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LGP Announces Three New Linux Games
Time Doctor writes "LinuxGamePublishing has just announced three new titles in their IRC channel (#lgp) on freenode: Gorky 17 (more info, also known as Odium), Knights and Merchants (more info, somewhat like the Age of * games), and Software Tycoon (more info, one of the first Tycoon-style games for Linux!). The best part is that they are all ready to go into beta, and if LGP sells enough copies, Epic Interactive Entertainment has committed to six new titles for LGP in 2004!"
I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but who exactly are these people? Sure, it's not bad that Linux is getting a little bit of independent attention and a handful of larger companies supporting game development for the OS. But, Time Doctor tries to make it seem like this is something to really get hyped up about. A few unoriginal games from a relatively unknown publisher are in the works. What exactly am I supposed to be excited about? More mediocrity for a platform that doesn't have much of a demand for games or very many good games?
And who are these Epic Interactive people? I only know of one big industry player that goes by Epic, and this isn't the one. As if they have enough clout to make a statement like "if LGP sells so many copies, then we'll give you six titles". Please.
I'll be more interested in Linux gaming when more industry players show support and Linux becomes more of a viable desktop option for most people (note: I'm not endorsing Windows, in fact, I use Linux for my desktop). Think about it, this wouldn't be newsworthy anywhere if we were talking Windows.
Until Slashdot fixes the funny modifier, use insightful or interesting. The poster knows your intentions.
Perhaps it's because Loki tried porting big name games and failed to stay in business. Instead of trying the same thing and hoping it works out better they are trying something different, port smaller games and hope to stick around long enough to be able to do big name stuff.
As cool as Star Wars Galaxies or Warcraft may be, there is obviously not enough of a market to sell those games and still make a profit.
The problem here is the fact that people have gotten so used to the "free beer" aspect of Linux that they're having trouble reaching for the wallet even when they should. They think nothing about buying software for Windows, but under Linux they're used to clicking their way on to freshmeat or freshrpms and grabbing it completely free. And when somebody expects money for Linux software it just seems so odd that they'd rather go pirate it.
Need examples? How about SuSE, or WineX? And then other people wonder why game makers won't take a chance on anything bigger than Gorky 17, or scream "where's the professional DTP or video editing or CAD software for Linux?" They're right there buddy, if more people would start giving credit where it's due and pay for good software once in a while things would get better.
"Free as in freedom, not as in beer" has been uttered for so long that people can't seem to actually fathom its meaning anymore. No, we haven't reached that utopic world where we don't have to pay for software anymore. We're just evolving, hopefully that's what this whole Open Source thing is about, we're learning to see things in another perspective. You still have to support the people who make software for you, just like you do with every other provider of anything you can't do yourself.
i ate crayons when i was a kid and now i have two braincells and the blue ones taste nicer
Surely it would be in the best interests of game publishers to come up with a Knoppix style self booting Linux game platform for their games?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
The problem here is the fact that people have gotten so used to the "free beer" aspect of Linux that they're having trouble reaching for the wallet even when they should.
Wrong. This is a typical psudointellectual argument which has no basis in truth. Look at the amount of people who have subscribed to WineX, people who bought additional copies of Quake 3 and other Loki games just to support Linux. People who have subscribed to Mandrake. People who have supported the EFF, etc. There is no basis that Linux users are money hoarders, there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Your examples of SuSE and WineX are unfounded, where are your numbers? I personally have subscribed to WineX, I have purchased multiple boxed distribs. I have purchsed Linux games that I already owned just to support Linux and I am not alone.