The open source movement is upon us! An age of open source software has dawned and it is glorious. Not all things are open source – for example, if you’re a fan of betting and you use the Wink Bingo code for that, you won’t find any open-source software for that, but you’ll find plenty of sites! All jokes aside, having free software which we can check for malicious code ourselves is great. But, free software is not just limited to tools like photo editors and office suites.
Video games are also often part of the open source movement, because some developers love having a helping hand in the process of development and the process of patching and adding more content. Also, open source gaming is great for the community. Here are the best open source games you can download today.
0 A.D.
Loved Age of Empires II? Then you will love this game, which is essentially a clone of Age of Empires II. There is nothing bad in a game being a clone, especially when it’s as good as 0 A.D. is. Build your town, build your armies, conquer your enemies. It’s open source, so Windows, macOS and Linux users get the game for free.
There are multiple civilization options for you to select, 12 of them, to be precise. Your town can progress from a village to a city, going through three phases of growth.
Alien Arena
You’re done with strategy games? You want something fast-paced? Say no more, Alien Arena has you covered, as well as the rest of you who love first-person shooters. You like objectives and similar game modes? Sure, you get that, but if you really like competitiveness and multiplayer gaming, then this is the shooter for you. Think of Unreal Tournament and you will get an idea of what you can expect, but for free and with the feeling of supporting open source gaming.
The game has very competitive players, so have that in mind before connecting to your first match.
VCMI
This is a very interesting project, in that it’s not a mod, but actually the attempt to rebuild the engine of Heroes of Might and Magic 3, so that it would be more accomodating for modding and adding new content. The original engine does not allow adding new towns and presents people with lots of problems and choices.
This project is available on Windows, macOS, Linux and even Android systems. The project is still in development, but on Windows, for example, you can play and mod Heroes 3 without much hassle. The project is free and open source, but you still need the game for the project to actually work. Have that in mind before thinking you get Heroes 3 for free. If you want to contribute to the project, you can do so, if you are knowledgeable in C++.
These are some of the best open source video games you could play today. The projects keep evolving, and with your help, they can become even better. That is the entire point of the open source movement and open source gaming. Enjoy your free games and the modding of the same!
