So far, I’ve found two minor issues with this set up. One: I can’t yet get a game controller working with the Linux on the Pixel. Second, games running at full screen get a little choppy. I don’t think that’s completely related to the hardware; instead, I suspect that the video drivers being used aren’t optimized for the Pixel’s 2560 x 1700 display.

Other than that, the only limit is the number of Linux games you can find on Steam. There are certainly fewer for Linux than for the Windows or Mac platforms, but there are enough titles for occasional gaming on the Pixel. I’m not suggesting that the Pixel with Linux will provide a vast, rich gaming experience, of course. However, this does add a little more value to the $1,449 I spent on “just a browser.”

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As Geek.com pointed out Monday, Steam is promoting a download of Ubuntu Linux right on its web site (see below). System requirements for the Steam platform are Windows XP, Vista or 7. There is no mention of Windows 8 -- which has been broadly available since November. (For the Mac side of the house, the requirements are Intel Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.8, Snow Leopard 10.6.3 or later.)

Valve managing director Gabe Newell has complained about Windows 8 for months, as detailed by Arstechnica. And, The Verge had an in-depth interview with Newell early this month in which he addresses his issues with the Microsoft operating system.

In the piece, Newell said:

“Windows 8 was like this giant sadness. It just hurts everybody in the PC business. Rather than everybody being all excited to go buy a new PC, buying new software to run on it, we’ve had a 20+ percent decline in PC sales … it’s like ‘holy cow that’s not what the new generation of the operating system is supposed to do.’ There’s supposed to be a 40 percent uptake, not a 20 percent decline …”

Of course, if Valve did not support Windows 8 in the quarter it was released, that could have affected sales, I suppose.

Last September, word leaked that Valve was working on gaming hardware of its own and Valve has since confirmed that it’s working on a Linux-based game console, so it makes sense for it to bless Linux as the OS of choice for developers if it’s going to compete with Microsoft Xbox consoles.

Bellevue, Wash.-based Valve Software is definitely diversifying. In August, it said it would open up its Steam online storefront to include productivity applications as well as gaming titles. As GigaOM reported at the time, that move would also put it into competition with Microsoft which fields its own online stores for its cash-cow Office and other productivity applications.

This story was updated at 11:04 a.m. PT to reflect the operating systems supported by the Steam platform over time.

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According to the job description — also posted on the Coroflot job board and first spotted by website Nowgamer – Valve seeks talent to help the company’s existing engineers who are:

defining new entertainment experiences through both hardware and software. We’re hoping to add your expertise in product design and manufacturing, ergonomics, usability, aesthetics, and surfacing to our team.

There’s not a ton of detail about what, exactly, the Bellevue, WA. company plans to build, but the post leaves no doubt about the company’s dissatisfaction with the current state of hardware design:

Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers. We’re frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we’re jumping in. Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There’s a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked.

Valve Steambox on its way?

In early March, rumors surfaced about a mysterious Valve “Steambox” gaming console project but the company discounted those reports (sort of). This job posting, if nothing else, will bring them back to life.

Earlier this month, Valve also said it will start offering productivity applications as well as games on its Steam online delivery service. Whatever happens in hardware, Valve is definitely looking venture beyond its gaming stronghold.

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It will start taking submissions of software titles Sept. 5 via its Steam Greenlight site.

The company, which claims 40 million users of its PC and Mac games,  is not to be taken lightly. As Forbes reported in March: “Privately held Valve has dominated the digital sales channel [for games] since 2003. Its Steam service started as a distribution mechanism for its own games; lack of competition allowed it to seize as much as 70 percent of the market.”

According to the Steam blog:

“The Software titles coming to Steam range from creativity to productivity. Many of the launch titles will take advantage of popular Steamworks features, such as easy installation, automatic updating, and the ability to save your work to your personal Steam Cloud space so your files may travel with you.”

When it comes to broadly used productivity software, Valve will face a ton of competition. Microsoft already fields an online store and is building access to new Office and SharePoint stores right into the next releases of those widely used business packages.

In the post Mark Richardson, a Valve business development exec, said the company’s user base is interested in more than games. “They have told us they would like to have more of their software on Steam, so this expansion is in response to those customer requests.”

