Hey all, I've recently become interested in gaming on a Linux machine instead of a Windows one. I'm just tired of all the bloat that Windows has, and I've read that with Valve investing a lot of time and effort into making Linux a better environment for gaming, it might be a good time to switch. Anyone have any experience with this that they can share? In particular, which flavors are best for a clean gaming experience that's still "PC-like" and what things a beginner may find difficult when starting out. (Also for context, I'm in my senior year of my bachelor's program in IT so I have some experience in Linux already, just have never used it as a daily gaming driver.)
I "game" on Linux myself and the choice of games is very! limited. You should check out the steamOS section in the steam shop. There are a few fun games though. You can use crossover (dot com) or winehq (dot org) to "emulate" windows games, which kinda works, but not excellently. As for the Linux "flavor" (you mean distribution) go with Ubuntu. Linux itself is just the kernel (the thing that translates between software and hardware), and the distribution is a collection of packages like the window manager (how your desktop looks) and other packages (like firefox and what not). What you want here is Ubuntu, because it has the largest end-user userbase, which means it will be the most easy for you to get support and find answers online.
Thank you for the detailed response! I somehow hadn't realized that distribution and flavor meant different things, so I appreciate that correction as well. After a bit of internet perusal I think I understand the difference better now. I'll probably go with Ubuntu as you said, and maybe explore some Ubuntu flavors (I think I'm using that correctly now) since I've never loved the original's UI.
