The amazing libre 3D modeling tool Blender needs no introductions at this point. Suffice to say that what began as a humble Free Software alternative to most heavy-duty proprietary 3D software is slowly becoming a new industry standard. The newly released version 2.80 is a testimonial of this.
The new release adds not only a much needed upgrade to the UI, but along comes an improved real time renderer and much more. All new features and improvements can be checked here.
Finally, some of you might have already heard in the past few weeks the gaming industry titans Epic Games and Ubisoft have officially began sponsoring the Blender foundation with grant funds. These are welcoming news since it means Blender will only see better and more regular updates from increased sources of income. Even if the money comes from proprietary software business, libre developers alike can also reap the benefits.
Blender can be downloaded for free on its official download page. Code license: GPLv2
Top ten RPGs - I made a video of this. People who love text so much they would marry it, will be delighted to see this concise side-product of that video. A list of sorts. With thoughts that came to me after the fact. Especially nagging thoughts.
The bestness of films is determined by their profitability. Which one can claim allows concluding the quality of the product. Maybe the marketing is part of that product.
Whatever the case, none of this is applicable to the underground niche pro-tip specialized target audience-seeking open source games, where using the word choice "open source" is valid enough to stop writing and discuss philosophy.
Thereby I declare that "best" means "complete-ish, playable, fun" which is 33%-66% objective. I present to you - in order of "not like in the video" - the best eleven minus one* RPGs that ever existed yet.
RPG platforming is still a concept to get used to but for some reason It works well. As for balancing: I have no idea if I could finish it with melee weapon choice. Ardentryst's ending is a little anticlimactic but I'm just happy to have an ending at all.
I don't actually know what the ending looks like of the classic Diablo-esque game for Linux and the open source sphere. Freedroid RPG seems however to dictate: pick either fun (hacking droids) or progression (experience point rewards in exchange for direct kills).
Custom resolution support AND 3d graphics is great, the UI is tiny however in DNT. I just reported a build error and a fix was pushed hours ago, so I'm looking forward to trying to compile it again! The vertical slice that is the game is not very thick but so colorful! Nerdy post-apocalyptic humor FTW.
The first time I saw FLARE art in another game was Erebus. The D&D feel is great for someone like me who loves the memory of playing Baldur's Gate II but hates actually investing the actual time to actually play it actually. The most boring part so far was finding new items - there seem to be so few and none seem special. On the other hand: less item micro-management.
It is weird that this even exists. It is so freaking polished. The only weird things are: shooting corners of walls and... I guess the android version setup. Theoretically FLARE is totally mod-able. I worry that the people that are not scared away by the documentation might be the kind of people who will just start writing their own engine instead.
I fell in love with only one jRPG - a genre I usually hate for the grinding and unskippable animations/sequences - because it had painless and low quantity grinding. Fall of Imiryn is short and sweet. I actually contributed a little. It is complete and done and as long as Python 2 remains, it will be playable. That is at least 5 more months and 6 days.
When I enjoy the humor of a game, that can be the hook it needs to catch me in its net. FreeDink is cartoonishly-brutal, silly, stupid. The hero is a prick. I like it. I haven't ever finished it yet but I am curious to one day find out his punishment.
Speaking of humor: this is a joke. I love it. I did play nethack but it was kind of a social pressure thing. For IVAN however I was glad to learn the initially painful controls.
I am very much not into Wesnoth or Panzer General. Therefore if I ever ran into Hale before, I had ignored it. I was wrong to do so. I like the spells, I like the relative casualness (compared to roguelikes). I don't know whether I like the inventory management yet. It has absolutely no sound, which is a problem for me. Others will love that fact.
When upon entering a game it feels like I should know what is going on, a variety of emotions is triggered. The end sum (pun intended): is it worth it, let me work it. Summoning Wars is dead, long live Summoning Wars. Just like OGRE. Im impressed by how much playtime it has already. The visuals (oh the grass textures) might prevent me from even going beyond the first few maps but still one of the best.
