Castle Game Engine on Linux (Free Pascal + Lazarus): Install

In this hands-on walkthrough, we install Castle Game Engine (CGE) on Linux, launch the editor, compile a built-in 2D platformer example, preview a 3D scene, and finish by creating a proper desktop launcher so students can start CGE from the app menu—no terminal needed. This is the bridge from our Lazarus GUI lessons to real 2D/3D game projects with Object Pascal and Free Pascal (FPC). Perfect for OWL Scholars and beginners learning game dev on Linux. 📝 What you’ll build * Where to download CGE (Linux build ≈1 GB) and how to unzip & place it in ~/Apps * How to run castle-editor from Terminal and open Examples (2D & 3D) * How to compile & run the 2D Platformer example * How to inspect scenes and assets in the Editor * How to create a desktop launcher (.desktop file) with icon, Exec path, and categories * Common pitfalls: permissions, typos (Exec, [Desktop Entry]), icon paths Commands used (copy/paste) # Move ZIP to Apps mkdir -p ~/Apps mv ~/Downloads/castle_game_engine-*.zip ~/Apps cd ~/Apps # Unzip and clean up unzip castle_game_engine-*.zip rm castle_game_engine-*.zip # Run the editor the first time cd castle_game_engine/bin ./castle-editor Desktop launcher file Create ~/.local/share/applications/CastleEngine.desktop with: [Desktop Entry] Version=1.0 Type=Application Name=Castle Game Engine Comment=Develop cross-platform games and apps Exec=/home/[your_user]/Apps/castle_game_engine/bin/castle-editor Icon=/home/[your_user]/Apps/castle_game_engine/castle.png Terminal=false Categories=Development;IDE; Save, wait a moment for indexing, then search “Castle Game Engine” in your app menu.If the icon doesn’t appear: double-check Exec/Icon paths and the [Desktop Entry] header. Troubleshooting * Nothing happens when clicking the icon: Confirm Exec path and that castle-editor is executable (chmod +x .../castle-editor). * Icon not showing: Make sure Icon= points to a valid .png file (we copied castle.png into the CGE root folder). * Compile time is long: First build downloads/compiles dependencies; subsequent builds are faster. Who it’s for Students, educators, and beginners learning Object Pascal / Free Pascal who want a friendly, open-source game engine on Linux. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Intro — why CGE next 00:00:14 Download page & Linux build (≈1 GB) 00:00:40 Move ZIP to ~/Apps & unzip in Terminal 00:01:28 Launch castle-editor & open examples 00:01:46 Run 2D Platformer example (compile & play) 00:02:06 Inspect example assets and scenes 00:02:14 Open a 3D example (preview assets, no compile) 00:02:40 Create desktop launcher (.desktop) 00:03:10 Fill out Exec/Icon/Name/Categories fields 00:03:56 Copy icon file to CGE folder; set Terminal=false 00:04:56 Fix typos; add [Desktop Entry]; save 00:05:12 Let desktop index it; find & pin the icon 00:05:38 Click-to-launch test & wrap-up Hashtags #CastleGameEngine #FreePascal #ObjectPascal #LazarusIDE #LinuxGaming #GameDev #OpenSource #KidsWhoCode #OpenWiseLearning