Triptych was largely responsible for DNF’s final script, George originally wanted the game to be darker and grittier in tone. Gearbox liked Triptych’s work, which was more comedy-focused and juvenile, and basically kept their script for the final save for very few altered lines like Duke watching the twins die in the hive. So, yeah: all the criticisms with the final games writing can largely be chalked up to Triptych and George no longer being there to supervise.
yeah, GBX even hired some gal to write duke that absolutely hated it and had no understanding of franchise. Duke always was a parody in the first place, not an idiotic hateful sketch (Borderlands too shifted from dark scifi to an idiotic teenage drama). Ironicly modern Duke memes (especially what Gianni does) are way more close to the original "goody two shoes awkward meathead with a gun who's occasionally brilliant". Broussard had proper vision for it's own game and understood the character way better.
@@orchid9 Duke was never intended to be a parody in George's eyes, He was supposed to be an affectionate homage and basically a video game expy of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
@@orchid9 That thing about the gal is misrepresented from what I remember, as that was Tryptich's doing. Short on funds during 2009, they let the secretary and the finances coordinator (both women and wives of Tryptich developers, altough I might be misremembering their titles) have a pass at writing dialogues so they could develop placeholder cutscenes and NPC eye tracking... and that's the version of the game Gearbox ended up leaving as-is.
Apparently editing my reply in here took away FrameRater’s seal of approval :< but yeah, George has even said on Twitter how almost everyone would get Duke wrong which is why he had to supervise dialogue for the console spin-off games back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
Thank you, FR, for creating this series. George was so passionate about the project and invested so much into it. It's such a shame he couldn't come to accept the fact that DNF didn't have to be THE perfect game for people and press to enjoy it. Ultimately, the project became a disappointment to almost everyone, including George himself.
Yeah I've always been of the opinion they could have just released a decent game every 2 years and put whatever ideas into they could, then move on and make another game, more ideas, make money, keep going. Instead they pissed away a very wealthy company and loads of talent and tons of time & effort.
man, what a journey this has been. Well-documented and fascinating to see how development switched hands during the buildup towards release, and I love how Scott Miller answered some additional questions for you. Here's to the DNF Restoration Project, if there is one thing keeping Duke Nukem alive today, it's most definitely the fans
A new Duke game that revives the franchise is somethin I'm dying for right now. The restoration project and Ion Fury both show that the fanbase is there!
Using a Court Room Sketch artist is honestly such a great piece of advertising, say what you will about the game, but it really plays up how secretive the project must have felt by then
Ngl, whenever I think about the current state of the Duke Nukem franchise or the way GearBox treats it, all I feel is sadness and disappointment, especially after learning about what could've been. Good to at least have a dedicated community that cares about these games. Good job with the documentary, keep up the good work!
Amazing video as always, loved it. Just a minor correction regarding DNF2011's engine as a modder of the game. It doesn't use build 613 of Unreal Engine 1, in fact, it's an earlier version of it, it's actually version 400 of UE1 used in Unreal Tournament 99. Duke Nukem Forever 2011 engine is the same version used in the 2001 leak as shown by comparing configuration files of both versions. I also have a colleague that reverse engineered 2011 and most of the code still is very close to Unreal Engine 1 source code, with some custom stuff added by 3D Realms like the new renderer and Meqon Physics.
@@FrameRater You're welcome, it's very easy to find misleading information about Duke Nukem Forever's engine arround the internet, with some saying that It uses Unreal 2.5 and even Unreal 3, but diving deep inside DNF2011 code none of these claims are true.
@@viniciusmedeiros2867 Oh, you bet they actively avoided the subject by 2005 already and let people spread misinformation. Let alone in 2010/2011 before release. It would just add to the ridicule.
Glad we've reached the end of this documentary. I've been owning this game on Steam for a few months and it's not even one of the worst games I've ever played.
3:07 Shoutouts to Duke's Deagle-Revolver hybrid pistol. Makes me wonder, how the hell would that thing even work. Also what's that attachment under the barrel suppose to be? A laser sight, mini-grenade launcher, barcode scanner, Wii remote?
