The KDE Games Center

March 19th 2008: Operation - Kubrik

Kubrik - the very latest addition to KDEGames package – is none other than a glamorous three dimensional (3D) Rubik's Cube game. The development is now nearing completion and we hope to offer the game to you as soon as KDE 4.1 release.

The original game of Rubik's Cube is quite famous, and is known to be the best selling toy ever made. The game is a puzzle and is usually played with a cube made out of small blocks, 9 of those per side. The sections can be spoon around horizontally as well as vertically, however not diagonally. From the start the cube is 'scrambled', meaning that each of its 6 sides is a multicolored mess. The player then has to rearrange the colors in such a manner that each of the six sides becomes one and the same color.

In essence the game of Kubrik simulates the original toy very well, allowing however for far more complicated puzzles than the original. The entire game play is situated in reach and visually clean 3D environment where you use a mouse to control the cube's various rotations. That as well as the ability to save and restore the game at any time will surely make Kubrik into a real highlight of KDEGames' impressive collection.

Rubik's Cube Using the occasion we, at KDEGames, also would like to mention that today Kubrik's developer, and one of KDEGames' more prominent members - Ian Wadham is celebrating a very special jubilee. We wish Ian all the best, and many-many games ahead.

Happy Birthday Ian!

March 3rd 2008: A great addition to KDEGames family.

It is our pleasure to welcome a new game into our selection. Kollision - a wonderful, addictive, and in every way innovative game straight from the lab of our gaming guru Paolo Capriotti. While it may seem very simple at the first glance, Kollision is one of the harder games in the whole gamedom, and what's best - it's all about high score. And all you have to do really, is to stay game for as long as possible.

In Kollision you use the mouse to control a small blue ball in a closed space environment filled with small red balls, which move about chaotically. Your goal is to avoid touching any of those red balls with your blue one, because the moment you do the game will be over. The longer you can stay in game the higher your score will be.

The game is now in the KDEGames 4 package and will make its debut as soon as KDE 4.1 is released. However, the impatient ones can check it out now by compiling KDEGames from source (Click here to see how).

Have fun playing.

February 14th 2008: KDE goes Qt 4.4

A few hours ago the Qt snapshot in the KDE development tree was updated to Qt4.4

'And exactly what does it mean for KDEGames?', you may be asking.

Well, beside a multiplicity of various bug fixes, version 4.4 brings in some very interesting graphical features. One of those happens to be the ability to put widgets directly onto the drawing canvas. This new feature will allow some of our games to move all the important information directly onto the game screen, therefore making the gameplay even easier to perceive. The feature of course, will have to undergo a comprehensive testing before it will make its way to a screen near you.

February 14th 2008: Destination - 4.1

Lately quite a few people have been asking about the new games and features planned for 4.1
Well, KDEGames team have spent the whole month of January planing and scheduling, and now we are more, or less set. As games of the project are numerous however, we have so decided to concentrate on a selected few, rather then spreading our attention thin-and-even around the project.

Kgoldrunner will receive a lot of attention within this release cycle, where new theming capabilities are being added as you read. There are also plans to introduce the long awaited sound and make the game all over fun and joy (as if it wasn't joyous enough as is).

Kpatience and consequently Letenant Skat are getting a major caching rework, which promises to make those games even faster to load and play, as some of the card decks are a real handful to handle.

Klines is getting some user interface changes that promises to somewhat enhance the game's usability and bring a gust of fresh air into the gameplay.

Konquest development is swift as ever. Game's restless developer is hard at work this release cycle, hoping to make our best, desktop-oriented mini-strategy-game even better.

There are currently plans for some on-line gaming and sound integration all over the project. Those however, are much dependent upon other parts of KDE project and therefore may not be ready by 4.1 release date.

Beside the existing gaming applications there is a handful of new, never before seen games, ready to jump up the KDE locomotive as soon as 4.1 release sees the light of day.

We have an all new Tetris game, which is not a resurrection of severely outdated Ksirtet, but a whole new game all together. Once complete it will feature easy and scalable theming, and gamer-friendly interface to go along. The game is already playable and should be finished in time.

As if Tetris wasn't exciting enough, we have yet another tasty dish to tickle your senses! If you are currently standing, you would better take a seat, because it's a mind-blowing Arkanoid game! Nearly completed, it features all you have come to love about the classic Arcanoid game, and much, much more.

