9/21/2023 0 Comments Porting tool kit![]() So the biggest issue I have with gaming on the Mac is Apple itself. Apple leaned hard on OpenGL as its 3D API of choice for years, but ultimately ceded space to make way for Metal, the 3D API now so integral to Game Porting Toolkit. Both were abandoned well before Apple even made the move to OS X. QuickDraw 3D RAVE and Game Sprockets are good examples from the classic Mac days - a hardware abstraction layer for 3D acceleration long before OpenGL, and a DirectX-style set of game APIs. Over the course of the years, there have been other examples of promising game technology from Apple that ultimately go nowhere. What do they mean? Apple’s infamous for shifting priorities after announcing new game technology and walking away from it. The mood can be summarized as, “We’ll see how long this lasts.” General consensus was interest, but eye rolls too. Apple still doesn’t “get” gamesĪfter Apple announced Game Porting Toolkit, I did a straw poll of veteran Mac game developers. A step in the right direction that will hopefully continue. But there is a sign that’s changing: Sonoma adds a Game Mode that focuses CPU and GPU performance and enhances Bluetooth sampling rate to provide a lower-latency and higher-performance environment for games to run. The Mac just hasn’t been a hospitable place for games. I fall into this category – it was easier to do that than scrounge up the occasional Mac game I wanted to play. Or their Mac is strictly a work computer, and they may have another Windows PC for gaming. ![]() Ask them if they play games, and the answer is yes, but usually on their iPhone or another device such as a Nintendo Switch or an Xbox or PlayStation of recent vintage. Most Mac users don’t identify themselves as gamers, at least not Mac gamers. Getting people to actually buy games for their Macs is another problem that Game Porting Toolkit doesn’t fix. They publish and support the titles themselves, but that relegates the Mac to also-ran status: a platform that may eventually get great titles, but only after the buzz from them has already passed Windows. Over the years, that void provided an opportunity for a small cadre of Mac game publishers. The net result is that the Mac often gets overlooked. Some games come out for the Mac, but many don’t unless a third party with the resources and wherewithal can strike a deal. There has to be a business case to support the Mac, at a volume that meets the revenue expectations of the publisher. And a commitment that the game developer and publisher are going to continue to support the Mac release with bug fixes and updates parallel to the Windows version, especially for online games. It’s a bit of a chicken and egg conundrum.ĭeveloping a game for a new platform requires you to support that platform. The counterargument is that Mac users don’t buy enough games because they aren’t out at the same time or in the same quantity as Windows. Game publishers often avoid the Mac platform because they don’t see the revenue potential. Business is the issue that’s stymied Mac games over the years.
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