Duke Nukem Forever
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Duke Nukem Forever is the in-development latest installment of the Duke Nukem franchise. Beset with delays, developer 3D Realms started work on the game in 1997 and continued until the studio's closure in 2009. The game's ultimate fate is currently unknown.
Development History
1997 - 1998
Duke Nukem Forever was officially announced on April 28th, 1997 by 3D Realms, together with the announcement that 3D Realms had purchased Id Software's Quake II engine to power the game, with a release planned for late 1998. However, 3D Realms didn't receive the engine until the following November. It was later revealed that the supposed in-game screenshots released in the November 1997 issue of PC gamer were simply mock-ups based on concept art created by 3D Realms employees in their spare time using the original Quake engine. At E3 '98, 3D Realms released a trailer showcasing the game running on the Quake II engine for the first time.
1998 - 1999
In June 1998, 3D Realms announced they had begun porting the game to run on Epic Games' Unreal Engine. Lead designer George Broussard stated the transition would take "a month to six weeks" and that the game would be delayed untill late 1999, also ensuring that the features shown in the E3 '98 demo would be carried over to the Unreal Engine.
1999 - 2000
In 1999, 3D Realms announced they had upgraded to a newer version of the Unreal Engine, the same used in Epic Games's Unreal Tournament, resulting in a second delay of release. 3D Realms released another set of screenshots on November 1st, showcasing DNF running on the Unreal Engine for the first time. The developer released a single screenshot along with a Christmas card in late December, suggesting the game would be released in 2000.
2000 - 2001
In early December of 2000, publisher Gathering of Developers had announced that they had acquired the rights to publish DNF, causing a third release delay. Following this announcement, 3D Realms rleased another Christmas card suggesting that the game would be released in 2001.
2001 - 2002
At E3 2001 3D Realms released a second DNF trailer to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the Duke Nukem franchise. The two minutes of in game footage were the first to show the game in action on the Unreal Engine and proved promising. In August, however, Gathering of Developers shut down and Take-Two Interactive took over the publishing rights to DNF, pushing the game further back to a possible 2002 release.
2002 - 2004
With the announcement of the Unreal Engine 2, 3D Realms would have to upgrade the existing engine to keep the game on par with competition. Several new programmers were brought on board in 2002, and the development team rewrote the Unreal Engine renderer and several other modules, adding technology from an early version of Unreal Engine 2. According to George Broussard, approximately 95% of level design content was scrapped in the procress, causing yet another severe delay in the game's development.
On May 20, 2003, Jeffery Lapin, the then-CEO of Take-Two, told the press that Duke Nukem Forever would not be released in 2003, apparently without the consent of 3D Realms. In a furious response, Broussard responded on Shacknews saying that "Take-Two needs to STFU IMO." In December of that same year, Lapin said that the game was expected to be finished by late 2004/early 2005.
In September 2004, Broussard announced the replacement of DNF's Karma physics engine with a physics engine designed by Swedish Studio Meqon, causing further delay.
2005 - 2006
Rumors in April 2005 suggested that Duke Nukem Forever would appear at E3 2005 along with 3D Realms' previously canceled Prey. While Prey did make an appearance, DNF did not.
In February of 2006, Broussard made a statement saying that DNF was still in full production, that core parts of the game were finished and that the development team was tweaking and polishing the game and putting all of the pieces together.
In June, in a filing with the SEC, Take-Two revealed that they had renegotiated the terms of the publishing agreement and would pay 3D Realms $4.25 million instead of $6 million upon the release of the game. The filing also revealed that Take-Two was offering a $500,000 bonus if DNF was commercially released by December 31, 2006. However, Broussard denied the rumors that DNF would be released before the end of the year. Quoted in a Gamespot article published on June 13th, 2006, he stated "As for the 500k completion bonus, I don't even know were that came from...I do know that we never cared or asked for it, and I think it was just tossed in as part of some other agreement. We're certainly not motivated by that amount of money, after all this time, and getting the game right is what matters. I would never ship a game early (even a couple of months), for 500k."