I lost my patience on my lest test-play of Valyria Tear and used Cheat Engine (don't ask). My only regret was that it took me hours to remember to use speedhack. The extreme difficulty is just as problematic as the slowness of movement and battle - for the kind of time-greedy being that I am. Story seems cool though and the characters too.
*try guessing (without watching the video) which of these actually does not belong on the top10 list!
While re-finding all these projects, I was really happy that SourceForge still exists. Didn't expect to ever think that thought again.
Please use the video comment section to discuss this article.
For this month’s interview we sat down with Alex Gleason, creator and developer of Vegan on a Desert Island, an upcoming libre action/puzzle RPG. The game follows the story of Rachel, a vegan girl who shipwrecks on an island, and becomes embroiled in a quest to uphold her own conflicted values against the interests of the island’s many talking animals. A newcomer on the scene, we spoke with Alex on what inspired him to create this project, along with his views on activism, software freedom, game development, and of course, life.
FG: Tell us a bit about yourself and your project to begin with.
Alex: My name is Alex Gleason and I'm making a game called Vegan on a Desert Island (VOADI). It's a puzzle-adventure game with emphasis on art, music, and storytelling. The game is about Rachel's journey, which I modeled after some events in my life involving animal rights activism I organized in real life, including all its conflict and turmoil. It's a linear story meant to be experienced once and leave a lasting impression.
FG: At a first glance, a vegan stranded on a desert island seems like an unusual concept to make a game about. Could you elaborate on how your experience in activism motivated you to create this project?
Alex: In conversations about veganism people often ask if we'd eat animals under dire circumstances, such as being stranded on a desert island. It's a ridiculous question that deserves a ridiculous answer, which is why I decided to develop VOADI.
The true answer is coconuts. In The Real Castaway, a woman in real life was stranded on an island for 9 months and survived entirely off of coconuts. To answer to the deeper question, it's the same question as if you'd be fine eating another human on a desert island. I believe that animals are people and there is fundamentally no difference. It's impossible to know what you'd really do, but it's not a black-and-white situation. It's okay to not have all the answers.
While developing the game I started to feel like a "vegan on a desert island" in a different way. The animal rights organization I founded collapsed on me. They took my home and crushed my dreams. I was the villain in their story and they were the villains in mine. This inspired me to create a more meaningful story in VOADI, reflecting what happened to me.
I redefined the character of Greybeard from being a classic evil-doer to an ambiguous villain. You're never sure whether he's really good or bad. Good vs evil is a false dichotomy that doesn't exist in real life and I wanted to reflect that in VOADI.
FG: Why did you decide to translate this particular experience of yours into a video game?
Alex: Unlike books or movies, video games force you to experience something yourself. I want players to take a step in my shoes for a minute. The downside is that I cannot guarantee they will actually enjoy it. Successful games make people feel happy, but a lot of VOADI is about misery. Some gameplay elements are even intentionally antagonizing to the player. I think this is balanced a bit by CosmicGem's cheery music and Siltocyn's meticulous pixel art. At the very least, I hope players will always be wondering what's coming next.
The game conflates serious ethical topics with ironic humor
FG: What you just mentioned highlights a certain tendency in the video games industry to reward and empower players in a way they will feel good about themselves, which is a bit contradictory to the idea of art as a form of self-expression. Based on that, do you think there's enough interest or room for dissemination for this type of project?
Alex: VOADI is not a game for everyone, but a few people will deeply resonate with it. If that happens I'll consider the project a success.
FG: For such a personal background, so far the game has been presented as having a cheeky and humorous façade, with an ironic twist to it. Could you elaborate on the role of humor and how it has shaped the game so far?
Alex: I think humor itself is antagonistic. It's about subverting expectations, meaning there is a conflict between what your mind expects and what's really there. "Vegan on a desert island" is a ridiculous premise met with a sarcastic answer. The game is funny precisely because it's antagonistic. Part of that antagonism is in the way the game is presented: a cutesy colorful game about talking animals where very serious things happen.