I mean a 2 weapon limit is just a game design tool that can be done well if the game is designed around it and the devs know how to use it. Halo I would say is an example. But much like regenerating health, or in Halo's case shields, if you don't understand how to use the tool and balance things around it properly then things are just going to turn out poorly. Like most Halo clones of the time.
Yet it was forced into pretty much every shooter of that era, as PC gaming was at its all-time low. It's a design decision that was very much based on the limitations of controllers, even in Halo. Though of course, since DNF was never *meant* to be played like that it completely messes up the weapon balancing.
@@todesziege regenerating shields in Halo was created to replace having to scour and backtrack through the level looking for health pickups, so there's less punishment for the player to play aggressively and to keep him pushing foward through the level and keep the game fast paced, which in turn makes it so levels have to be very large and intricately designed to accomodate for it, what shooters from around that time got wrong is that regenerating health means you can just design hallways with lots and lots of cover.
@@todesziege no lol, i periodically play Doom 2 and by map9 on ultra violence they throw so many enemies around you you're almost always short on ammo and health, obviously they put health pickups on your foward path through the level, but saying console shooters can't handle it is asinine
@@aquelescaraaaaaaaaaa Unless I'm getting them mixed together, map 9 is not a "linear" map but one with a central hub area so it's not really backtracking in that sense.
Curious how having to cut Bombshell from the game due to development issues is the only reason why Apogee/3D Realms got to keep the character and use her in later games.
I really hope the 2001 DNF fan remake doesn't fall into the same trap that Apogee fell into where they just get caught into a cycle of needless updates that stop it from being released.
Thank you so much for finishing this series; this whole story is so fascinating and it's nice to have it documented in such an entertaining way like this! ❤
"You don't want this to be NO MORE HEROES FOREVER, do you?" Wished that scene from No More Heroes was in this documentary since people were still making fun of DNF's long development cycle even when the game was nearing completion. Hell, I'd find it more significant than the Foxtrot DNF strip from 2006 in my opinion.
There's one thing that I still don't understand. It seems like Miller was the boss and owner of Apogee, so how did George get so much freaking leverage over the project?
I kinda have to respect Gearbox for ripping the game out of development hell and releasing it. For the shadiness around Randy and questionable quality of their titles, they did know how to manage this project and get it out the door.
Thanks for covering this gaming history adventure Frame! Crazy how much money was sunk into the project throughout the years. Holy crap the Trilogy trailer is YTP levels of editing lol. Sucks that so many talented people were removed from the team during development. Damn I didn't know the *entire* story got leaked before 2011, in fact, I didn't know the "new" version was mostly finished before then. Freakin' hilarious how they brought in an illustrator to have images for the magazine, incredible. You got that damn right about how wrong the entire game world is and Duke himself, we need the real Duke back! *Amazing job* covering the long history of this game in a greatly edited and informative series Frame, hats off to you!
5:45 Hey its my old neighbor: Jace Hall! true story: on Halloween 1999 there was a Halloween get together for the kids in my apartment complex & it Turns out Jace Hall [who lived in the complex] worked on BLOOD & BLOOD II: The Chosen. The best part? My older brother Dean dressed up as Caleb, complete with pitchfork
Just wanted to leave a comment that this has been a great series to watch, and you've done an amazing job with it! I can't imagine the amount of time you must have spent researching and having to piece together such a timeline, especially when it's sporadic and doesn't have a coherent foundation from looking on the internet. Good on you! Also, I'm curious as to how Randy must have reacted to the DNF 2001 leak, considering there was colliding accounts of how much was complete. If I recall, some of the developers stated that a bunch was done, but in disjointed chunks. Randy insisted the only thing that existed was exactly what you see in the E3 trailer. So, obviously, he was incorrect on that one.
I appreciate your kind words! Yeah, I think Randy has been one of the best voice pieces regarding DNF stuff. Despite how limited that communication is, I haven't ever found him lying about stuff.
These series were pure gold! I've been following the development of DNF ever since 2001 and yet learned so many new things, it's crazy! Hopefully someone will pick this franchise from Gearbox and give Duke the Doom 2018 reboot treatment! We can only hope ...
