> "game programming" Sometimes I'm forced to use OS X as well - not just forced to use Windows - because that's the only thing the iOS toolchains work on and d

> "game programming" Sometimes I'm forced to use OS X as well - not just forced to use Windows - because that's the only thing the iOS toolchains work on and debug with properly. And if I'm targeting mobile, I'm targeting iOS, not just Android - because I'm getting paid too much to ignore that much of the target market. Console SDKs come in the form of windows-only tooling that tightly integrates with Visual Studio - which last I checked, attempts to verify you're using a geniuine licensed Windows installation. And the platform vendors verify what compilers you're using before they allow you to ship, to make sure you're not using ancient builds filled with codegen bugs. And of course you're firing up Windows to actually test your Windows builds for the PC market, right? Especially to root cause weird configuration, architecture, or driver specific bugs? Hell, I've helped develop a UWP app at the behest of Microsoft - they were our publisher - targeting Windows 8 before it was even released. What "non-Windows-only alternatives" do you think I had, exactly, for that? > My point is, people who say their work is only doable on Windows tend to just be scared to move away from the specific tools they know. Bullshit. Even when you have non-Windows alternatives that are compatible with the Windows alternatives, convincing IT to let you do your weird nonstandard thing, and dealing with the interop bugs for all the external people using Windows software is often a headache that will cost far more than just paying the Windows licensing fees and booting it. That's not fear, that's just practicality. People who say there are non-Windows alternatives tend to not realize just how miserable an experience that can be, on the occasions where they're actually technically right, when they're not working alone in an isolated silo with all the free time in the world. Like, sure, I could try and debug msbuild issues my coworkers are having by trying to run it via wine on linux. Or I could ship windows PC games by cross compiling to windows with clang and praying there are no OS specific bugs. OpenGL drivers on windows aren't as bad as they once were, I suppose. But I challenge you to find a single professional gamedev foolish enough to go through that pain in the ass, just to avoid firing up Windows. Surely you can find at least one?