What type of computer do game developers use?

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JonGamer

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#1  Edited By JonGamer

That may seem like a strange question but I've become increasingly interested in indie games and how they are made. I'm fairly tech savvy but I know next to nothing about game development. I was just wondering if any of you know what type of computers developers use? Obviously they need powerful technology to run games and development tools, but do they normally use Mac or PC? Film editing and parts of the music industry seem to be dominated by Apple products and technology, is game development similar at all in this way? 
 
Only reason I'm asking is I need a new computer. I've been saving up for one and can't decide what I'd like. I love MacBooks (I don't know why... I know the arguments for and against them but I just like them) and would like to maybe get one. I've been tied down to an ancient desktop for too long and want a powerful laptop... but.... if Apple technology is not used in the gaming industry and if development tools are hard to come by on it.... I may think about getting an actual gaming PC. 
 
So....
 
What kind of computers do game developers use?
 
EDIT: Honestly I had no clue where to post this..... so if this is the wrong place someone please tell me.

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zidd

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#2  Edited By zidd

I'm pretty sure most games are developed on Windows. Except for Mac games.

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RankRabbit

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#3  Edited By RankRabbit

I fix arcade machines at work, you'd be surprised how many of those are linux based.

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JonGamer

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#4  Edited By JonGamer
@Zidd said:
" I'm pretty sure most games are developed on Windows. Except for Mac games. "
That's what I figured... I've had a hard time finding information on the web about what hardware and OS they use. I'd be coming into this completely new and would have to learn basic programming, etc. But I think it might be fun to make little Flash games or something eventually.
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zidd

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#5  Edited By zidd
@JonGamer: The macbook will run whatever you need it too as long as the GPU can keep up. There is a Mac version of Flash but all of the Adobe apps have trouble working with Apple's window management (Exposé, Spaces) and are loaded with old code that makes them prone to crashing a bit. Thats true of CS4 and back I'm not sure if CS5 improved on it.
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Diamond

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#6  Edited By Diamond

A lot of applications for development are on multiple platforms, and it also depends on what kind of work you're doing.  Programming is a lot different from modeling in-game assets...
 
Maybe watch really closely in devblog videos?  I've seen a lot of that stuff but I rarely catch if they're running PCs or Macs...

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LordXavierBritish

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#7  Edited By LordXavierBritish
@Zidd said:
" I'm pretty sure most games are developed on Windows. Except for Mac games. "
This comment made me laugh out loud. 
 
Like literally. I'm not just trying to be a dick by saying that.
 
it's just great.
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monetarydread

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#8  Edited By monetarydread

I hate apple. That said, I have to give them credit for their laptops. I would never buy one myself, but if I wanted a laptop I would at the very least look at a MacBook. As for game development, I would buy a gaming PC. You don't need to go all out and make a personal super computer using dual Xenon processors, HD's set up in RAID, or 4 Nvidia TESLA cards.  As for operating systems, I would dual-boot Windows 7 and Linux.

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JonGamer

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#9  Edited By JonGamer

Thanks for all the replies. I'm a pre-med student with no interested in becoming a game developer. But... I did think it might be cool to learn a bit of programming and how to make Flash games. I guess for what my needs are any platform would be alright. : D
 
@RankRabbit said:

" I fix arcade machines at work, you'd be surprised how many of those are linux based. "

If you don't mind me asking, do you work at an arcade? That may seem like a dumb question... but the recent bombcasts where the guys talk about arcade cabinets and stuff has gotten me interested in the people who collect and work on these things.
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monetarydread

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#10  Edited By monetarydread
@JonGamer: 
If you are interested in Flash, from my experience most Adobe programs run better in Windows.
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JonGamer

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#11  Edited By JonGamer
@MonetaryDread said:
" @JonGamer:  If you are interested in Flash, from my experience most Adobe programs run better in Windows. "
Don't a lot of Apple products not allow Flash? I remember using my old iPhone and could never play Flash vids and such.
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thehexeditor

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#12  Edited By thehexeditor

Try to imagine a combination of the minority report computer and Matrix 'jacking in' system. 
You are 1/10 the way to understanding what game developers use to make games.

