Project to bring DirectX 10 to Mac, Win XP?

Young developer Cody Brocious intends to bring DirectX 10 to "platforms other than Microsoft Vista," according to his company's latest update. Called the Alky Project, Falling Leaf Systems' programming effort transforms the unified shader code at the heart of DirectX 10 into raw machine language, allowing any system to run games written for the advanced graphics standard without requiring either Windows Vista or video cards such as the GeForce 8-series. The ultimate goal is to bring games made for DirectX 10 and earlier to Mac and Linux systems, the company says.

Although the latest development is a converter that runs DirectX 10 demonstrations for Windows XP, those who sign up to Falling Leaf's Sapling Program receive an alpha release of a converter that runs Human Head Studios' Windows version of Prey on Mac OS X and Linux systems -- complete with audio and visual effects.

The Mac version requires an Intel-based system with hardware capable of running the game; membership to the Sapling Program is $50 and will allow free converters over time, while the stand-alone conversions will tentatively sell for $20 each. A video demonstrating the alpha Mac converter is available below.