Does any one know why Loki Software Inc. is closed?
November 28, 2002 02:27 PM
I went to their site:
http://www.lokigames.com
They say that they are closed.
Does any one know why?
______________________Haydel
November 28, 2002 02:55 PM
Combination of things.
The Wine project was starting to show progress. Loki were transfering a game at a tmie, whereas in theory Wine would one day run everything without having all this per program porting.
Secondly Linux wasn''t really taking off as the game station that some people thought it would - and still isn''t.
Not many people wanted to wait for a game to become available for Linux onths and months (if not years) after it''s release when they could run it on Windows from day one.
Lack of linux (3d graphics) drivers meant that even if they did port it you''d be worse performance anyway.
Finally, some people using Linux believe that all software should be free - hence piracy was at least as high as Windows - but it mattered more Loki weren''t some huge publishing house that would afford to loose sales that way.
Shame really... at least Wine lives on.
The Wine project was starting to show progress. Loki were transfering a game at a tmie, whereas in theory Wine would one day run everything without having all this per program porting.
Secondly Linux wasn''t really taking off as the game station that some people thought it would - and still isn''t.
Not many people wanted to wait for a game to become available for Linux onths and months (if not years) after it''s release when they could run it on Windows from day one.
Lack of linux (3d graphics) drivers meant that even if they did port it you''d be worse performance anyway.
Finally, some people using Linux believe that all software should be free - hence piracy was at least as high as Windows - but it mattered more Loki weren''t some huge publishing house that would afford to loose sales that way.
Shame really... at least Wine lives on.
913
November 29, 2002 12:47 AM
At least they gave us SDL and OpenAL. All is not lost.
I like the DARK layout!
136
December 02, 2002 02:10 PM
quote: Original post by Oluseyi
Bad management.
Ditto...
Too much too soon, not enough planning.
| HollowWorks.com | Rhott.com |
217
December 03, 2002 01:02 PM
While the above cases might be true, I thought the main reason was not necessarily the fault of Loki but the developer/publishers they licensed the games from in the first place.
Imagine being told that yes, you can port a game to Linux, but you had to buy 100,000 licenses. Now in order to make a profit, you have to sell all of those games. Might not be that difficult, but it was apparantly.
Some good things did come from this though. The Loki installer is apparantly a nice program, and SDL is amazing for cross-platform development.
OpenAL is helpful as well. Coming from the QBasic scene, I know that sound libraries for lesser used systems (DOS and Linux, one is getting more popular, the other less) are tough to come by.
But if you live near a Microcenter, you might be able to buy some games like Railroad Tycoon II and Heretic II for under $5.
I also got Quake 3 Arena (which also runs in Windows) for under $2 there. See, Loki sold its merchandise to Microcenter and one other chain of stores. I am sure you can find them cheap since they probably just want to get rid of everything quick.
Imagine being told that yes, you can port a game to Linux, but you had to buy 100,000 licenses. Now in order to make a profit, you have to sell all of those games. Might not be that difficult, but it was apparantly.
Some good things did come from this though. The Loki installer is apparantly a nice program, and SDL is amazing for cross-platform development.
OpenAL is helpful as well. Coming from the QBasic scene, I know that sound libraries for lesser used systems (DOS and Linux, one is getting more popular, the other less) are tough to come by.
But if you live near a Microcenter, you might be able to buy some games like Railroad Tycoon II and Heretic II for under $5.
I also got Quake 3 Arena (which also runs in Windows) for under $2 there. See, Loki sold its merchandise to Microcenter and one other chain of stores. I am sure you can find them cheap since they probably just want to get rid of everything quick.
-------------------------GBGames' Blog: An Indie Game Developer's Somewhat Interesting ThoughtsStaff Reviewer for Game Tunnel
2,123
December 03, 2002 01:11 PM
quote: Original post by GBGames
While the above cases might be true, I thought the main reason was not necessarily the fault of Loki but the developer/publishers they licensed the games from in the first place.
Imagine being told that yes, you can port a game to Linux, but you had to buy 100,000 licenses. Now in order to make a profit, you have to sell all of those games. Might not be that difficult, but it was apparantly.
aka Bad management.
Management extends beyond directing the local affairs of your company; negotiating favorable agreements with other entities and finding good avenues to move your merchandise are a part of management. By not finding ways to maximize the value of their offering (simultaneous release clauses, for example), Loki failed. Miserably.
December 12, 2002 02:31 PM
I thought that Loky was the hope of excellent games for Linux. Now that Loky no longer exists. What will be the future of game development for Linux?
______________________Haydel
180
December 12, 2002 04:39 PM
quote: Original post by Haydel
I thought that Loky was the hope of excellent games for Linux. Now that Loky no longer exists. What will be the future of game development for Linux?
I think that for Linux to become a platform for games it first has to become a popular OS in general -- and not just among nerds, among medium level users (the type who compose most gamers). Linux then needs to start getting games that are released either before or at the same time as their windows ports.
"There is no dark side of the moon really,
As a matter of fact, its all dark."
"There is no dark side of the moon really,
As a matter of fact, its all dark."
This topic is closed to new replies.
Advertisement
Popular Topics
Advertisement