This is the definitive Duke Nukem history overview. The whole thing was a great watch, thanks for all your detective work it took to document this wild story!
Never forget that Broussard NEVER OWNED A MONEY STAKE IN THE COMPANY. He should have been fired in 1999 after the second missed deadline. John Carmack would have done that. Hell, EA would have done that.
Here's what Take2 should have done. Strongarmed 3D Realms/Apogee into releasing the game AS IS for Xmas 2002. This would have forced them to patch the game and stopped Broussard from flushing a billion dollars down the toilet.
The game was self-funded, Take2 only ever had publishing rights and had no say in its development. And, really, would another unfinished mess of a game have made anyone happier?
Crazy that I was born in 1997 and my mother barley let me purchase DNF when it finally released in 2011. So my whole existence was this games development. I had only played DN3D prior to forever, but I did follow development for probably 2 years before release and was definitely excited. I really don’t hate the game as much as everyone else does, but if I was waiting 14 years for it, I would have probably been severely disappointed. At least we got the game at all! It could have easily of been scrapped and gone forever. This game makes for one hell of a story though, had no idea how deep it was until this series. Maybe one day we’ll get another duke game!! That would be sweet.
I will state one thing: DNF is definitely NOT the worst Duke game. In fact, it’s not even the second worst Duke game. Critical Mass is definitely the worst. I would say Duke LOTB is a close to second worst.
Thanks for finishing the series, FrameRater. I keep sending people curious about DNF’s history to your videos and now they have complete scope from beginning to end. Your dedication is definitely appreciated.
It saddens me that this game was the end of the Duke Nukem franchise. I do not anticipate a new game at any point, and if they were to make it, Duke would need heavy reworking. With so many people having thin skin and being offended by anything nowadays, and most western game companies caving into these people, I highly doubt Gearbox will want to risk angering them.
I feel like Yahtzee summed up the main issue with DNF's development perfectly by comparing it to a man trying to build a beautiful shoreside house with a view of a boat. It sounds like a nice view, but the boat's not going to stay in one spot forever.
I'm super glad I watched this. This was the best history of and tips on what not to do when you're successful with your product. i still respect Ol dude for trying to make the best looking game but sometimes you just got to learn with what you got, and at that time is just like now. With better updated and new engines specially UE & UNITY games today are so easy to make its like cake walk. i wont say its not hard in the beginning but it does get easy after awhile. I use unity for years now and got better with time and i believe anyone can to. i hope all gets there dream game working and published and sold well. thank you for sharing this history of duke nukem forever.
Back then, they could've dropped some smaller, rough-around-the-edges Duke3D games instead of chasing perfection and letting the franchise tank. They might've nailed the ultimate game they were dreaming of at some point. It's such a bummer, a real missed shot for an epic series. Makes you wonder if we'll ever get to see another Duke game, maybe from @nightdivestudios or something.
It's interesting that Triptych felt the game was 80% done, after cutting content, because didn't Randy say in an interview it was about 20% done when Gearbox got hold of it?
If you look at the videos, shots and leaks that came out it's clear very little was added to the single player after Gearbox took over aside from some polish. Most of their attention went to the console ports and multiplayer (which were handled by an outside company).
From what I’ve read Gearbox got a pile of “sequences” that they stitched together to make the final levels. It’s why the game has a weird sort of flow to sometimes.
That's how it was viewed at the time-that anything outside of the Halo/CoD formula was a relic of the past. Weapon wheels were not really a thing in FPS games at the time, it was seen as clumsy and outdated. Thankfully things have changed a bit since then.