The same article also quoted Broussard regarding the game's funding. "We're making the game. It'll be done when it's done. We've funded 99.999% of the game (aside from a very, very small advance from GT Interactive, years ago, before Take 2 bought the game from them). It's our risk, our necks and our gamble. Under the deal we should be earning royalties from about unit 30,000 or so (that's a real small number)."
On August 30, 2006, Shacknews reported that several key employees had left 3D Realms. They speculated that the departures would lead to further delays for DNF. However, 3D Realms strongly denied these claims, stating that the employees had left over the course of a number of months and that the game was still moving ahead.
2007 - 2008
On January 25, 2007 and May 22, 2007, George Broussard posted two Gamasutra job ads with small screenshots of Duke Nukem holding two guns and a Pig Cop. Broussard later confirmed that these were real in-game screenshots.
On March 20, 2007, 3D Realms co-founder Scott Miller stated that DNF was still in development.
In July 2007, Game Informer released two new, low-res screenshots, one of which appeared to be a previously unseen shot of an in-game level, the other being the image of Duke posted in the Gamasutra job advertisement from a slightly different angle.
On September 18, 2008, Broussard began revealing some behind-the-scenes information using his twitter account.
On December 18, 2008, 3D Realms released a single image displaying in-game models of a number of the game's enemies to the press. No other details regarding the game or its release accompanied it.
On February 12, 2009, George Broussard posted a screen capture of the Duke Nukem Forever bug log.
On May 6th, 2009, news leaked indicating that developer 3D Realms is closing its doors. In the days following the initial leaks and subsequent confirmations, development art and video assets for the game were leaked to the internet, giving the public a glimpse of what Duke Nukem Forever looked like prior to the studio's closure.
The following week, Take-Two Interactive filed a breach of contract suit against Apogee Software Ltd., the company behind the 3D Realms label. As reported on Kotaku, the suit contends that "Apogee repeatedly assured Take-Two and the video-gaming community that it was diligently working toward competing development of the PC Version of the Duke Nukem Forever." (sic)
On May 16th, Shacknews published an article with statements from Scott Miller. Among his quotes, he stated that despite Take-Two paying Infogrames $12 million for the publishing rights to DNF, 3D Realms "didn't get a penny of that." He went on to note that "This, along with so much else, is 100% spin, being eaten up by those who have no clue whatsoever." In the same article, Miller also denied rumors that 3D Realms turned down an offer to sell the Duke Nukem IP to Take-Two for $30 million and stated that no such offer was ever made.
There is currently no word on how these events will ultimately affect the development of Duke Nukem Forever.
The extended development cycle and perpetual delays that Duke Nukem Forever endured since the early days of its development have made the game something of a long-running joke. Even other game developers have taken cracks at DNF's expense, such as when a character in Grasshopper Manufacture's No More Heroes breaks the fourth wall in explaining a theoretical development delay scenario that could result in the game's name being changed to No More Heroes Forever. Duke Nukem Forever has also been given a catalog of unflattering nicknames over the years, all related to the length of its development and the possibility that it may never see release at all, such as Duke Nukem Never and Duke Nukem Taking Forever.
Due to the unprecedented length of the game's development cycle and the secrecy with which 3D Realms handled the project, it's unknown if the game is truly as close to completion as George Broussard hinted at in early 2009. Regardless of what state the game is in should it ever see release, the expectations of quality for any game that's been in development for over a decade would be difficult to meet. Take-Two still holds the game's publishing rights, but time will tell if the company will ever have the chance to put the game on store shelves.
Shortly after 3D Realm's closure, the creator of the popular internet web-series Zero Punctuation, Ben 'Yahztee' Croshaw, released a mock review of the canceled Duke Nukem Forever stating that if a studio had over a decade to develop a game then it should be the greatest game ever made. He also stated that people shouldn't feel bad about 3D Realm's closure because they were under contract to finish the game and they sort of had it coming.
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QOTW: 05/17/09
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Duke Nukem Forever: Leaked Demo Reel
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Talkin' 'Bout Duke
Duke Nukem Forever has been in development hell for 12 years. Developer 3D Realms has shut its doors, and Take-Two currently holds the publishing rights. The game's fate is unknown.
