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Video games and Linux

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Linux gaming refers to playing or developing video games for the Linux operating systems.

Background

Linux gaming refers to all game titles that can run on Linux based operating systems. This can refer to free / open source games, which may also be commercial,[1] that run natively on Linux, or proprietary games that have Linux ports. Linux gaming can also refer to Linux based gaming devices such as the Pandora gaming console, or gaming oriented distributions such as SuperGamer. Linux gaming can also be considered to be related to gaming on the Android platform, although there are distinct differences between the two systems and industries. In recent years Linux gaming has also become more closely related to gaming on other alternative platforms, such as Mac gaming.

As far as development is concerned, library support for Linux gaming is provided by OpenGL, ALSA, OpenAL and SDL, a cross-platform multimedia wrapper around system-dependent libraries, as well as Pygame. The DRI project provides open source video card drivers, and NVIDIA and ATI also release binary kernel modules for their video cards. Linux also runs on several game consoles, including the Xbox,[2] PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, GameCube,[3] and Wii which allows game developers without an expensive game development kit to access console hardware. Several gaming peripherals also work with Linux, such as gaming mice from Roccat which have official Linux drivers and even a free software user-space utility.[4][5] Several game development tools also run on Linux, including Game Editor and GtkRadiant.

History

See also: Open source video game § History
Doom was one of the first major commercial games to be released for Linux.

Linux gaming started largely as an extension of the already present Unix gaming scene, with both systems sharing many similar titles. These games were either mostly original or clones of arcade games and text adventures. A notable example of this is BSD Games, a collection of interactive fiction titles.[6] The free software and open source methodologies which spawned the development of the operating system in general also spawned the creation of various early free games. Popular early titles included NetHack, Netrek, XBill, XEvil, xbattle, Xconq and XPilot. As the operating system itself grew and expanded, the amount of free and open source games also increased in scale and complexity.

The beginning of commercial gaming on Linux is often credited to have begun in 1994 when Dave D. Taylor ported the game Doom in his spare time to Linux as well as many other systems.[7][8] From there he would also help found the development studio Crack dot Com, which released the video game Abuse, a game of which a Linux port was published by Linux vendor Red Hat.[9][10] id Software, the original developers of Doom, also continued to release their products for Linux. Their game Quake was ported to Linux in 1996, once again by an employee working in his free time.[11] Later id products continued to be ported by David Kirsch and Timothee Besset respectively. Other early commercial Linux games included Hopkins FBI, an adventure game released in 1998 by MP Entertainment,[12][13] and Inner Worlds in 1996, which was released for and mostly developed on Linux.[14]

Ryan C. Gordon remains an influential figure in the industry.

In 1998, a new software firm called Loki Software was founded by Scott Draeker, a former lawyer who became interested in porting games to Linux after being introduced to the system through his work as a software licensing attorney.[15] Loki, although a commercial failure, is credited with the birth of the modern Linux game industry. Loki developed several free software tools, such as the Loki installer (also known as Loki Setup),[16] and supported the development of the Simple DirectMedia Layer, as well as starting the OpenAL audio library project.[17][18] These are still often credited[by whom?] as being the cornerstones of Linux game development. They were also responsible for bringing nineteen high profile games to the platform before its closure in 2002. Loki's initial success also attracted other firms to invest in the Linux gaming market, such as Tribsoft, Hyperion Entertainment, Macmillan Digital Publishing USA, Xatrix Entertainment, and Philos Laboratories. During this time Michael Simms founded Tux Games, one of the first still active online Linux game retailers.[19]

After Loki's closure, the Linux game market experienced some changes. Although some new firms, such as Linux Game Publishing and RuneSoft, would largely continue the role of a standard porting house, the focus began to change with Linux game proponents encouraging game developers to port their game products themselves or through individual contractors.[20] Influential to this was Ryan C. Gordon, a former Loki employee who would over the next decade port several game titles to multiple platforms, including Linux.[21] Around this time many companies, starting with id, also began to release legacy source code leading to a proliferation of source ports of older games to Linux and other systems. The Linux gaming market has also experienced some growth over the past few years[when?] with the rise of independent video game development, with many "indie" developers favouring support for multiple platforms. The recent Humble Indie Bundle initiatives have helped formally demonstrate this new trend.[22]

