LGP Announces Game Development Project

michaelsimms writes "Linux Game Publishing is excited to announce our newest project to increase the appeal of Linux gaming. We are sponsoring the development of a from-scratch Linux title! We are looking for developers to work in a team to produce this game, and we will be publishing the game they make! If you are interested, please follow the link to our detailed announcement and within there you will find the rules, requirements, and application process. If you have wanted to get into the gaming industry, if you love playing games, and if you are a creative thinker, not afraid of a challenge and a bit of risk, then you need to take a look." I don't know whether to be happy about anything that promotes Linux gaming, or disappointed that people are being asked to work on a commercial project without a salary.

Comments

No Salary?

[aelfwyne]

A commercial game with no salary for developers? Count me out - in fact with that attitude I probably won't buy it either.

Re:No Salary?

[zackbar]

Not necessarily a bad thing. Instead of a salary, you get a piece of the pie. With 70% of the revenue being split up among the developers, it could be lucrative.

But note that the primary benefit is breaking into the industry. It's extremely hard to get a game programming position without experience.

I'd consider it, but I haven't done any development for linux.

Re:No Salary?

[stratjakt]

Whats 70% of 0 again, anyways?

If linux gaming had any commercial viability, EA and the other big dogs would be all over it. Not to mention that it's very hard to develop a commercially successful game in the first place, regardless of platform.

Without at least a windows port, and *very* aggressive marketing, this will make no money.

Re:No Salary?

[ThrasherTT]

Without at least a windows port, and *very* aggressive marketing, this will make no money

I argue that WITH a Windows port, AND very aggressive marketing, this will have approximately 0.01% chance of making any money. How many people out there have gotten a group of people together and tried to make a game on their spare time? How many have succeeded? How much did the successful groups and/or their publishers spend on advertising, and how much did they gain in sales?

Game development is VERY HARD, and game marketing isn't a bag of easy either. Add to that the fact that today's linux game market is so tiny, and you have a recipe for "being in the red."

Re:No Salary?

[tomhudson]

another quote from their site:

Artwork/Level Design/Music When the development has reached a suitable point where we know more about the art, level, and music requirements (if any), we will expand the team to include people with appropriate non-coding skills.

So, the coders will find out that they have to share their cut with people doing the art and music, who will also be cut in on the same basis - "if we make money, you make money"

Then, "well, we also need marketers, etc, so they're taking a cut of your royalties too"

Just my opinion, but anyone stupid enough to do this has:

1. Too much time on their hands
2. Not enough experience swimming with sharks

Here's their game scenario: You're the leader of SimThisBusinessSux, and you have to figure out how to get everyone to do the hard work, while you sit back and play big-shot.

Re:No Salary?

[AlternateSyndicate]

For the record, I have work for a company like that on my resume, and a major game studio paid money to fly me out for an interview. Though they didn't hire me, I'd infer from this experience that some people take this company more seriously than you do.

Also for the record, this was written by Brian Hook, formerly of Id Software. While other things on his resume are certainly more impressive, his association with LGP also goes to show that real people in the game industry take this company more seriously than you do.

No Salary? So What?

[Anonymous Coward]

There are a good many open source coders who work on projects without being paid to do so right now. What difference does it really make whether the end result is sold or given away? Some things get done simply because people have a passion for doing them, and whether freeware or commercial, the product could help Linux. Earn your money, put food on your table, and if you're still looking for a creative outlet, here's your opportunity!

Wha?

[govtcheez]

How is this any different than the 10000 "Let's make a game!" posts seen on messageboards everywhere?

Re:Wha?

[Antity-H]

This is different in the way that LGP is already in for publishing the game when it is completed.
They won't have to fight their way through publishing companies to find one that will find their project insteresting among the hundreds such companies must receive each month

In addition, there is a high porbability that as soon as they have something with a shape, they will get subventions from LGP to help finish it

I am an idealist .. and so what? If LGP realy wants tu push Linux games they must know they will have to make a few sacrifices at the beginning. Afteward if they play it well, they will 'own' the linux game market

Not being paid?

