Linked by Adam Geitgey on Tue 31st Aug 2004 20:12 UTC
Despite the impressive list of achievements of open source software, it can be argued that there have not been any world-class games created under the open source banner. Sure, several old games like Doom and Quake have been gifted to the open source community, but there are no comparable original creations in this area. One should not expect this situation to change anytime soon, because the open source development model does not make sense for game development.
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The two OSS games I play most are Armagetron and the very pretty Neverball. The latter shows what OSS does well, and it's virtually a one man effort, which I suspect is the limit for OSS game programming. Group efforts seem to die quickly.
Story counts for a lot ( <- 2 words, count 'em 2 ). Try writing an open source novel. There's no surprise because all it's biggest fans had a hand in writing it. Those that didn't, submit twists and coincidences as bug reports and wait patiently for version 0.2.
There's little originality in OSS gaming. There's little originality in gaming, full stop. Doom/Quake et al really do play just like the early 90's classic that started this now-tedious phenomenon known as the FPS. It's dissapointing because games like System Shock and Ultima Underworld showed the potential if there were more than just fighting to do.
Alas, almost everyone involved with games is an overgrown adolescant. Someone said it was like Hollywood vs Indie films, but it's not. There's not art in game creation, just stories of alien civilzations battling in the void. Yawn.
There is some originality out there, most notably in the mainstream (ie. Windows) freeware scene. They aren't making big games but they are pushing the limits of genre gaming.
One more thing... why isn't everyone busy ripping off The Sims? It was original, a huge hit and had virtually limitless possibility for story telling. People are too focused on technology and particularly graphics to see an exciting game concept when one comes along.