Re: Loki...

[Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net>]

Jorrit Tyberghein wrote:
> 
> Steve Baker wrote:
> 
>> It's very depressing - but we *NEED* commercial games for Linux.
 
> Why is that exactly?

Because (as I carefully explained) the prospect of making enough good
free Linux games to keep up with demand is an unreasonable expectation.

That's (enough && good && free && Linux).  You can say there are
enough because there are over 60 Tetris clones *OR* you can say there
are good games because there is FGFS (not technically a "game"),
TuxRacer (now gone commercial so they can pay their artists real $$$)
and maybe one or two others....but what matters is whether there are
enough of those good+free Linux games...and there clearly are not
- not by *far*.

Things will get worse when the current "retro-gaming" fad wears off.

To attract games players there needs to be dozens of new games released
every year that are good enough to occupy those people for a month each.

So, if there aren't enough of good free Linux games we are,
left with having either:

  * Commercial games for Linux.

  * Not enough good games for Linux.

The latter doesn't seem like it's "A Good Thing" for the future of the OS
on the desktop - so it follows that we *NEED* commercial games for Linux -
if only to take up the slack.

> I for one would not mind a free operating system (linux)
> with nothing else but free software on it.

I wouldn't mind it either.

> I'm certainly doing my best for that goal (Crystal Space).

Me too (PLIB).

But realistically, ask yourself: Has either of those systems produced
a single finished game that has come close to the quality of a typical commercial
game?  To attract gamers to Linux we need (perhaps) one good, modern game per
month.  We actually produce maybe one mediocre game and a dozen Tetris/Bomberman
clones per *year*.

I'm not against free games - heck I wrote three myself and am working on a
fourth right now - I spend most of my free time supporting tools, libraries
and FAQs for other free games authors.  But I just think we need to be realistic
about this. There is plenty of room for commercial games - they won't put
free games writers out in the cold.  They'll attract more users to the platform
and that can only be a good thing for all of us.

Loki's presence in the market bought us OpenAL, much of SDL, greater OpenGL
support, more Linux credibility...it was "A Good Thing" - and now it's gone.

----------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------------
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