Part of striving to provide the best - and most complete - Linux magazine possible involves occasionally stopping to take a look at what we're covering too much of, not enough of, or (even worse) not at all.

One terribly under-served segment of the Linux space is gaming. While Linux enthusiasts have access to many freely available games, there is an under-served market of Linux desktop users out there that as yet remains in many ways untapped. After all, there are a lot of mainstream games that Linux folk would actually like to be able to play. There just aren't any Linux clients or versions.

As the gaming industry editor of LinuxWorld Magazine, I hope to highlight this problem, and delve into both the myths and facts that surround it. On one hand, TransGaming (www.transgaming.com) offers a subscription-based service that lets people install a "WineX" layer to handle the DirectX and other non-Linux components of existing Windows games. In future issues, we'll look into the pluses and minuses inherent in this type of solution, along with shining the spotlight on how gaming companies are making use of Linux in a serious way - in the server room.

In this issue, our gaming industry coverage begins with a look at two companies using Linux in the gaming sphere. The first, REALVIZ (see page #), produces image-creation software for a wide variety of purposes ranging from film to game special effects. Due to customer demand, REALVIZ released its new version of MatchMover Professional with support for Linux, so now both Hollywood and the gaming industry have one more reason to move to Linux on the desktop as well as the server.

The second company of interest this issue is Damage Studios (see page #). This startup gaming company involves the likes of former Slashdot editor Chris DiBona, and is blazing new trails with its approach to a number of existing sticky issues for online Massively-Multiplayer Online RolePlaying Games (MMORPGs). Not only that, but their worlds and other servers run on Linux, and Damage Studios fully intends to introduce a Linux client sometime after launch.

Still, even Damage Studios with its Linux focus is economically unable to justify providing a Linux client first, or even immediately after the game goes live. This factor illustrates one of the issues preventing a wider variety of games being released for the Linux market: not enough people are using Linux on the desktop quite yet. However, with the explosion of desktop focuses from companies like Red Hat, IBM, and SUSE, the hope for many is that 2004 will be the year for Linux on the desktop.

Whether your company builds games, provides services surrounding games, ports game clients, or has some related vested interest in seeing Linux grow on the desktop - after all, gaming is often the avenue through which many sound, graphic, and other improvements are driven - LinuxWorld Magazine will keep you up to date on the best happenings in the biz.

In the meantime, if you're on your lunch hour and are itching for something to play, dare I point out FreeCiv (www.freeciv.org)? Just make sure to set an alarm, that game is addictive!