Open source gaming is literally looking better

The developers of the open source game engine Godot announced this week that its upcoming point release will add HDR (High Dynamic Range) output support. It'll work in Forward+ and Mobile renderers, adding visual depth to gameplay on supported devices.

Happening now

In short: People developing games using Godot will be able to enable and customize HDR output for their games as soon as version 4.7 arrives in the coming weeks. Assuming your development environment meets all the requirements, you'll be able to toggle it on by going to Display > Window > HDR > Request HDR Output.

• For the moment, Web and Compatibility renderers won't support HDR output.

The background: This feature has been in development for years. Supporting Linux in particular required time working with the maturing Wayland protocol.

If you want to see what the HDR hype is about, the blog post has AVIF images that show the difference. Your device and your web browser needs to be able can render them properly, though.

Zooming out

Why this announcement matters: Open source game development platforms, one like Godot supporting 3D in particular, have a huge job competing with the likes of Unity and Unreal Engine.

• Direct user-facing advances like HDR can go a long way in proving what can be accomplished without proprietary control.

Be smart: Proper HDR requires a chain of support to be in place in order to render properly, including the display hardware and the operating system. In other words, enjoyment of this visual enhancement is limited to a subclass of gamers.

My take: I don't game on an HDR monitor, but I'm glad to see more progress in open source development platforms. I was similarly excited for Pixelorama's new features for game graphics designers.

Diving in

Go further: See the official announcement on Godot's blog for more details. If you want to start developing your own games, you can visit the Godot Engine website and download the platform.