My name is Florian Rival, I'm a software engineer working in Paris. I'm working on various projects, ranging from large scale Web apps to innovative mobile apps, and I'm also creating games in my spare time. GDevelop is a piece of game creator software allowing anyone to create games. The editor is built to be intuitive and used by beginners or advanced game makers. In particular, no programming skills are required: all the game logic can be made using a visual event system that is easy to learn and expressive enough to build any game you can imagine.

Why did you start GDevelop?

I've always been fond of software that allows people to create things without having to spend a lot of time learning advanced programming. When I was young, I used a game-making software similar to GDevelop, and this is what got me into programming later. Since then, I've always been eager to provide the same kind of software to allow anyone to create games. I'm also quite fond of video games, so making software to create video games is a natural fit for me!

How are people using it?

Most people are making their first step in game creation and programming using GDevelop, mostly to have fun and see how it works. A few people are able to create advanced games, and I'm quite proud when I discover a really enjoyable game made with GDevelop.

What features do you think really sets GDevelop apart from other game development systems?

It is feature-rich, which allows for a multitude of uses. The event system is a way to create the game rules and logic without having to learn how to use traditional programming language. It's easier to get started with events as you search in a list of all available actions and conditions that you can use, and apply them on the objects of your game. And it's still powerful enough to re-create the same things that you can do with programming -- so that no user of GDevelop is forced to switch to a programming language when the game is becoming a bit complex.

Why did you choose the GPLv3 as GDevelop's license?

I've spent a huge amount of time designing the editor, and I wanted to be sure that anybody improving and developing the editor will make their contribution available to anyone else with the same license.

How can users (technical or otherwise) help contribute to GDevelop?

First, developers can help in designing or improving the editor or the game engine (written in C++ and Javascript) on https://github.com/4ian/GD. I'm developing a new, improved editor, and any developer knowing a bit of JavaScript should be able to quickly set it up and contribute! The best way for other users is simply to download GDevelop and get involved in the community. In particular, we need a lot of tutorials to help beginners to get started and build advanced games! We already have some tutorials, but more are better.

What's the next big thing for GDevelop?

The editor is being re-written so that it's built on new Web technologies, enabling it to be fully cross-platform (GNU/Linux, macOS, Windows) and even used directly from a Web browser in the near future. It's a good way for me to think again about the whole interface and to simplify it. I'd like to build an ecosystem around GDevelop, this should help even more people to try game creation and see how easy it can be once you've learned a few concepts, and we have a road map.

*Enjoy this interview? Check out our previous entry in this series, featuring David Rosca of QupZilla.

The logo and screenshots are used with permission of Florian Rival.

You now have until November 7th, 2017 at 10:00 EST (15:00 UTC) to send us your idea for a great LibrePlanet session!

Even if you don't want to give a talk, general registration and exhibitor applications are now open, and we will start accepting volunteer applications soon.

LibrePlanet is an annual conference for free software enthusiasts and everyone who cares about the intersection of technology and social justice. For the past nine years, LibrePlanet has brought together free software developers, policy experts, activists, hackers, students, and people who are at the beginning of their free software journeys. LibrePlanet 2018 will feature programming for all ages and experience levels.

Need help preparing your talk proposal?

If you need advice or encouragement as your prepare your talk proposal, we're here to help! Join #libreplanet on Freenode IRC Thursday, November 2nd from 18:00 - 19:00 (EDT) for LibrePlanet Call for Sessions office hours with Deb Nicholson. If you do not have an IRC client, you can log onto Freenode IRC here, and connect to the channel #libreplanet, or email campaigns@fsf.org with your questions. Please note that LibrePlanet's Safe Space Policy applies to the #libreplanet IRC channel.

Need help attending LibrePlanet?

The Free Software Foundation is able to offer a limited amount of funding to bring conference participants and speakers to LibrePlanet from all around the world. You can apply for a scholarship through Thursday, November 30th, 2017 at 10:00 EST (15:00 UTC). Scholarship recipients will be notified by early January.