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Indie Game‘s story began on the web, thanks to Kickstarter funding, and covers a topic near and dear to the Internet’s heart: the rise of the independent video game designer.

So while, according to co-director James Swirsky via email, the theatrical release and an earlier sold outscreening tour were profitable ways of building word-of-mouth about the film, making the film available online was extremely important to him and co-director Lisanne Pajot, as “that is where our audience is.”

“We wanted to get this film into the hands of those people who want to see it the most as quickly as reasonably possible,” he added. “Which is the main motivation behind the very tight release windows we’re working within.”

Indie Game‘s digital release will come through three platforms — one expected, two unconventional. The film, like many independent films before it, will be available on iTunes, but it’ll also be released by VHX as a direct DRM-free download — the second-ever project to be distributed by VHX, following their release of Aziz Ansari’s comedy special last April.

The story of how Indie Game ended up working with VHX couldn’t be more webby. Via the film’s extremely active Twitter account, the filmmakers mentioned they were looking for a distribution platform — instantly, Andy Baio (@waxpancake) connected the two:

Check the date stamp on that tweet — it’s less than two weeks ago. Only nine days after making contact, Indie Game‘s deal with VHX was solidified. “A new record for us, and a trend we hope will continue,” VHX co-founder Jamie Wilkinson said via email.

There’s no exact date yet on when the VHX for Artists platform will be officially open for all, according to co-founder Casey Pugh, but “it will be soon,” he promised.

In addition to iTunes and VHX, Indie Game will also be distributed through Steam, Valve’s video game distribution platform. That’s right, a gaming platform. According to Swirsky, with the exception of a zombie film created by Valve employees several years ago, Indie Game is the first film to ever receive major release through the popular service.

However, the decision to work with Steam made sense for Swirsky and Pajot, because of the film’s deep connections with the independent gaming community. “From a pure distribution standpoint, we can not get any closer to our core audience that being listed side by side with the games that are featured in the film,” Swirsky said. “If you like and bought Super Meat Boy, Braid, World of Goo, etc, there’s a good chance you might be interested in the backstory behind those games, and games like them. Steam brings us to the core of our most relevant audience in a very unique way. It’s kind of amazing.”

Across platforms, the cost will be $10, though those pre-ordering on Steam can purchase it for $8.99. According to Swirsky, “When it comes to sales and knowing their consumer base, Steam is second to none. They know their stuff. They know how to effective launch, maintain and promote the products within their system. When they suggested debuting with a pre-order pricing incentive, it made a lot of sense to us.”

To Swirsky and Pajot, each platform has its unique advantages. Steam, as previously mentioned, delivers the film to the most passionate portion of its fanbase. With iTunes, he says, it’s “a juggernaut. We always wanted this film to be there. They bring an audience and ease of purchase/viewing that we could only dream of with this film.”

And working with VHX, Swirsky says, “allows us to continue the direct conversation with our audience that we’ve been having since Day 1. It’s all on our site, it’s all under our control, it’s as personal as delivering the final film to the end audience as we can get digitally. VHX is doing some really exciting things. We’re really proud to be a part of it all.”

“It’s truly a great film. It also perfectly aligns with our beliefs on the future of film,” Pugh said. “Crowd-funded on Kickstarter and self-released on VHX. This is where the film, video and television business is going and it’s only the tip of the iceberg.”

Between the three platforms, Swirsky and Pajot are hopeful to not only make up the actual production budget of the film, but also compensate themselves for the two years they spent making the film. “The film is very much on track to make back its budget. But that’s a budget that doesn’t include paying ourselves for the past two years. If we go by that budget, we still have a little ways to go. But it should be worth it,” Swirsky said.

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I was late to the Portal party, having only played it for the first time last year, and despite being exposed to years of hype (the game originally came out in October 2007), it still managed to exceed my expectations. It’s funny, and challenging yet also accessible, so give it a shot even if you’re not usually much of a first-person gamer.

