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Re: [News] EVE is Being Ported to GNU/Linux

In article <pan.2007.08.19.20.31.39.55925@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
 Kier <vallon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I don't imagine it's impossible for the Linux community to develop its own
> games, but it probably needs to start from the ground up, with all the
> necessary Free tools being created first (game engines or whatever, I'm
> not really up on the terms). And it should develop new, original ideas for
> Linux gamers and games, not play follow-the-leader with Windows.

The problem is that games take more than just coding.

Free software works well for infrastructure projects (kernels, web 
servers, compilers, and things like that).  When a programmer 
contributes code to one of those projects, that goes to improving things 
he will be using over and over in the future, and also he might get back 
code he can use in his own programs.

Free software works because there are sound reasons for programmers to 
contribute, OTHER than as an act of charity.

But a game needs a lot more than code.  Let's consider a fantasy 
adventure game.  We're going to need character models.  What does a 3D 
modeler get out of contributing some designs to a free game?  It doesn't 
build infrastructure for them.  All they really get back is something to 
put in their portfolio to maybe help them get paying jobs later.  Might 
be useful for someone trying to get started in the business, but 
probably not that interesting to someone established.

We're going to need writers, to write the background story, and maybe do 
the dialog for thing like quests.  Same question--what do they get back 
for contributing?

We'll need composers to compose the music for the game, and musicians to 
perform it.  What do they get back?

How about people to do the voice acting, if we have NPCs that speak?  Or 
acting for cute scenes?  What about any narration?  What do these people 
get for contributing?

How about the people who design the game world's geography?  The artists 
who draw the backgrounds?  The people who design the combat system and 
the magic system?  Do they get anything for contributing?

Look at the credits at the back of the manual of a modern game, and 
you'll often find 100-200 people listed.  Check out what they do, and 
you'll find that most of it is things that a contributor to a 
community-developed game would have to contribute as an act of charity.  
I don't think there will be enough good modelers, composers, musicians, 
writers, actors, artists, etc., willing to contribute hundreds of hours 
of their time for pure charity.

-- 
--Tim Smith

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