Adventures in Linux gaming

“It has been an interesting week in the world of Linux
games—really in the intersection of Linux and commercial
games. First was the announcement of the release of the source code
that underlies the Ryzom massively multi-player online role playing
game (MMORPG). In addition, though, is word that the Humble Indie
Bundle, a collection of cross-platform games being sold using a
novel method, generated over $1 million in a week’s time, with
roughly a quarter of it coming from Linux users. It has long been
said that there is no market for Linux commercial games, but these
two events may shine a light on different business models that just
might be successful.

“Humble or successful?

“The basic idea behind the Humble Indie Bundle is to take five
(eventually six) games developed outside of the major game studios
(“indie”), package them together, and allow the customer to set the
price. All of the games (World of Goo, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru HD,
Penumbra Overture, and Samorost 2—the latter was donated to
the bundle a few days later) are DRM-free: “Feel free to play them
without an internet connection, back them up, and install them on
all of your Macs and PCs freely.” They are cross-platform for
Linux, MacOS X, and Windows as well. But sponsor Wolfire Games and
the other game creators took it a step further and split the
proceeds with two charities.”

Complete
Story