And now the grand finale, where Broussard's perfectionism finally destroys the project and Triptych Games take over to deliver the final product and destroy Duke's character. You know you're screwed when apparently, Dylan, mean-spirited "jokes," and Duke being the best man in the world rather than the insane man in a serious land like intended were NOT Broussard's idea. But it happened any way because the whole thing was Broussard's fault, screwing over his developers in search of a level of perfection that in all honesty, would never have been achievable. Thankfully, although Duke is now in Gearbox's hands and is on a looooong hiatus, Apogee have turned out better: After teaming up with some swedes named Voidpoint Interactive, Apogee reused their 3D Realms branding for stuff like a new Build Engine FPS titled "Ion Fury" and a Quake engine outing titled "Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, before ultimately selling the branding to Voidpoint and beginning a new era as Apogee with a new logo in the 2020s, slowly reclaiming their crown as the Indie King with new and interesting games like Bred and Fred, rereleases of their older titles including an upcoming one for Rise of the Triad this July, and yes, a new First Person Shooter starring an OTT action hero (Turbo Overkill). All with Scott Miller himself at the helm. The Duke might be in limbo, but from the ashes of his latest adventure, the original creators returned stronger than ever. So yeah, the ending to the Duke Nukem Forever story was beautifully bittersweet: Duke's down, but Broussard's now a LOLcow and Apogee are as good as they've ever been. We might not see Duke again, but things worked out for the better.
Voidpoint never purchased the 3D Realms branding. They are two separate and different companies. The Apogee of today also didn’t have anything to do with Ion Fury or Wrath. That’s all the new 3DR company. Voidpoint did develop Ion Fury and its upcoming expansion for 3D Realms but that’s all. Now 3DR are under the Embracer Group.
Mods and Ion Maiden (yes, I will call the game that, forever) are all that's left of Duke Nukem. Speaking of mods, I hope AMC doesn't end in a cliffhanger. Same with Alien Armageddon. Probably worrying for nothing but I've dealt with unfinished business too much.
“A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.. unless you’re Duke Nukem Forever that is, that game was delayed and still turned out terrible.” - Shigeru Miyamoto, 1958
What an amazing docu series this has been from you. I hope this finally silences all the bullshit talk about how Gearbox ruined DNF, or about how DNF is an anti publisher story. DNF was a game killed by the project lead that constantly kept this game from getting released to the point he infuriated an entire studio of people, a giant global publisher, and the very guys that picked up the game in the end to finish it. Randy was never an ass hole and I hope this series finally makes people like Civie be more mindful of what they say about this narrative. DNF, in the end, was a simple story. A failed development project and nothing more. Broussard is fully responsible for the Duke Nukem franchise's end.
Well, i feel like the hate for Randy Pitchford is justified. I don't have anything against Gearbox, heck, i love the Borderlands series, and i consider Borderlands 3 to be the best game in the series(apart from it's story, though i feel like it gets way too much criticism from some people), and the way that DNF turned out(though, again, i don't consider it to be as bad as people make it out to be) probably wasn't his fault. The problem is with his personality and general behavior in the recent years, which seems to have hurted the studio's reputation. Like, some of the controversies surrounding him are really unbelievable, and it's really baffling how he wasn't fired from the company. I think that this is the reason why people don't like Randy Pitchford, at least from what i understand.
Honestly. I've never played a Duke Nukem Game nor have the interest of playing any of them in the near future. But for some reason this game's whole development has always fascinated me. And the thing is: I don't know exactly why. Maybe because. Before, I've always looked this case as a typical game that just set the bar to high for "itself" and nothing more. But the past year leaked build kinda revived my interest of knowing this game's development hell history a little bit more, so here we are. And yes most of the reasons of this game being a disaster are the same as stated before but it turns out there's more than that obviously. Urk... Sorry for writing this weird nonsensical comment but I just wonder if someone else shares the same "history"/"opinion" as me. Anyways Thanks for these series. And also your other videos. don't forget: *ALWAYS BET ON DUKE.*
Even after knowing about the development story and it’s trouble I feel bad for apogee, I know that they made a lot of mistakes but I believe that they deserve another chance on duke nukem Ps: fuck take two and fuck gearbox
it's funny how the consoles controller is blamed as a reason for restricting the combat to 2 weapons. When things like Weapon wheels (bioshock and ratchet and clank) or swapable weapon inventory (borderlands) had been a thing for a long time. 2 weapon limits make sense when you're making a more serious tone shooter where ammo management is an important factor, but in a game where you'll be given a fun freezeray or ultra powerful nuke type gun, you don't wanna be thinking "oh that looks fun but I doubt I'll get ammo for it better stick to shotgun and SMG"
That's what almost everyone was doing at the time. Weapon wheels for some reason were seen as acceptable in third person shooters, but not first person ones.
