Porting a game to Linux, part 3
Why the hell isn't there an Eclipse 3.5 package for Ubuntu? They've had 3.2 on there for years! And Java, the proper, working and performing Java, from Sun, should be installed by default, no questions asked.
The most success with getting 3D acceleration to work I've had so far was inside VirtualBox. 450 FPS in fullscreen glxgears with a crappy card and an early beta of VirtualBox, that's what I'm talking about.
Stay tuned.
Posted by Tom, 2009-06-27 Permalink
The Manifesto Games Shutdown
So Manifesto Games is shutting down. I'm looking for an emotion but I'm not getting anything. Sorry.
They were a portal with a bunch of weird games and download and buy buttons. When publishing Devastro, they ripped out my original NSIS installer and used their own, almost identical installer, with their logo in it. So much for added value.
What about some sort of client software that would allow people to actually try and buy games with a single click and keep the games updated? No? Too much work?
A while ago I wrote a post about the technical feasibility of creating an "Indie Steam" for all the games that don't make it onto Steam, for whatever reason. It's really not that hard, technically.
Everybody and their mother rushed in to point out that the concept was flawed on the business side.
I call bullshit.
Why the hell does Steam work? Why does the iPhone App Store work? [*] They are f***ing simple to use. No "Choose a directory to install into", "Do you want a desktop icon with that", "This file was downloaded from the Internet and may be harmful" or crap like that.
[*] work = make shitload of money.
Granted, everybody had to have a Steam account to play Half-Life 2, and everybody had to play Half-Life 2, sure, but was anyone forced to keep buying more games via the online service after that? I guess not. But it was sooooo..... EASY!
What did I mean when I said it wasn't that hard, technically? You don't need a heavyweight API and deep integration in each game to be able to manage installation and updates from a 3rd party client. You could very well do with XML files that:
- - Describe the game
- - Define how to detect an already installed game on a PC and tell what version it is
- - Define how to run a silent install and uninstall process
- - Define how to tell a demo from a full version and what to do when the player wants to buy the full version
This is not much to ask from authors. Some of it could be done by volunteers and/or leverage existing online sources. It could even work for games that people have already installed right now. Like this wonderful thing does.
Posted by Tom, 2009-06-27 Permalink
The Slave Circus Fiasco
A long, long time ago there was a deal to be done between me and a company called Slave Circus. Before we could close the deal the company disappeared. I don't think they managed to publish anything before shutting down. Nevermind.
What bothers me until today is one of the things that they did do. A great looking box cover art for Devastro. No, wait, that's not what bothers me. It's cool, actually. But I don't know who the author is! Do you recognize the style or the signature? Is this yours? Please let me know.
Posted by Tom, 2009-06-23 Permalink
Introducing Type Raiders
So here it is, Type Raiders is officially announced and this new website seems to be up and running.
Let me explain the idea behind Type Raiders. When I first thought about doing a touch typing practice game, I was afraid that people would not accept it as a proper game. But as Kurt Russell would say, it's all about the reflexes.
When you think about it, the only difference between Type Raiders and, say, Invaders, is the number of keys that you press. Flying saucers attack, you shoot them down by pressing some keys in the right sequence, that's it.
Where did I get the idea? Well, I had been thinking about my typing speed for some time and then I read an excellent article by Steve Yegge about touch typing and the importance of being good at it. Right after that I got the idea to make a touch typing game.
There is very little competition. Let's be honest, the free stuff that is out there is crap. And the stuff you pay for is boring.
Type Raiders is going to be something that anyone can enjoy playing every day and it will never feel like a waste of time. Actually, the more you play it, the better you will feel for yourself because you'll be improving at an incredibly useful and important skill.
And it is a proper game, not a Word document to rewrite a phone book into. The animations, explosions, highscores and achievements make it really addictive and fun on all levels.
I can't wait to show you more!
Posted by Tom, 2009-06-21 Permalink
Cool site recommendation
This made me smile.
www.lastexittonowhere.com
Posted by Tom, 2009-06-12 Permalink