Video Games Entry Point
The gaming industry produces a vast number of video games of all genres. Commercial titles dominate budgets and marketing, but substantial communities also form around alternative approaches — from education and creative tooling to fully FLOSS games you can run, study, and modify yourself.
NGI-funded projects
A few NGI-funded efforts touch gaming tangentially: classroom platforms built around voxel worlds, and open animation tooling used in game-related creative workflows. They are not video games themselves, but they sit close to how FLOSS games are made, taught, and extended.
FLOSS games
Popular FLOSS games are independent community projects — not NGI-funded. They are often experimental, zero-cost, and portable across platforms. The examples below are well-known entry points; later sections go into more detail on each title.
Games in depth
The following sections expand on each FLOSS title from the carousel above — what it offers, how it plays, and how it compares to better-known commercial references.
OpenTTD
This is a FLOSS game from the Tycoon category where the player creates a working economic and industrial system. This game focuses on transportation of passengers, and the player is responsible for the creation of the transportation network and its maintenance.
Comparison
The game is inspired by Transport Tycoon Deluxe, contains all the features of the original game, and significantly extends them with additional elements. The original features were improved in terms of user experience and brand new options were added. The old-school graphics might be appealing to some players but also an obstacle to others.
Examples
0 A.D.
This is a historical real-time strategy game focusing on the ancient era. Among other game features, the player can fight other civilisations, research new technologies or focus on economy. The developers focus on the historical accuracy of the buildings and units in this game.
Comparison
Players often praise the deep game features, nice background music, good artistic elements, and overall graphics. The players seem to enjoy this game as much as other commercial titles such as Age of Empires. The disadvantage of this project might be its slow development and possible bugs since the game is still a work in progress.
Examples
OpenArena
This first-person shooter game offers many gaming modes, such as deathmatch, capture the flag, team deathmatch, or tournament, similar to other existing commercial games.
Comparison
The game is inspired by Quake III Arena and offers generally the same features, as a FLOSS title.
Examples
SuperTux
This is a FLOSS two-dimensional platform game starring Tux, the Linux mascot. The player jumps across levels, collects coins, defeats enemies, and rescues Penny from the villain Nolok. Community-made worlds and a built-in level editor extend the base campaign.
Comparison
SuperTux is often described as a FLOSS alternative to classic side-scrolling platformers such as Super Mario Bros. The gameplay is simpler than modern commercial titles, but the project is lightweight, runs on modest hardware, and is easy to modify or redistribute.
Examples
SuperTuxKart
This is a FLOSS three-dimensional kart racing game featuring mascots from the FLOSS world — Tux, GNU, KDE's Konqi, and others. It offers single-player cups, split-screen multiplayer, online races, and a story mode with varied tracks and power-ups.
Comparison
SuperTuxKart plays like a Mario Kart-style arcade racer, but with FLOSS characters and tracks instead of a commercial franchise. Graphics and polish have improved steadily across releases; it is a friendly entry point for casual racing on Linux and other platforms.
Examples
Secret Maryo Chronicles
This is a FLOSS two-dimensional platform game in the Mario tradition. The player runs and jumps through levels, collects power-ups, and clears obstacles. A built-in level editor lets the community create and share custom worlds.
Comparison
Secret Maryo Chronicles plays closer to Super Mario World than to the original Super Mario Bros., and is often grouped with other FLOSS platformers such as SuperTux. Development on the original project has slowed, but the community continuation The Secret Chronicles of Dr. M. carries the idea forward.
Examples