Yeah so much lost potential. DNF had potential to be a masterpiece at one point in its earliest conceived stages because it was doing so many new things
This period of Duke Nukem Forever's development is when shit really did hit the fan and in the worst way possible. The 2007 trailer gave everyone hope that the game was still alive and it was still in some form going to be fun to play and awesome. The footage Jace Hall was able to record was interesting, but it showed the game was still a mess and was just a watered down version of the 2011 game we got. In 2009, when 3D Realms was shut down, the footage leaked from that developer's portfolio showed that the game we got in 2011 WAS 3D Realms version. Everyone thinks that the 2011 version is Randy's cursed shitty version, and that is only half true. Most of the design elements that make the 2011 version horrible in many ways are due to 3D Realms. The forced turret sections, the AWFUL shrunken down RC car segments, the 2-weapon limit, and regenerating Ego are 3D Realms game design choices. Randy, however is the one responsible for changing Duke Nukems model the good one from 2007 to the douche model from 2011. He is also responsible for all the juvenile turd humor, the bad jokes, and the misogyny that paint Duke in such a bad light. In my personal opinion, and I could be wrong on this, but I believe the reason the 2011 version has all the nasty shit from Randy is in part due to both the shitty writers they hired for the game and also it was Randy's way of getting payback to 3D Realms and Duke. Randy bought the rights to the game and IP so he could make a quick buck off capitalizing the "fame" Duke Nukem Forever had over its troubled development. In the past, he did, at one point work at 3D Realms and made maps for the 4th episode of Duke Nukem 3D, but I read from a few sources online that he was picked on/bullied while working there before he left to form GearBox. Years later, after this disaster happens to 3D Realms and the Duke IP, hot off the money he made from Borderlands 1, he sees an opportunity to make some quick cash by purchasing DNF and the rights to the series. He passes off a bullshit act stating how much he loves the series and tells this story about wanting to help 3D Realms, comparing the disaster they were facing akin to a horrible car crash (3D Realms) and the paramedics and ambulance arriving to help them. (Gearbox) In reality, his purchase allows him to make (At least to him it does) a significant amount of additional capital to fund another Borderlands game and get back at those who picked on him at 3D Realms by taking away their original IP that made them rich and famous and make a mockery out of their beloved character by having him act selfish, pick shit out of toilets, dress him like a douchebag from Jersey Shore, and worst yet lack of love and respect for the babes. Randy is responsible for ALOT of shady and despicable shit and he outright lies all the time. Even though what I've said is still speculation, I'm highly confident I'm right about all of this. If you do enough digging and research on the internet about Randy Pitchford you'll completely understand what I mean. Back onto the topic of the 2011 retail version of the game everyone knows about now. Is it really a bad game? Yes, it is. Is it a bad Duke Nukem game? Yes, it is. Is it the worst game of all time and does it deserve all the hate thrown its way? No it does not and there are FAR worse and downright HORRIBLE games that make the 2011 version of DNF look like a masterpiece. Parts of it are boring and parts of it are some of the most unfun shit I've ever played, but there are times when the action and gunplay IS fun and driving the monster truck is honestly a lot more exciting than an on rails slow paced donkey riding section. Those fun sections though are few and far too in between though. You were 100% right FrameRater. We were robbed of an experience and what would have been one of the most incredible games ever made if they just released a complete version of 2001 / late 2002. It's physically painful to see all those awesome screenshots from 1999-2001 and then see how it all turned out by 2011. All those poor overworked developers who worked their asses to the grindstone to finish multiple versions of DNF only to have their hard work cut, scrapped, or restarted over and over again. All the fans who patiently waited to play the game we all wanted in 2001 only to be rewarded with disappointment, frustration, and betrayal. It's a fucking damn shame and so fucking sad what happened to this game and this great series. However, there is still hope for the series, DNF, and Duke himself and it will be the fans that bring him back to life and help the king take back his throne. The thriving modding community for Duke3D to this day, the DNF2001 Restoration project made by those fantastic members, the DNF Directors cut mod to fix the horrible issues with the 2011 version, and all those who still talk about Duke make artwork of him and share his best games with others is how the king will live on. Always bet on Duke. Thanks for this fantastic series of videos FrameRater. Highly informative, right on point, interesting, no obnoxious music, incredible documentation and presentation that I have no doubt took TONS of work. Thanks man A+ job; Duke would be proud!!!
