Yes, in an ideal world, I suppose that is how it would work. But, atleast some of Loki's ports were finished post-release of the Windows or Mac versions of the games. Loki's business model would have probably needed to change from less of a vendor to more of a porting service if they wanted to just include the ports on the original producer's CDs. In my opinion, it is too late now.
Apparently, according to Briareos (#loki on IRC:OPN), there are only 3 employees left at Loki:
2 interns and a contract programmer.
Even though they only filed for bankruptcy protection, I can't see Loki Games coming back to life. Most of their skilled ex-programmers have moved on to other companies.
In all of Loki's games that I've played, people complained because they wanted to switch from the Windows version to the Linux one. They did not understand that Loki had to pay for rights to port the game, and actually do work to port it. Loki's only real target buyers were people who already used Linux as their primary OS. Most of these target people probably:
1. Were not used to shelling out money for games.
2. Did not play games as a primary occupation.
Before a company like Loki can succeed, I think that there needs to be:
1. A larger Linux userbase.
2. Simultaneous releases across platforms.
3. An easier way for Windows users to switch to the Linux version, than trying to return their Windows version of the game and get their money back.
The user should be able to decide the balance between ease of use and functionality. A good piece of software will allow the user to select the balance that they wish to have. Those who want functionality should be able to use what is 'functional' for them. Those who want ease of use should be able to use an interface that is 'easy' for them. It should be a dynamic thing, not static.
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Yes, in an ideal world, I suppose that is how it would work. But, atleast some of Loki's ports were finished post-release of the Windows or Mac versions of the games. Loki's business model would have probably needed to change from less of a vendor to more of a porting service if they wanted to just include the ports on the original producer's CDs. In my opinion, it is too late now.
Apparently, according to Briareos (#loki on IRC:OPN), there are only 3 employees left at Loki:
2 interns and a contract programmer.
Even though they only filed for bankruptcy protection, I can't see Loki Games coming back to life. Most of their skilled ex-programmers have moved on to other companies.
In all of Loki's games that I've played, people complained because they wanted to switch from the Windows version to the Linux one. They did not understand that Loki had to pay for rights to port the game, and actually do work to port it. Loki's only real target buyers were people who already used Linux as their primary OS. Most of these target people probably:
1. Were not used to shelling out money for games.
2. Did not play games as a primary occupation.
Before a company like Loki can succeed, I think that there needs to be:
1. A larger Linux userbase.
2. Simultaneous releases across platforms.
3. An easier way for Windows users to switch to the Linux version, than trying to return their Windows version of the game and get their money back.
The user should be able to decide the balance between ease of use and functionality. A good piece of software will allow the user to select the balance that they wish to have. Those who want functionality should be able to use what is 'functional' for them. Those who want ease of use should be able to use an interface that is 'easy' for them. It should be a dynamic thing, not static.