Loki Software, Inc. (Loki Entertainment) was an American video game developer based in Tustin, California, that ported several video games from Microsoft Windows to Linux. It took its name from the Norse deity Loki.[2] Although successful in its goal of bringing games to the Linux platform, the company folded in January 2002 after filing for bankruptcy.
Loki Software was founded on November 9, 1998, by Scott Draeker, a former lawyer who became interested in porting games to Linux after being introduced to the system through his work as a software licensing attorney. By December of that year Loki had gained the rights to produce a port of Activision's then-upcoming strategy game Civilization: Call to Power for Linux.[3][4][5] This was to become Loki's first actual product, with the game hitting stores in May 1999.[6] From there they gained contracts to port many other titles, such as Myth II: Soulblighter, Railroad Tycoon II, and Eric's Ultimate Solitaire.[7] Throughout the next two years up until its eventual closure the company would continue to bring more games to Linux.[8]BSDi had also partnered with Loki to ensure its Linux ports ran on FreeBSD through a compatibility layer.[9] After facing financial difficulties,[10] Loki filed for bankruptcy in August 2001.[11][12][1][13] The majority of the staff was laid off in January 2002 and Loki formally closed on January 31.[1][14]
Legacyedit
Loki Software, although a commercial failure, is credited with the birth of the modern Linux game industry.[15] Loki developed several free software tools, such as the Loki installer (also known as Loki Setup), and supported the development of the Simple DirectMedia Layer. They also started the OpenAL audio library project (now being run by Creative Technology and Apple Inc.) and with id Software wrote GtkRadiant. These are still often credited as being the cornerstones of Linux game development.[16] They also worked on and extended several already developed tools, such as GCC and GDB.[17] The book Programming Linux Games written in the early 2000s by Loki intern John R. Hall explains the major APIs Loki used to produce Linux games.[18][19]
Loki also offered a start to many figures still in the Linux and gaming industries. Ryan C. Gordon (also known as icculus), a former employee of Loki, has been responsible for the Linux and Mac OS X ports of many commercial games after the demise of the company. Mike Phillips would help start Linux Game Publishing, which was itself founded in response to Loki's closure.[20] Nicholas Vining would go on to do some porting work and is currently the lead programmer at Gaslamp Games, which would later release their game Dungeons of Dredmor for Linux.[21][22]Sam Lantinga would also later join Blizzard Entertainment and found Galaxy Gameworks to commercially support the Simple DirectMedia Layer; he would later also join Valve's Linux team.[23]
Although many Loki ports are unsupported since Loki's closure, Linux Game Publishing managed to pick up the rights to MindRover and offer a supported and updated version of the game's Linux port. id Software picked up the support for the Linux release of Quake III Arena,[24] hiring Timothee Besset to maintain it; he would later also be responsible for porting some of id's later products to Linux.[25]Running with Scissors, to celebrate the release of the movie Postal in 2007 published a multiplayer only version of Postal 2, without the single player campaign.[26] In 2004 the source header files for Rune were released freely by Human Head Studios.[27] But so far no one has updated the Linux version of Rune, though the company stated that a game sequel is in the making, and delayed the development of Prey 2.[28]
Software contractor Frank C. Earl claimed in 2010 to hold the porting rights for the entire Myth series and says he will port it to Linux.[29] Kevin Bentley worked in 2009 on a Descent 3 patch for Linux,[30] which was re-released in 2014 on Steam by Rebecca Heineman, who got blessed source code access.[31] On October 16, 2011, Project Magma released a new version of Myth II: Soulblighter for Linux.[32][33]
Games publishededit
Civilization: Call to Power was the first game ported by Loki.Postal Plus was the last game ported by Loki.
In addition to the published titles, there is also an unfinished port of Deus Ex. The later update of Deus Ex for Microsoft Windows features the OpenGLdriver for the Unreal Engine from Loki Software's Linux port. This makes the title more compatible with Wine.