All they need to do is Doom 2016 the hell out of Duke Nukem 3D and ship it with enhanced ports of “Duke I & II + Duke 3D. Everyone would be happy. It’s been long enough since the sins of DNF.. people would eat it up. Just to clarify, what I mean by “Doom 2016 the hell out of it”, is that they managed to bring back the very classic nearly arcade like gameplay in a fun new way, without all the bloat and rpg like elements often found in (and imo drag down) modern shooters. They brought Doom to the modern era and managed to retain the essence of what Doom was. It doesn’t have to go for an ultra realistic look, overdeveloped story or over the top gross out poop humor. It just need to be FUN, fast, and silly. Give me key cards, individual and palatable levels, and for the love of god please no crafting or skill trees.
While that seems to be the obvious path I do think it's a bit harder to pull of for Duke than for Doom. Duke 3D was a much more 'advanced' game than Doom in many gameplay areas, and thus to recapture the same feel you can't really be as 'basic'.
If they had managed to release the game in 2002-03 it would've sold millions. There was literally no competition prior to 2004. Dum dum Broussard really screwed everyone. The IP, the employees, the money and the fans.
I think the deck was kind of stacked against them from the start. They were essentially an indie developer trying to make a super-ambitious game at a time when tech and graphics expectations were advancing at a crazy rate.
@@todesziege Not really, It was just Broussard who kept delaying because he saw something shiny in another game. Croteam was also a Indie Dev group, they managed to not only code an entire engine from scratch but also deliver a fun and nice looking game. They were developing Serious Sam around the same time 3D Realms were making DNF. (1995/6-2001 iirc)
great series of videos man, a great look back onto how duke was made, his history, and the legacy, if that one guy Brian Hook, WAS actually there from 1998 too 2001, Duke Nukem Forever would've EASILY come out during that time, cause he told that fat piece of shit george broussard off, and he FINALLY started to listen, and that's a GOOD thing too, that way, the game was getting 90 - 100% completed, and they made FAR more progress done on it, then ANY other time period, and it would've came out during that time, and it would've been fucking awesome, and one of the GREATEST games to have ever existed, i still get quite a few mixed feelings looking at the past of DNF, happy, glad, really sad, and just this terrible feeling of "what could have been" it's a horrible fucking feeling, but i'm glad DNF 2001 DID finally leak, and the game DID finally come out, now all we gotta do is wait for the other leaks of the DNF builds to come out, and we're all good ;D and not to mention the future of duke will LIVE ON, he's one of my favorite video game characters, and he deserves the best, cause he's also the fucking king, just like ME, Always Bet On Duke, and fuckin awesome video Framerater, you've got some BIG balls of steel man, keep it REAL
Duke Nukem Forever sucked the big one, and it was one of the biggest failures in video game history. And to celebrate its failure, and probably for shits and giggles, there is DLC for this game. Duke Nukem Forever was such an epic failure that it killed the franchise. It was panned by critics and gamers alike for its outdated gameplay, graphics, and humor. Fifteen years in the making, and the result was a disaster. When the game was released, everybody was angry. To quote the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto, "A delayed game will eventually be good, but a rushed game will forever be bad." No pun intended. Not only is this fame delayed to death, but it's also been rushed. This game went down in history for being the longest-developed game in history. I'll be damned if Beyond Good and Evil 2 would suffer a similar fate.
really with that two gun thing i am confused how he thought how switching to only two weapons was a good idea considering he would of had resistance 2 how that work here a hint not well it ended up pretty soul less and bad while the first one is still great it adds a level of complexity on how to deal with the enemy
They should make Duke Nukem 3D3 now. Make it a throw back to the classic FPS but put a battle royale mode on it. Make it in a brand new build engine with cad style map editor like the original and let players make maps with it.
