Tux Racer
| Tux Racer | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Sunspire Studios (Jasmin Patry, Patrick Gilhuly, Eric Hall, Rick Knowles, Vincent Ma, and Mark Riddell) |
| Publisher(s) | Sunspire Studios |
| Director(s) | Jasmin Patry |
| Producer(s) | Jasmin Patry |
| Designer(s) | Rick Knowles Mark Riddell |
| Programmer(s) | Jasmin Patry Patrick Gilhuly Eric Hall Rick Knowles Vincent Ma Mark Riddell |
| Artist(s) | Roger Fernandez |
| Composer(s) | Joseph Toscano |
| Platform(s) | Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Android, Ubuntu Touch |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | racing video game |
| Mode(s) | single-player video game |
| Tux Racer | |
|---|---|
North American cover art.
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| Developer(s) | Sunspire Studios chinedu 1(Jasmin Patry, Eric Hall, Rick Knowles, and Mark Riddell) |
| Publisher(s) | Sunspire Studios |
| Director(s) | Jasmin Patry |
| Producer(s) | Jasmin Patry |
| Designer(s) | Rick Knowles Mark Riddell |
| Programmer(s) | Jasmin Patry Eric Hall Rick Knowles Mark Riddell |
| Artist(s) | Roger Fernandez |
| Composer(s) |
Joseph Toscano George Sanger |
| Platform(s) | Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Review score | |
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| Publication | Score |
| Clubic | 8/10 |
| Award | |
|---|---|
| Publication | Award |
| PC Magazine | Best Free Software—2007 |
Tux Racer is a free software 3D computer game starring the Linux mascot, Tux the penguin. In the game, the player controls Tux (or one of three other characters) as he slides down a course of snow and ice collecting herring.
Tux Racer has been met with positive reviews from critics.
The left/right steering controls are typical of a racing simulation game, except that the up arrow key causes Tux to "paddle" with his flippers. Correct use of the paddle command is essential to getting good race times. Paddling slows Tux down when at a high speed but speeds him up at slow speeds. Paddling when in mid-air may also be used to increase the length of a jump. Jumps can be caused by the shape of the landscape or by holding down the "energy" key and releasing it. Releasing the key when a jump is imminent will naturally make a larger jump. Versions with other controls instead of keyboard exist; for example, wiimote and an arcade version with a steering wheel.
Sliding on ice makes Tux go faster, whereas sliding on snow allows for more maneuverability and sliding on rocky patches will slow Tux down. There are also trees to block Tux's path and flags for the sake of marking out the course. Points are also scored by collecting herring that are scattered along the various courses. In order to progress to the next level of the game, the player must both collect sufficient herring and reach the end of the course within a preset time limit. Like many open-source games, the replay value of Tux Racer is extended by easy modification of the game. New maps can be created by making three raster images to indicate elevation, terrain, and object placement.
Tux Racer was originally developed by Jasmin Patry, a student attending the University of Waterloo (UW) in Ontario, Canada, where he aimed to begin a career in the video game industry by pursuing a computer systems analyst (CSA) degree. Development of the game as a project began in August 1999 as a final computer graphics project in Computer Graphics Lab (CGL). The game was completed and presented in three days; a web page for the game was then started, when one of Patry's classmates, having enjoyed the presentation, suggested he released the software as open source. Patry felt releasing the game as open source "made sense" due to Tux being the mascot for Linux, which is open source software, and continued to work on the game throughout the year, hoping fellow students would join in on developing the game.
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