I found out the hard way that Linux is not a dad-friendly gaming OS, and maybe neither is the PC

Dave James, EICHardware

(Image credit: Future)

This week I’ve been… troubleshooting Linux gaming issues and coming to terms with my double failures as a parent in not being able to indoctrinate my child into loving Star Wars as I do, and still creating a child who’s as obsessed with playing games as I am. Yes, I am a terrible parent.

I’ve been out of the office this week on dad-duty, hanging out with my boy while school’s out for the Easter holidays. And honestly, it’s a pleasure, because he’s a little legend anyways, but also because he’s now at the point where it’s genuinely fun playing co-op games with him. Mostly.

I’m using that Newt-inspired caveat purely because of platform issues. Platform issues with Linux and the PC. Well. Microsoft specifically, but not exclusively.

I have been excitedly diving deep in the Linux waters over the past few months, having been a far more casual swimmer over my long PC gaming history. I have wholeheartedly flipped my main laptop, a prepper-themed Blade 14 machine, over to PopOS, and it’s been a genuine joy. I’ve enjoyed the extra control I have over full-stack customisation, the ease of use now that I can simply shut the lid and be sure that it will go to sleep and not just randomly suck the battery dry for no discernible reason (why Windows, why?), and the fact that gaming is now super easy on Linux, thanks to solid GPU drivers—even on Nvidia—and all the work Valve has put into Proton, building on those Wine foundations.