[Kde-games-devel] KDE Games visual guide for 4.0

[Mauricio Piacentini]

Danny Allen wrote:
> Mauricio: can you also write some text generally about the KDE Games module 
> for KDE 4.0?
> 
> I will edit the text after for spelling and consistency.


Hope the blurb below is ok as a starting point for your writing magic. 
If not, feel free to rework it as needed (or throw it away!)
(Found wifi at the beach hotel, almost 37 degrees in the sand, so 
retiring away to the poolside for lunch and a nap!)

---

For the 4.0 release, the KDE Games team had a number of ambitious goals, 
and most of these were defined with the help of a survey conducted in 
November of 2006 that was answered by more than 500 participants from 
the user and the developer communities. We learned that for the next 
release we needed to focus on the quality of the games, not quantity. 
People were asking for some new game types and for better visuals, as 
the gameplay was already considered in good shape. At the same time, our 
team was growing and becoming more diverse: as our goals were defined 
and the code started to become more flexible and themable, and a number 
of artists joined our ranks. The result is that several games are now 
completely customizable using SVG themes, which translates in 
better-looking games that also scale to different display sizes and 
handle user preferences better.
A number of developers from different countries also enlisted: now the 
team is formed by more than 20 members, from Germany, France, England, 
Spain, Italy, Brazil, Russia, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Iran, and 
others. New games like KSudoku, KSquares, Kiriki and Bovo joined the 
module,  the first ones in what we believe will be a constant stream of 
new applications that will flow into our collection in 4.1, 4.2, and 
onwards. Some older games were retired to the sidelines, in a move we 
hope will be only temporary, as developers and artists refresh these 
applications and bring them back in better shape in the future.
More importantly, games were instrumental in pushing the envelope for 
4.0, and serving as test cases for several new technologies that later 
found their way into kdelibs and the desktop. We hope people enjoy the 
product of our work, and hope to continue improving the desktop 
experience as a whole during the 4.x series of KDE releases.

---

Mauricio