^ abc. February 2, 2002. Archived from the original on February 2, 2002. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^. March 9, 2012. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^Powell, Dennis E. (April 9, 2002). "Loki: A promising plan gone terribly wrong". LinuxAndMain. Archived from the original on April 18, 2002. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
^"Interview: Scott Draeker and Sam Latinga, Loki Entertainment | Linux Journal". www.linuxjournal.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^Wired Staff (February 1, 2000). "He Finds Open Source Fair Game". Wired. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
^. September 28, 2004. Archived from the original on September 28, 2004. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^. December 3, 2000. Archived from the original on December 3, 2000. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^. August 20, 2001. Archived from the original on August 20, 2001. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^Smith, JT (August 15, 2000). "Loki and BSDi partner to certify Linux games for BSD". Linux.com. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
^Powell, Dennis E. (April 9, 2002). "Loki: A promising plan gone terribly wrong". linuxandmain.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2002. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
^. February 24, 2008. Archived from the original on February 24, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^. February 3, 2012. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^"icculus.org headlines". www.icculus.org. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^Keefer, John (March 31, 2006). . GameSpy. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007.
^Lynch, Jim (September 7, 2016). "Remembering Loki's Linux games from the '90s". InfoWorld. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
^. August 29, 2018. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^. August 8, 2004. Archived from the original on August 8, 2004. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^Warren, Rich (February 15, 2002). "Programming Linux Games: A Book Review". Linux Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
^"In Memoriam: John R. Hall". Linux Journal. September 23, 2005. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
^"LinuxHardware.org - Interview with LGP's Mike Phillips". www.linuxhardware.org. Archived from the original on January 13, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^Classic Roguelike : Dungeons of Dredmor Is Coming To GNU/Linux Soon December 28, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Linux Gaming News, July 19, 2010
^. October 29, 2010. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^"Valve Picks Up Another All-Star Linux Developer". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^. October 22, 2018. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^. September 24, 2004. Archived from the original on September 24, 2004. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^"Download Postal 2: Share the Pain Linux 1409.2". softpedia. June 13, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
^. humanhead.com. September 28, 2004. Archived from the original on October 13, 2004. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
^"Source: Human Head hasn't worked on Prey 2 since November". Shacknews. April 19, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^"Soldak Entertainment Forums - View Single Post - Linux client ?". www.soldak.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^Descent3 1.5 Patch Development update on YouTube (2009)
^"Olde Sküül". www.facebook.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^. October 30, 2011. Archived from the original on October 30, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^. September 13, 2015. Archived from the original on September 13, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
^Plant, Emmett (October 9, 2000). . linux.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
External linksedit
Official website
Icculus.org Ryan Gordon's site, hosting many Loki projects as well as other Linux gaming resources
Activision and Loki Partner to Bring Games to Linux Linux PR, October 11, 1999
Linux.com - Loki: In The Trenches (Interview with Loki Software Staff) July 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
January 01, 1970
