Freebies

So, I read Nathan's post on the video game he played early this morning.... and it got me thinking. With the sole exception of Spore, I have not played many video games at all in the past couple of years. In fact, I'm trying to remember my last video game purchase before Spore. I think it was when I randomly went and bought a Nintendo DS in my second year of University, when I bought Mario Kart and Final Fantasy 3. So, averaging it out, I buy approximately one video game every year. That's not very much.

But, on the other hand, I do enjoy a good video game. Especially one with multiplayer capability. I tend to not enjoy competition, myself, so if it's just me and one or more friends playing a game and laughing our asses off, then I highly enjoy myself. If it's just me, I don't like the games quite as much, but I can still enjoy it. Way back in my teens, I only really liked RPG's, but now, I'm all for the multiplayer. I never did finish FF3 on my DS... but Mario Kart has gotten so much mileage it isn't even funny. And I do not play single player.

So, trying to figure out why I don't play video games anymore, I came to a startling conclusion. When I first got into video games, I could go out and buy a new title for 15-20 bucks. When I upgraded from my SNES to a PlayStation, I bought Final Fantasy 7 for $12.99. And I was pissed because the system cost $120. To me, that was shelling out a huge whack of cash.

2 years ago, when I bought my DS, I paid about $150 for the system and $50 for each game. With tax, that almost cost me 300 big ones. Now I look at games for sale, and 50 bucks is cheap! I've seen games up to $80, and that's not including PS3's blu ray crap. In addition to that, each system costs way too much money, such as the PS3's 5 or 6 hundred dollar price tab when it came out. Games for the computer, then, seem the logical choice. But my computer isn't that good! Upgrading graphics card and RAM and all that stuff to keep up with constantly evolving technology.... it's an expensive prospect. Which is probably why I don't play games that often.

However, today I was browsing teh interwebs after reading Nathan's post, and I started thinking. I know, scary prospect, but I did it. I figured something along these lines: "You know..... right now there is a MASSIVE market for open source. Could there possibly be Open Source video games?"

....and whaddya know, my hunch paid off.

Let me just preface by saying I love OpenSource. While, admittedly, a lot of OpenSource programs are complete and utter crap, they have the potential to be absolutely amazing. For example, one program that I've followed for several years is something called Blender 3d. When I first looked into it, it was operating at version 2.37, and it was complete crap. I mean... it worked, but it was confusing, laggy, didn't do everything I wanted it to do, the list goes on. Since then, they've come out with 10 new versions. The steps they've taken are amazing. Now they're on the verge of releasing a new version which will hopefully resolve the unintuitiveness of it by having a complete redesign. I personally, feel that once this release comes out, this program will be a viable competition to programs that cost $5000. And Blender is free. The only obstacle it has right now is it's confusing interface, but all that is being changed. It is one of the top programs in the world, and it's all due to a community of people who donated their time and skills to developing something great and grand, and over the years, they've succeeded. A similar thing with OpenOffice, a program I use so that I don't have to shell out 150 bucks for MS Word.

So yeah, point being, I love Open Source. 95% of the programs out there are total rubbish, but given time and evolution (The uninspired ones will fail and their code will be absorbed into the good projects), they'll be grand. For instance: Firefox. the GIMP. Good programs, one and all. So I figured, let's check out these OpenSource video games.

First of all, I was amazed at the variety. FPS, RTS, MMO, Platformer... they've got something for everyone. The number of them that have servers for multiplayer ability amazed me too. It truly is astounding what they have done. Unfortunately, several of the games have lower quality graphics. For instance, they're basing one game on Civilization 2, as opposed to the vastly superior (and newer) 4. But some of the graphics are fully rendered, 3d imagery that rivals even the newest games. I am truly astounded at what they have done.

So today I played a game called FreeCol, which is essentially a remake of Sid Meier's Colonization (with a bit better graphics). Those damn Brits came out of nowhere and conquered my fort. Bastards. I don't even know where they came from. In retaliation, though, I captured 9 of their forts and sunk about 15 of their ships. Damn Brits won't mess with me again.

So if anybody is looking for a game to try out, perhaps with some online capabilities, and don't want to shell out a few bucks for it, I'd look at this article. Right here.

Some jewels, some lumps of coal. But overall... I must admit I'm very impressed.

3 cheers, OpenSource guys. I don't know how to code, but I wish you the best of luck all the same.

~Cow