**pokes the DRM-Free cage** ".... oooh, she's feisty today"

I've had a dilemma in my mind for a while now regarding Linux gaming (thanks in part to SteamOS) and DRM-Free.

In essence, I want to support both DRM-Free and Linux Gaming (more specifically non-platform exclusive gaming).
But I worry that unless I (and others like me) compromise my DRM-Free ways, Linux will never really take off with SteamOS. Heck, maybe it won't even if we do.

So the question is, should I buy more Steam games knowing that they may/likely will have a form of DRM, in the hopes that it will bring Linux into realm of an accepted gaming platform?
Or do I stick with my DRM-Free ways "knowing" that Linux will always have the same uphill battle that DRM-Free does regardless of my actions?
(Pity I can't make a poll, I like seeing graphs for this kind of thing)


And don't worry GOG, "I ain't ever gonna quit you" (365 games and growing...)

Eh, just see what drm-free games work well with wine.

Personally, I'm not using Linux OS for ideology - I'm using it because I find interface of the distro that I use far superior to that of my Windows installation. With that in mind, I've got absolutely no trouble using SteamOS on it.

That being said, I'd think that it would be more important to get people interested in gaming on Linux in the first place - it doesn't really matter whether DRM is used on Windows or Linux.

I am not entirely sure what you are asking. Are you talking about high budget games specifically? GOG will introduce Linux support later this year and the vast majority of the games available for Linux in the Humble Store are free of DRM as well.

I was too early to the party. I got into using Linux a years ago (Ubuntu specifically) and loved it, BUT i gave it up because I am a gamer and at the time, there were nearly no Linux gaming releases. Now with Steam, Humble Bundle and GOG (eventually) hopping on board, I am getting excited all over again. I really hope Linux gaming and the OS in general finally takes off. I'm just tired of hearing, "This is the year Linux takes off" every year for the last 5 years.

You could buy these Steam games to start..
http://steam.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_DRM-free_games

It's hard to have conflicting missions. Its even harder knowing that no matter what you do your actions will probably get sorted into some overly broad, box shaped category that doesn't fully express the message you were intending to send by choosing to spend money in a particular case.

I would say don't agonize over any one choice too much. If you are forced to choose between missions, then just pick the one that gets you the most of what you want, and move onto the next battle. As long as you are fighting for something then that may be the best you can do for now in an imperfect world where you have to work your way up to a goal. The fight is not always neat, or clear, and that is OK. Just don't start feeling like there no point to the fight because you can't have it all, and then stop fighting altogether.


and remember GOG says Linux support is coming, so hopefully there will be a lot less internal conflict over this in the future.

In the case of indie games, if you want both DRM-free and Linux your best bet will be to buy from the developers themselves. Most of the time they'll have a widget or something that allows you to purchase a DRM-free version and acquire a Steam key. Get the best of both worlds and tells the developer that Linux is a viable platform for them to develop on.

My apologies. I meant to reply much sooner, but got caught up with work/holiday obligations.


@shadowknight2814
Wine is a good point, has your experience been pretty good for most games? The database makes many games seem like they work very poorly (bronze at best). I got Sacrifice working with Wine, but I haven't gone beyond that yet.


@Fenixp
You say ideology like it's a bad thing (or maybe you didn't, my intonation-to-text plug-in doesn't work with the latest Firefox yet) :P
In general, when I have these Linux vs DRM discussions, I agree that getting people over to Linux is a more important step than DRM-Free at this point in time. Some of the point of my posting was to see if others (from a strong DRM-free environment) felt the same way or not.


@Future_Suture
Sorry, one reason my post probably seemed obscure was because I had a lot of interconnected thoughts, and I was trying to boil it down (but did so improperly). High budget titles was one avenue I was exploring. For systems like SteamOS, I think they are more important, but for Linux/DRM-Free I think the influx of games from smaller developers are more helpful and more enriching (but that is probably because I'm jaded regarding big name developer offerings).

@cmdr_flashheart
Thank you, that is an excellent list. I favorited another post on GOG about DRM-Free games on Steam. Previously I didn't even know that was the case, let alone that there are so many.

@gooberking
Your post probably sums up my concerns and path forward the best. I don't want to give the impression that I'm biting my nails in concern between the two options – but I did want to get a feel from this community on how they make such decisions and at the same time get a feel for the morale regarding Linux gaming.

@Gyrocoptor
You are probably right, though I feel like I've run into a few games that had Linux support on Humble Bundle but not provided by the developer (or the developer only listed a Steam version). I'm not sure if that is normal or a mistake. I really like the idea of having Steam and GOG access (partnership maybe, eh eh eh?). That being said, I usually go with GOG (or Humble Bundle) for the consolidated download spot but also for the idea that if I support a company like GOG, then they will then have more bargaining power to bring titles to the DRM-Free or Linux crowd.