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This point was made a lot in the article - Hackers didn't care about Open Source or the ideology. I tend to agree with that. First it's "don't use Unity", then

This point was made a lot in the article - Hackers didn't care about Open Source or the ideology. I tend to agree with that. First it's "don't use Unity", then it's "don't publish your Godot game for Windows", then it's "don't publish your Godot game in a form that requires proprietary graphics drivers", then it's "don't allow your game to run on Ubuntu", and so on. There's always another step to achieve ideological perfection. Perfect is the enemy of done. Getting stuff done is the important thing. It's much better to raise kids knowing that they can make their own games than not. If that's easier to do on Unity, then that's the way to go.

zozbot234 7y ago
If it's easier to do it on Unity, the way to go is to improve Godot until it's even easier to use than Unity! :-) And the actual point of using something open like Godot is to raise kids who will internalize the fact that they could make not just their games, but their game engines as well - indeed, that nothing is 'magic' and anything can be thoroughly understood from first principles if one cares enough to do so. Every hacker knows this already, of course - but normies don't, even though that's the most useful lesson that 'hacking' can teach.
- z3phyr 7y ago
  On a fundamental problem solving level, open source spoils the part of the fun. I only need the executable file, and part of the fun is figuring out how it works and how can I morph that file to make it do other things, or completely change the functioning of the software. One example I give is rock climbing. Logically, everyone should just take a helicopter to reach the top, or let the community contribute and build the road. But where is fun in that? We are rock climbers and we will rock climb.
- marcus_holmes 7y ago
  I get that. But again it's an endless stair of complexity and tool-building. So you can't write your game because first you need to improve your game engine! But your game engine needs improved graphics drivers, so you need to work on that! But graphics drivers only work well on a decent compositor, so you need to work on that! But a decent compositor needs a kernel architecture that actually does what it says on the tin, so you need to work on that! At what point do you say "enough!" and start writing the game not the tool? I say that for a kid starting out, that point is right at the start. IF they get good at games coding, THEN by all means get them interested in Godot and helping to write a new games engine. By then they'll have the understanding to be able to contribute.

zozbot234 7y ago

If it's easier to do it on Unity, the way to go is to improve Godot until it's even easier to use than Unity! :-) And the actual point of using something open like Godot is to raise kids who will internalize the fact that they could make not just their games, but their game engines as well - indeed, that nothing is 'magic' and anything can be thoroughly understood from first principles if one cares enough to do so. Every hacker knows this already, of course - but normies don't, even though that's the most useful lesson that 'hacking' can teach.

z3phyr 7y ago
On a fundamental problem solving level, open source spoils the part of the fun. I only need the executable file, and part of the fun is figuring out how it works and how can I morph that file to make it do other things, or completely change the functioning of the software. One example I give is rock climbing. Logically, everyone should just take a helicopter to reach the top, or let the community contribute and build the road. But where is fun in that? We are rock climbers and we will rock climb.
marcus_holmes 7y ago
I get that. But again it's an endless stair of complexity and tool-building. So you can't write your game because first you need to improve your game engine! But your game engine needs improved graphics drivers, so you need to work on that! But graphics drivers only work well on a decent compositor, so you need to work on that! But a decent compositor needs a kernel architecture that actually does what it says on the tin, so you need to work on that! At what point do you say "enough!" and start writing the game not the tool? I say that for a kid starting out, that point is right at the start. IF they get good at games coding, THEN by all means get them interested in Godot and helping to write a new games engine. By then they'll have the understanding to be able to contribute.