I love Duke Nukem, but Duke Nukem Forever's DLC is better than the base game. I'm not sure how you can spend 14 years working on a game and end up with something mediocre.
After watching this series, it's pretty clear that DNF's history and sort of downfall was because of George Broussard, though Randy Pitchford also didn't help at all. George might not be the sole reason for DNF's development hell, but he was the pinnacle. That's why some people can't have power, let alone give any kind of power to them.
Lets see how long it will take to make a new Duke Nukem game 😂 if there ever will be one since with DNF they ruined the franchise into oblivion . Also i prefer have an arsenal of weapons like the movie Commando starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in FPS games than a two weapon + knife limit which is more suited in realistic games like Battlefield, Call of Duty but certainly not FPS like Duke Nukem, Blood, Doom, Hexen , etc... So we can all agree they were all guilty from the delay of the making from Duke Nukem Forever and it's not the fault on Randy Pitchford only . Guess they were all wanting something different and by the years that passed became tired of it and some of them became greedy . ( somehow similar story with Valve and Gabe Newell with not releasing Half-Life 2 : Episode 3 which is what all fans are waiting for . So we can finally turn the page of the HL2 universe and start fresh with a new one with Half-Life 3 )
I have been asking myself that for many years and believe that as long as it stays with Gearbox, its too financially risky and still has a very negative stigmatism to it. Gearbox probably wont bet on Duke again at this point outside of rehashes of old stuff
The repeated flippant comments about carrying all your weapons at once being outdated is utterly absurd, considering the Ratchet & Clank series was still booming, Jak and Daxter was quite respected, and Serious Sam 3: BFE released that same year.
Weapon wheels were almost exclusively used in third person games at that time, it would take years for their use to gain widespread acceptance in first person shooters. Serious Sam 3 is an outlier because it was strictly a PC-first game and consoles weren't really taken into consideration for its design.
Which is probably for the best, actually. They were turning it from an actual sequel to a live-service try-hard "prequel" revolving around space pirates with blood and swearing, soooooo... No great loss.
ua-cam.com/video/EQLqjm_njhk/v-deo.html This ia very good interview done by TWiT podcast back in 2011 right around when the game came out with Jay Brushwood who worked at 3D Realms in the late 2000's on the project. Really gives some good insight on the project along with how Brian Hook coming onto the team was vital on getting it into highgear.
Triptych was largely responsible for DNF’s final script, George originally wanted the game to be darker and grittier in tone. Gearbox liked Triptych’s work, which was more comedy-focused and juvenile, and basically kept their script for the final save for very few altered lines like Duke watching the twins die in the hive.
So, yeah: all the criticisms with the final games writing can largely be chalked up to Triptych and George no longer being there to supervise.
Randy Pitchford strikes again.
yeah, GBX even hired some gal to write duke that absolutely hated it and had no understanding of franchise. Duke always was a parody in the first place, not an idiotic hateful sketch (Borderlands too shifted from dark scifi to an idiotic teenage drama). Ironicly modern Duke memes (especially what Gianni does) are way more close to the original "goody two shoes awkward meathead with a gun who's occasionally brilliant". Broussard had proper vision for it's own game and understood the character way better.
@@orchid9 Duke was never intended to be a parody in George's eyes, He was supposed to be an affectionate homage and basically a video game expy of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
@@orchid9 That thing about the gal is misrepresented from what I remember, as that was Tryptich's doing. Short on funds during 2009, they let the secretary and the finances coordinator (both women and wives of Tryptich developers, altough I might be misremembering their titles) have a pass at writing dialogues so they could develop placeholder cutscenes and NPC eye tracking... and that's the version of the game Gearbox ended up leaving as-is.
Apparently editing my reply in here took away FrameRater’s seal of approval :< but yeah, George has even said on Twitter how almost everyone would get Duke wrong which is why he had to supervise dialogue for the console spin-off games back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
Thank you, FR, for creating this series. George was so passionate about the project and invested so much into it. It's such a shame he couldn't come to accept the fact that DNF didn't have to be THE perfect game for people and press to enjoy it. Ultimately, the project became a disappointment to almost everyone, including George himself.
