Wolfire Games Blog
blog.wolfire.com · Company blog · on HN since 2008
The Wolfire Games team, makers of Overgrowth and the Humble Bundle, write about game development, math, and the games business.
What HN saysHN 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.
89HN people shared it
47linked it in comments
66stories submitted
2.3Kstory points
2 years agolast shared
2008people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Linear algebra for game developers – Part 1 (2009)11 people · 327 points · first shared 2011 · 30 comments on HN
- 2Why you should use OpenGL and not DirectX10 people · 600 points · first shared 2010 · 175 comments on HN
- 3Another view of game piracy7 people · 62 points · first shared 2010 · 67 comments on HN
- 4Lugaru Goes Open-Source6 people · 62 points · first shared 2010 · 8 comments on HN
- 5Overgrowth: Open-Source Announcement4 people · 220 points · first shared 2022 · 31 comments on HN
- 6Counterfeit Game Sold on Apple's App Store4 people · 144 points · first shared 2011 · 37 comments on HN
- 7Class action suit against Valve Corporation4 people · 5 points · first shared 2021 · 1 comments on HN
- 8Linear algebra for game developers ~ part 23 people · 7 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
- 9Linear algebra for game developers ~ part 43 people · 6 points · first shared 2010 · 1 comments on HN
- 10Linear algebra for game developers ~ part 33 people · 4 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
- 11Thoughts on OnLive2 people · 100 points · first shared 2010 · 42 comments on HN
- 12Linux users contribute twice as much as Windows users2 people · 70 points · first shared 2010 · 16 comments on HN
- 13Why you should support Mac OS X and Linux2 people · 54 points · first shared 2008 · 32 comments on HN
- 14Preview of WebKit’s WebGL / Canvas 3D2 people · 51 points · first shared 2009 · 4 comments on HN
- 15DirectX vs. OpenGL revisited2 people · 33 points · first shared 2010 · 9 comments on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
aeturnum · 2016-01-12
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/
Adverblessly · 2023-12-09
Have a look at http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/05/Another-view-of-game-piracy
<large number>% of copies are pirated, but only <tiny number>% of players pirate, it is simply that (some of) those that do pirate will tend to pirate a whole lot more games. Meaning that that 90% piracy rate means e.g. 5% lost sales.
And if you follow https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15319476 then 90% piracy rate could also mean 5% extra sales.
lj3 · 2016-08-21
Open source doesn't mean free. Lots of people pay for open source software licences. Games do this a lot to encourage modding communities[0].
I'd like to see desktop software release their code more often. Then we could see for ourselves what standard coding practices are instead of relying on the talking heads of the software world to sell us the latest and greatest software methodology.
[0]: http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/05/Open-source-software-is-not-always-fre…
njkanjsd · 2016-08-18
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-Dire…
mieko · 2014-11-11
A few years ago, the Wolfire team (AKA, the Humble Bundle originators), put together a great set of articles on linear algebra as it applies to game development. I think it's one of the most plainly-written and practical guides out there. I still mentally picture the diagrams when I've been out of the loop for a bit.
http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-par…
gcr · 2013-04-04
Wolfire Games, of Overgrowth fame (they also were the original organizers of the "Humble Indie Bundle") have another writeup comparing OpenGL to DirectX. Their argument centers mostly on the market ("Linux users are important") and it's a bit dated (2010), but still a great read.
http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/01/Why-you-should-use-OpenGL-and-not-Dire…
farinasa · 2012-08-02
Here is another, older take from Wolfire Games (Overgrowth, Lugaru):
http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/01/Why-you-should-use-OpenGL-and-not-Dire…
and a follow up:
http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/01/DirectX-vs-OpenGL-revisited
slowpoke · 2011-10-25
I know a bit about and highly respect the indie scene. They are, in my opinion, the future of game development in general. I paid for the second bundle, and was highly entertained for quite a while. It's a very cool project.
Slightly offtopic, but Wolfire has also written one of my favorite articles/blog posts as of recent, as well - http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-par…
floriancargoet · 2011-09-28
It's a great incentive to pay more than average but it's nothing new. The 2nd bundle already included the 1st one if you paid more than average.
