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It is not only the entertainment aspect. I want to use game modding and game development to grow my programming expertise, and if games do not even work out of the box, what is it going to be with the game development tools for those games? It is a doom scenario looming over the future.
In essence the reason is not Linux, the reason is that hardware and game producers do not develop for Linux. The irony is that, the more drivers Linux devs have written to make Linux work on various hardware, and the more tools Linux devs have created to translate games made for Windows over to Linux, the less incentive companies and game devs have to make their hardware or software support Linux operating systems. Adding to that, translation is complicated because every game and application is unique, it is like trying to plug holes in a ship that is constantly making water. Linux devs are constantly running late because software is constantly evolving. There is no denying that Linux has made huge progress lately, but for gaming it is still not reliable enough. The problem is also that the Linux community is letting the Steam gaming platform solve the issue, and Steam is arguably just as bad or even worse, ethically, than MS Windows. (Steam is a platform that is monopolizing the game industry, and their users can only play games via online login and they never really own them,)
In the past I had less issues with Linux, The hardware of the laptop I am using now, turns out, is less well supported for Linux than most other hardware. The incompatibility that I am currently experiencing in regards to games is really exeptional.
I feel I have to put priorities here, and to be honest, being able to play and work with games is very important to me. It is one way to 'survive' this world for me.
Windows XP was a good solution to balance gaming with ethics but there the programming and general usage aspects suffered.
I feel I have been fighting and fighting to make all the things that are important to me work: ethics, programming, gaming, game programming...
When I use Windows 10 without paying for it, without creating a MS account, and while blocking their telemetry and anti-virus and updates etc, I can minimize the unethical aspect of using it.
I am also worried about the example I am setting. People tend to be very careless, and seeing other people succumb to the pressure to adjust can give them reason to remain careless.
We have to measure all actions we take and if we can, do better. This is not a call for carelessness. It is exactly because I care that I make these changes. Because it is better for my study and my work-play balance and for my well-being in general. We can not fight and win on all fronts. We have to pick our fights wisely. Once I am a pro programmer it will become easier to combine all my IT goals. Also, once Linux is ready for a priority on gaming, I will use it again in a split second. Right now, I suffered enough. I want to get on with my study and my game development aspirations. The tinkering has been too much. I want to tinker in programming and in gaming, themselves, not in trying to fix the software needed do those things in the first place.
If I had two devices I could simply put Windows XP on one and keep Linux on the other, but I have only one device, and I do not like dual booting because it disrupts my work flow..
PS on game programming in Linux. Linux can do optimal game programming. The point is, if one wants to do programming for existing games or use certain tools, then it risks becoming a headache. Because most games and tools were not developed with Linux in mind. That is why I gave it a red color. Again this is not the fault in the quality of Linux development. It is a side-effect of how the capitalist market functions.
