Free Software Gaming
From Pigasoftware
This page is not about Piga Software itself, it is being hosted on this Wiki to help other Free Software Projects.
History of Free Software Gaming
This Section is Incomplete, Piga Software Appreciates All Additions
"We even developed a chess game, GNU Chess, because a complete [free] system needs games too." - Richard M. Stallman
Just as in most other forms software, free software was an unconscious occurrence during the creation of early computer games. Particularity for earlier UNIX games. These are mostly recreations of arcade games or text adventure games (such as the BSD Games). Game fan communities such as the MODder community do share some aspects of free software, such as sharing the MODs across community sites, sometimes with free to use media made for the modification.
In 1999, id Software released the source code of the Doom engine under the GNU General Public License. Doom had already been released under a less free software oriented license earlier in 1997, as well as Wolfenstein 3D. id continued to release the engine source code for Quake, Quake II, and Quake III Arena. The id tech 4 engine has also been said to eventually be released as free software. These releases have sparked an expansion in free software gaming as they have lead to titles such as Nexuiz, OpenArena, Tremulous, and World of Padman. The company's move has also inspired others to port games to free software operating systems such as Epic Games (Unreal series) and CroTeam (Serious Sam series).
Many companies have also risen and fallen for porting commercial Windows games to free software operating systems, most notably the former Loki Entertainment Software (Civilization: Call to Power, Soldier of Fortune, Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns, etc), which also created many free software tools for game creation such as the Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL). Another entry is Hyperion Entertainment, although created by admirers of AmigaOS, they have ported many titles to free software operating systems such as Shogo: Mobile Armour Division, Gorky 17, and sIn. Linux Game Publishing is a firm that publishes computer games for the free GNU/Linux system either made deliberately for it or ported by others, it has also ported some titles itself. Some contractors, most famously Ryan "Icculus" Gordon work to bring titles to free software operating systems. Icculus has ported such titles as the Unreal Tournament, Serious Sam, and Postal series and most recently Prey. His website Icculus.org also hosts largely gaming related free software projects.
Over the years various free software utilities have been created to run games (and utilities) from other platforms on free software operating systems. These include WINE which allows for Microsoft Windows programs to run and DOSBox which is a DOS emulator that is primarily geared towards gaming. Other less known ones offer compatibility with other systems such as Macintosh OS X.
There are many distributions of free software operating systems (mostly GNU/Linux) made specifically for gaming and some major free software operating systems such as Fedora and Mandriva GNU/Linux have specific game oriented versions or as Fedora calls them "spins". Most free software operating systems have games available. Both the KDE and GNOME desktop free software desktop environments have game packages containing a wide variety of games (including, but certainly not limited to, the classic games that come with Windows), from puzzles, to arcade, and even some strategy. Some games have recreations from both teams, allowing you to chose your favourite implementation.
Piga Software was founded to create free software games (as "Piga Entertainment"). Though the scope of Piga later expanded include all software, the organization is still primarily a free software game developer, aiming at strategy, history, and action games. For games being developed/released by Piga Software see: Category:Games. Some of the most notable include Alexei: Part IX and Windys, though the group is best known for the Free Empires project.
Notable Free Software Games
OpenArena and Ioquake3 Engine
OpenArena is Quake III Arena directive that is entirety free software. It has since grown into a game in its own right but still offers similar fast action first person action and carnage as Quake III. The site does warn about the game's violence and that some female characters wear "next to nothing". The game has a differing theme with some typical military styled characters, to fantasy, to Anime. The Ioquake3 engine that powers OpenArena is also used by the first person shooter games Tremulus, Urban Terror, and World of Padman among others.
Link: http://openarena.ws/, http://ioquake3.org/
Nexuiz and DarkPlaces Engine
Nexuiz is a arena based shooter powered by the DarkPlaces engine (a fork of the Quake engine), and is made to be like a traditional Quake deathmatch. The DarkPlaces engine is also used by Transfusion, WarQraft, and Qpen Quartz.
Link: http://www.alientrap.org/nexuiz/
FreeDoom and Open Quartz
Free content multimedia and levels for the now free software Doom and Quake engines.
Link: http://freedoom.sourceforge.net/, http://openquartz.sourceforge.net/
Cube and Sauerbraten
Three dimensional first person shooter engine projects that offer four games. Cube is an action game similar to Doom and Quake where the player fights monsters through complex labyrinths in different game modes (the story is "You kill stuff. The End"). AssaultCube is a a game built on the Cube engine that features realistic military themes and deathmatch/arena oriented game play. Sauerbraten is the sequel engine and game to Cube offering similar game play and styles. Eisenstern is a 3D role playing game project being built with the Sauerbraten engine. The engines are known for their easy modifiability (which can be done in-game) and their ability to render outdoor environments. Some of the multimedia in the included fan made maps included are proprietary and are being used under fair use, watch to make sure of what is free content.
