Hello Guys,

I am a programmer and a computer science major.  I have toyed around with tools like Unity, Unreal in the past.  As I come to the end of another semester, I thought it would be fun to do some game development maybe come up with something to add to my portfolio.   I am running Ubuntu 14.04 on my desktop and I was wondering what game development tools might be available to me on this platform.  As a student, I have experience with C/C++, Java, and Python.  I have done some professional work in C/C++ and Python and some hobby projects in C# WinForms.  I would say that in order of proficiency I would rank my skill C/C++, Python, Java, C#.

I feel like, I have a good understanding of game programming from my work on embedded systems.  Most embedded systems run in a "forever loop" that starts when it is powered on.  The device uses a state machine and responds to interrupt commands (which I think will like your user inputs from a controller or keyboard).  I would like to do something where I can show off my coding skills but, I also want the tools to do enough heavy lifting that I can produce something of value in a short time.  As far as Linux development I have dabbled in SFML great fun and right now my leading contender but,  I was wondering what else was out there or am I better of taking a spare SDD and installing Free Windows Education edition and using Lumberyard or some game engine?

If you are trying to add to your CS portfolio I would argue you will add more by rolling the majority of your game code than using a canned thing like Unity or Unreal. There are a lot of people than can use engines not so many that can architect a simple one.

Linux isn't terribly popular for gaming... you won't get a lot of exposure but it's awesome place for a game server. I would suggest writing a game server for a multiplayer game...chess, pong, risk or some such. Then write a cross platform client for it that will run in Windows, Linux or Android.

The 2 pieces could be linked with Google protocol buffers...

https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers/docs/tutorials

It'll go better if you can design it out so your work scales very well. Like with a dumb ass high level client (would suggest C# mono or python) that you can perfect later. You could pick one platform to start with and then add more later, if your design is good enough.

I would focus the majority of your energy on the network programming part. Making that work well and be extensible will be the hard part. But it'll be more marketable than the game itself if done well. There aren't too many people good at it.

Thank you for your reply, Tim.  I will take some time to view the tutorial you sent.  I hadn't thought of incorporating a network component.