Source: http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/12/Your-Humble-Bundle-just-doubled
landhar · 2011-06-30
Also worth reading:
http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/01/Why-you-should-use-OpenGL-and-not-Dire…
loup-vaillant · 2010-01-08
"If you're just making a game"
…for Microsoft's platforms. This article[1] tend to prove that the extra time you spend with OpenGL can be a worthy investment, even if you are "just making a game". (I know you didn't say otherwise, but you sounded like you thought otherwise.)
[1]: http://blog.wolfire.com/2008/12/why-you-should-support-mac-os-x-and-li…
ThatPlayer · 2023-11-23
Wolfire (the one suing Valve in this case) is saying Steam don't limit it Steam keys in their private communications:
http://blog.wolfire.com/2021/05/Regarding-the-Valve-class-action
> they replied that they would remove Overgrowth from Steam if I allowed it to be sold at a lower price anywhere, even from my own website without Steam keys and without Steam’s DRM.
ece · 2022-04-29
Wolfire's other open source games or maintained forks:
https://gitlab.com/osslugaru/lugaru
https://github.com/AquariaOSE/Aquaria
https://github.com/freegish/freegish
And a blog entry: http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/06/Early-Gish-hacking
bananicorn · 2021-02-18
I know it's not what you asked for, but these articles helped me a lot with linear algebra - which you will most probably need in any case:
http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-par…
http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-par…
http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/07/Linear-algebra-for-game-developers-par…
29athrowaway · 2020-12-14
While I also hate that happened, it is not clear he had to do with it and it is not the moment to bring this up.
The parent refers to is:
http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/01/Why-you-should-use-OpenGL-and-not-Dire…
See FUD part.
phiresky · 2020-04-27
Alternative take: An Open API is good, but Microsoft and Nvidia are too powerful to allow it
http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/01/Why-you-should-use-OpenGL-and-not-Dire…
maccard · 2019-08-27
2007 has you covered: http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-par…
the_dege · 2019-05-03
The pirated copies aren't all lossed sales. If you want some more statistics form the creator of the Humble Bundle I suggest you a small read about the topic: http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/05/Another-view-of-game-piracy
rootlocus · 2017-12-15
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.
partycoder · 2017-11-28
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-Dire…
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.
tgb · 2016-08-11
Yeah, it looks like ODE doesn't use SIMD or anything, and hence performs poorly compared to more modern engines: http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/03/Comparing-ODE-and-Bullet
kolapuriya · 2016-05-29
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-par…
part2:http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-par…
part3:http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/07/Linear-algebra-for-game-developers-par…
part4:http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/07/Linear-algebra-for-game-developers-par…
angersock · 2015-04-02
Some basic linear algebra (vectors and the like) is quite handy. I'd start with the basics useful for game development:
http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-par…
The concepts generalize decently, and if you already know trig than you'll find this helpful.
quickquicker · 2015-01-21
I've always been partial to this: http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/07/linear-algebra-for-game-developers-par…
Kronopath · 2013-12-12
From what I've heard, Vimeo is even worse, disallowing all video game content unless it's a game you developed yourself: http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/01/vimeowned/
adventureloop · 2013-05-05
In OpenGL you can use CoreGraphics to render into a context and convert that data to a texture. This could be done for each string, but doing so you loose the power of the underlying implementation. If there are libraries that make this easier I am yet to come across them.
Wolfire have written a very good blog post about the issues with text rendering and OpenGL.
http://blog.wolfire.com/2013/03/High-quality-text-rendering
syko · 2013-03-12
Call me paranoid, but this looks like a good tactic to spread the maximum amount of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt into the already-collapsing Flash community while still keeping support for the platform.
Reminds me of the OpenGL vs DirectX wars. (not implying the situation is
similar in any way, only the FUD tactic :) )
http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/01/Why-you-should-use-OpenGL-and-not-Dire…
RobotCaleb · 2013-03-11
kevinh · 2012-12-20
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-Stor…
Bjartr · 2012-10-04
Well, actually...[1]
[1] http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/05/introducing-wolfire-webkitten/