Interesting possibilities
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| skelband May 01, 2012 1:07 PM EDT |
This might all be a bit of an experiment for Valve. Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot with Windows 8. Linux desktops are largely doing the same. There is a potential opportunity for someone (an outsider that no-one expected) to come in and steal the show right from under everyone else on the Desktop. One of the biggest issues with Windows (and a strength with Linux distros generally) is the lack of a convenient unified app delivery medium like an app store. Valve already have a successful platform for this with Steam so they have half the battle sorted. Porting games to Linux may only be the start, a toe in the water so-to-speak. I see interesting times ahead for Valve and I look forward to seeing what the end-game of all this is. I suspect is is not quite what we think. |
| Bob_Robertson May 01, 2012 4:04 PM EDT |
If I may ask, is "steam" being referred to as a particular game, or a game rendering engine? I've been trying to "read between the lines", but this difference is as yet unclear. |
| skelband May 01, 2012 5:04 PM EDT |
Steam is their delivery system. Valve also have a game engine that they use for all of their games called "Source" which they are also porting to Linux. |
| Bob_Robertson May 01, 2012 5:35 PM EDT |
Okay, I guess I just have to settle back on the idea that I am in no way a "hard core gamer" that would know these things. Delivery system vs. game engine. Hmmm. No wonder I'm not a programmer. |
| mortenalver May 02, 2012 4:12 AM EDT |
You can think of Steam as their package manager, that lets you buy, download, install and run games. |
| jacog May 02, 2012 4:46 AM EDT |
Valve's game engine is called Source. Steam is, as said, their store. It's a big deal though even for people who never touch a game in their life. It means that Linux is suddenly being noticed/taken seriously as an entertainment platform. The knock-on effect is a huge boost for Linux on "the desktop". For Valve it opens up the possibility of growing a gaming market on a platform that can later be transplanted onto a dedicated piece of gaming hardware - a console/media center. They have been hiring hardware people as of late, and claim that it's for ARS wearable computing, but that just sounds too silly, especially considering Google rolling out a product like that soon. |
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