Tux Racer is a 2000 open-source winter sports racing video game starring the Linux mascot, Tux the penguin. It was originally developed by Jasmin Patry as a computer graphics project at the University of Waterloo. Later on, Patry and the newly founded Sunspire Studios, composed of several former students of the university, expanded it. In the game, the player controls Tux as he slides down a course of snow and ice collecting herrings.

Tux Racer was officially downloaded over one million times as of October 2001. It also was well received, often being acclaimed for the graphics, fast-paced gameplay, and replayability, and was a fan favorite among Linux users and the free software community. The game's popularity secured the development of a proprietized release that included enhanced graphics and multiplayer, and it also became the first GPL-licensed game to receive an arcade adaptation. It is the only product that Sunspire Studios developed and released, after which the company liquidated.

Gameplay

thumb|left|255px|Gameplay featuring [[Tux (mascot)|Tux. From top-left clockwise, the user interface is composed of the time elapsed, the total number of herring collected, and a speedometer and "energometer" used for charging jumps.

Courses are composed of various terrain types that affect Tux's performance. Sliding on ice allows speeding at the expense of traction, and snow allows for more maneuverability. However, rocky patches slow him down, as does crashing into trees.

Proprietary version

The proprietary version of Tux Racer introduces new content. Besides Tux, players can select one of three other characters to race as: Samuel the seal, Boris the polar bear, and Neva the penguin. Some courses contain jump and speed pads as power-ups, and players can perform tricks in midair to receive points. Development of the game began in August 1999 as a final computer graphics project in Computer Graphics Lab, and was completed in three days to positive class reception. A webpage for the game was then started, and someone suggested he release the game's source code. This early version featured a very basic gameplay that consisted of Tux sliding down a hill of snow, ice, rock, and trees for Tux to avoid along the way. To write the game, Patry tended to use free premade content such as textures borrowed from websites, rather than original content made from scratch. A minor patch for that release was often included in most Linux distributions, Improvements from the open-source version include a vastly enhanced engine and graphics, the ability to perform tricks, character selection, and competitive multiplayer. The open-source version of Tux Racer, however, remained available to download on SourceForge. One of the most popular examples is Extreme Tux Racer, released in September 2000, PlanetPenguin Racer. An arcade version of the game was released by Roxor Games, making it the first GPL-licensed video game to receive an arcade adaption. In 2025, a javascript rewrite appeared on Github that is possible to play in a web browser.

Reception

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Tux Racer was well-received, with the latest version seeing over one million downloads as of October 2001 since its release in January, according to Sunspire Studios. In August 2000, Lee Anderson of LinuxWorld.com commended the game's graphics, speed, and the easiness of the ability to create tracks. In 2001, TuxRadar said the game provided a "shining light" of what free applications could achieve. In its 2001 preview, the Brazilian magazine SuperGamePower considered the game's graphics to be the best aspect and described the sound as not innovative, but good. Also in 2001, MacAddict compared the game's fast-paced style to podracing in Star Wars and summed up the Macintosh port as "more fun".

The proprietary version of Tux Racer attracted little attention. Andon Logvinov of Igromania described it as a "pure arcade game" featuring nothing but four selectable characters and a set of courses with fish scattered about. He described the gameplay as calm and addictive and the music as relaxing, and praised the character models and track layout, with his only criticism being the system requirements. Seiji Nakamura of the Japanese website Game Watch described it as cute and humorous and praised the game's graphics and shadow and reflection effects, but found the game to lack appeal for adults.

Even after its production's cessation, Tux Racer has continued to be generally well-received. Linux Journal gave it an Editors' Choice Award in the "Game or Entertainment Software" category in 2005. Daniel Voicu of Softpedia praised the Extreme Tux Racer for being relaxing and funny and having the ability to reset Tux, as well as noted the game's fast pace, but criticized its perceived lack of interactivity and having Tux look like a "plastic puppet". Linux For You called it entertaining but also criticized its bugs and the "plastic" look of Tux.

See also

  • SuperTuxKart, another racing video game featuring Tux and friends

References

  • Tux Racer on SourceForge
  • Official website for proprietary Tux Racer
  • Tux Racer Arcade and the new Tux2 Arcade