Tux Racer

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Tux Racer
Composer(s)
George Sanger
Joseph Toscano
Platform(s)Linux, Windows, Mac
ReleaseLinux:
  • WW: February 28, 2000
Windows:
  • WW: October 2, 2000
Macintosh:
  • WW: November 21, 2000
Racing
Mode(s)Single-player

Tux Racer is a 2000

racing video game starring the Linux mascot, Tux the penguin. It was originally developed by Jasmin Patry as a computer graphics project at the University of Waterloo. Later on, Patry and the newly founded Sunspire Studios, composed of several former students of the university, expanded it. In the game, the player controls Tux as he slides down a course of snow and ice collecting herrings
.

Tux Racer was officially downloaded over one million times as of 2001. It also was well received, often being acclaimed for the graphics, fast-paced gameplay, and replayability, and was a fan favorite among Linux users and the free software community. The game's popularity secured the development of a proprietized release that included enhanced graphics and multiplayer, and it also became the first

GPL-licensed game to receive an arcade
adaptation. It is the only product that Sunspire Studios developed and released, after which the company liquidated.

Gameplay

Gameplay featuring Tux. From top-left clockwise, the user interface is composed of the time elapsed, the total number of herring collected, and a speedometer and "energometer" used for charging jumps.[1]

Tux Racer is a racing game in which the player must control Tux across a mountainside. Tux can turn left, right, brake, jump, and paddle, and flap his wings. If the player presses the brakes and turn buttons, Tux will perform a tight turn. Pressing the paddling buttons on the ground gives Tux some additional speed. The paddling stops giving speed and in turn slows Tux down when the speedometer turns yellow. Tux can slide off slopes or charge his jumps to temporarily launch into midair, during which he can flap his flippers to fly farther and adjust his direction left or right. The player can also reset the penguin should he be stuck in any part of the course.[1]

Courses are composed of various terrain types that affect Tux's performance. Sliding on ice allows speeding at the expense of traction, and snow allows for more maneuverability. However, rocky patches slow him down,[2]: 193  as does crashing into trees.[3] The player gains points by collecting herrings scattered along the courses, and the faster the player finishes the course, the higher the score. Players can select cups, where progression is by completing a series of courses in order by satisfying up to three requirements: collecting sufficient herring, finishing the course below a specified time, and scoring enough points. Failing to meet all the criteria or aborting the race costs a life, and should the player lose all four lives, they must reenter the cup and start over. During level selection, the player can choose daytime settings and weather conditions such as wind and fog that affect the gameplay.[1] Maps are composed of three separately saved raster layers that each determine a map's elevation, terrain layout,[3] and object placement.[4]

Proprietary version

The proprietary version of Tux Racer introduces new content. Besides Tux, players can select one of three other characters to race as: Samuel the seal, Boris the polar bear, and Neva the penguin.

split-screen.[5]
: 10 

Development

Tux Racer was developed in the University of Waterloo Computer Graphics Lab.

Tux Racer was originally developed by Jasmin Patry, a student attending the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, where he aimed to begin a career in the video game industry by pursuing a computer graphics degree.[6] Development of the game began in August 1999 as a final computer graphics project in Computer Graphics Lab, and was completed in three days to positive class reception.[6][7] A webpage for the game was then started, and someone suggested he release the game's source code.[6]

Screenshot of an early version of the game, featuring a very basic gameplay

Patry felt that made sense due to Tux being the mascot for the open-source Linux, and continued to work on the game before publicly uploading it to SourceForge for Linux under the free GNU General Public License on February 28, 2000, hoping others would join in on developing it.[3][6][8] This early version featured a very basic gameplay that consisted of Tux sliding down a hill of snow, ice, rock, and trees for Tux to avoid along the way. To write the game, Patry tended to use free premade content such as textures borrowed from websites, rather than original content made from scratch.[3]

In December 1999, Patry, fine arts students Rick Knowles and Mark Riddell, and computer graphics students Patrick Gilhuly, Eric Hall, and Rob Kroeger announced the foundation of the company Sunspire Studios to develop a video game project.

cross-platform tools such as OpenGL and Simple DirectMedia Layer.[6] A major update including those improvements, version 0.60, was freely uploaded to SourceForge for both Linux and Windows on October 2, 2000.[9] A minor patch for that release was often included in most Linux distributions,[2]: 191  and a port for Macintosh was released on November 21, 2000.[10]

Ports and remakes

GPL-licensed video game to receive an arcade adaption.[11]

On February 5, 2002, Sunspire Studios released in retail a proprietary and commercial expansion of the game titled Tux Racer, with each CD designed to support both Linux and Windows operating systems.[12][13] Improvements from the open-source version include a vastly enhanced engine and graphics, the ability to perform tricks, character selection, and competitive multiplayer.[14] The open-source version of Tux Racer, however, remained available to download on SourceForge.[2]: 191  Sunspire Studios ceased business towards the end of 2004.[12]

Since its inception, Tux Racer has seen unofficial updates.