Each level in the game is a series of rooms from which you have to escape, using only your wits and handheld teleportation gun, which fires Portals that allow you to quickly traverse great distances in an instant. If you’re into maddening puzzle games like Unblock Me on the iPhone and iPad, you’ll be amazed at how well a similar concept translates to a game with first-person shooter mechanics. The game holds up surprisingly well despite being four years old now, too.

Portal usually retails for $10 on Steam, and its sequel, released this year, costs $29.99. This is a smart move for Valve, which is likely hoping to encourage folks to grab Portal 2. I still haven’t pulled the trigger on the newer game, but the only thing preventing me from doing so is the knowledge that it’ll be a huge time suck whenever I do start playing.

Getting Portal requires that you first download and install the Steam store, but it doesn’t take long, and the store is actually something you should have on your Mac anyway if you’re at all into gaming. The nice thing about Portal being an older game is that it also doesn’t have very high system requirements; an integrated Intel HD 3000 or higher card should suit you just fine. Plus, since it’s free, there’s no harm in just downloading it and seeing if it runs.

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Sometimes, a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously is a breath of fresh air. The latest DeathSpank sequel from Hothead games, The Baconing, is a perfect example, and a solid follow-up to a franchise that hasn’t disappointed yet. Plus, with over 10 hours of gameplay at just $15 on the Mac App Store, it’s a good value, too.

If you’re new to the DeathSpank franchise, it isn’t hard to get up to speed. Basically, these are third-person point-and-click dungeon crawlers very similar in mechanics to the popular Diablo franchise by Blizzard. Like Diablo, they’re role-playing games with quests and side-quests, and oodles of weapons, armor and items to gather and manage. Unlike Diablo, the DeathSpank games are completely irreverent and short on serious subject matter.

Hothead is the studio behind the original Penny Arcade games, and DeathSpank games fall right in line with that sense of humor. They’re juvenile, gross, pun-filled romps that are nonetheless remarkably well though-out and engrossing. The role-playing elements are streamlined for more casual play when compared to something like Diablo, and inventory management is made much simpler thanks to a “Grinder” in your inventory that lets you trade items for cash on the fly.

Graphics are a clever blend of 3-D polygon-based sprites and 2-D painted backdrops and scenery that blend surprisingly well. Voice acting is funny and pitch-perfect, and you can easily click through all the dialogue if you’d rather just get to the hacking and the slashing.

The Baconing improves on its predecessors (The original DeathSpank and episodic sequel Thongs of Virtue) in a number of ways. First, it cuts down on meaningless side quests while beefing up the primary quest line, so that you won’t find yourself missing things or completely forgetting to fulfill requests from NPCs. Second, it takes away a lot of what didn’t work or felt extraneous like runes that you could discover to unlock secret combo powers (I’d never use them unless by accident) or drops from NPCs and enemies that did little beyond clog up your inventory.

For something fun that satisfies any dungeon-crawling urges people may be having ahead of Diablo III’s anticipated release, you can’t go wrong with The Baconing. And if you’re new to the franchise, start at the beginning with the original DeathSpank and play all the way through. That’ll take you a little beyond just this Monday, though.

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The launch of both Steam for OS X and the Mac App Store have definitely made more Mac gaming titles more accessible to more users. Top-tier games like Civilization V and Portal 2 are some recent highlights available through these digital delivery systems. Classic offerings that hold up well like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and BioShock are also great for new players who may have missed them the first time around. But triple-A titles seem to be the exception, not the rule. Both Steam and the Mac App Store offer far more casual and less ambitious titles than they do games from big publishers, many of which are still slow to port even their major PC successes to OS X.

Leaving aside the big players, there’s still a lot to love about recent Mac game releases. Gameloft is quickly churning through its catalogue of iOS titles, bringing its budget reinterpretations of the biggest franchises in gaming to the Mac App Store for prices that often match or beat those on the iOS App Stores. For example, Eternal Legacy, the game that clearly owes a debt to Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series, made its debut on the Mac App Store on Thursday and quickly rose to a lofty position on the charts. But the fact remains that the Mac is getting the leftovers of its mobile siblings; none of these titles were actually designed to be played on a computer first.

Original indie talent is one area where the Mac App Store is definitely helping out Mac gaming. Titles like the cartoony hack-and-slash DeathSpank that otherwise might only have reached a small, select audience of enthusiasts now have a much greater reach, which should help ensure we see more similar software down the line.