Overview
Duke Nukem Forever is the in-development latest installment of the Duke Nukem franchise. Beset with delays, developer 3D Realms started work on the game in 1997 and continued until the studio's closure in 2009. The game's ultimate fate is currently unknown.
Development History
1997 - 1998
Duke Nukem Forever was officially announced on April 28th, 1997 by 3D Realms, together with the announcement that 3D Realms had purchased Id Software's Quake II engine to power the game, with a release planned for late 1998. However, 3D Realms didn't receive the engine until the following November. It was later revealed that the supposed in-game screenshots released in the November 1997 issue of PC gamer were simply mock-ups based on concept art created by 3D Realms employees in their spare time using the original Quake engine. At E3 '98, 3D Realms released a trailer showcasing the game running on the Quake II engine for the first time.1998 - 1999
In June 1998, 3D Realms announced they had begun porting the game to run on Epic Games' Unreal Engine. Lead designer George Broussard stated the transition would take "a month to six weeks" and that the game would be delayed untill late 1999, also ensuring that the features shown in the E3 '98 demo would be carried over to the Unreal Engine.1999 - 2000
In 1999, 3D Realms announced they had upgraded to a newer version of the Unreal Engine, the same used in Epic Games's Unreal Tournament, resulting in a second delay of release. 3D Realms released another set of screenshots on November 1st, showcasing DNF running on the Unreal Engine for the first time. The developer released a single screenshot along with a Christmas card in late December, suggesting the game would be released in 2000.2000 - 2001
In early December of 2000, publisher Gathering of Developers had announced that they had acquired the rights to publish DNF, causing a third release delay. Following this announcement, 3D Realms rleased another Christmas card suggesting that the game would be released in 2001.2001 - 2002
At E3 2001 3D Realms released a second DNF trailer to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the Duke Nukem franchise. The two minutes of in game footage were the first to show the game in action on the Unreal Engine and proved promising. In August, however, Gathering of Developers shut down and Take-Two Interactive took over the publishing rights to DNF, pushing the game further back to a possible 2002 release.2002 - 2004
With the announcement of the Unreal Engine 2, 3D Realms would have to upgrade the existing engine to keep the game on par with competition. Several new programmers were brought on board in 2002, and the development team rewrote the Unreal Engine renderer and several other modules, adding technology from an early version of Unreal Engine 2. According to George Broussard, approximately 95% of level design content was scrapped in the procress, causing yet another severe delay in the game's development. On May 20, 2003, Jeffery Lapin, the then-CEO of Take-Two, told the press that Duke Nukem Forever would not be released in 2003, apparently without the consent of 3D Realms. In a furious response, Broussard responded on Shacknews saying that "Take-Two needs to STFU IMO." In December of that same year, Lapin said that the game was expected to be finished by late 2004/early 2005.
In September 2004, Broussard announced the replacement of DNF's Karma physics engine with a physics engine designed by Swedish Studio Meqon, causing further delay.
2005 - 2006
Rumors in April 2005 suggested that Duke Nukem Forever would appear at E3 2005 along with 3D Realms' previously canceled Prey. While Prey did make an appearance, DNF did not.In February of 2006, Broussard made a statement saying that DNF was still in full production, that core parts of the game were finished and that the development team was tweaking and polishing the game and putting all of the pieces together.
On March 21, 2006, 3D Realms CEO Scott Miller spoke of future plans for the Duke Nukem franchise beyond DNF, stating "...of course as soon as Duke is done we'll begin a new one."
In April 2006, Broussard demonstrated samples of the game, including an early level, a vehicle sequence, and a few test rooms. One notable demonstration, according to the May 2006 issue of Computer Games Magazine, featured the interactive use of an in-game computer to send actual e-mails.In June, in a filing with the SEC, Take-Two revealed that they had renegotiated the terms of the publishing agreement and would pay 3D Realms $4.25 million instead of $6 million upon the release of the game. The filing also revealed that Take-Two was offering a $500,000 bonus if DNF was commercially released by December 31, 2006. However, Broussard denied the rumors that DNF would be released before the end of the year. Quoted in a Gamespot article published on June 13th, 2006, he stated "As for the 500k completion bonus, I don't even know were that came from...I do know that we never cared or asked for it, and I think it was just tossed in as part of some other agreement. We're certainly not motivated by that amount of money, after all this time, and getting the game right is what matters. I would never ship a game early (even a couple of months), for 500k."