FG: The project itself has been openly publicized as being a Free Software and Creative Commons endeavor. How did you first became familiar with both of these movements and how have they affected the development of VOADI?
Alex: Software freedom is a boycott, much like veganism. There's a lot of overlap between the communities because it's people who understand the concept of sacrificing something for the greater good. I still use copyleft licenses for all my works. It's a deep conviction I'll never change, and you can be sure everything we put out there will free culture approved.
Linux was a groundbreaking discovery because it defied everything I knew about people's incentives to create things. I thought software freedom didn't go far enough. Later I discovered Nina Paley, a copyright abolitionist, and her view that "copying is not theft" really resonated me. She is a personal hero of mine and an inspiration. In some ways I am quite literally following in her footsteps.
In terms of project impact, being Free software helped VOADI garner more widespread support. Daniel Molina is an amazing volunteer who joined the project to advance software freedom for gaming. I've received support from the sidelines as well, with people donating money and others doing small but important tasks like updating wiki pages and mirroring assets. It's pretty incredible how much people will help you without being asked if you put yourself out there and are willing to give back.
FG: Eventually this has taken you to present your project at LibrePlanet last March. How did that come to be?
Alex: I've been a member of the LibrePlanet community for years but never gave a talk. Last March the stars aligned. I didn't intend to give the talk originally, but I felt empowered by the people there. Lightning talks seem like a low-pressure way to showcase something you've been working on, and VOADI was received very well! Lightning talks at LibrePlanet are open to anyone on a first-come-first-serve basis after the conference starts. All you have to do is add your name to a list.
FG: Switching to more technical matters: You have been using the Solarus engine as a main development platform. How did you first hear about it and how has it helped making VOADI a reality?
Alex: Solarus has a map editor GUI making it a great tool for beginners. The Solarus community is vibrant and generous, always eager to help. It was developed by Christopho as a reimplementation of the game engine from Zelda: A Link to the Past, a game I was already very familiar with. I highly suggest Solarus to anyone new to the free gaming scene, looking to create their own games!
I used to love Zelda, especially the Game Boy Color titles. Nintendo is notorious for cease-and-desisting fan created works, which I think is unjust and counterproductive to a healthy society. I struggle to enjoy the games from my childhood because I'm too distracted by the fact that society would punish someone for deriving or extending works that they care deeply about. I see Solarus as a stepping stone towards creating a new ecosystem of free games that can hopefully touch people's hearts in a way that they'll want to extend and remix the game, and they'll be allowed to do so.
FG: VOADI notoriously bases most of its graphics style on a Creative Commons tileset (Zoria), but it also features original additions of its own, as well as original music. How did you go about sourcing an adequate free tileset, along with finding artists to fill in for the remaining necessities of the artwork pipeline?
Alex: Zoria tileset was found on OpenGameArt. I had been trying to make my own tileset, but knew I couldn't match that level of quality on my own.
Later I commissioned our tileset artist, Siltocyn, through an ad I posted on the /r/gameDevClassifieds subreddit. CosmicGem, our chiptune musician, was found through Fiverr. This has worked out really well for VOADI. It's amazing how much you can do with a small amount of money.
In both cases we switched to free platforms (email and Matrix) for communication. Reddit was the most effective at garnering attention for our gigs.
Originally I planned to make all contributors sign a waiver similar to the Apache contributor agreement, transferring their copyright to me. But the freelancers wanted to maintain their privacy (they didn't want to sign their name and address). So instead now there's a policy where all contributors must put the license on the deliverable file itself, or distribute it in a ZIP with the license.
For graphics we created these stamps that say stuff like "Siltocyn CC BY-SA 4.0" in a tiny font in the corner of the files
A glimpse into the development process
FG: When are you planning to release the game, and in which formats will it be released?
Alex: I'm planning for a 2020 release for Linux, MacOS, and Windows. We'll consider more platforms depending on the reception (although anyone will be free to port it if they have the skills).
