I want to make games. I don’t want to make them just as a hobby, but I also want to have fun while I do this. What’s the point of going into business for yourself if you aren’t having fun?
I want to use Free and Open Source Software. People tend to get confused about the concept of Free Software. To make sure you, the reader, understands, I suggest you read some articles about it:
Regarding that last article: people think “Software Should Be Free” means giving away your hard work for no compensation. It doesn’t. If up until now you thought this was the case, I again urge you to read those articles. Free Software is about Freedom, not about getting a free lunch. You may be surprised to find that Free Software isn’t the evil you heard it was. If you don’t care to actually learn about the Free Software concept, that’s fine, but please don’t start arguing against it because you can’t be taken seriously. How can you argue against something you don’t know or understand? Question it, be skeptical about it, but don’t presume you are an authority on it when you aren’t.
I also want to focus on making games for the Gnu/Linux system. I understand that it is likely my main revenue streams will not come from it, so I also want ports to the Win32 and Mac platforms. But I’m tired of seeing games ported to Gnu/Linux months after the fact. So when I say I am focusing on Gnu/Linux, I mean that it won’t be an afterthought. Ideally, using open standards and a solid code base, I can release for the three platforms at the same time, with minor tweaking at the most.
Some people think that there is no money here. I don’t believe that is the case. For example, I read that A Tale in the Desert 2 does very well among Gnu/Linux users. The conversion rate is incredibly higher than for Windows or Mac users. Granted, it is a MMO game, but still. Loki apparently didn’t go out of business for lack of sales so much as bad management. There are no stats that say that Gnu/Linux games will sell well, but no stats that suggest they won’t either. I’m willing to find out how well sales could be for the platform.