OK, me and some other friends started planning an "Adventure Games Engine". It is splitted in two main projects: a visual studio to create the rooms, manage the characters and the inventory and so on, and an engine that runs the resources prepared with the studio. The project is in incubator... it probably won't start before next June because of university... anyway, I feel that the really useful thing when programming Win/Linux Games, is the tools... Linux still needs tools like Visual C++ Studio... and I say this as a long running linux fan. KDevelop isn't yet ready to compete, and Eclipse is promising but not yet mature.

If you want to program Linux games, first help to program powerful solutions for development... just my 2 cents, anyway. Linux has already some really wonderful tools, as CVS and a wonderful compiler: GCC. We need to make better and intuitive user interfaces also for developers...

Interfaces for games?. Tools like Visual Studio? Nah, short answer, you don't need it. Visual Studio is useful only for creating crap stuff with Microsoft Foundation Classes. Most likely you will end up with something not portable at all. It helps, indeed, to create games DirectX based. But then again, why would you create a DirectX based game if this thread is aimed to Linux games. A text editor and OpenGL would do the job. Or pretty easy to make games and portable, would be pygame:

http://www.pygame.org/

It uses SDL libraries and you code with Python language. It's all you need as a newcomer. Debian/apt-get based distros can download it with

apt-get install python-game

or

apt-get install pygame

Stay away from any MS product if you want to do Linux or portable games...

Obvious! I was just saying that a lot of times a programmer prepare an engine and ALSO the tools for artists to work with it. For example: a map editor, a quick way to implement scripts and so on... Take Starcraft/WC3 map editor for example.
Ok, before I hadn't been clear. We need a good integrated studio to quicken the development process, and also to create THESE TOOLS (as map editors, AI script editors, etc) for the artist. And then you need all those "crap".

I still don't understand. Why do you need Visual Studio to create "tools" for the engine?.

I don't think he is reffering strictly to VS, but a similar linux driven suit environment, rather than just makin it all by hand. I agree in the aspect of project management (correct me if I'm wrong, tchernobog). Linux needs a good tool to have an easy way to manage large projects (again like that for M$, VS). KDevelop although good is not powerful enough (or if it is I haven't had enough time to explore it) or even Anjuta or Eclipse. As tchernobog said, they need to mature a little bit (just yet) to be the VS for the linux Development Environment.

What I mean is that a large project, needs to have some way to manage all the work being done. We all know all you need to code is just a text editor and the compiler, but managing the files, coordinating, etc. Now that is what I think could be done better.

BTW, read Linux Programming Unleased by Kurt Wall, there is explained the old school linux programming

My $0.02

well, that's true. After a while, when the project is big and full of headers files, it's hard to keep on tracks. But Dev-C++ does a good job too though

Best of luck with that game engine tchernobog! An easy to use game engine will be awsome! There are a lot of gamers out there who would like to try making games, but are scared of all the coding (me for example lol!). This could help encourage a lot of people to get into Linux game dev.

(Also, this is the 51st post in my thread! That's awsome! 51 posts the thread I started!)

You know I support your idea but why not just expand porting? I mean the M$ games are big cause they cost $50. If you want to rival that then you would spend ages in room looking at a screen. And for what? I dont know about you but "I'm helping the Linux idea" is not motivation for me. But if you want to do it, go ahead (maybe I'll download .)

Make free/cheaper for Linux and very expensive for Windows

Bottom line... We'll need a killer game for the Linux Platform only. Maybe that way, major developers would look forward into supporting Linux

If this were to work Thetargos, the game would have to be retail (which i believe you meant), otherwise what benifits would developers see in porting their games? If ten thousand people play a free game, that doesn't really show the profitability of releasing on the linux platform.

Maybe release for cheap (free even?) linux and then release a 'demo' for windows. When you have millions of rabid window fans begging for the full game, THEN the publishers will be knocking down your doors to publish!

Also on another note, Any 'killer game' released for linux, will no doubt be modable to an unbelievable extent! Which would really up the replay value and the popularity.

And there's another idea to maybe kick start developers/publishers paying attention to the linux community. Create a mod for unreal 2003, quake 3 etc. great enough to go retail. Look at counterstrike! started out as a simple mod and now it's one of the most popular games period. I'm sure the linux community could come up with some unbelievabely original gameplay ideas (better than just 5 minutes of team vs team). I'm sure everyone in this forum has some amazing ideas. I know i sure do! Anyone feel free to post your ideas i'd love to here them!

That was what I meant, sorry for not stating explicitly the fact that this app shoud be retail (the man's gotta eat, right?)

just one thing... how can it become a killer game if it doesn't support the platform most users use at home?



..but we could try to make a very very cool game though. Like tuxracer for example. But is has to be pretty good. Compare tuxracer 0.61, and the tuxracer 1.1 demo, and you know the difference between an hobby project and an commercial release For example, the commercial tuxracer has a nice options menu. People care about those things imho, and developers often don't.

in our case, the hobby project needs to be that good! ..and you don't need to deserve money for it directly. If you want the quick money, start working for a commercial company ...but think once about a job-application, where you could tell that you're the author of that particular successful free killer app/game ...and the company can even look at the source-code to evaluate your work.

hint: put your project at your resume

some good news:

wow Megaman X you made it to Guru!! very nice!!

Abe_the_Man - you have a great idea about a UT2003 mod.

I have been wary of committing but this is getting tempting - I am very proficient in graphic design - on the 3D end - I did some 3D in college but it was only the early stages of 3D on Studio Max - with some tips on the software useage [getting Maya on Linux shortly] It would speed up my learning curve - I already understand most of the 3D ideology from college.

PLUS - I have been looking into Cluster Architecture for massive 3D rendering capabilities. Got a good book on it. However it needs someone with strong C programming. Another friend is interested. This project would be erally interesting to tie into all this. It shold not be too hard to complete and it would allow us to render high quality quiclky.

Genesee - kewl about UT2004.