[binaryDigit]

disappointed that people are being asked to work on a commercial project without a salary

In a way ANYONE who contributes to Linux is doing just that. When people like IBM et al selling product that in large part was written by individuals that will never be "paid" for their efforts, I don't see how this is any different. Is there anyone out there who contributes that thinks that their work won't eventually end up in a product that is sold (i.e. someone else will generate revenue from their efforts)?

I dunno...

[zeronode]

Working on a game is a long long process, and more often than not, deadlines are missed and toward the ship date, everyone pulls the all nighters. But they get paid for it. I'm not saying that people won't do this, but I think it would be kind of hard to hold down the day job, which pays the bills, and still work on this project and come close to the deadlines.

Then again, I could be wrong.

Won't work.

[supabeast!]

Open-Source/Free games for Linux will not solve the lack of games for Linux. The only way to get game developers to come to Linux is to develop a Direct-X like API that makes it easy to develop Linux-native games. Until that happens, Linux gaming will continue to revolve around WineX, id Software, Epic, and begging game companies to release Linux executables.

Given how unlikely it is that the Open-Source/Free software community could ever come together to make a decent cross-distro API, your best bet is to just subscribe to WineX.

Re:Won't work.

[praxim]

I think the wealth of SDL/OpenGL comments you see pretty much spells out what's wrong with game development on Linux. I'm fairly sure that the Linux gaming crowd is a vocal minority at best, and few companies can afford to target this group. IIRC, profit margins on your average PC game are rather slim.
It doesn't matter how good your APIs are- if people don't think they can profit from their work on your platform, they won't write for it. Just look at BeOS, which had a beautiful API but failed because it simply wasn't commercially viable.

Re:Won't work.

[Patoski]

The only way to get game developers to come to Linux is to develop a Direct-X like API that makes it easy to develop Linux-native games.

The existence of all the high quality Loki ports refutes this utterly. SDL, OpenGL and OpenAL are some noteable examples of cross platform and open APIs that are very useable.

The real reason you don't see alot of professional quality Free Software games is the lack of Free art and music assets. Coding is only about 10%-20% of the job of creating a professional level game. Why do you think one sees so many Free Software/Open Source board games, tetris, and old school arcade clone? Its because the art requirements on these types of ventures are very small. Coders grok the concepts behind Free Software but its a much more difficult job getting artists (and musicians to an extent) to understand and contribute.

The reason one doesn't see many commercial Linux ports is because the Linux desktop market isn't quite large enough for development houses to justify the effort (although this is beginning to change).

Huh?

[gpinzone]

I don't know whether to be happy about anything that promotes Linux gaming, or disappointed that people are being asked to work on a commercial project without a salary.

RedHat...IBM...And this is different from that way Linux itself is promoted, how?

Re:Good intentions, but a dumb method I think

[treke]

They arent paying the developers, but they are providing some financial support. If you need some tool/library/engine and can justify the price of it to them, they have said they would be willing to pay ( within reason, i doubt they would be able to foot the bill for a Doom 3 license).

Getting a couple of projects to compete for the publishing deal would be a good way to spur development, but would be prohibitive when you know you only have the resources to publish one or two of them.

You Zealots are Hilarious

[LordYUK]

Okay, you (the vocal part of the /. community anyway) bitch bitch bitch about how Linux needs games and how companies need to make games for linux and how if there was a killer game for Linux, people would stop using windows.

Now someone wants to publish a linux only game made in ths spirit of linux (i.e., the COMMUNITY does the work) and you bitch and moan.

I for one am going to be playing WC3 on my Windows box, happy that I dont lie to myself everytime I look at my computer, the lie being that I am somehow "l33t" because I wholeheartedly advocate the linux movement, unless its not convienient.

The point of no salary

[michaelsimms]

We are not asking people to work for free. The situation is the same as when ANY game company is started, but we are giving the people assistance and guaranteed publishing.

Imagine, if you start up a game development company with some of your friends, you wouldnt expect to be able to go up to a game publisher and say 'hey, pay me every week and I'll make you a game'. In fact you'd be VERY lucky if even they reply to your phone call when you offered them a completed game.

