Looking at Linux right now, we have several distinct sets of games available to us:

1. Free and open source native games.
2. Commercial native Linux games.
3. Console games playable using emulators.
4. Free and commercial Windows games playable using Wine/Cedega.

Each of these areas grows with some degree of separation from the others - increasing the compatibility of Wine doesn’t directly affect the number of native games available for example.

I think we can be fairly safe in assuming there will always be people with ideas and projects to ensure that open source games development will continue into the future. Similarly Wine and Cedega show no sign of dying any time soon, so we can imagine that compatibility with Windows games will continue to grow. Console game emulator development is limited both by our current hardware, and by the development of games consoles themselves. This leaves us one category to consider, commercial games which are available for Linux.

Where Are We Now?

Whilst a bold effort has been made by a few key developers, this is an area where Linux gaming still lags far behind Windows. Tux Games “the online store for Linux games” lists just under 100 titles - a tiny number compared to the thousands of total commercial releases.

Do We Want More Commercial Games?

In general, commercial games represent expensive and closed source software. Whilst a common selling point of Linux is its ability to perform on older hardware, new games releases require frequent hardware upgrades. For casual gamers and open source advocates, there probably seems to be little need for more commercial releases.

However, it’s not uncommon for Linux using gamers to keep a Windows partition just for gaming, and the lack of new commercial games is a common reason given for refusing to switch to Linux. Surely being taken seriously by games developers will eventually be a necessary step in Tux’s path to world domination (MUAHAHAHAHAHAH)?

But seriously, our inability to play the latest big game releases is not something the Linux community can continually overlook if we wish to appeal to a wider audience.

What Do You Think?

What can we do to encourage developers to release games for Linux?
Is it really necessary for the growth of the operating system?
Do you still boot Windows to play games?

Share all your thoughts and opinions below.

Introduction

Whilst the purpose of this blog is mostly to focus on games which can be played natively under Linux, it is not the only option. This post is an overview of Wine (WINE Is Not an Emulator – hooray for recursive acronyms!) and Cedega, which can both be used to run some Windows software, including games, under Linux.

What Are Wine And Cedega?

As its name suggests, Wine and Cedega are not emulators.

Think of Wine as a compatibility layer for running Windows programs. Wine does not require Microsoft Windows, as it is a completely free alternative implementation of the Windows API consisting of 100% non-Microsoft code, however Wine can optionally use native Windows DLLs if they are available. — WineHQ

Essentially, they should allow Windows software to be installed and run under Linux, in the same way as it would be under Windows. Not all software works completely, or at all, but the number of applications is constantly growing.

What’s the Difference?

The first difference you’ll probably notice is that whilst Wine is completely free, Cedega charges a subscription fee to download their prepackaged releases and for support – currently $5 a month for a minimum of 3 months.

Originally, Cedega is a fork of Wine, focusing only on gaming. As such it handles newer 3d games better, however for older 2d games Wine can still perform better, and it also works well with a lot of other software aside from games.

What Can’t They Do?

Generally, brand new games won’t run with Wine or Cedega when they are released. A lot of MMORPGs will not work because of hack-prevention methods they employ. Games written in Dark Basic also tend to have problems.

What Games Can I Play?

Whether a game will work depends on your system and the versions of Wine or Cedega you’re using, so there is no complete list of games which will run. You can however find databases which will give you some idea of how a game will perform at the Cedega Games Database and Wine Application Database. Some notable working games include World of Warcraft, Civ IV, and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.

Where can I get support?

Wine and Cedega’s website offer a lot of help on getting hold of and using each of them. The linuX gamer’s community forum has a board specifically for Wine and Cedega, and other more general linux forums such as Linux Questions are also often willing to help. If you ask a question here I’ll try my best to help find the answer, but I’m far from an expert on this topic.

Over To You…

Anything I’ve obviously missed from this guide?
Do you use Wine, Cedega, neither or even both? How useful do you find them?
Any tips for new Linux gamers?
Nice Place To Hide Yourself Photograph by JAIRO BD

Introduction

For a lot of new Linux users, one of their first questions will be “Can I still play my Windows games?”. Whilst we will be looking at using Wine and Cedega to do this in our next article, it should not be assumed that this is the only option for gaming under Linux.
In fact, there are a great many native Linux games, and their quality and number is constantly increasing. Solitaire, mah-jong and the usual ‘casual gaming’ suspects are all available, but so are 3D first person shooters, racing games and turn based strategy. What’s more, these games are almost always free (as in beer) and often open source.

What is available?

Whilst it’s true that there isn’t the same range of native games for Linux as there are commercial games releases, in general there are a least a few quality games in each genre. The Linux Gamer’s Game List refuses to “list games which suck” but currently details almost 400 games. The Linux Games Tome, a collection of Linux games and toys now has over 1000 entries.

How complete are these games?

As with most Open Source projects these games are continually in development, but that doesn’t prevent many of them from reaching professional levels of completion. The gap between different games can be huge.
Take Tremulous for example – not only entirely playable and feature complete, but an innovative combination of first person shooter and real time strategy gameplay. On the other hand there is Planeshift, an MMORPG which is far from complete now, but is constantly expanding and improving.

How do I get the games?

Normally, you will be able to obtain some games through your Linux distribution’s package manager. Games can also be discovered and downloaded through sites like The Linux Games Tome.

Over to you…

Any tips for new linux users and gamers?
What’s your view on native Linux gaming right now?
Feel free to add your comments, questions, thoughts and advice below.

Life Is Like A Game Photo by Łŏŋĕłŷ