Half serious question because I’ve been browsing this for a while, but, is this /c/ really about Linux gaming? Most if not every post is about Steam, Proton, Windows games, and Windows game companies. Feels more like /c/windowsgamingonlinux to me, which I’m not contra to but, I feel it deprives some naming space (good names are finite!) from something like… well, native Linux games.
Could help if there was a way to tag posts that are not really about games for Linux.
As stated on the sidebar,
Discussions and news about gaming on the GNU/Linux family of operating systems (including the Steam Deck).
Is Proton/Wine a tool on the GNU/Linux family of operating systems? Yes.
I’d just like to interject for a moment. What you’re referring to as GNU/Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux/Wine/Proton, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux plus wine plus proton. GNU/Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities compatibility layers and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
Many computer users run a modified version of the wine/proton system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of wine/proton which is widely used today is often called “steam”, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the wine/proton system, developed by the win Project and valve.
There really is a GNU/Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. GNU/Linux is normally used in combination with the wine/proton compatibility layer: the whole system is basically GNU/Linux with wine/proton added, or GNU/Linux/Wine/Proton. All the so-called “GNU/Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux/Wine/Proton.
For the majority of gamers on Linux this makes absolutely no difference.
In fact running a Windows game through Proton is not far from a native Linux port. All that Proton does is provide an API similar to Windows. And then the game is just executed in this context. The game binary is still x86_64 code which then runs “natively” on the CPU.
Is playing games made for Windows on Linux not playing games on Linux?
@Montagge @nintendiator The difference is that on #Linux you’re a player, but on #Windows you’re being played.
You’re not even asking for native Linux games, but Linux exclusive games. Which, I’m sorry, is stupid. I also think this really is a slap in the face for all the people that work on Proton, Wine and all the drivers and libraries to make all of this possible.
I try to post articles here that I find interesting and worth discussing. If you would prefer to have more articles about native Linux games, please post them.
Is this about Linux gaming?
You made me chuckle and lighten up, and that’s welcome.
If it matches /r/linux_gaming then yes. Lots of talk about Steam and Steam Deck and proton in there. What are you seeing that you don’t think belongs?
It’s not about stuff I don’t think belongs, it’s rather an issue of focus. When you go to a sub that says “Linux gaming” and 90% of what you see is how to use what ultimately is still Windows systems…
Problem is there is a total lack of Linux native games out there. Even major OSS games these days are not exclusively Linux native, but cross platform.
Good OSS games also tend to be niche. Like, for me, Simutrans and openTTD. Tycoon genre like this are no longer as popular as it once was
If this community was only about games made specifically for Linux it would be dead. This community is simply about gaming on Linux, whether that be natively or through wine. Maybe a native linux gaming community could be made.
Hey guys, i just played a hardcore game of KPatience, how about you? 🤪
With Proton working as well as it does it’s pretty natural that there would be discussion of games that work in it.
KPatience
Fam, grub-invaders is where it’s at. :p
My wife actually loves playing KPatience! I’ve tried to get her on to slightly more meaty games but sometimes it’s the simple ones that win people over :-)
My GF is addicted to some mobile crossword puzzle game, and Wordle, but tells me video games are lame and thinks I waste my time with TESO and Fallout.
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Fair point! I’ve seen quite a number of instances don’t allow discussion of stuff that’s absolutely related to games, such as how to get games (torrents, etc).
Case in point, I think there’s still a valid torrent going around with the old Loki game ports for Linux…
You can get a handful of subscribers if you create a native Linux gaming community.
If this was only about ‘Linux’ gaming there wouldn’t be much to talk about
What? If I’m playing a game developed for windows, on linux, via proton, is that not me playing a game using linux? If you want to post about a native linux game, nobody will stop you, go for it, but don’t try to exclude other people’s gaming experiences just because the game isn’t native.