The same article also quoted Broussard regarding the game's funding. "We're making the game. It'll be done when it's done. We've funded 99.999% of the game (aside from a very, very small advance from GT Interactive, years ago, before Take 2 bought the game from them). It's our risk, our necks and our gamble. Under the deal we should be earning royalties from about unit 30,000 or so (that's a real small number)."
On August 30, 2006, Shacknews reported that several key employees had left 3D Realms. They speculated that the departures would lead to further delays for DNF. However, 3D Realms strongly denied these claims, stating that the employees had left over the course of a number of months and that the game was still moving ahead.
2007 - 2008
On January 25, 2007 and May 22, 2007, George Broussard posted two Gamasutra job ads with small screenshots of Duke Nukem holding two guns and a Pig Cop. Broussard later confirmed that these were real in-game screenshots.On March 20, 2007, 3D Realms co-founder Scott Miller stated that DNF was still in development.
In July 2007, Game Informer released two new, low-res screenshots, one of which appeared to be a previously unseen shot of an in-game level, the other being the image of Duke posted in the Gamasutra job advertisement from a slightly different angle.
On September 18, 2008, Broussard began revealing some behind-the-scenes information using his twitter account.
On December 18, 2008, 3D Realms released a single image displaying in-game models of a number of the game's enemies to the press. No other details regarding the game or its release accompanied it.
2009 - Present
Screenshot of DNF bug list as of February 12, 2009.
On May 6th, 2009, news leaked indicating that developer 3D Realms is closing its doors. In the days following the initial leaks and subsequent confirmations, development art and video assets for the game were leaked to the internet, giving the public a glimpse of what Duke Nukem Forever looked like prior to the studio's closure.
The following week, Take-Two Interactive filed a breach of contract suit against Apogee Software Ltd., the company behind the 3D Realms label. As reported on Kotaku, the suit contends that "Apogee repeatedly assured Take-Two and the video-gaming community that it was diligently working toward competing development of the PC Version of the Duke Nukem Forever." (sic)
On May 16th, Shacknews published an article with statements from Scott Miller. Among his quotes, he stated that despite Take-Two paying Infogrames $12 million for the publishing rights to DNF, 3D Realms "didn't get a penny of that." He went on to note that "This, along with so much else, is 100% spin, being eaten up by those who have no clue whatsoever." In the same article, Miller also denied rumors that 3D Realms turned down an offer to sell the Duke Nukem IP to Take-Two for $30 million and stated that no such offer was ever made.
There is currently no word on how these events will ultimately affect the development of Duke Nukem Forever.
Reputation
The extended development cycle and perpetual delays that Duke Nukem Forever endured since the early days of its development have made the game something of a long-running joke. Even other game developers have taken cracks at DNF's expense, such as when a character in Grasshopper Manufacture's No More Heroes breaks the fourth wall in explaining a theoretical development delay scenario that could result in the game's name being changed to No More Heroes Forever. Duke Nukem Forever has also been given a catalog of unflattering nicknames over the years, all related to the length of its development and the possibility that it may never see release at all, such as Duke Nukem Never and Duke Nukem Taking Forever.
Due to the unprecedented length of the game's development cycle and the secrecy with which 3D Realms handled the project, it's unknown if the game is truly as close to completion as George Broussard hinted at in early 2009. Regardless of what state the game is in should it ever see release, the expectations of quality for any game that's been in development for over a decade would be difficult to meet. Take-Two still holds the game's publishing rights, but time will tell if the company will ever have the chance to put the game on store shelves.
Shortly after 3D Realm's closure, the creator of the popular internet web-series Zero Punctuation, Ben 'Yahztee' Croshaw, released a mock review of the canceled Duke Nukem Forever stating that if a studio had over a decade to develop a game then it should be the greatest game ever made. He also stated that people shouldn't feel bad about 3D Realm's closure because they were under contract to finish the game and they sort of had it coming.
| Game Name | Duke Nukem Forever |
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DNF Duke Nuke: Taking Forever |
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