- Dec 8, 2017
- 104
- 194
Hi, fellow Linux users! Hi, less fortunate users of different operating systems!
I've seen many questions and doubts about creating games for Linux and playing them. Not too many years ago, I would have sadly advised to create a Windows partition for that purpose, but fortunately things change and now there are many possibilities for us illuminate people looking for some fun, without the burden to save and close everything and reboot.
Jokes aside, I'd really like to share my experience with you, and maybe gain some knowledge from yours, so feel free to improve my suggestions below, I know my solutions aren't always the most efficient ones.
Just a small note before I begin: English is not my mother language and it's also not my computer language. There may be differences between what I write and what you can find on your computer. While I'm confident enough I can translate the meaning correctly, the wording may still be not completely accurate. Usually a small amount of intuition should be enough to understand, but if it's not feel free to ask. And of course there may also be differences depending on your Linux distribution and desktop environment, so it's not always my fault.
The following list is ordered based on my experience with it. The lower an item is, the less I'll be able to help with it, but maybe other users will be, so don't worry yet. The list of systems comes from the tags available here, plus a couple more special cases.
Game systems are color-coded:
Green: You won't usually have problems with these. Exceptions are rare, if any.
Yellow: Depends on the case, it may run, but it may as well crash. You have to try for yourself.
Red: No known method to run these games.
Blue: It rimes with "I have no clue".
Warning: Every method, suggestion, script and any other thing found in this guide has the potential to damage something. If you try something new, be sure to have a backup and to work in a safe environment for all your other files. And if you can, inspect everything you find here. I can't and won't guarantee that everything will work perfectly for you as it does for me. I can't even guarantee that it won't do any damage (although I actively try not to give you dangerous material), so better safe than sorry.
Useful Information for Developers: Every section contains a paragraph dedicated to developers. If you are interested in developing games that can be played on Linux, you could find many useful tips here.
For Mac users: While the guides presented here are intended specifically for Linux, and I know almost nothing about the Mac environment, there is a high probability that most of the guides presented below apply to Mac users too, although they may require some small modifications. If you want to create or update a guide for Mac users, feel free to copy and adapt to your need anything you find here. Attribution would be appreciated.
HTML (includes Twine, SugarCube and similar engines):
Adobe Flash:
Adobe AIR:
Ren'Py:
NW.js (includes many RPGM games, Construct and many others):
TyranoBuilder:
RPG Maker:
Japanese games:
Unity:
Java:
RAGS:
QSP:
Adrift:
TADS:
Unreal Engine:
WebGL:
Wolf RPG Editor:
Visionaire Studio:
Godot: (Thanks @cold_arctus)
Others:
############
Appendix A: How can I mark a file as executable?
Appendix B: Do I have a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Linux?
Appendix C: How do I run an executable using the terminal?
Appendix D: How can I set up a Wine prefix?
I've seen many questions and doubts about creating games for Linux and playing them. Not too many years ago, I would have sadly advised to create a Windows partition for that purpose, but fortunately things change and now there are many possibilities for us illuminate people looking for some fun, without the burden to save and close everything and reboot.
Jokes aside, I'd really like to share my experience with you, and maybe gain some knowledge from yours, so feel free to improve my suggestions below, I know my solutions aren't always the most efficient ones.
Just a small note before I begin: English is not my mother language and it's also not my computer language. There may be differences between what I write and what you can find on your computer. While I'm confident enough I can translate the meaning correctly, the wording may still be not completely accurate. Usually a small amount of intuition should be enough to understand, but if it's not feel free to ask. And of course there may also be differences depending on your Linux distribution and desktop environment, so it's not always my fault.
The following list is ordered based on my experience with it. The lower an item is, the less I'll be able to help with it, but maybe other users will be, so don't worry yet. The list of systems comes from the tags available here, plus a couple more special cases.
Game systems are color-coded:
Green: You won't usually have problems with these. Exceptions are rare, if any.
Yellow: Depends on the case, it may run, but it may as well crash. You have to try for yourself.
Red: No known method to run these games.
Blue: It rimes with "I have no clue".
Warning: Every method, suggestion, script and any other thing found in this guide has the potential to damage something. If you try something new, be sure to have a backup and to work in a safe environment for all your other files. And if you can, inspect everything you find here. I can't and won't guarantee that everything will work perfectly for you as it does for me. I can't even guarantee that it won't do any damage (although I actively try not to give you dangerous material), so better safe than sorry.
Useful Information for Developers: Every section contains a paragraph dedicated to developers. If you are interested in developing games that can be played on Linux, you could find many useful tips here.
For Mac users: While the guides presented here are intended specifically for Linux, and I know almost nothing about the Mac environment, there is a high probability that most of the guides presented below apply to Mac users too, although they may require some small modifications. If you want to create or update a guide for Mac users, feel free to copy and adapt to your need anything you find here. Attribution would be appreciated.
HTML (includes Twine, SugarCube and similar engines):
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Adobe Flash:
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Adobe AIR:
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Ren'Py:
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NW.js (includes many RPGM games, Construct and many others):
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TyranoBuilder:
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RPG Maker:
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Japanese games:
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Unity:
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Java:
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RAGS:
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QSP:
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Adrift:
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TADS:
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Unreal Engine:
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WebGL:
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Wolf RPG Editor:
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Visionaire Studio:
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. Thanks @kolobezkaGodot: (Thanks @cold_arctus)
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Others:
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############
Appendix A: How can I mark a file as executable?
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Appendix B: Do I have a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Linux?
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Appendix C: How do I run an executable using the terminal?
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Appendix D: How can I set up a Wine prefix?
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Last edited:
