It's hard to answer all users because it takes some time. My opinion about the Linux gaming history is different for a good reason. I think about what was happening on less popular platforms before 2010.

We had many professional operating systems with few commercial games like AIX, HP-UX, Solaris, Irix, Zeta, etc.

Linux x86 was the official winner in the commercial games in 2009 compared to the other Linux architectures. The porting process of popular games to Linux running on computers with processors like PowerPC, Sparc, and Alpha was over.

We had more serious platforms like AmigaOS and MoprhOS that slowly started to have less popular games. Linux users could enjoy playing more games that weren't available for Mac OS X..

It's time to talk about 2009 and 2011.

Quoting: omer666Before Valve invested in Linux I had to buy consoles to get my gaming fix. After a while I was considering buying one again, native games were slowly declining in number and Wine pre-DXVK was not able to play recent releases. Then Proton arrived, and man, I never looked back.

In 2009, the indie comapnies started to get more active, and we could expect the AAA titles mainly from LGP, or Ryan Gordon. For example, Jack Keane was the popular adventure game. Unfortunately, the pre-orders for the Linux version were probably disappointing for Runesoft, so they stop doing it for few years.

Impressive games wre available for Linux like Penumbra, Savage 2, Oil Rush etc., but from smaller companies. The existing indie companies started to port more games like Anawiki Games, Basilisk Games, Winter Wolves, Tycoon Games, My Game Company. Some of them with the long history like InterAction Studios decided to join.

Desura and Ubuntu Software Center wanted to sell these classic games from LGP, Runesoft, and hundreds of indie games, some from well-known comapanies like MumboJumbo.

In 2009 - 2011, we gradualy start to have regular weekly releases of the indie games for Linux. Unfortunately, many users didn't want to buy mainly the indie games from less popular online stores. They wanted Steam for Linux.

HIB was the success because users didn't have to spend $25 - $40 (+ other costs) for AAA tittles or $20-25 for the indie game. They can get five or more games for few bucks. Of course, Valve noticed it, and you know the rest of the history.

I think Linux getting back to the point when users have less the native AAA titles, and more indie games.

Quoting: omer666I know I've been hating on John Carmack for saying the future of Linux gaming was Wine, but man, he was absolutely right, and deserves my deepest apologies.

ID software spent a year porting games to Linux and didn't want to lose more money. Quake 3 for Linux was a disaster for them when you think about sales. Id Software released only three Quake games in 1999. The rest of the games were unofficial releases ported by their employees in their spare time. Fans like it, but ID software didn't have any money directly from Linux users after it.

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Quoting: Liam DaweOnce again, scraps, let's take off the rose-tinted glasses for a bit. Pre-HIB era we had hardly anything. I think some of you really have this weird and confusing nostalgia about how things were. I've been here since long before and it was not good. You had a hard time finding anything, most weren't supported at all, and while we had a few indie games they were tiny.

I can agree it wasn't great for people who played every day. Users who wanted to have some fun in their spare time could play many interesting games. Sometimes, I played something big like Sacred or indie games like the H-craft championship.

Linux users had commercial games that weren't even available for Mac. Amiga and MorphOS users could only dream about these games for Linux.

Desura and USC saw potential in Linux back then, but they failed. However, you can't say there was nothing to buy in these online stores.

On the other hand, online stores like Tux Games didn't have even 10% of all games available for Linux. There were websites like linuxgames.com or happypenguin.org. Unfortunately, they weren't always informed about all new commercial games for Linux, and tracking promotions was difficult. Now, you create wishlists with all interesting games to track promotions.

Quoting: Liam DaweGiven your previous posts, you just seem to be anti-Proton / Wine, which in 2024 I just find hilarious tbh. It's a button click to play stuff now, pretty much anything as long as it doesn't have anti-cheat. Proton is easy and it works well.

I'm not anti-Wine, and I use Wine only to open Windows installers for some open-source ports available for Linux. It usually works for this purpose. I don't have any expectations about Wine even If I think about Mohaa for Windows.

It's just not too entertaining for me to play games for Windows.

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Quoting: Liam DaweWhat's with trying to rewrite history? We definitely didn't get big stuff before the Humble Indie Bundle. We had scraps. Loki and then LGP died long before and neither actually did many ports. We had a few random indie games, and the usual open source stuff.

Scraps? I wouldn't call them this way because it was more risky for these companies to port games to Linux. Loki didn't start it because we had games before them: SimCity, Quake, Abuse, etc. We had games like Hopkins FBI, Raptor, Kingpin, and others when Loki existed.

LGP cooperated with many different porting companies, so it's more complicated. There were other companies like Runesoft, Hyperion, Epic Games, Linden Research, Inc., Vicarious Visions, etc. Some ported one or two games, but many others tried after them.

From 1994 they were always companies interested in porting games to Linux. The situation with indie games is very different because there are much more of them. I can present many examples, but If I say that Runes of Avalon, Caster, or Space Ping Pong Match was fun to play. Well, it doesn't mean anything for many users. You can't buy most of these games and play them.

These games are known for the small group of users interested in classic indie games. You can find many unknown indie titles if you like reading about them:

https://happypenguin.altervista.org/ [External Link]

Unfortunately, you can't download the demo versions or see a screenshot. I wish we could fix this issue somehow. There are some small indie games, and we can still contact the original authors. Preserving these pieces of Linux history could be important for future generations.

I rarely get lucky to draw some attention of users to classic games like Halloween: The New Nightmare for Linux, which was a commercial game. Holarse decided to mention Exile 3 for Linux - the first commercial RPG for Linux:

https://holarse.de/news/wochenendr%C3%BCckblick_2024_03_versp%C3%A4tetes_winenachtsgeschenk_wine_9_ist_da_onfoss_lan_mit [External Link]

You can play it now on the old Linux distributions. I appreciate when Liam Dawe or Hamish Paul Wilson write articles about classic or indie games for Linux. In my opinion, it's important for me than games for Windows on Proton. I know users interested in the AAA titles on Proton could disagree with me - it's my preference when I play games.

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Quoting: PenglingIt's really not easier to use Windows. It takes just a couple of clicks to use Proton (or usually no clicks at all on the Steam Deck), then the game runs on Linux as if it's native because Proton translates calls to native ones, AND you don't have to suffer dealing with Windows. :grin:

I saw many reports about issues with Proton.
I don't find playing games for Windows on Linux entertaining - it's boring to me. Windows is better for these games, and above 90% of Windows users can confirm it - this operating system sells so well.

Quoting: PenglingIClicking two or three times is much more convenient and space-saving than having bunches of old computers, monitors, and KVMs, and needing to maintain them - certainly, people shouldn't be using the hardware you're recommending without recapping it all, and the vast majority don't have the tools or the experience to do that. They usually do know how to click a mouse a couple of times, though. :wink:

I click on my KVM or a remote control to use them, and I don't care about space in my apartment. I use one monitor to connect all old computers with the Geforce cards and Sound Blaster Live 5.1. I don't maintain operating systems on these computers. I install the NVidia drivers and later games for them - nothing more. I don't play multiplayer games, and I don't connect them to the internet.

Of course, keeping old computers functional sometimes could be challenging, but I like to keep them used. Users of the other operating systems and game consoles use them this way.

Quoting: PenglingIt's disingenuous to claim that Proton is popular for that reason (and it seems so unusual to promote Microsoft so much on a Linux-gaming site), when the reality is that it's purely because it's simple and elegant to use.

