ubuntu-gaming team mailing list archive

[Luke Benstead <kazade@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry I sent this a few days ago, but I just realized I only sent it
to one person and not the whole list! :/


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Luke Benstead <kazade@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: 2009/6/15
Subject: Re: [Ubuntu-gaming] identifying obstacles in ubuntu gaming
and pushing it forwards
To: Przemek Kulczycki <przemekkulczycki@xxxxxxxxx>


2009/6/15 Przemek Kulczycki <przemekkulczycki@xxxxxxxxx>:
> On 5/12/09, Arc Riley <arcriley@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 5:43 PM, J Sloan <joe@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> Don't we already have something like that? SDL, anybody?
>>>
>>
>> some low level window/input frameworks used in free software games:
>>
>> GLX (roughly equiv to WGL)
>> freeGLUT (free replacement for GL Utility Toolkit)
>> FLTK (C++ user interface toolkit for X and OpenGL)
>> SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer)
>> GDK (GTK's window/input layer - small, efficient, and cross-platform)
>> GTKGLArea (GTK extension to include a GL drawing area inside a GTK window)
>
> Last time I checked SDL was nowhere as complete as DirectX. Correct me
> if I'm wrong.
> Game developers don't want to track 600 different frameworks for
> creating games for Linux. (OpenGL, OpenAL, SDL, ...). Linux must have
> a unified gaming platform, otherwise it will never be a viable choice
> for gaming developers.
>
> Also I'd like you to read the following essay:
> Playing the Open Source Game
> By Shawn Hargreaves, July 1999
> http://www.talula.demon.co.uk/games.html
> --
> ## Przemysław Kulczycki >><< Azrael Nightwalker ##
> # jabber: azrael[na]jabster.pl | tlen: azrael29a #
> ### www: http://reksio.ftj.agh.edu.pl/~azrael/ ###
>
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>

I fail to see how having separate libraries for different jobs (also
known as modularity) is hindering anything. The problem isn't the
libraries, just like any other application you choose the best library
for the job and stick with it. Anyway, if you want an all encompassing
API for dealing with Sound, Graphics, Networking et al. then there are
plenty of open source game engines out there that shield you from the
libraries altogether.

The problem comes down to Linux market share for proprietary games
(catch 22) and resource collaboration for open source ones. There are
plenty of people willing to code games for nothing, just no central
place for them to go to collaborate. There is launchpad and its type
of course, but that isn't suited to music, level, texture and model
creation. If someone creates an amazing 3D model of a game character,
where do they put it? How can people make changes and reflect them
back easily? If I'm writing a game, where do I go to find a pre-made
model? The code, libraries, engines etc. aren't the problem.

Luke.