loki, entertainment, loki, software, american, video, game, developer, based, tustin, california, that, ported, several, video, games, from, microsoft, windows, linux, took, name, from, norse, deity, loki, although, successful, goal, bringing, games, linux, pl. Loki Software Inc Loki Entertainment was an American video game developer based in Tustin California that ported several video games from Microsoft Windows to Linux It took its name from the Norse deity Loki 2 Although successful in its goal of bringing games to the Linux platform the company folded in January 2002 after filing for bankruptcy Loki Software Inc Company typePrivatelyIndustryVideo gamesFoundedNovember 9 1998 1998 11 09 FounderScott DraekerDefunctJanuary 31 2002 2002 01 31 FateBankruptcyHeadquartersTustin California USNumber of employeesApprox 10 1 2001 Websitewww lokigames com at the Wayback Machine archived May 26 2002 Contents 1 History 2 Legacy 3 Games published 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editLoki Software was founded on November 9 1998 by Scott Draeker a former lawyer who became interested in porting games to Linux after being introduced to the system through his work as a software licensing attorney By December of that year Loki had gained the rights to produce a port of Activision s then upcoming strategy game Civilization Call to Power for Linux 3 4 5 This was to become Loki s first actual product with the game hitting stores in May 1999 6 From there they gained contracts to port many other titles such as Myth II Soulblighter Railroad Tycoon II and Eric s Ultimate Solitaire 7 Throughout the next two years up until its eventual closure the company would continue to bring more games to Linux 8 BSDi had also partnered with Loki to ensure its Linux ports ran on FreeBSD through a compatibility layer 9 After facing financial difficulties 10 Loki filed for bankruptcy in August 2001 11 12 1 13 The majority of the staff was laid off in January 2002 and Loki formally closed on January 31 1 14 Legacy editLoki Software although a commercial failure is credited with the birth of the modern Linux game industry 15 Loki developed several free software tools such as the Loki installer also known as Loki Setup and supported the development of the Simple DirectMedia Layer They also started the OpenAL audio library project now being run by Creative Technology and Apple Inc and with id Software wrote GtkRadiant These are still often credited as being the cornerstones of Linux game development 16 They also worked on and extended several already developed tools such as GCC and GDB 17 The book Programming Linux Games written in the early 2000s by Loki intern John R Hall explains the major APIs Loki used to produce Linux games 18 19 Loki also offered a start to many figures still in the Linux and gaming industries Ryan C Gordon also known as icculus a former employee of Loki has been responsible for the Linux and Mac OS X ports of many commercial games after the demise of the company Mike Phillips would help start Linux Game Publishing which was itself founded in response to Loki s closure 20 Nicholas Vining would go on to do some porting work and is currently the lead programmer at Gaslamp Games which would later release their game Dungeons of Dredmor for Linux 21 22 Sam Lantinga would also later join Blizzard Entertainment and found Galaxy Gameworks to commercially support the Simple DirectMedia Layer he would later also join Valve s Linux team 23 Although many Loki ports are unsupported since Loki s closure Linux Game Publishing managed to pick up the rights to MindRover and offer a supported and updated version of the game s Linux port id Software picked up the support for the Linux release of Quake III Arena 24 hiring Timothee Besset to maintain it he would later also be responsible for porting some of id s later products to Linux 25 Running with Scissors to celebrate the release of the movie Postal in 2007 published a multiplayer only version of Postal 2 without the single player campaign 26 In 2004 the source header files for Rune were released freely by Human Head Studios 27 But so far no one has updated the Linux version of Rune though the company stated that a game sequel is in the making and delayed the development of Prey 2 28 Software contractor Frank C Earl claimed in 2010 to hold the porting rights for the entire Myth series and says he will port it to Linux 29 Kevin Bentley worked in 2009 on a Descent 3 patch for Linux 30 which was re released in 2014 on Steam by Rebecca Heineman who got blessed source code access 31 On October 16 2011 Project Magma released a new version of Myth II Soulblighter for Linux 32 33 Games published edit nbsp Civilization Call to Power was the first game ported by Loki nbsp Postal Plus was the last game ported by Loki Title Platforms IA 32 PowerPC SPARC Alpha Civilization Call to Power Yes Yes Yes Yes Descent 3 Yes No No No Descent 3 Mercenary expansion as downloadable installer only Yes No No No Eric s Ultimate Solitaire Yes Yes Yes Yes Heavy Gear II Yes No No No Heavy Metal F A K K Yes No No No Heretic II Yes No No No Heroes of Might and Magic III Yes Yes No No Kohan Immortal Sovereigns Yes No No No MindRover Yes No No No Myth II Soulblighter Yes Yes No No Postal Plus Yes No No No Railroad Tycoon II Gold Edition Yes Yes No No Quake III Arena Yes No No No Rune Yes No No No Rune Halls of Valhalla expansion Yes No No No Sid Meier s Alpha Centauri Planetary Pack 34 Yes Yes No Yes Sim City 3000 Unlimited