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10 years ago GamingOnLinux was created, what a ride it's been

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GamingOnLinux (the website) officially turns 10 years old, this is madness and here’s some thoughts and history on it all.

July is a bit of a special double-event for me, as not only does July 5th mark the birth of GamingOnLinux, July 30th is also my birthday!

What started as a curiosity after my first proper computer came with Linux instead of Windows, has blossomed into a love of all things Linux. I still remember booting it up for the first time, having no idea what was about to happen. Good old Mandrake 9.2, you were my first taste of what was to come. In the years following, I remember trying out all sorts of different Linux distributions from Fedora Core (as it was called back then) to SUSE and eventually Ubuntu came along which really did help me stick with Linux.

I started following what Linux gaming sites were around at the time (R.I.P LinuxGames.com, R.I.P The Linux Game Tome and many more that vanished) and eventually thought I could do better. We started off on a simple .info domain and some sort of phpBB forum, eventually moving onto XenForo with a "Portal" addon stuck on to make it more like a news site and then I eventually did the really dumb thing of writing the entire website from scratch (with help along the way, hello Levi!).

There’s been so many insane ups and downs over the years, we’ve seen a lot of things come and go too. I still remember being excited about Desura, the indie store that was previously owned by the Indie DB/Mod DB people, especially as they had an open source client too although itch.io has pretty much taken up all their slack since Desura died off.

Over the time we’ve been here, we’ve been through the first Humble Indie Bundle back when they actually ported games to Linux (I did some QA for them too), Steam arrived with a bunch of games, GOG added Linux games, Steam Machines appeared and sadly died off, the Vulkan API became a thing, Wine advanced a ridiculous amount to run Windows games on Linux and DXVK came along to push it even further. Then Steam Play pulled up and was like "I hear you want more AAA games?" ensuring things stay interesting (and slightly complicated) for the foreseeable future. We also have the rise of game streaming with services like Google Stadia and Virtual Reality to come too. One thing is for certain, Linux certainly isn’t boring!

In terms of how we’re doing, growth—lots of it!

Very happy with how quickly everything is growing. Great to see so many new faces appearing constantly. It can be hard to keep track of so many places but it’s worth it to let people follow us where they want.

I’ve also spent some time recently improving our Crowdfunded Linux Games page, it will now list the developer and mention if Linux was a stretch-goal. On top of that, the code was overhauled to use something SteamDB also uses, so you can now sort the rows by clicking the headers, instantly search and so on. On top of that, it’s also now listing games in-development, that haven’t yet released which promised a Linux version making it even easier to keep track. Feedback welcome in this forum topic.

Additional website updates:

  • The Trends Charts on our user statistics page will now show the total number of users who picked that option out of how many answered the question in total, in the tooltip that appears when you hover over a point.
  • If someone quotes you on the forum, this is now hooked up to our notification system (reply notifications are in progress).
  • If you're directly linked to a comment or forum post, it's now highlighted to show you.
  • Searching articles has been made easier, as it now has pagination and is not limited to the first 100 results.

 

I wanted to also thank you, all of you. Everyone who reads GamingOnLinux, all those who comment and laugh about my terrible grammar and spelling often (who can forget the hilarious and embarrassing misspelling that was Fistful of Fags - it’s "Frags" Liam, you colossal idiot).

Who can forget all of the wonderful contributors? Many came and went over the years to help out for fun, thanks to all and especially those of you who’ve stuck around.

Naturally, I wanted to give a shout-out to everyone who has helped fund the adventure both past and present, without you nothing is possible! If you wish to support GamingOnLinux, you can do so using these links:

You can also buy games using our affiliate/partner links, which is incredibly helpful!:

All those links are available any time on the Support Us page, found under the Sections drop-down in the top navbar.

I plan to still be here in another 10 years, it will be fun to see how different things are. There’s so much to be excited about, plenty I can't talk about as well the next few years are going to be very interesting. As always, my inbox is always open to suggestions and feedback, email here any time.

Finally, come along to our Twitch Channel around 4PM UTC! Come say hi and help us celebrate.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
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87 comments
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Ardje Jul 5, 2019
Please don't end up like this:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150718153527/http://www.linuxgames.com/

It was my favourite site for over a decade.

If you look for the first archive: https://web.archive.org/web/19981202030257/http://www.linuxgames.com:80/
Liam Dawe Jul 5, 2019
Quoting: ArdjePlease don't end up like this:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150718153527/http://www.linuxgames.com/

It was my favourite site for over a decade.

If you look for the first archive: https://web.archive.org/web/19981202030257/http://www.linuxgames.com:80/
Oh believe me, if I ever do decide to move onto something else (let's say due to old age) I will be handing over to someone I trust. I will never, ever, let GamingOnLinux as a website and community just vanish like the owner of LG did.
Eike Jul 5, 2019
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Quoting: ArdjePlease don't end up like this:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150718153527/http://www.linuxgames.com/

It was my favourite site for over a decade.

If you look for the first archive: https://web.archive.org/web/19981202030257/http://www.linuxgames.com:80/

https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.gamingonlinux.com/

:|


Last edited by Eike on 5 July 2019 at 2:07 pm UTC
Xpander Jul 5, 2019
A day late, but Happy B-Day GoL! You have been doing amazing job with the linux gaming coverage as well as building a great community. Lets keep it up for the next 10 years and more!
Liam Dawe Jul 5, 2019
Quoting: Eikehttps://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.gamingonlinux.com/

:|
I've actually asked them to include it and did any adjustments that were needed, but it still seems to block it :(
Liam Dawe Jul 5, 2019
Quoting: XpanderA day late, but Happy B-Day GoL! You have been doing amazing job with the linux gaming coverage as well as building a great community. Lets keep it up for the next 10 years and more!
You're actually on time, it's today :P
einherjar Jul 5, 2019
Congrats and thanks for this nice Website :-)


Last edited by einherjar on 5 July 2019 at 2:17 pm UTC
buono Jul 5, 2019
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Congratulations Liam, and happy birthday. I remember first seeing you in Linux Voice, remember that?
The boys did briefly start a podcast - again - called the bug report but that died at the end of last year.
Anyway give yourself a pat on the back :)
Dunc Jul 5, 2019
Congratulations, Liam. Turns out I've been registered for two years now too (although I've been a reader for much longer). Time flies, eh?
legluondunet Jul 5, 2019
Happy Birthday GOL and good continuation, the Linux gaming scene needs you.


Last edited by legluondunet on 5 July 2019 at 3:34 pm UTC
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