Still, overall, I can’t help but feel that Mac gaming still isn’t everything it should be. But maybe I’m asking too much. What do you think? Is gaming an important part of your overall Mac experience? What’s missing from Mac gaming, what’s going right, and what needs to see some improvement?

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But Steam is more than just a marketplace. It also provides achievements, leaderboards and matchmaking for the games it sells, so that it’s much more like an Xbox Live for your PC. And now for your Mac, too. And between both, if you happen to use both OS X and Windows machines.

All of Steam’s launch titles on the Mac feature “Steam Play,” a new ability that allows you to purchase a game once on one platform and then download it and play it on any other Steam-supported OS (which for now includes Windows and Mac). That’s great news for me, since I often will buy a game here at home and then want to play it when I’m visiting my parents, for instance, or traveling and using a friend’s computer. It’s also handy if you have a PC at work and want to sneak in some Torchlight dungeon crawling between reports.

You can go ahead and grab the client here (DMG). As expected, launch titles include the above-mentioned Torchlight, a Diablo clone that I’ve played on PC and enjoyed immensely, and Portal, Valve’s celebrated shooter. Also available are Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Loom, and The Dig from LucasArts, and the Sam and Max episodic adventures. A full list is available at Joystiq.com.

The full Mac Games store is now live, and it looks just like its PC counterpart. Games seem to cost the same as their PC counterparts, and you should be able to play multiplayer games across platforms (meaning PC players can game with Mac ones, and vice versa). Torchlight is available for a special launch price of $9.99 by the way, so I recommend picking it up if you’re unsure of where to start.

At first launch you’ll be prompted to sign up for a Steam account, which takes all of 30 seconds and can be done entirely through the Steam Mac app. New games are set to be released on Wednesday of every week, with plenty of Mac titles already in the pipeline.

Us Mac gamers are a much abused, much maligned lot. We get titles late, and most never at all. By the time most titles do come to the Mac, we’ve probably already broken down and played them using Boot Camp or that gaming PC we hide in the closet that we bought specifically for the purpose. Today, things are looking up.

PC game maker and distributor Valve is dropping all kinds of hints, which are by no means ambiguous, that Steam and many of its titles are headed to the Mac sometime in the near future. MacRumors and various other Mac news sites received teaser images direct from Valve themselves, all of which point to that very same conclusion.

The teaser received by MacRumors features Half-Life protagonist Gordon Freeman wielding a crowbar and wearing an Apple logo on his chest. The image was sent “in anticipation of an upcoming announcement from Valve.” No timeframe or additional details about this announcement were included, however, so we’re left to speculate about that, although next week sees the annual Game Developers Conference taking place in San Francisco, so that’s a good candidate for a potential date.

Other sites also received tantalizing teaser images in a similar vein, which, when you notice the iPhone-like selector control at the bottom of the images, gives a pretty good indication that all are from the same series and further evidence of a Mac connection. MacNN received one using turrets from Team Fortress 2 and Portal acting as Mac and PC from the Justin Long/John Hodgman series of ads:

Shacknews got this image of a Team Fortress 2 Heavy class character as an iPod silhouette:

Eurogamer received this one, featuring a Left 4 Dead character and the “Hate Different” twist on Apple’s longtime slogan:

Rock, Paper, Shotgun got another promo, which plays off of the ad for the first Mac and seems the most clear about Valve’s intentions:

Finally, Macworld received this picture of Half-Life 2′s Alyx Vance character reenacting Apple’s instantly recognizable 1984 commercial:

Additional evidence for the introduction of some kind of Mac version of Steam can be found in the inclusion of Mac elements in the latest beta builds of the game marketplace software. For Mac users who’ve maybe shut out all gaming news out of bitterness or jealousy, Steam is Valve’s digital game distribution software for the PC. It also provides digital rights management (DRM) services for developers, and multiplayer services for users. So far, only Mac Games Arcade provides a similar service for the Mac, but that’s honestly like comparing an aircraft carrier (Steam) to a dinghy (Mac Games Arcade).