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Return of the Independent Game Developer?
chromatic writes "Several of the trends that make open source development possible are affecting other programming worlds. I've written an article about independent game development. Perhaps the gaming industry is ready for the craftsman-team approach."
In my day we used to program with just zeros we didn't even have ones
As I look across the video game market today, on the PC and on the various big three consoles I've noticed a lack of games that absolutely fundamentally suck in just about every way imaginable. Its like game developers have suddenly "forgotten" how to create jerky blocky video game characters using 2-bit graphics. I mean is it impossible with all the power in these boxes to create something on par with Pong? I guess you can call this the pre-madonna syndrome.
e owulfed"
Fortunately the Open Source community rides to the rescue once again to drive back the night. If there's one thing the OS community is known for its bad interfaces and horrible graphics. I have no doubt that right now a crack team of 3l33t h4x0rz are working on the very first 16-bit version of Tomb Raider, Daikaitana and Halo. Once they get all the bugs out and do some serious regression testing those games should be down to 8-bit and by the time they're proud enough of their work to offer it as a come one come all beta those games should be purring along at 4-bit goodness.
They'll probably call their gaming platform the "Emulator-Within-An-Emulator-Within-An-Emulator-B
or EWAEWAEB for short. EWAEWAEB will revolutionize the video gaming world. Founding and core EWAEWAEB developers will be asked to go on the G4 Video Game Channel on Cable TV for endless interviews on how they pulled the rug from under the established gaming powers and saved the day for all of us.
Its truly good to know that there are still some people dedicated to REAL gaming in the world and not just sell outs who have a perverted blood lust for the blasphemous "realism" in today's games.
Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
As everyone knows, Open Source software is the wave of the future. With the market share of GNU/Linux and *BSD increasing every day, interest in Open Source Software is at an all time high.
Developing games within the Open Source model benefits everyone. People can take your code, improve it and then release it back to the community. This cycle continues and leads to the creation of far more stable software than the 'Closed Source' shops can ever hope to create.
So you're itching to create that Doom 3 killer but don't know where to start? Read on!
2. First Steps
The most important thing that any Open Source project needs is a SourceForge.net page. There are tens of thousands of successful Open Source projects on SourceForge.net; the support you receive here will be invaluable.
OK, so you've registered your SourceForge.net project and set the status to '0: Pre-Thinking About It', what's next?
3. Don't Waste Time!
Now you need to set up your SourceForge.net homepage. Keep it plain and simple - don't use too many HTML tags, just knock something up in VI. Website editors like FrontPage and DreamWeaver just create bloated eye-candy - you need to get your message to the masses!
4. Ask For Help
Since you probably can't program at all you'll need to try and find some people who think they can. If your project is a game you'll probably need an artist too. Ask for help on your new SourceForge.net pages. Here is an example to get you started:
Thousands of talented programmers and artists hang out at SourceForge.net ready to devote their time to projects so you should get a team together in no time!5. The A-Team
So now you have your team together you are ready to change your projects status to '1: Pre-Bickering'. You will need to discuss your ideas with your team mates and see what value they can add to the project. You could use an Instant Messaging program like MSN for this, but since you run Linux you'll have to stick to e-mail.
Don't forget that YOU are in charge! If your team doesn't like the idea of giant robotic spiders just delete them from the project and move on. Someone else can fill their place and this is the beauty of Open Source development. The code might end up a bit messy and the graphics inconsistant - but it's still 'Free as in Speech'!
6. Getting Down To It
Now that you've found a team of right thinking people you're ready to start development. Be prepared for some delays though. Programming is a craft and can take years to learn. Your programmer may be a bit rusty but will probably be writing "hello world" programs after school in no time.
Closed Source games like Doom 3 use the graphics card to do all the hard stuff anyhow, so your programmer will just have to get the NVidia 'API' and it will be plain sailing! Giant robot spiders, here we come!
7. The Outcome
So it's been a few years, you still have no files released or in CVS. Your programmer can't get enough time on the PC because his mother won't let him use it after 8pm. Your artist has run off with a Thai She-Male. Your project is still at '1: Pre-Bickering'...
Congratulations! You now have a successful Open Source project on SourceForge.net! Pat yourself on the back, think up another idea and do it all again! See how simple it is?
My company has recently received a patant on the process you have described in your posting.
/. and other boards.
We therefore request that you either:
A. Discontinuing the free disemination of our process
B. Obtain a license (only $10,000/year) which will allow you to post this information on
You have been warned.