I'm planning to distribute the game on some proprietary platforms like Steam, Humble Bundle, etc. Those versions will have a price associated with it. I think of it as a "proprietary tax." Users in the free world will play the game gratis.
I'm also planning for a limited physical release on CD, which I'll cobble together at home using LightScribe disks, booklets I print myself, and used jewel cases from eBay. I mostly just want something to hold in my hands.
FG: Any tips for other Free Software or independent developers out there?
Alex:
Put yourself out there.
Good art and music goes a long way.
Start it and don't stop.
FG: Alright, thank you very much for your time Alex.
Alex: Thanks so much for the opportunity!
Vegan on a Desert Island is set to be released in 2020. The project's code is licensed under the GPLv3, and al of the art assets are being released under CC-BY-Sa 4.0. If you would like to contribute to the project you can join development talks at VOADI’s Riot channel or check their repository at Gitlab. You can also donate via the project’s Patreon or Liberapay.
All of the images on this article are courtesy of Vegan on a Desert Island, released under CC-BY-SA 4.0.
A new tool named CoreCtrl aims to be the first friendly libre GUI application to customize CPU, GPU and other hardware settings for GNU/Linux. This is exciting news for all gaming enthusiasts and developers who seek a way to optimize hardware efficiency without having to go down and dirty into console commands or accessing the BIOS directly.
The developer Juan Palacios describes the app succinctly:
CoreCtrl is a Free and Open Source GNU/Linux application that allows you to control with ease your computer hardware using application profiles. It aims to be flexible, comfortable and accessible to regular users.
You can use it to automatically configure your system when a program is launched (works for Windows applications too). It doesn't matter what the program is, a game, a 3D modeling application, a video editor or... even a compiler! It offers you full hardware control per application.
Support-wise, only AMD GPUs seem to be on the list for now, but different vendor cards are planned for the future as well, according to the roadmap. CPU support is only basic at this point. While I haven't tested the application myself due to compiler errors, this seems to me as a very promising project to keep an eye on for the future.
The developer also has a Patreon page for all those wishing to contribute towards development. Code license: GPLv3
Cortex Command is a mess, but in a good way. This bizarrely entertaining strategy blend has been undergoing continuous development since the early 2000s, having had its first main release in 2012. Seven years later, its creators decided it's time to let the community have a say.
Just one day ago developer Data Realms announced on the game's Steam page it was freeing the game's code under the GNU Affero License v3. While this release does not include any of the game's data or graphics, meaning you still have to purchase a full copy or replace them with your own, it is nevertheless welcoming news to see game studios embracing Free Software licensing, enabling users to modify the game at their own will.
The game itself is as fun as ever. An ungodly hybrid between X-COM, Terraria, and Starcraft, Cortex Command is one of those games whose chaotic approach to physics simulation can lead to some pretty hilarious moments. The game pits several factions in a messy planetary war for resources. The rest is up to the player to discover and go bonkers.
So if you do not mind about the proprietary data, by all means have a try. You can currently purchase the game for about 20 USD on the developer's website (linked above). The code can be accessed on the github page for the project.
One of our affiliate websites OpenGameArt (OGA), a free repository for public domain and copyleft licensed art, has just begun hosting this year's Summer Game Jam. To all libre developers looking for a challenge, this is your call to arms.
The rules are simple: participants are to create a game which independently of length and genre must use 6 art assets already available at OGA. The type of engine or code license used is up to the creator, but any artwork from the repository employed, along with any derivates, must comply with the specific licensing of each.
While this does not mean any game submitted to the jam will be libre, there's a good chance some will be, so regardless of whether you are a game developer or not, it would be wise to keep an eye on the contest results. It is also worth applauding OGA's initiative as a way of fostering usage and creation of Creative Commons licensed assets, and to spread word of the cultural benefits of open development.
Further information regarding regulations and prizes can be found on the jam's official page here.
OpenGameArt is ran entirely as a volunteer effort. Should you wish to contribute, you can check their forums for volunteer openings or help support server costs by donating to their Patreon.
Comments and questions? Post them on our forum thread.
