This is part 4 of my series of posts about making Linux Mint my daily driver.

Last time we looked at some customisations I did for work, this time we’ll have a look at some of the stuff I do to play the games I enjoy.

Minecraft

When it comes to gaming, my absolute favourite is Minecraft, specifically the Java edition of Minecraft. I also maintain a modpack (modifications pack) called T&A Explore that I publish to Modrinth, very (very) occasionally make YouTube videos with and even sometimes stream on Twitch.

Because the edition of Minecraft I play is Java, there are no problems with running the actual game on Linux, I just had to make sure I have openjdk-17-jre installed.

To launch the game, you need a launcher application, most casual players use the official one provided by Microsoft/Mojang (there are Linux versions available), but modded players tend to use different launchers. For just playing the game, I use MultiMC, because it’s a relatively light-weight launcher and available for Linux.

One problem with MultiMC is that it isn’t the most convenient tool for actually editing a modpack, so to make changes to T&A Explore I use ATLauncher instead. This is also a Java application, so a little heavier on the system.

A useful tool for keeping your Minecraft world from getting absurdly big and unmanageable is MCA Selector, also a Java application. MCA Selector is a little picky about what Java needs to be able to do, so I downloaded the Universal installer and installed Java with pre-packaged JavaFX as described on the Installation wiki page.

Kerbal Space Program

I’m a bit of a space geek, so I enjoy playing KSP (the original, not the abandoned KSP 2). I installed KSP using Steam on Linux, then decided I want to be able to run mods (I suck at orbital mechanics, so MechJeb2 is essential to me).

To manage KSP instances and mods, I have always used KSP-CKAN. There are specific instructions for a number of different Linux distributions, I used the stable release from the APT repository to install it.

Fallout: New Vegas

The Fallout series of games are fun to play, and have a very healthy modding scene as well. There are two games in this series that I play, Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4. It’s well known that Fallout: New Vegas is generally more stable than Fallout 4, so I’ll describe that here.

Again, the base game install was done via the Steam client. I then downloaded the Mod Organizer 2 Linux installer and used that to install Mod Organizer 2. One thing to keep in mind with this installer, it has to install a separate instance of MO2 for each game you want to use MO2 for, so it’s worth keeping the installer handy to install more instances for other games.

When using the MO2 Linux installer, it’s important to follow the instructions carefully to avoid later frustration.

OpenTTD

A lovely little casual game, available free on Steam and also available as a system package on Linux Mint. I used the Steam install, just because I used to play it on Steam back in my Windows days too.

This games is actually a Linux (weeeel… Unix, originally) game with a port to Windows, so absolutely no problems with this one.

Portal 2

I noticed the other day that Portal 2 is also available for my system on Steam. I’ve installed it, but I haven’t actually tried running it yet.

Some game-adjacent stuff

I wouldn’t call myself a content creator by any stretch of the imagination, but I do very occasionally make Minecraft videos or stream on Twitch.

I use Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) to record or stream. While the Linux version is a bit limited, and things like Streamlabs are not available for Linux, I find it to be perfectly usable. Since I run Linux Mint 22 now, which uses PipeWire for audio instead of Pulse, I installed the PipeWire Audio Capture plugin. (Feb 2025 update: No longer accurate, I changed over to PulseAudio and use the Flatpak version of OBS now)

I’ve used Kdenlive to edit my videos for quite some time now. This is a cross-platform application and installed by default on Linux Mint (I think, I don’t remember installing it).

Conclusion

While I’m not a heavy gamer, I have found that the games I care about work well on my Linux Mint system. I’d even go so far as to say they generally run better on my system now than they did when I ran Windows on it.