A recent example of this issue is the launch of Battlefield 4 in late 2013. Fans of the previous iterations were expecting an absolute flawless gaming experience. However they were instead met with game-breaking bugs and crashes. Some examples? How about spawning directly underneath the terrain, unable to move or play the game. Or emptying an entire clip of your weapon in an enemy only to be killed in one shot because the game didn't register your damage output. Or even having your game crashed randomly because of reasons. These are some of the experiences that fans of the game voiced during the release of Battlefield 4.
Here is a sample of bugs/issues that D.I.C.E posted during the initial release week:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/12/10/battlefield-4-bug-tracker-shows-status-of-major-issues
So how does open source play into all of this? Well for one thing, those outrageous developing costs go out the window. No more having to create your own engine, physics system, scripting, AI or even network infrastructure. These are some of the most time consuming and problematic aspects of gaming, and having source code readily available for developers to look at gives them the opportunity to work on what really matters - asset generation and game design.
Another benefit of having video games go open source is that bugs and glitches are fixed at an exponential rate. Having the source code open to the public allows fans of the game to freely modify the game to their liking and to even fix those "petty" bugs people love to complain about.
A prime example of how this works - in theory - is the modding community in video games. Let's look at Dark Souls 2. The game released on PC with only a native resolution of 1024x720. However, Durante - a fan of the game - released a mod called DSfix that fixed the resolution issues and optimized the performance of the game itself. Not only did this fan pay for the broken game, but he also fixed it FOR FREE. This is the epitome of what open source is about, the community working with the developers to create a vastly superior product.
Oh and here is an example of how the resolution affects the looks of the game:
So it's pretty clear - at least hypothetically - how open source would fix the myriad of problems involving game development. Games costs less to make, which in turn means more attention to game design and art generation. Games will also have their bugs fixed free of charge by the very people buying the video game!
Therefore, I propose to all the budding developers out there, RELEASE YOUR CODE!
Less your game ends like this
Unless you think this is amazing, then by all means protect your code.
Creepy gif is creepy.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most strongest reasons to open source some things in video games is that it would definitely help streamline certain aspects of games. HUDs, inventory menus, and online matchmaking are common in many video games, so it's a shame that the wheel has to be reinvented every time a new game comes out. Having features like that be automatically present in games can allow developers to spend more time making their games better.
ReplyDeleteThe big game companies always rush release their games with bugs in order to get as many bucks as possible. Worst of all, some of the games are not even moddable without the support of the game companies. I would love to see a open source game that can rival the titles such as Call of Duty or battlefield. The dedication of open source communities would knock them down to the floor.
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