[Ocaml-biz] the game market

[Brandon J. Van Every]

Olivier Grisel wrote:
>
> Rumors (very old):
> http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/linuxunix/0,39020390,2078129,00.htm
> Rumors (a bit more recent):
> http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/developer/0,39020387,2132851,00.htm

Encouraging.  I'll see if I can find more rumors.

> and by the way:
> http://playstation2-linux.com/

According to the FAQ, this isn't that useful for commercial game
development.  You can't create CDs or DVDs with it, for instance.  Even
if you found a way to physically do it, you are not licensed under the
EULA to do so.

You could do a lot of programming on such a setup in preparation for
commercial work, but some information about the CD/DVD-ROM, SPU2 Audio
chip and other IO peripheral control hardware is withheld.  Also the
Linux kernel and the PS2 commercial kernel are not the same, you'd have
to port between them.  I'd look at this as a poor man's halfway house to
proprietary PS2 development.  At least one could get one's feet wet.

If you can get one.  The Linux Kit is no longer available in North
America.

PS2s are only specced at 32MB, rendering it moot for my big AI wargaming
purposes.  Plus the platform will die soon when the PS3 ships.

> (but PS2 is mips based isn't it?

Yes, MIPS with some mods.  Sony and Toshiba are being sued by U.
Wisconsin over the "Emotion Engine" component.
http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=dev&aid=2456  It
appears to be about the manufacturing process of the chips rather than
the end product.

> so bad for ocaml ...)

http://caml.inria.fr/ocaml/portability.html says that MIPS + SGI IRIX 6
is supported, so that would seem to mean a port to PS2 MIPS is possible.
But, it isn't useful.  The question is what PS3 is doing, and what the
licensing is.  It could *indeed* be a killer app to put OCaml on MIPS,
if it's sufficiently open, provides a sufficient bridge to commercial
development, and a good 3D engine is offered to justify the bother.

Of course, again, a difficult project.  I hope someone can suggest tools
that are already good at some other problem domain for some other
market, that don't need lotsa work to package them up and market them.


Cheers,                     www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every           Seattle, WA

"The pioneer is the one with the arrows in his back."
                          - anonymous entrepreneur