Anyone else frustrated with the lack of native games to Linux?

[mdl2]

I converted to Linux about a year ago, because I'm tired of all the problems that come with Windows, and I've been looking for games to play. A lot of what I've found is very amateur/spoof (which I get is probably because it's one person by themselves), mmo's which aren't necessarily Linux native, or Steam/Wine options (which definitely aren't). I get Linux wasn't for gaming for a long time, but from what I've read about the recent increase in converts one would think that single player games of N64 and PS1 standards, at least, would be developing. I did find a Diablo-like game, 'Flare' I think.


Am I looking in the wrong places, or is there really nothing for Linux?


And, if there isn't, how hard would it be to make a game of N64 or PS1 graphics nowadays? I'm frustrated with the lack of options to the point where I might want to make one myself, or others if interested. I've played with Blender making images and I know it has a game engine, so there's that.


Thanks for everyone's input in advance.

[vasa1]

... I'm frustrated ...

Fortunately for me someone pointed me to Linux is not Windows before I made the switch to Linux. So I knew what to expect and so I don't feel entitled to feel frustrated.

The other thing is that unlike Window or Apple, Linux isn't a monolith, if one may use the term. There are enough variations from one "Linux" to another to keep at bay the casual developer (of anything) especially when the software is complex.

[CatKiller]

I converted to Linux about a year ago, because I'm tired of all the problems that come with Windows, and I've been looking for games to play. A lot of what I've found is very amateur/spoof (which I get is probably because it's one person by themselves), mmo's which aren't necessarily Linux native, or Steam/Wine options (which definitely aren't).

There are lots of Linux-native Steam games. The Humble Bundles are also a good source. Personally, I love Pioneers and Minecraft, but I've got a whole bunch of other games in my library. Portal 2, for example, isn't amateur.

[mdl2]

There are lots of Linux-native Steam games. The Humble Bundles are also a good source. Personally, I love Pioneers and Minecraft, but I've got a whole bunch of other games in my library. Portal 2, for example, isn't amateur.

Native may have been the wrong word. I meant more of 'only on'... The following should explain.

Fortunately for me someone pointed me to Linux is not Windows before I made the switch to Linux. So I knew what to expect and so I don't feel entitled to feel frustrated.

The other thing is that unlike Window or Apple, Linux isn't a monolith, if one may use the term. There are enough variations from one "Linux" to another to keep at bay the casual developer (of anything) especially when the software is complex.

Perhaps I didn't express myself well. My frustration isn't over being unable to play games; worst case scenario, there are emulators. The thing that bugs me is that there doesn't seem to be any serious effort to make games for Linux.


Since I've converted from Windows, despite the numerous frustrations I've had, I haven't once regretted the decision. I believe with the proper knowledge of how to get what one wants from a computer, Linux will generally be the best choice, but there in lies there problem. The vast majority of computer users don't know how to do anything besides point and click these days, because it's all been made too easy, and Linux is “too complicated”, for them. They have no incentive to learn, even though every Linux OS I've seen is free to download.


From what I've seen, 1% of computer users use a Linux OS. It takes 10% of a community to be doing something for it to become 'acceptable'. Therefore, in order for Linux to become a serious option for everyday computer users, another 9% of computer users need to be using it. Most computer users play games, so why not give them an incentive to at least dual-boot by offering some really great games that are only on Linux? I'm not talking about the next Crysis here, just some really well done, low requirements, games that can be run on the major Linux OS's: Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Fedora, etc.


Like I said before, I'm at the point where I might just do it myself. Thing is, besides being a natural storyteller and having tinkered with Blender, I wouldn't know where to begin.


(just for reference, I haven't actually used Mint or Fedora, just stayed mostly in the Ubuntu and Debian area so far and played around with some of the minimal system on an old laptop)

[CatKiller]

Native may have been the wrong word. I meant more of 'only on'...

Never going to happen. As you note, the market share just isn't there. No developer would make their money back just targetting Linux, and even if they could then rushing out a Windows port of their Linux-only game would make far too much of a return on investment to be worth not doing.

I don't think that many Linux users would really want that, anyway. Would we want to leave our BSD brothers and sisters out in the cold? What about UNIX users? Obviously we think that Linux is the best platform, but others would have a different opinion. What we want is to have compelling games on our platform of choice, with that platform counted as a first-class option, rather than being marginalised as it has been in the past. Which is what's happening. In their own ways, Ubuntu, Android, and SteamOS have brought wider attention to Linux. More and more developers are seeing Linux as a viable target for their output. Linux' advantages in other areas make it the sensible option even with only parity on games. As it happens, though, some games perform better under Linux than they do in Windows, even if you have to use WINE.

The momentum is in the right direction.

[maxinstuff2]

Native games on linux (not exclusive but that is a LONG way off - maybe one day on steamOS)
The Witcher 2
Wasteland 2
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (and the expansion)
DAYZ
DOTA2
Borderlands 2 (coming soon)
The standard valve titles (left 4 dead 2, TF2, Portal)
Planetary Annihilation

Thats off the top of my head.

There are also too many Indy titles to list here, a few free to play titles, and more games being ported all the time.

The AAA publishers are the ones who are refusing to support linux (ubisoft and EA mostly) - and I dislike them anyway due to their rapacious DRM behaviour

[mdl2]

Ok, I don't think what I'm getting at is understood. I'm not talking about professional game development companies making games only for Linux, they obviously couldn't make money that way. The fact that such companies are porting games to Linux is a good sign, but nothing to do with what I'm saying. With today's game engines (free ones included) why aren't we seeing more low-poly games done by Linux users more for fun than profit?

Also, I hadn't known BSD and UNIX weren't part of Linux. I thought BSD was an OS, like Ubuntu, and UNIX was a type of kernel. So much to learn.

[maxinstuff2]

There's a few multiplayer FPS games in the repos. Nexuiz? OpenArena? AssaultCube?

Also - the original Quake (and both mission packs) and Quake 3 Arena are both in the software centre.

[CatKiller]

Ok, I don't think what I'm getting at is understood. I'm not talking about professional game development companies making games only for Linux, they obviously couldn't make money that way. The fact that such companies are porting games to Linux is a good sign, but nothing to do with what I'm saying. With today's game engines (free ones included) why aren't we seeing more low-poly games done by Linux users more for fun than profit?

The dynamic is the same for indies as it is for big developers; once you've made your game, the effort to port it to Windows is trivial compared to the number of potential users. If you want it to cover its costs, you'll port it to Windows. If you want lots of people to play it, you'll port it to Windows. If you're just making it for your own satisfaction and you don't care about whether people play it or not, you won't publicise it at all and people like us won't ever hear about it. That is why you won't hear about people making Linux-only games. It's possible that Valve will do something like that to spur adoption of SteamOS, but I don't think it would be a good plan for them to do so.

If you want to make one, though, then go for it. As you say, there are a number of engines and frameworks available. The community will be glad to help, I'm sure. And your experiences could well encourage other people to try it, too.

[thnewguy]

What possible benefit would developers have in making their games work on Linux only? That doesn't make any sense. It would be like building a car that only travels on east/west roads. Ideally, more games should be cross-platform, allowing people to play them regardless of operating system.