Free and open source games

Original games

Vega Strike, a space flight simulation.
File:Freeciv-2.1.0-beta3-sdl slack11.0.png
FreeCiv, a well known remake of the popular Civilization Series
Frozen Bubble, a popular adaption of the game Puzzle Bobble
File:Pdiaspora shottingsat.jpg
Project Diaspora, a popular clone of the MMORPG classic Diaspora

A few original open source video games have attained notability:

Clones and remakes

There are a larger number of open source clones and remakes of classic games:

Commercial games

Independent game developers

World of Goo is a popular Indie game that runs on Linux
Main article: Independent video game development

Independent developer 2D Boy released World of Goo for Linux. Role-playing video game titles like Eschalon: Book I, Eschalon: Book II and Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness were developed cross-platform from the start of development, including a Linux version. Sillysoft released Linux versions of their game Lux and its various versions.[28]

Hemisphere Games has released a Linux version of Osmos. Koonsolo has released a Linux version of Mystic Mine. Amanita Design has released Linux versions of Machinarium and Samorost 2. Irrgheist released a Linux version of their futuristic racing game H-Craft Championship. Gamerizon has released a Linux version of Quantz. InterAction Studios has several titles mostly in the Chicken Invaders series.

Kristanix Games has released Linux versions of Crossword Twist, Fantastic Farm, Guess The Phrase!, Jewel Twist, Kakuro Epic, Mahjong Epic, Maxi Dice, Solitaire Epic, Sudoku Epic, Theseus and the Minotaur. Anawiki Games has released a Linux versions of Path of Magic, Runes of Avalon, Runes of Avalon 2, Soccer Cup Solitaire, The Perfect Tree and Dress-Up Pups. Gaslamp Games has promised a Linux version of Dungeons of Dreamor. Broken Rules has released a Linux version of And Yet It Moves.

The Penumbra series was ported to Linux by Frictional Games

Frictional Games released Linux versions of both Penumbra: Black Plague and Penumbra: Overture, as well as the expansion pack Penumbra: Requiem. They also released Amnesia: The Dark Descent for Linux simultaneously with the Windows and Mac OS X versions. S2 Games released Linux clients for their titles Savage: The Battle for Newerth, Savage 2: A Tortured Soul and Heroes of Newerth. Wolfire Games released a Linux version of their game Lugaru and they will release its sequel Overgrowth for Linux. David Rosen's Black Shades was also ported to Linux. Arctic Paint has released a Linux version of Number Drill. Charlie’s Games has released a Linux version of Bullet Candy Perfect, Irukandji and Space Phallus.

Illwinter Game Design released Conquest of Elysium II, Dominions: Priests, Prophets and Pretenders, Dominions II: The Ascension Wars, and Dominions 3: The Awakening for Linux. Introversion Software released Darwinia, Uplink, and DEFCON. Kshatra is a Vancouver, Canada, based software house specializing in free, commercial, games for Linux. They have one title currently under active development, Avaneya. Kot-In-Action Creative Artel released their Steel Storm games for Linux. Hazardous Software have released their game Achron for Linux.

Unigine Corp is developing OilRush using its Unigine engine technology that works on Linux. Unigine Corp was also developing a "shooter-type game" that would have been released for Linux, currently the development on this game is frozen until OilRush is released.[29] The MMORPG game Syndicates of Arkon is also supposed to be coming to Linux.[30] The game Dilogus: The Winds of War is also being developed with Unigine and is planned to have a Linux client.

