Valve wants Linux to play a major role in the future of PC gaming, but how do developers feel about the publisher’s plans?
Gamasutra reached out to a few developers for their thoughts on the Linux push, and the feedback was pretty positive overall.
“I think it offers a whole range of new opportunities and a much needed independent competitor to the big console and gaming platform makers…In the end I think the gamers will be the winners, because ultimately, the hardware best suited for the gamer is the one that will have most success.”
Competition is good, and it breeds better platforms, tools, and ultimately, games. While no one quoted in the article takes issue with Linux as a gaming OS — excluding an old quote from John Carmack, who might change his tune now that Valve has tipped its hand — there are some short-term hurdles that need to be cleared. Some popular game development toolsets, like the Wwise sound engine, do not have Linux support yet. In the case of Sauropod Studio and Castle Story, all the game audio has to be ported from Wwise to Fmod, which is a lot of work to do on an already-released title.
While tools like Wwise need to play catch-up, other vendors like Unity have already pushed out Lunix support. Furthermore, you have vendors like AMD and Nvidia promising more robust Linux software support in the future, so it’s only a matter of time before all the major players hop on the Tux Train.
Make sure you check the entire Gamasutra article, as it lays out the benefits and pitfalls of taking a game to an open source platform, and leave your two cents in the comments.
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