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one_2nd

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#13  Edited By one_2nd

Good ones. 

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#14  Edited By NinjaInfoCards

You'll see all three (Windows, Mac OS, and Linux variants) really, but Windows is by far the most common (which makes sense). Macs are most commonly used for art and graphic design for games, and are popular in the audio design process as well, since they're basically an industry standard for the entertainment business. Linux I would guess is put to use for asset sharing over networks and open source benefits.

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zidd

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#15  Edited By zidd
@JonGamer: iOS devices (iPad, iPhone iPod Touch) do not run Flash. Macs can run Flash but its not GPU accelerated like it is on Windows. 
 
@NinjaInfoCards: Most developers probably run Windows servers as well as Windows desktops for development. Macs are probably used for audio and graphics like you said but applications like that run on Windows too. If you watch behind the scenes videos you will see mostly Windows desktops.
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meteora

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#16  Edited By meteora

Probably. Windows. If you're going to be doing lots of gaming programming, testing, animation, stuff like that, you might as well have the versatile Windows than have a more specialized Mac.

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Kung_Fu_Viking

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#17  Edited By Kung_Fu_Viking

Windows is common probably due to the Visual Studio IDE which is only available on Windows (As far as I know) and is used by many developers. For Windows or Xbox 360 development, Windows is the obvious choice.

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Alphazero

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#18  Edited By Alphazero

Windows Vista HP boxes, dual core, dual proc with big fast hard drives running Microsoft Visual Studio. Or so I hear.

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Castro

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#19  Edited By Castro

I was reading a copy of Game Developer magazine a week ago or so, and they had this feature about the development of Deadly Premonition. In a sidebar, they listed out the programs that were used to make the game and it seemed to be standard stuff that would run on a Windows PC. That is all.

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Karl_Boss

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#20  Edited By Karl_Boss

Apple II

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#21  Edited By ZimboDK

Well, the great thing is that indie devs have access to several open source frameworks and code libraries (ODE, SDL and stuff like that). About all you need these days is a code library or 2, and your favorite text editor. No need for a super powerful computer, or a crazy expensive dev environment.
 
There is a series of blog posts about development of World of Goo on 2d boy's website.
And you can definitely find a lot of articles on development on Gamasutra.

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Outrager

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#22  Edited By Outrager

Depends on what game you're making and what you're making it for. 
If you want to make a windows/xbla game get a windows PC, but if you want to make a mac/iphone/ipad game get a mac. 
The performance of the computer doesn't need to be bleeding edge either. A mid-range PC can run something like the UDK perfectly fine.

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#23  Edited By reyuko

Gesh, ok i know this is an old thread, and all that, but I'm actually into this subject and i was just looking around on google. i actually made an account just to add my 2 sense =P I'm a student of Animation and Visual Effects, with a heavy interest in game animation development. i just wanted to clear up a few things thats all. when it comes to purchasing a computer for game development, it just comes down to what parts of game development you actually plan to do. There is the artistic side, that obviously your going to be using an apple, then there is the codeing, which from what iv learned, is usually windows based. now my only interest here is to clarify that if money isn't that big of a deal (don't know how much you were willing to spend) then get the apple. its more versatile, and i know someone is going to laugh when they read that statement, but its 100% true for one reason and one reason only; Apple computers running OSX, allow you to do a duel boot (the applet is called boot camp) and lets you load as old as windows xp, all the way up to windows 7 (i have not done any research about linux and bootcamp) i don't mean to sound like a fanboy or anything, but anything windows can do, so can a mac, as long as windows is loaded on it. you can't load (legally and without flaws) OsX onto a windows machine (hp, Dell, Toshiba, ext.) so if you don't mind doing that, its actually a better idea to get an apple computer. 
 
but.....im sure that after 11 months and 3 weeks since the most recent post was made....you have already bought your machine. so I'm just throwing it out there for future reference =]