A number of visual novel developers support Linux. Winter Wolves has released titles such as Spirited Heart, Heileen 2: The Hands of Fate, The Flower Shop, Bionic Heart, Card Sweethearts, Vera Blanc: Full Moon and Planet Stronghold for Linux.[31][32] Hanako Games has released Science Girls, Summer Session, Date Warp, Cute Knight Kingdom, and are considering porting Fatal Hearts to Linux.[33][34] SakeVisual has brought Jisei, Kansei, RE: Alistair and Ripples to Linux.[35] Four Leaf Studios has also released Katawa Shoujo for Linux[36] and Christine Love released Digital: A Love Story, both of which, along with Summer Session mentioned previously, are powered by the free software Ren'Py tool.

The Java-based sandbox game Minecraft by Indie developer Mojang AB is available on Linux.

Game porters

Main article: Video game porting
File:Civivilization-Call-To-Power.jpg
Civilization: Call to Power was the first game ported by Loki Software

Independent companies have also taken on the task of porting prominent Windows games to Linux. Loki Software was the first such company, and between 1998 and 2002 ported Civilization: Call to Power, Descent³, Eric's Ultimate Solitaire, Heavy Gear II, Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.², Heretic II, Heroes of Might and Magic III, Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns, Myth II: Soulblighter, Postal, Railroad Tycoon II, Quake III Arena, Rune, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, Sim City 3000, Soldier of Fortune, Tribes 2, and MindRover to Linux.

Tribsoft created a Linux version of Jagged Alliance 2 by Sir-Tech Canada before shutting down in 2002. Linux Game Publishing was founded in 2001 in response to the impending demise of Loki, and has brought Creatures: Internet Edition, Candy Cruncher, Majesty: Gold Edition, NingPo MahJong, Hyperspace Delivery Boy!, Software Tycoon, Postal²: Share The Pain, Soul Ride, X2: The Threat, Gorky 17, Cold War, Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom, Ballistics, X3: Reunion, Jets'n'Guns, Sacred: Gold, Shadowgrounds, and Shadowgrounds Survivor to Linux. Some of these games were ported for them by Ryan C. Gordon.

LGP-associated but freelance consultant Frank C. Earl is porting the game Caster to Linux and has released the first episode and also developed the Linux version of Cortex Command being included in the second Humble Indie Bundle. He is also working towards other porting projects such as the entire Myth series. He is largely taking recommendations and he comments as part of the Phoronix community. icculus.org has ported beta releases for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and Devastation, versions of America's Army, and the titles Prey, Aquaria, Braid, Hammerfight and Cogs.

The German publisher RuneSoft was founded in 2000. They ported the games Northland, Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood, Airline Tycoon Deluxe, Ankh, Ankh: Heart of Osiris, Barkanoid 2, and Jack Keane to Linux. Hyperion Entertainment ports games to several systems, they have ported Shogo: Mobile Armor Division and SiN to Linux, as well as porting Gorky 17 for Linux Game Publishing. Wyrmkeep Entertainment has brought the games The Labyrinth of Time and Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb to Linux. Alternative Games brought Trine and is bringing Trine 2 to Linux.

Other developers

Doom 3 was ported to Linux by Timothee Besset

id Software, together with Raven Software and Splash Damage, ported the Doom series, the Quake series, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. id Software's Timothee Besset has stated he hopes to port Rage to Linux. Some games published by GarageGames which have Linux versions include Bridge Builder, Marble Blast Gold, Gish, ThinkTanks, Tribal Trouble, and Dark Horizons: Lore Invasion.

MP Entertainment released Hopkins FBI and Crack dot com released Abuse for Linux, becoming some of the first developers to do so.[clarification needed] Inner Worlds, another early commercial Linux title, was released for and partly developed on Linux. Philos Laboratories released a Linux version of Theocracy on the retail disk. Absolutist has supported Linux for a number of years.[37] GLAMUS GmbH released a Linux version of their game Mobility.

