Comments on: Linux Games Podcast Michael Simms Interview

By:

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 14:52:26 +0000

is Ballistics ever coming out? I mean lol!

By:

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 16:57:20 +0000

Any plans to give the game demos to live CD distro people? It would be nice to show off the games that can be played to Linux-less friends.

By:

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 16:03:20 +0000

Seems lika Running with sissors is geering up for a new version of Postal. This version(Postal 3) should use the Velve engine used in Half life 2. My first thought is that we can forget Postal 3 for Linux. Please comment.

By:

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 18:09:33 +0000

What’s your favorite beer?

By:

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 06:42:46 +0000

In what shape are LGP and Tuxgames financialy? should we expect any of them to drop out anytime soon.

Have you seen any growth in the intrest of Linux games lately?

How many people does currently work for LGP?

Name the games that you would like to see ported to Linux the most, by LGP or any other.

By:

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 05:49:06 +0000

Did you consider the option of selling LGP games also as “download”, instead of only as boxed games?

By:

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 15:23:35 +0000

How well have your games sold? Are you getting enough cash to do this kind of thing full time, or do you have to support yourself with another job?

Do you plan to carry Defcon when it comes out on Linux?

By: ziuchkov

ziuchkov — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:18:46 +0000

It seems that one of the problems with porting games is the added difficulty of maintainance and upgrades. Post-release modifications to game must be propogated to each ported platform in order to keep the versions in sync. Depending on the code base, this can be a lot of work. Michael, how much do you think the hassles of maintaining separate ports (whether internally or through your the help of your company) contributes to game developers’ reluctance to release linux versions of their games?

My next question deals with cross-platform code base as opposed to ported code. In the past, I have worked on coding a cross-platform mancala game that I had hoped would run on win, linux, and mac. While working on the project, I had problems locating good cross-platform resources in terms of both documentation and toolkits. Michael, what is your opinion of the current state of cross-platform game development resources? Do you think better cross-platform resources would lead game developers to release cross-platform versions of their games?

Expanding on this last question, have you ever considered offering a consulting service to game developers in which you could help them make their code base cross-platform? If game developers would prefer to maintain a single code base as opposed to separate platform ports, you could help them to accomplish this. You could assemble a team of linux/mac game developers and offer their services as consultants to game developers who are interested in making their games run on multiple platforms from the start. Doing so would not only expand on the services provided by your company, but would help the state of linux gaming. If game developers learn how to write code that is portable/cross-platform from the start, the task of releasing linux/mac versions of their games becomes easier and perhaps more desirable for the game developers.

By: zborgerd

zborgerd — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 13:42:58 +0000

1. When will you drop us some hints about the “super sekret AAA game” that’s on the way? Michael, you’re killin’ us. I’m going to start paying someone to leak some logs of the LGP dev channel. :D

2. Which genres are the future “AAA” and “AAAA” games (two different games)?

3. Are these two games from the same developer?

4. Do you have any interest in discussing the possibility of a publishing agreement with Mindware on future titles like Voodoo Nights (assuming that they are also interested)? Cold War is a great game, and I was really excited that both companies were working together to bring the game to Linux gamers.

5. Do you expect that Ballistics or Knights and Merchants will be seeing releases by the end of the year?

6. Which games are you currently playing right now in your spare time (Spare time? Yeah right.)?

By:

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 13:32:21 +0000

What will be the next release ?
What is the 2005 turn over of Tux Games ? What are the expectations for 2006 ?
What about developping your own games ?
Are you single ? How many kids have you ?