That's just a mash up of stuff at the moment.

I'm gonna have multiple lists, possibly like this:
- Everything (all open source)
- Everything (freeware)
- Single player games (open source)
- Multiplayer games (open source)
- Fun smaller games (open source + freeware)

I'm inputting the games into an OOo database so I can regen the lists quickly to make maintainence simple.

It'll be fixed in a few weeks. ;)

[Bekker]

Nice! I'll check regularly to see if it's finished. I'm curious whether I'll find a free game that can really get to me.
Maybe you can add a filter, for example if someone only wants to see 3d, rts games that work on linux.
Good luck and keep up the good work.

I'll try to keep this thread on it's original subject with this:
Aren't there a lot of "simple" free games online? Like free online games (http://www.freeonlinegames.com/)

[ShirishAg75]

<snipped as it doesn't concern me>

I'll try to keep this thread on it's original subject with this:
Aren't there a lot of "simple" free games online? Like free online games (http://www.freeonlinegames.com/)

While you are right & there loads of sites which have online FLASH games but flash format itself is propreitory or semi-open at best .

There is work however on HTML 5 http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/#video as well as SVG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Vector_Graphics are the things to watch out for.

But that is ONLINE gaming what I was talking about is off-line gaming similar to http://ubuntusoftware.info/ubuntu_ultimate_gamers/ & forks like these . Unfortunately it seems the developer/scripter in this case has gone to other stuff :(

[justin whitaker]

I don't know...as I look more deeply into F/OSS gaming, I'm finding bunches of interesting things. For example, Globulation 2 would never be made by a top tier firm, but is fun and charming in its own right.

Battle for Wesnoth reminds me of Age of Wonders and Warcraft type gaming, but it has its own unique flavor...again, I doubt a leading developer would even bother, but it is worth the time.

On the FPS side: Nexuiz, Open Arena, Tremulous, and Warsow are all quite alot of fun...all hobbyist projects, and all as alike as different. I would really like to see these guys get together an pool their resources and generate the one killer open source FPS, but that's too much to wish for.

Frets of Fire is another good open source project that is worth mentioning. Sure it's a Guitar Hero clone, but it stands on it's own as well. It's putting a dent in my World of Warcraft time, so it has to be good.

In some ways, I lost some of my love for gaming because 90% of AAA titles are simply "me too!" Every developer needs to have an MMO to compete with WoW, a WWII title, some space/horror shooter to compete with Doom....it's usually some incremental evolution, like Prey, that they trot out as the latest blockbuster.

That's not bad, it just gets boring after a while. More interesting game experiences are happening at the periphery, in the mod and open source communities. Sure, the level of development skill is not as good, but who cares if you have something slick and glossy if the game is boring?

[charlieg]

I know what you mean about the periphary being more original.

Check out this UT2004 mod - Air Buccaneers (http://ludocraft.oulu.fi/airbuccaneers/) - which makes me wish they'd do to the UT series what iD have done with Quake.

[KIAaze]

I just really started trying GNU/Linux games this weekend (before it was just the default arcade, board games and planetpenguin racer):
-Beneath a steel sky (ok, it's not GPL...but it's good)
-Battle for Wesnoth (amazing for a FOSS game!)
-Metal Blob Solid (great fun :) )
-Tremulous (only tried it to see how well it runs, no multiplayer yet)
-Blob and conquer (not so impressed so far because of some control issues)

Now I read things about Open Arena, Cube, Enemy territory, ...
There's even a single player FPS (yes, that's what I'm missing!) coming around apparently: http://www.crystalspace3d.org/main/Crystal_Core
(Unfortunately, it will probably not run on my aging PC... :( )

With Scummvm, there's Monkey Island 1,2,3, Sam&Max.
The more I search for Linux games, the more I'm afraid I won't be able to get work done anymore!

And that's not even taking into account one of the greatest games of all times which happens to be playable on GNU/Linux: StarCraft!!!
And Warcraft 3 seems to work too from what I've heard.

So, gaming on Linux seems to be much better then I expected. :D
Even more so that I can have access to the source code of the GPL games!

A friend of mine has already started creating a game using SDL and I certainly plan on helping him out. :)
I'll also help him migrate to Linux once he decides to do that. ^^
The good news is he's pretty good at drawing with paint. :)
(and his girlfriend is a great artist too, altough she draws on paper, but that's also good for games like Wesnoth for example)

Anyway, whatever happens, it's too late for me. I'm GNU/Linux addicted and I can't go back now. :p
Sometimes I feel like GNU/Linux is paradise. ^^

FOSS games may stil be far behind commercial games, but they are already fun and entertaining enough to be considered as worthwile IMO.

[charlieg]

Pretty good at drawing with paint?

Introduce him to the GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/) (tutorials (http://gug.sunsite.dk)) and he should become an awesome artist. ;)

[KIAaze]

He already knows the Gimp, but he likes drawing with MS paint. ^^

[charlieg]

He already knows the Gimp, but he likes drawing with MS paint. ^^

Sounds Paintful...

*chuckles*