Lava Lord Games released their game Astro Battle for Linux. Xatrix Entertainment released a Linux version of Kingpin: Life of Crime. Bioware released Neverwinter Nights for Linux. Croteam released the Serious Sam series, with the first game ported by Ryan C. Gordon and with the second self-ported. Ryan C. Gordon also ported Epic Games' shooter games Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004. Running With Scissors has promised to release a client for their upcoming Postal III game.

Source ports

Main article: Source port
Micropolis, an open source port of SimCity

Several developers have released the source code to many of their legacy titles, allowing them to be run as native applications on many alternative platforms, including Linux. Examples of games which were ported to Linux this way include Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, Rise of the Triad, Ken's Labyrinth, Seven Kingdoms, Warzone 2100, Homeworld, Call to Power II, Wolfenstein 3D, Heretic, Hexen, Hexen II, Aliens versus Predator, Descent, Descent II and Freespace 2. Several game titles that were previously released for Linux were also able to be expanded or updated because of the availability of game code, including Doom, Abuse, Quake, Quake II, Quake III Arena and Jagged Alliance 2. Some derivatives based on released source code have also been released for Linux, such as Aleph One and Micropolis for Marathon 2: Durandal and SimCity respectively.

Certain game titles were even able to be ported due to availability of shared engine code even though the game's code itself remains proprietary or otherwise unavailable, such as the video game Strife or the multiplayer component of Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force. Some games have even been ported entirely or partially by reverse engineering and game engine recreation such as WarCraft II through Wargus or Commander Keen. Another trick is to attempt hacking the game to work as a mod on another native title, such as with the original Unreal. Additionally, some games can be run through the use of Linux specific runtime environments, such as the case of certain games made with Adventure Game Studio such as the Chzo Mythos or certain titles made with the RPG Maker tool. Games derived from released code, with both free and proprietary media, that are released for Linux include Urban Terror, OpenArena, FreeDoom, World of Padman, Nexuiz/Xonotic, War§ow and Excalibur: Morgana's Revenge.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games

WorldForge is a free software MMORPG that runs on Linux
See also: List of MMORPGs

This is a selected list of MMORPGs that are native on Linux.

Upcoming Linux games

0 A.D. is a free software project currently under development

Several video games that are currently planned or are likely to have Linux ports are currently under development. These include several first-person shooters, such as Dark Salvation and Rage; some role-playing games such as The Broken Hourglass, Wakfu, and Dilogus: The Winds of War; several strategy games, such as OilRush, 0 A.D, Avaneya, Disciples II: Dark Prophecy, and Europa Universalis II; as well as adventure games such as Asylum and Iron Sky: Operation Highjump. Some other games that are planned to have Linux ports include Garshasp: The Monster Slayer, Bandits: Phoenix Rising, Natural Selection 2, Shifter: Robotic Uprising, Overgrowth, Postal III, Scoregasm, and Trine 2. These games may be commercial games or free software projects currently under development, some of which may already be available for other platforms.

Some developers have hinted at, but not officially announced, the possibility of Linux ports of their games, such as Iron Tower Studio's The Age of Decadence and Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV.[38]

Emulation and compatibility layers

There are also APIs, virtual machines, and machine emulators that provide binary compatibility:

Wine gaming

Currently, many Windows games can run with minimal problems in a compatibility layer called Wine. The Wine project hosts a user-submitted application database (known as Wine AppDB) that lists programs and games along with ratings and reviews which detail how well they run with Wine. Some games which are rated as running flawlessly include Guild Wars, Supreme Commander, Half Life 2, Counter-Strike Source, Left 4 Dead, Silkroad Online, Spore 1.x, StarCraft II, WarCraft III, The Sims 3, Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project, and World of Warcraft. There are also many other games that can be run with varying degrees of success. The use of Wine for gaming has proved controversial in the Linux community as some feel it is preventing, or at least hindering, the further growth of native gaming on the platform.[39][40][41]

