Re: Why Lisp supposedly "sucks for game development"

From: Adam Warner (usenet_at_consulting.net.nz)
Date: 10/24/04 

Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2004 15:00:28 +1300

Hi Kenny Tilton,

> So unless you also have your letter of resignation from Microsoft open
> in another window, there is no way you would be considering anything
> other than C++. But, hey, what chance is there that a bunch of SLWs
> would know any of the above? None!
>
> Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Just don't blow it by actually
> responding to anything of substance -- not that I have to tell you that!

If you substitute "Linux" for "Lisp" in the articles it's easier to see
that Jack Palevich is making arguments about popularity, not technological
superiority. His definition of "Games" simply favours Microsoft because of
its current market share.

   I work at Microsoft on the Xbox system software team. Currently I'm
   working on graphics for current and future versions of Xbox. I'm a full
   time C++ developer. I don't currently write games myself, but my code's
   in every Xbox game, and I spend a lot of time talking with developers
   about their game architectures. I know an awful lot about what video
   game hardware and software is going to look like in the next three to
   five years.

   As for Linux, in addition to getting a Unix-based undergraduate
   education at MIT, and having a full time job for a year and a half
   programming upon Unix at HP Labs during the AI boom, I have recently
   spent a few months as a hobbyist trying to figure out how Linux could
   be used to implement modern video games. It may seem from these essays
   that I hate Linux, but in fact I've spent quite a bit of my free time
   trying to see if Linux has a place on the modern game world. (And it's
   why I'm willing to spend even more time defending my opinions.)

   ...

   I wrote the "Why Linux Sucks for Games" article as a post-mortem on my
   hobby investigation to see if Linux would make sense as an operating
   system for writing next-gen video games.

   ...

   So when I say Linux sucks for games, I'm arguing from at least as much
   Linux knowledge as the average internet discussion group denizen, and
   way more game knowledge.

   ...

   Criticism 5: You hate Linux, therefore you suck.

   * I may suck, but it's not because I hate Linux. I like Linux quite a
     bit. I just don't see it as useful for writing modern video games.

   * With the exception of Id Software, nobody uses Linux for modern game
     development, and few developers even use Linux as a game machine.
     Perhaps everyone else is stupid, or perhaps Linux has issues. Before
     you flame me too much, consider if your love of Linux is blinding you
     to its faults.

Regards,
Adam

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