Re: FYI: Linux Game development

[Bernd Kreimeier <bk@gamers.org>]

Christian Reiniger writes:
 > >    that *does support JNI and Inovcation reliably*, ports
 > >    of such state of the art games using Java will be possible
 > >    at diminishing costs.
 > 
 > Good point. I think we should place this post from you in the
 > "Discussions | Feedback" section on the homepage once it's up.
 > Is that ok with you? This also sounds like a good topic for a 
 > linuxgames.org editorial:

I can write down a summary if you want me to. ASCII.
Not going to fool around with HTML layout, so look&feel is 
up to the editor...

 > >    There have been various attempts to create a GameOS, some
 > >    of which Linux based. Shooter games increasingly rely on

 > Well, there are both advantages and disadvantages of this.
 > Having a bootable CD wit both OS ad game on it can (theoretically) make PC
 > gaming just as easy as console gaming, but it also makes it very hard to
 > impossible to e.g. open a web browser to look for cheats while running the
 > game.

Internet/multiplayer games do/will come with built-in GUI's to
ease finding a server and accessing information. Ultimately,
a game frontend (especially in a game written in Java) might
as well run applets. The next step in online gaming are
server-server protocols, which will lead to links embedded
in the game... and one of the biggest problems of Internet
gaming is cheat prevention, so you actually want a console-like
lock on the system.

Mind you, I am not talking about games that are played at
work during lunchbreak, but those with a certain addicitive 
potential that demand full attention as well as all the 
resources your PC has to offer.

Do not underestimate the costs for the current QA and testing
done nowadays for Win32 delivery - having full control of 
an *open* system might outweight the losses in sales due to 
lack of flexbility. Take into account the disk and driver
shuffling done by a significant minority of gamers.

The key claim here is that Win32 provides the developer
with a reliable set of API's (DirectWhatever). Whether
that Linux GameOS is actually used in a shipping product
is secondary, as long as such a Linux version could prove
the same, or even better, support for game development
as offered by Win32.

There is also potential application in the changing PC
market. Quoting Dave Taylor (from an exchange earlier 
this year):

"I think what you're describing may be the right formula for a
new breed of PC's. PC's are now getting so cheap that you will
soon be able to get a complete, fast system for about $400.
That rivals the cost of a Nintendo 64 and definitely rivals the
speed. So now companies are starting to thinking about new PC's
that literally look like VCR's or consoles.  The idea is that
you have all the guts of a PC except for a hard drive.

So what you're describing might be the perfect solution to this
new game-console-PC.  You just slide in a CD, and away you go.
Lightweight, hacked to the exact system, and modern."

In a general sense, it is not so much a GameOS but a
Media/black box OS. Whether you run a game or a web browser
from that CD is your choice.

But that's a different topic worth an editorial. I hereby
conclude my pollution of your mailing list. Just drop me
a line if you want some writeup on the Java angle.


                                              b.