Why is there no alternative to open source for large commercial games?

Question

I think of all types of game categories. My experience is that there are any open source games that really challenge the commercial, considering the value of the game, graphics, sounds, etc.

Answer 1

Several reasons come to mind:

• To create the main name of the game requires several dozens, if not hundreds of participants, for several years. An open source project of this magnitude will require many followers who are willing to stick with it for a very long time. It will also require some people who want to coordinate the work of other developers (producers).

• The play value of the game is limited. Most people just play it once and then move on to the next title. This sets it apart from an open source application or library, which is always useful as long as you depend on it. This is likely to make it difficult to find long-term developers.

• I can’t think of any business model related to open source games. No one will pay for support or much needed changes in the source code. Also, there is no agenda that large companies can fulfill when financing an open source project.

• Contrary to popular belief, making games is no better than creating applications (at least not for me, I tried both).

Answer 2

In addition to the obvious response to lawsuits (remember Aliens’s motives that received letters of termination and rejection), another answer is worth it. Hundreds of people are required to create a game, such as Civ 5 (artists, managers, programmers), and the cost is huge. These people work on it 5 days a week, 7.4 hours a day (more in relation to milestones), and open-source alternatives run in their free time around real workplaces (and not that the coding of the game is not real work).

For a good open source game, take a look at FreeCiv.

Answer 3

It takes about eighty people working more than full-time for two years to make a big game. (Some take more - Assassin Creed 2 was around 130, I think some take less). These people must be real experts in what they do, and you need many different skills: programmers, artists, writers, actors, sound designers, level designers, producers, QA.

Suppose you want to make a world-class game that will compete with the best graphics, graphics, art, sound, design, the whole offer. You need world-class people who do the job: for example, animators who would otherwise work full time at Pixar or Weta. To get someone to work for you full time, not Pixar, you have to pay them a lot.

The game is not the thing where you can take what will be 40 hours of work for one person, and distribute it in an hour of work to forty people. This requires a lot of difficult, untimely work. This is not just programming the graphics engine - it tests the same broken thing over and over again, fixing an error that only appears on a Windows Vista computer that has a special ATI card installed, drawing bumps for fifty slightly different types of boxes. Lovers of volunteers tend to "scratch their itch", do what they are interested in, and leave it to someone else to polish.

It takes a lot of capital to play. Each developer requires a high-end workstation, sometimes two. Large screens. Fancy pills for artists. Maya (no open source tools, even remotely comparable). Do you make a console game? Development kits are 10 thousand. Dollars. USA apiece. Performing motion capture? 500 dollars per hour for studio rental. Hiring voice actors? The SAG scale starts at $ 800 per day. Some of the guys from the forums will not be able to fulfill the role of a professional result. Plus electricity for all this, a building to put it.

This is expensive, and it requires a lot of specialized knowledge, working over time, even when they are tired and stressed, and actually disagree with Creative Vision, but still need to finish the job. It will be difficult for you to convince really talented people to do this for free.

Answer 4

In addition to other answers, the requirement of expertise may be a vital factor. Open source contains people mainly from the field of developer / programmer / sysadmin. But only a developer is not enough to create a game. You also need an artist, sound engineer, etc. For example, as a developer, you can spend your free time playing with code, but you cannot create 3D models, as this is not your part of the experience.

Answer 5

Some possible reasons

The market must develop rapidly. The graphics, which are now good, are 2 years old and boring. Therefore, you must finish the game very quickly.

It’s easier to make a mod for the game, and there is already a community, so people do it more often (and its path is easier).

The cost is huge. Its hard to find qualified people. A good license for game engines costs a lot.

The organization is very complicated.

There are many projects that come from people who do not know how to do this. Therefore, it is difficult to find a good project that could be successful.

Answer 6

There are some, but they are rare: OpenTTD , and early identifier games come to mind.

But, seeing that the largest investments in content and tools have no reason there, the code cannot be open source without affecting revenue. In fact, as OpenTTD has shown, it can extend the life of a product with fixes and enhancements created by the community. Of course, first you need a good game.

Answer 7

While I generally agree with the mood, which is mainly until you see open source movies, you are unlikely to see open source games with a production quality that is comparable to some of the main ones.

However, this suggests that there are great open source games. Also mentioned are OpenTTD and Simutrans, which are pretty retro. For some more modern gameplay, check out things like Tremulous and Nexiuz.

Now that EA has absorbed and tricked the Simcity franchise, I would like open source to offer to wipe and dominate the genre. SC4 was brilliant and unique, but needed some modernization in the schedule, stability fixes and simplified community interaction to update / expand the types of buildings or city regulations. LinCity still doesn't have anything on SC4, and unfortunately SC5 plays more like bad LinCity bits than SC4.