I think long-term Windows users have fewer issues with Wine/Proton than people like me. I switched to Linux in 2004 after over a year of using it on my first computer. I don't have to promote Microsoft because many users boot Windows when a game doesn't work well with Linux. Microsoft needs companies like CodeWeavers and Valve to get more money from Linux users and keep its position in the market. It's good news for them when Linux users claim they only need games for Windows to run on them on Wine/Proton. Wine and Proton aren't Microsoft projects, but they help promote their technology among Linux users. I think it's far more important for Microsoft that Linux users have some doubts about all the work done by dead companies like Loki Software. I think about the open source libraries used in creating native games for Linux. This mistrust of Linux users to own companies is beneficial for Microsoft.

Quoting: PenglingWhat do you need to learn to click a mouse two or three times, exactly? :huh:

Ok.
I tried to install Medal of Honor on Wine from GOG. I can play the native version on my old computer, and I report bugs for OpenMOHAA, which added support for mods. It didn't work when I tried to run it, and after an hour of searching, I gave up on it. It was easier to use YouTube and see how this issue looks on Windows.

I was terrified because I was a Cedega subscriber in 2007. I had the same issue with Mohaa. Back then, I solved it after some time with some settings. It's disappointing how much Transgaming, CodeWeavers, and Valve invested in Wine, and Mohaa doesn't run after the installation.

That was a game officially supported by Transgaming, so it should have always worked since 2007.

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Quoting: legluondunetTry to play Rune or Heretic II Linux version on modern Linux distribution...And even if you manage to make them work, your gaming experience will be lower than that with the Windows versions (updates, graphics, multiplayer, mods compatibility...).

I have the original versions of Rune and Heretic II for Linux. I use the old computer with Pentium 4 to play them. I saw some solutions, and maybe I should try them. I frequently did it with other games like Shadowgrounds, Raptor, etc.

On the other hand, old computers are cheap, and I'm too lazy to fight with every game if I can run it on the computer for $15. I like to delay reading long instructions because life is too short. I like to run the native game for Linux, and I don't care which computer I use to play them on the same monitor.
It's so fun to play games on Linux from 2003, 2006, and 2010 - so many great memories.

I don't play multiplayer games.

I don't care about updates, graphics enhancements, or mods compatibility if they aren't available for the Linux version of the game.

Quoting: legluondunetToday, with the progress of Wine/Proton and graphics drivers for Linux, it is often easier to launch a Windows game than a native Linux game.

I can say it's always easier to use Windows to run these games than Proton on Linux.

I play native games for Linux because I like this experience with them.
Additionally, I respect companies that spend a lot time and money to create games for Linux. I will find a way to run them with old libraries, older systems, or even retro computers. Additional ports for old computers and KVM are useful to play them.

I suspect that Proton users know much more about the Windows libraries, and all related issues with it. I know almost nothing about solving issues with games on Windows or Wine. That is probably a reason why Proton so popular among Linux users. They have more experience with systems created by Microsoft.

I frequently can figure out what is wrong if a game doesn't works correctly on Linux. Doing similar things with Windows or Wine will be more tricky to me.
I don't want to learn these things. Playing games for Windows or with Wine is so boring to me.

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Quoting: pleasereadthemanual

Quoting: GuestI find it weird that people find it weird that a company supports our platform of choice. I wish more devs had an option to bypass the bullshit stores. Why is it so necessary to put the game on these stores?

Because Proton, which is only usable by most people on Steam, provides a better experience in most cases than a native Linux version.

That's not necessarily my experience, although I recently had to install old libraries to get Loop Hero from GOG to work again, but a lot of Linux users do say as much. I also had to manually patch a library for another native Linux game from Itch. And delete some old bundled libraries for a Ren'Py game from Itch...

But I do support devs releasing their games wherever they want. It's just, supporting Linux natively long-term, even with open source engines, seems far more challenging than other platforms.

I know it's annoying sometimes to load all Linux libraries. On the other hand, Linux allows users to run some games released 10-20 years ago on the modern Linux distributions. Users should start to think about it as an advantage because it frequently works in this way.