Now, get ready for yet another big surprise! Kdiamond will make you jump up-and-down in your seat, because it's a stunning Bejeweled implementation. This game however, may, or may not be ready by 4.1 as the development was only just started, even though the developer is advancing through at the speed of light.

Another candidate aiming at 4.1 release is the long time KDE favorite Ksirk - the Game of Risk implementation. It is being reworked and updated for quite a while, and now is almost ready to join the official KDE games pack.

A Rubik's cube-like game is planing to land safely into the 4.1 release and will of course be most welcome.

We have plans for a Picross-like puzzle game, but there are no dates named yet for this one.

There are two more games currently hard at work, but those are more of a big-birthday-surprise-cake type of games. Let us give you a small hint here. The first is quite simple, yet so addictive that should you try it just once, you will never be able to stop playing it. As for the second – let me just say that once you see it you are guaranteed to have a severe case of jaw dropping for the next two-three hours. Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, it will be that awesome! And did I mention massive explosions?

Alas, as you may have already figured, future holds a lot in terms of quality KDE entertainment. Just keep checking up on us, and keep playing.

January 11th 2008: Today is THE day!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

KDE4 v 4.0 has been released!

And that means – KDEGames v 4.0 has been released along! The whole team is overjoyed, and so I'm sure, are you. It was a difficult year. Year full of a thousand cares and worries. Year of hard, fast paced, nonstop development. But it's all over now.

KDEGames team hopes you will enjoy playing our games just as much as we enjoyed making them. And do trust me, we enjoyed it a lot.

January 4th 2008: KDE4 has been tagged.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

KDE4 has been officially tagged for 4.0 release on January 11th. This means our winter vacations are indeed over, and back to work we go!

Form now on the intensive development of KDEGames begins anew; which in turn means bringing in a lot of new, exciting features and improving the existing ones.

Wish us luck dear games, and don't forget to write :D

December 31th 2007: Happy New Year!

Dear Gamers,

KDEGames team wishes to thank you for playing KDEGames all through 2007. We want to continue entertaining you in the coming 2008. With that we promise to make our games better, happier, and even more engaging then they already are :D

Happy New Year dear friends, and all the best to you!

Best wishes,

KDEGames team.

December 26th 2007: Happy Holidays!

KDEGames team wishes you all the best this holiday season. May these days be merry and bright for you and your loved ones.

In case you were wondering – the new, redesigned website will be released along with the rest of KDE 4.0 goodness in just 15 days. In the mean time please be patient.

December 20th 2007: The future is approaching fast!

Only 21 days left until KDE 4.0 goes final! This means – only just 14 days left until KDE 4.0 tagging begins. All the changes and alterations to the code and artwork have to be submitted within these 14 days! Thereafter we all can relax and have a drink or two. Best of luck to all the contributors to KDEGames and all other KDE projects. We shall be victorious!

December 11th 2007: KDEGames official sidebar button!

Urgent, urgent!

The new and shiny KDEGames official sidebar button has become a reality, thanks to our very own MkBart!

Update your blogs and websites and Enjoy.

December 10th 2007: The last KDEGames meeting... This year that is!

This coming Thursday, December the 13th (wow, great date!) KDEGames team will gather for the very last meeting in 2007, before we all go to the long deserved holiday vocations.

It is on this meeting that the road to KDE 4.1 shall be mapped, and all the issues of KDE 4.0 brought to light and discussed.

Also, our very own Emil has created a wonderful KDE4 release day counter:

Enjoy.

December 4th 2007: All that's left is a review!

The main site design is now complete!

It's time for review and commets - kde-games-devel@kde.org

November 30th 2007: New, redesigned website!

It is with a great pleasure that I wish to inform you of our website redesign near completion.

Yes, only a few minor “cosmetic” touches and the sleeping beauty shall gracefully awaken and present itself to the world. None of this would have been possible without Emil, our faithful web engineer who stepped in to upgrade the ancient Capacity's code, making sure it is suitable for the new era of KDE. And, as you can see the result is rather pleasing.

Now, please stay tuned as we unveil the next set of exiting new features in the nearest future. And remember KDEGames always strives for the best!