Link: http://cubeengine.com/
NetHack
A classic Unix fantasy role playing game that is available with ASCII and modern graphics.
Link: http://www.nethack.org/
Battle for Wesnoth
A well known free software fantasy turn based strategy game with lots of advanced game play, multimedia, and campaigns.
Link: http://www.wesnoth.org/
BOS Wars and Stratagus Engine
BOS Wars is a free software real time strategy game where future humans wage war against each other, its engine Stratagus is also being used to make many other real time strategy games such as Battle for Mandicor and the Warcraft II reversed engineered engine port: Wargus. Another popular free software real time strategy game is Globulation II, which attempts to reduce the amount of micromanagement in the genre.
Link: http://www.boswars.org/, http://sourceforge.net/projects/battle4mandicor, http://wargus.sourceforge.net/,http://globulation2.org,
LinCity and OpenCity
LinCity is a free software strategy game based on the popular SimCity. Become the mayor of your own town and guide its construction, build up civic services, and prepare for natural disasters. The original LinCity features simple 2D graphics, LinCity-NG offers the same game play only with more complex multimedia. There is also another similar game called OpenCity which is more 3D oriented.
Link: http://lincity-ng.berlios.de/wiki/index.php/Main_Page, http://www.opencity.info/
FreeCiv and FreeCol
FreeCiv is a free software game inspired by Sid Meir's Civilization and Civilization II with some minor elements from Civilization III as well as many new ideas. The player leads nations from humble beginnings in the ancient age, all the way trough to the space age, conquering rival empires along the way. The game is based on authentic history, although some playable civilizations are based on notable fiction. A similar game called FreeCol is a free software game inspired by Sid Meir's Colonization and it begins in the year 1492 CE where the player control's some European settlers towards the New World. From there the player must build the new colony with some home assistance, face the locals and rival Europeans, and eventually fight for independence.
Link: http://freeciv.wikia.com/, http://www.freecol.org/
XEvil
A famously violent and controversial free software action platform game. Souls cast down from Earth and denied from Heaven fight in an arena for their eternal role in Hell; including robots, beasts, eccentrics, and demons. The source code is available, though the project is currently abandoned and the GNU/Linux version could use a upgrade from the Microsoft Windows version.
Link: http://www.xevil.com/
Dave Gnukem
A free software action platform game based on the popular Duke Nukem from Apogge.
Link: http://gnukem.sourceforge.net/
Wormux
A free software team action platform game based on Worms. Command a team of cartoon free software mascots as they fight other teams using a variety of wacky weapons on a variety of wacky maps.
Link: http://www.wormux.org/
SuperTux
A popular puzzle platform game based on Super Mario Bros, starring the Linux kernel mascot Tux and featuring his quest to save his girlfriend Penny.
Link: http://supertux.lethargik.org/
Frozen Bubble
Frozen Bubble is a wildly popular (being the winner of the Linux Journal Reader's Choice Award in gaming for several years) free software puzzle game. It comprises of 100 levels and it has a map editor that allows you to a make and view additional levels. The goal of the game is to fire same colour bubbles at the ones stacked above in the hope of destroying the upper pile before it is compressed onto the player's (a penguin styled after the Linux kernel mascot Tux) igloo, the game can also be played head to head with a split screen view.
Link: http://www.frozen-bubble.org/
SuperTuxKart
A free software game mimicking Mario Kart staring the Linux kernel mascot Tux and a cast of other wacky characters with an arcade-style theme. The game play involves the player driving a kart race car from a forward facing third person point of view across elaborate 3D levels.
Link: http://supertuxkart.sourceforge.net/
Pingus
A 2D side scrolling puzzle free software game inspired by Lemmings; human environmental destruction forces a group of penguins (based on the Linux kernel mascot Tux) out of Antarctica and into the larger world to try and save their home. The game involves the player leading the group and allowing them to survive their mission.
Link: http://pingus.seul.org/
Extreme Tux Racer
A fork of Tux Racer that continues from the last Tux Racer source release and remains updated. The goal of the game is to lead Tux the Linux kernel mascot down a snow covered hill littered with various obstacles and reach the finish line; collecting fish as a bonus. The game shows some rather impressive 3D graphics. It is also a partner project of Free Empires.
Link: http://www.extremetuxracer.com/
External Links
- The Linux Game Tome - Free and Proprietary Games for Free Software Linux kernel-based Operating Systems
- Free Software Foundation's "Free Software Directory" Games Category
- The Libregamewiki - The Wiki for Free as in Freedom Gaming