World Edition Yes No No No Soldier of Fortune Yes No No No Tribes 2 Yes No No No Unreal Tournament as downloadable installer only Yes No No No In addition to the published titles there is also an unfinished port of Deus Ex The later update of Deus Ex for Microsoft Windows features the OpenGL driver for the Unreal Engine from Loki Software s Linux port This makes the title more compatible with Wine See also editLinux Game Publishing Steam Ryan C Gordon Linux gamingReferences edit a b c NewsForge Loki s Draeker If I had to do it over I d create Linux native games February 2 2002 Archived from the original on February 2 2002 Retrieved June 29 2023 Linux Today Loki Entertainment Software When s the IPO March 9 2012 Archived from the original on March 9 2012 Retrieved June 29 2023 Powell Dennis E April 9 2002 Loki A promising plan gone terribly wrong LinuxAndMain Archived from the original on April 18 2002 Retrieved September 6 2009 Interview Scott Draeker and Sam Latinga Loki Entertainment Linux Journal www linuxjournal com Retrieved June 29 2023 Wired Staff February 1 2000 He Finds Open Source Fair Game Wired Retrieved October 1 2019 Linux Today Civilization Call to Power for Linux Ships September 28 2004 Archived from the original on September 28 2004 Retrieved June 29 2023 Loki releases three more games for Linux December 3 2000 Archived from the original on December 3 2000 Retrieved June 29 2023 Linux Games Loki Retrospective August 20 2001 Archived from the original on August 20 2001 Retrieved June 29 2023 Smith JT August 15 2000 Loki and BSDi partner to certify Linux games for BSD Linux com Retrieved July 1 2023 Powell Dennis E April 9 2002 Loki A promising plan gone terribly wrong linuxandmain com Archived from the original on April 18 2002 Retrieved January 14 2011 Linux Today Founder Creditors Differ as to Loki s Future Course February 24 2008 Archived from the original on February 24 2008 Retrieved June 29 2023 Linux game publisher runs out of funds Video Games Reviews Cheats Geek com February 3 2012 Archived from the original on February 3 2012 Retrieved June 29 2023 icculus org headlines www icculus org Retrieved November 11 2019 Keefer John March 31 2006 GameSpy Retro Developer Origins Page 2 of 19 GameSpy Archived from the original on June 9 2007 Lynch Jim September 7 2016 Remembering Loki s Linux games from the 90s InfoWorld Retrieved February 26 2023 Does Ragnarok for Loki Spell Doom for Linux Games ITworld August 29 2018 Archived from the original on August 29 2018 Retrieved June 29 2023 LinuxDevCenter com An Interview with Loki Games Scott Draeker August 8 2004 Archived from the original on August 8 2004 Retrieved June 29 2023 Warren Rich February 15 2002 Programming Linux Games A Book Review Linux Journal Retrieved April 18 2017 In Memoriam John R Hall Linux Journal September 23 2005 Retrieved April 18 2017 LinuxHardware org Interview with LGP s Mike Phillips www linuxhardware org Archived from the original on January 13 2014 Retrieved June 29 2023 Classic Roguelike Dungeons of Dredmor Is Coming To GNU Linux Soon Archived December 28 2014 at the Wayback Machine Linux Gaming News July 19 2010 LinuxGames Embrace your inner penguin October 29 2010 Archived from the original on October 29 2010 Retrieved June 29 2023 Valve Picks Up Another All Star Linux Developer www phoronix com Retrieved June 29 2023 Quake 3 Arena takes Linux by force Linux Containers October 22 2018 Archived from the original on October 22 2018 Retrieved June 29 2023 LinuxGames For the People September 24 2004 Archived from the original on September 24 2004 Retrieved June 29 2023 Download Postal 2 Share the Pain Linux 1409 2 softpedia June 13 2008 Retrieved November 11 2019 Human Head Studios releases Rune Headers humanhead com September 28 2004 Archived from the original on October 13 2004 Retrieved December 30 2012 Source Human Head hasn t worked on Prey 2 since November Shacknews April 19 2012 Retrieved June 29 2023 Soldak Entertainment Forums View Single Post Linux client www soldak com Retrieved June 29 2023 Descent3 1 5 Patch Development update on YouTube 2009 Olde Skuul www facebook com Retrieved June 29 2023 LinuxGames Embrace your inner penguin October 30 2011 Archived from the original on October 30 2011 Retrieved June 29 2023 Project Magma Archives September 13 2015 Archived from the original on September 13 2015 Retrieved June 29 2023 Plant Emmett October 9 2000 Loki In The Trenches linux com Archived from the original on July 23 2011 Retrieved February 5 2011 External links editOfficial website Icculus org Ryan Gordon s site hosting many Loki projects as well as other Linux gaming resources Activision and Loki Partner to Bring Games to Linux Linux PR October 11 1999 Linux com Loki In The Trenches Interview with Loki Software Staff Archived July 23 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Loki Entertainment amp oldid 1223908846, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