The people working on this project will be starting a new company, but instead of the uncertainty, the 'is it worth our carrying on' - they can KNOW that they have a publisher, and they can KNOW it will get onto the shelves if they can get it finished.

Yes, its a risk, but it could pay them bigtime - if it works.

Re:The point of no salary

[cgenman]

We understand that you may have good intentions, and if you actually did guarentee publishing this would be a great deal.

But you don't.

At the bottom of your announcement, LGP commits to publishing the game but reserves the right to not do so if we feel that publishing will harm our company.. In essence, you do not guarantee publishing. You are guarenteeing that you have the option to publish, but that you have a convienient out if you choose not to do so. This is the most commonly abused clause in book publishing today, with many authors works tied up in legal tape surrounding the issues of optional publishing.

*Actually* guarantee publishing, and make some guarenteed publishing commitments (x amount or more marketing, x amount of stores, x amount for box art...), and you have a good deal. But remember, you're a publisher now. Nobody will give you the benefit of the doubt on anything because your fellow publishers employ more lawyers than developers. It's a risk, but a significantly smaller one than you are asking the developers to take.

And for god's sake, get a team of free artists and free level designers in on the thing before it is too late to have a complete game.

Money isn't the only reward

[phorm]

For those that have always dreamed about making a good (and popular) game, it's not always about salary. I think that the fame and pursuant job offers for making a free game would more than make up for the lack of salary during development. If every 15-year-old was picking your title up off the shelf/net and saying "coool" - reading your name in the credits - don't you think that would be a fairly rewarding experience in itself?

You're setting yourselves up for failure

[TrebleJunkie]

I'll probably get trolled for this. Oh well. Troll me if ya gotta if you really wanna miss the point.

I'm sorry to be the one to say it, but as you've set up this process, you've doomed yourselves to failure.

Hiring the programmers first and the designers, artists, later, you're putting the cart before the horse.

You don't start making a moving by hiring actors. There's a script. A director. A lot of storyboarding. Conceptual Design. Location planning. Scene planning. Shot planning. You know, for the most part, how every piece fits together before there's any action in front of the camera.

A game doesn't start with programmers. A game starts with an idea. A concept. A concept that is then fleshed out by writers, artists, etc... Quite possibly one or two programmers/developers with a knowledge of whatever game engine will be used (and/or maybe helped choose the appropriate one in the first place.) are available to consult with the conceptual team and prototype some things along the way. But the code is more than likely the LAST thing to be written.

It's a shame. It sounds like an interesting project. It's one I'd certainly like to lend my artistic talents, writing, and imagination to. But it's going to fail unless things are done in the right order. You can't tell 8 programmers "make a game, we'll make it pretty and give it a plot and music and a look, etc... later." You've got to take the proper time to conceptualize your game _before_ you get programmers on-board.

Wrong Market?

[ThrasherTT]

Maybe it is just me, but is a game for linux really marketable? How many linux-only games have turned a profit? How many linux ports of other games have sold enough copies to make up for the porting effort?

How do you market a game to users of an OS that:
A) Is currently focused on servers
B) When "on the desktop," are being run (in general) by people who want all of their software to be free (beer and speech)
C) Is planning on making it harder for hardware vendors to create/distribute closed software in the form of drivers

If this ever gets off the ground (low chance), and if it makes it to completion (extrememly low chance), would it even sell enough to make up for the marketing costs? I worked on a game for free for a while, during which time I had a day job which was VERY slack (this was not long after working on a game for an actual game dev house/publisher). Even so, it took many months to get to the point where we even had an idea of the kinds of tools that would be required to generate/integrate the content into the engine.

I'd love to see this work, but realistically, it won't. Not at this point.

Re:Good intentions, but a dumb method I think

[Tyreth]

I think that if you did this, there would be a lot less committed people in the group. If you make it a select few that feel they earned their way in, then they are much more likely to committ. I know personally that it's hard to get a group of people together to make a game without much motivation.

If it were easy then there'd probably be more good quality opensource games out there.