Wolfire Games Blog
The Wolfire Games team, makers of Overgrowth and the Humble Bundle, write about game development, math, and the games business.
What HN says
HN commenters point to its plain, practical linear algebra guides and its data-driven post on game piracy, and note its tech demos and open-sourcing of games.
Stats for nerds
89HN people shared it
66linked in comments
2.3Kstory points
Dec 2023last shared
Top posts on HN
- 1Why you should use OpenGL and not DirectX10 people · 600 points · first shared 2010 · 175 comments on HN
- 2Linear algebra for game developers – Part 1 (2009)11 people · 327 points · first shared 2011 · 30 comments on HN
- 3Overgrowth: Open-Source Announcement4 people · 220 points · first shared 2022 · 31 comments on HN
- 4Counterfeit Game Sold on Apple's App Store4 people · 144 points · first shared 2011 · 37 comments on HN
- 5Thoughts on OnLive2 people · 100 points · first shared 2010 · 42 comments on HN
- 6Linux users contribute twice as much as Windows users2 people · 70 points · first shared 2010 · 16 comments on HN
- 7Another view of game piracy7 people · 62 points · first shared 2010 · 67 comments on HN
- 8Lugaru Goes Open-Source6 people · 62 points · first shared 2010 · 8 comments on HN
- 9The state of Mac and Linux gaming1 person · 60 points · first shared 2010 · 30 comments on HN
- 10Creating the Illusion of Accomplishment1 person · 57 points · first shared 2009 · 9 comments on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
- partycoderNov 2017
And the reason for this is because back in the day, in 2003, Microsoft ran a Fear/Uncertainty/Doubt (FUD for short) campaign mostly based on false claims, such as that OpenGL would be put behind a compatibility layer with a significant performance cost. Simultaneously, Microsoft left the OpenGL Architecture Review Board giving a strong signal they were not supporting OpenGL anymore. Everyone freaked out and moved to Direct3D.
http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/01/Why-you-should-use-OpenGL-and-not-DirectX
http://chrishecker.com/images/3/33/Gdmogl.pdf
Despite the technical differences, if you think this is morable acceptable, by all means do you all your development on Windows. Allow someone else to build a monopoly with no real gain for you.
- njkanjsdAug 2016
I think this can be explained by the fact that Microsoft has a long history of trying to kill OSS software and alternatives to it's virtual monopoly in the desktop OS market, killing innovation across many technology sectors in the process. Being cross-platform was the opposite of their goals. They specifically created their own version of open technologies and promoted them as the best/only way of doing things on windows - see directx/opengl, and mictrosoft intentionally degrading opengl performance on windows in order to hurt the OSS community.
http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/01/Why-you-should-use-OpenGL-and-not-DirectX
- kevinhDec 2012
I'm disappointed that none of the devs of games in HIBs have open-sourced their games since the first one. It was always fun to have a glimpse at the code. I guess the Lugaru source fiasco[0] may have discouraged other devs from open-sourcing their games.
It's also a bit odd that Indie Game: The Movie shows up as a game on Steam. I'm somewhat surprised that Valve hasn't properly expanded into the video/music space given that they sell both movies and soundtracks (to games) on Steam.
[0]http://blog.wolfire.com/2011/02/Counterfeit-Lugaru-on-Apple-s-App-Store-developing
- kolapuriyaMay 2016
There seems to be a lot of complaining about this article being too simple. Hopefully you all noticed that this was part 1 of 4, and it gets pretty complicated and useful (to me at least) by the end.
part1:http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-part-1/part2:http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-part-2/
part3:http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/07/Linear-algebra-for-game-developers-part-3
part4:http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/07/Linear-algebra-for-game-developers-part-4
- aeturnumJan 2016
I love the Voxel Quest posts because they're demonstrating some seriously cool tech. However, they feel a lot like the Wolfire development blogs [0] - great tech demos without a cohesive vision for a game. From an engineering point of view, the end goal doesn't matter, but I would also love a 'bigger picture' roadmap of where it is and where it's going. Why would I use this engine? What do I 'get' over the competition in the current state of the engine? What should I 'get' by the end?
[0] http://blog.wolfire.com/
- rootlocusDec 2017
Someone else replied pointing out that what you're referring to are called imposters. I would also like to add they're a very very common technique, and something Wolfire Games added to their indie game Overgrowth in 2010, with a complete explanation: http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/10/Imposters
Yes, you can expect modern games to use any and all tricks available to squeeze performance. Imposters are an example of a LOD (Level of Detail) technique, which is standard in all game engines.