Re: 3D gaming

[Adam Majer <adamm@zombino.com>]

Tshepang Lekhonkhobe wrote:

>Hello,
>
>Does anyone know why FLOSS programmers haven't built superb 3D games, say ones
>comparable to titles like 'Halo' or 'Burn-Out'?
>
>I'm not sure how tough it is to create high-profile games like these two, but
>I believe that it can't be as tough as something like OpenOffice.org or 
>(especially) WINE. Is this true, and if it is why aren't they doing it then?
>  
>
Wrong. OpenOffice.org and WINE are easier in a way since they all evolve
around regular SDK. There are extensive libraries that are used. As for
WINE, well, you are implementing an API. Also, you can write WINE or
OpenOffice.org over many years. Games get obsolete in this time period.

3D games are non-standard. They almost always push the envelope. You
have to write most of the stuff from scratch unless you want to license
stuff from others. If you do that, well, you are probably not pushing
the technical envelope :)

>Is it an expensive process to create these kinds of high-quality games, and 
>could someone provide a relevant link?
>  
>
Very expensive. Most games run multi-million budgets. And that's just
for development. Some of the budgets can be comparable to blockbuster
movie budgets.

The easiest way to make a "new" game is to write mods for something like
Quake3 or Doom3. You essentially have a 3D engine and rendering pipeline
ready to go. All you need to design a game in the constraints of this
engine.

If you want to play a open source game, try something like vegastrike.
It is in Debian :) If you want a good quality 3D engine to try to write
a game in, try crystal space (package - crystalspace).

- Adam