See also

Directories and lists


References

  1. ^ Avaneya FAQ Free & Commercial, September 27, 2010
  2. ^ "Xbox Linux Wiki". Xbox-linux.org. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  3. ^ "Gamecube Linux Wiki". Gc-linux.org. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  4. ^ A Gaming Mouse Vendor That Has Linux Drivers Phoronix, October 05, 2010 (Article by Michael Larabel)
  5. ^ Roccat Linux Support Keeps Coming Phoronix, September 05, 2011 (Article by Michael Larabel)
  6. ^ Ghost of Fun Time's Past - Linux Journal
  7. ^ "DOOM". Linux Journal.
  8. ^ Getting Started with Quake Linux Journal, January 1, 1999 (Article by Bob Zimbinski)
  9. ^ "Partnership with Crack dot Com Brings Games to Linux" (Press release). Red Hat. 1997-10-07. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
  10. ^ "So Long, Crack.com". loonygames. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
  11. ^ How To Install Quake 1 Linux.com, November 15, 2000 (Article by Jeff Mrochuk)
  12. ^ Hopkins FBI Linux.com, February 9, 2000 (article by Jeremy Kuhnash)
  13. ^ Websites And Resources - The Linux Gamers' HOWTO Linux Online
  14. ^ Internet Based Software Development Sleepless Software Inc, edited September 19, 2001 (article by Joe Hitchens)
  15. ^ Interview: Scott Draeker and Sam Latinga, Loki Entertainment Linux Journal, August 1, 1999
  16. ^ Interview with Ryan Gordon: Postal2, Unreal & Mac Gaming - Macologist
  17. ^ The Story of OpenAL Linux Journal, January 1, 2001 (Article by Bernd Kreimeier)
  18. ^ Loki and the Linux World Expo - GameSpy chats with Linux legend Scott Draeker about the future of Linux gaming GameSpot (Article by James Hills)
  19. ^ Linux Game Publishing Blog, LGP History pt 1: How LGP came to be
  20. ^ Alternative Games Is All About Linux Gaming Phoronix, December 14, 2010 (Article by Michael Larabel)
  21. ^ Porting games to Linux hardware.no, March 10, 2009 (Article by Robin Heggelund Hansen)
  22. ^ Orland, Kyle (2011-02-28). "GDC 2011: Humble Indie Bundle Creators Talk Inspiration, Execution". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  23. ^ "UpFront". Linux Journal. 2005. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  24. ^ Diehl, Mike (2007-10-18). "Free Games for Linux". Linux Journal. Linux Journal. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
  25. ^ "Main Page - FreeOrionWiki". Freeorion.org. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  26. ^ "Retrospec Head Over Heels Page". Retrospec.sgn.net. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  27. ^ "The Spring Project". Spring.clan-sy.com. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  28. ^ Commercial gaming: Can it thrive on Linux? Linux.com, December 22, 2006 (Article by Joe Barr)
  29. ^ More Details On Unigine's OilRush Game Phoronix, September 4, 2010 (Article by Michael Larabel)
  30. ^ Linux Client? Syndicates of Arkon game forums
  31. ^ "Vera Blanc: Full Moon Released - Linux Gaming News". LinuxGamingNews.org. 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  32. ^ "Linux games". Winter Wolves. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  33. ^ "Mac and Linux Games". Hanako Games. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  34. ^ "Hanako Games Linux Ports Are Coming - Linux Gaming News". LinuxGamingNews.org. 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  35. ^ "Sake Visual Indie Visual Novel Studio - Linux Gaming News". LinuxGamingNews.org. 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  36. ^ "http://playthisthing.com/katawa-shoujo". Play This Thing. Retrieved 2010-08-18. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  37. ^ Bubble Shoot review
  38. ^ Tanaka, Hiromichi (2007-07-14). "E3 Square Enix Interview with FFXIclopedia". ffxiclopedia.org. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  39. ^ Ports vs. Wine Gamespot (Article by James Hills)
  40. ^ An Interview With A Linux Game Porter Phoronix, July 03, 2009 (Article by Michael Larabel)
  41. ^ How-To - TrackMania Nations LinuxGameCast, May 30, 2011
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