I prefer to think about Linux distributions as separate game consoles, so put your favorite game consoles below if you don't like this example:

Linux 2.0 - 2.2: PlayStation 1 (this is just the example)
Linux 2.4 - 2.6: PlayStation 2
Linux 2.6 - 3.0: PlayStation 3
Linux 4.0 - 5.0: PlayStation 4
Linux 6.0: PlayStation 5

For instance, Mac users can only rely on old computers or open source projects. Apple frequently removes emulators or parts of the operating system that are necessary to run old games.

I think users can mitigate this issue, and they should mainly play games on the long-term support distributions. That can give us an experience similar to Windows or Mac users, but it probably also means keeping two Linux distributions on the same computer for relatively modern games.

It starts to get scary when I read comments of users about buying games only from Steam.
It's my advice to avoid buying games for Linux only from Steam if a specific game has the DRM-free version on GOG, itch.io or other online stores.

You should always check if the game is the DRM-free version on Steam and then, make a backup copy. You never know if a new version of a game will require a Steam or something else to run. It's fine to buy games for Linux from Steam if you don't have a choice or you don't plan to play them in the future.

Steam is a web browser, which will be almost impossible to run if a game requires the old libraries that don't load a game correctly on the modern Linux distributions. You can end up with games you can't play anymore because the most recent version of Steam won't install on the older Linux distributions.

I read about issues with Steam for the older operating systems. I saw people who couldn't log in or Steam crashes when they tried to run it. Some people reported they couldn't use Steam even if they made a copy of the Steam. Steam always requires to fully install with all the updates on the fresh operating system. When you can't install Steam on the specific operating system, then you frequently can log in, but you could be offline. In this case, your internet connection could work correctly, but Steam doesn't allow you to download anything from your account.

You can try hacks, which could work for only some games. The weird issue with Steam is that it requires fully install and update on new, installed system. Otherwise, your old versions of Steam could be useless, and your games are gone with your money.

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I will buy World of Goo 2 for Linux from their website if they release it.
Of course, I would prefer to buy the DRM-free version from Humble Store or at least from GOG. On the other hand, I can understand that you don't have a choice.

Thank you for supporting Linux.

Quoting: CatKillerAnd World Of Goo was one of the games that kicked off mainstream Linux gaming pre-Steam with the Humble Bundles, which is commendable, too.

The mainstream Linux gaming?

No. We had the big titles on Linux and many indie games before HIB. Unfortunately, Linux users didn't have one or two online stores where you could buy most of these games. It was too fragmented for average users.

Before 2010, companies were selling games for Linux mainly directly from the websites. It wasn't easy to track all promotions. HIB fixed this issue by focusing on advertising bundles with Linux games for a few bucks. That allowed them to make more money in this way than other companies before them.

Later, many of these companies decided to sell their games for Linux only on Desura, Humble Store, or Steam.

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Thank you for the article.

You reminded me that I should buy Prison Architect for Linux.

I don't buy Prison Architect 2 if it doesn't have the native Linux version,

I want to remind everyone that when you have difficulties with native versions of Linux, you don't have to deal with these issues.

Install the older version of the operating system on the second partition. When you have the DRM-free version of a game, copy it to the partition with the supported operating system. Then enjoy playing it.

Mac users and Windows do it all the time. The console players keep different devices to play their favorite games. I keep four computers with different versions of Linux connected to the same monitor. I know Linux has problems, but I like using it despite these issues.

I respect people who are spending months porting games to Linux. Later, they read many comments that they should never do it. It must be very challenging.

Why some Linux users don't complain that open source applications are ported to Linux?

Maybe programmers should only port open source applications to Windows, Mac, MorphOS, AmigaOS, etc., and ignore Linux because we have Wine.

Firefox could be better if developers didn't waste time porting it to Linux.

I think some users can't appreciate what others are doing for them.

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Users that like classic games could also be interested in a singleplayer mode in OpenMoHAA:

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/forum/topic/5965/

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@Hamish
Did you try to contact them and ask about the catapult?

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