Nominations for the 20th annual Free Software Awards opened at LibrePlanet 2017, right after the most recent Free Software Awards were presented -- and your opportunity to submit nominations ends on November 5th, 2017, at 23:59 UTC. For details, see instructions below.

If you admire a free software contributor or project and want the world to see how great they are, nominate them today. Your nominations will be reviewed by our awards committee and the winners will be announced at LibrePlanet 2018.

Award for the Advancement of Free Software

The Award for the Advancement of Free Software is presented annually by FSF president Richard Stallman to an individual who has made a great contribution to the progress and development of free software, through activities that accord with the spirit of free software.

Last year, Alexandre Oliva was recognized with the Award for the Advancement of Free Software for his passionate free software advocacy and his role as maintainer of GNU Linux-libre, the fully free version of the kernel Linux. Other previous honorees include Lawrence Lessig, Yukihiro Matsumoto, and Werner Koch.

Award for Projects of Social Benefit

The Award for Projects of Social Benefit is presented to a project or team responsible for applying free software, or the ideas of the free software movement, in a project that intentionally and significantly benefits society in other aspects of life.

We look to recognize projects or teams that encourage people to cooperate in freedom to accomplish tasks of great social benefit, and those that apply free software ideas and lessons outside the free software community. A long-term commitment to one's project (or the potential for a long-term commitment) is crucial to this end.

This award stresses the use of free software in the service of humanity. We have deliberately chosen this broad criterion so that many different areas of activity can be considered. However, one area that is not included is that of free software itself. Projects with a primary goal of promoting or advancing free software are not eligible for this award (we honor individuals working on those projects with our annual Award for the Advancement of Free Software).

We will consider any project or team that uses free software or its philosophy to address a goal important to society. To qualify, a project must use free software, produce free documentation, or use the idea of free software as defined in the Free Software Definition. Projects that promote or depend on the use of nonfree software are not eligible for this award. Commercial projects are not excluded, but commercial success is not our scale for judging projects.

Last year, SecureDrop, an anonymous whistleblowing platform used by major news organizations and maintained by Freedom of the Press Foundation, received the award. Past recipients include Wikipedia, Groklaw, and the GNOME Foundation's Outreach Program for Women (now known as Outreachy).

Eligibility

In the case of both awards, previous winners are not eligible for nomination, but renomination of other previous nominees is encouraged. Only individuals are eligible for nomination for the Advancement of Free Software Award (not projects), and only projects can be nominated for the Social Benefit Award (not individuals). For a list of previous winners, please visit https://www.fsf.org/awards/fs-award. Current FSF staff and board members, as well as award committee members, are not eligible.

Winners will be decided by a committee, which includes several previous winners.

Instructions

After reviewing the eligibility rules above, please click on the links below to submit your nominations. All nominations need to be submitted before Sunday, November 5th, 2017 at 23:59 UTC.

• Nominations for the Award for the Advancement of Free Software

• Nominations for the Award for Projects of Social Benefit

Attend the Free Software Awards at LibrePlanet 2018

Want to be in the room when the winners are announced? Registration is already open for the LibrePlanet conference, March 24-25, 2018, in Cambridge. You can meet the award winners and take part in a program devoted to the world of free software. Remember: Free Software Foundation members attend LibrePlanet gratis!

Participate in supporting the Directory by adding new entries and updating existing ones. We will be on IRC in the #fsf channel on irc.freenode.org.

Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth of useful information, from basic category and descriptions, to providing detailed info about version control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing info that has been carefully checked by FSF staff and trained volunteers.

While the Directory has been and continues to be a great resource to the world for over a decade now, it has the potential to be a resource of even greater value. But it needs your help!

This week we're back to work on adding new entries to the Directory. The backlog of unapproved packages continues to dwindle, but we want to get it all the way down to zero, and keep adding more. Each new package helps to make the Directory a better resource for finding any sort of software that you may need. The Directory is one of our most visited resources, so keeping it growing ensures there's lots for all those users to see.

If you are eager to help, and you can't wait or are simply unable to make it onto IRC on Friday, our participation guide will provide you with all the information you need to get started on helping the Directory today! There are also weekly Directory Meeting pages that everyone is welcome to contribute to before, during, and after each meeting.