GPL-licensed video game to receive an arcade adaption.[11]

Reception

Tux Racer was well-received, with the latest version seeing over one million downloads as of October 2001 since its release in January, according to Sunspire Studios.

podracing in Star Wars and summed up the Macintosh port as "more fun than words can describe."[28]

The proprietary version of Tux Racer attracted little attention. Andon Logvinov of Igromania described it as a "pure arcade game" featuring nothing but four selectable characters and a set of courses with fish scattered about. He described the gameplay as calm and addictive and the music as relaxing, and praised the character models and track layout, with his only criticism being the system requirements.[29] Seiji Nakamura of the Japanese website Game Watch described it as cute and humorous and praised the game's graphics and shadow and reflection effects, but found the game to lack appeal for adults.[30]

Even after its production's cessation, Tux Racer has continued to be generally well-received.

Linux For You called it entertaining but also criticized its bugs and the "plastic" look of Tux.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Manual". SourceForge. Sunspire Studios. Archived from the original on May 27, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Dalheimer, Matthias Kalle; Welsh, Matt. Running Linux (5th ed.). O'Reilly Media. pp. 190–193.
  3. ^
    LinuxWorld.com. Archived from the original
    on October 18, 2000. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  4. ^ "Tux Racer FAQ". SourceForge. Sunspire Studios. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e Tux Racer commercial manual. Sunspire Studios. February 2002. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  6. ^
    Imprint. Archived from the original
    on January 27, 2001. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  7. ^ "University of Waterloo CS488/688 1998-1999 Gallery". University of Waterloo. March 9, 2000. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  8. ^ "tuxracer / 0.10". SourceForge. Jasmin Patry. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  9. ^ Hinuma, Satoshi (October 5, 2000). "ペンギンが雪山を滑り降りるスピード感満点の3Dゲーム「Tux Racer」v0.60". Windows Forest (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Tux Racer news". Sunspire Studios. Archived from the original on June 18, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d Marti, Don (August 2005). "Editors' Choice Awards 2005". Linux Journal. No. 136. p. 86.
  12. ^ a b "Tux Racer website". Sunspire Studios. Archived from the original on September 4, 2004.
  13. ^ "Tux Racer: Racing Penguins". GameStar (in German). January 18, 2002. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  14. ^ "Tux Racer game info". Tux Racer website. Sunspire Studios. Archived from the original on February 3, 2004.
  15. ^ Jackson, Jerry; O'Brien, Kevin; Baxter, Andrew (October 25, 2007). "Asus Eee PC Initial Hands On and Video Review". Notebook Review. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  16. ^ Elrod, Corvus (September 27, 2007). "Extreme Tux Racer Released". The Escapist. Defy Media. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  17. ^ Saunders, Mike (October 2014). "FOSSpicks". Linux Voice. No. 7. p. 73.
  18. Austin Business Journal. Archived
    from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  19. IDG. Archived
    from the original on August 29, 2004. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  20. PC Magazine
    . Vol. 26, no. 4. p. 71. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  21. ^ Heather Mead (November 1, 2004). "2004 Readers' Choice Awards". Linux Journal. Belltown Media, Inc. Archived from the original on February 11, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
  22. ^ Heather Mead (November 1, 2003). "2003 Readers' Choice Awards". Linux Journal. Belltown Media, Inc. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  23. ^ James Gray (May 1, 2008). "2008 Readers' Choice Awards". Linux Journal. Belltown Media, Inc. Archived from the original on May 9, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2008.
  24. ^ James Gray (May 1, 2009). "2009 Readers' Choice Awards". Linux Journal. Belltown Media, Inc. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
  25. ^ Gray, James (September 2005). "2005 Tux Readers' Choice Awards". Tux. No. 6. p. 27.
  26. TuxRadar. Future plc. April 9, 2009. Archived from the original
    on January 14, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  27. ^ "PC/Arcade Preview". SuperGamePower (in Portuguese). No. 82. January 2001. p. 46.
  28. MacAddict
    . No. 59. July 2001. p. 8.
  29. ^ Loginov, Andon (June 5, 2002). "Brief reviews. Tux Racer". Igromania (in Russian). Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  30. ^ Nakamura, Seiji (February 6, 2002). "本日到着！ DEMO & PATCH". Game Watch (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  31. ^ "Gaming Resources – Tux Racer". Digit. December 2005. pp. 107–108.
  32. ^ Voicu, Daniel (May 15, 2008). "Extreme Tux Racer Review". Softpedia. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  33. Linux For You
    . Vol. 7, no. 7. p. 24.

External links

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