Yeah I've always been of the opinion they could have just released a decent game every 2 years and put whatever ideas into they could, then move on and make another game, more ideas, make money, keep going. Instead they pissed away a very wealthy company and loads of talent and tons of time & effort.
Randy Pitchford could tell me the sun was going to rise in the east tomorrow morning and I wouldn't believe it.
You wouldn't have to believe it, you already know that it always does.
man, what a journey this has been. Well-documented and fascinating to see how development switched hands during the buildup towards release, and I love how Scott Miller answered some additional questions for you. Here's to the DNF Restoration Project, if there is one thing keeping Duke Nukem alive today, it's most definitely the fans
A new Duke game that revives the franchise is somethin I'm dying for right now. The restoration project and Ion Fury both show that the fanbase is there!
Using a Court Room Sketch artist is honestly such a great piece of advertising, say what you will about the game, but it really plays up how secretive the project must have felt by then
Ngl, whenever I think about the current state of the Duke Nukem franchise or the way GearBox treats it, all I feel is sadness and disappointment, especially after learning about what could've been. Good to at least have a dedicated community that cares about these games. Good job with the documentary, keep up the good work!
Thanks for the kind donation again Melasauce!
Amazing video as always, loved it. Just a minor correction regarding DNF2011's engine as a modder of the game. It doesn't use build 613 of Unreal Engine 1, in fact, it's an earlier version of it, it's actually version 400 of UE1 used in Unreal Tournament 99. Duke Nukem Forever 2011 engine is the same version used in the 2001 leak as shown by comparing configuration files of both versions.
I also have a colleague that reverse engineered 2011 and most of the code still is very close to Unreal Engine 1 source code, with some custom stuff added by 3D Realms like the new renderer and Meqon Physics.
Oh dang, weird that's what all the sources were saying. Thanks for mentioning, I've trimmed the segment.
@@FrameRater You're welcome, it's very easy to find misleading information about Duke Nukem Forever's engine arround the internet, with some saying that It uses Unreal 2.5 and even Unreal 3, but diving deep inside DNF2011 code none of these claims are true.
@@viniciusmedeiros2867 Oh, you bet they actively avoided the subject by 2005 already and let people spread misinformation. Let alone in 2010/2011 before release. It would just add to the ridicule.
So Postal 2 isn't the only game to use a weirdo version of Unreal Engine?
Glad we've reached the end of this documentary. I've been owning this game on Steam for a few months and it's not even one of the worst games I've ever played.
3:07 Shoutouts to Duke's Deagle-Revolver hybrid pistol. Makes me wonder, how the hell would that thing even work. Also what's that attachment under the barrel suppose to be? A laser sight, mini-grenade launcher, barcode scanner, Wii remote?
I mean a 2 weapon limit is just a game design tool that can be done well if the game is designed around it and the devs know how to use it. Halo I would say is an example. But much like regenerating health, or in Halo's case shields, if you don't understand how to use the tool and balance things around it properly then things are just going to turn out poorly. Like most Halo clones of the time.
Yet it was forced into pretty much every shooter of that era, as PC gaming was at its all-time low. It's a design decision that was very much based on the limitations of controllers, even in Halo. Though of course, since DNF was never *meant* to be played like that it completely messes up the weapon balancing.
@@todesziege regenerating shields in Halo was created to replace having to scour and backtrack through the level looking for health pickups, so there's less punishment for the player to play aggressively and to keep him pushing foward through the level and keep the game fast paced, which in turn makes it so levels have to be very large and intricately designed to accomodate for it, what shooters from around that time got wrong is that regenerating health means you can just design hallways with lots and lots of cover.
@@aquelescaraaaaaaaaaa You never had to backtrack for health. If you play oldschool shooters like that you suck.
@@todesziege no lol, i periodically play Doom 2 and by map9 on ultra violence they throw so many enemies around you you're almost always short on ammo and health, obviously they put health pickups on your foward path through the level, but saying console shooters can't handle it is asinine
@@aquelescaraaaaaaaaaa Unless I'm getting them mixed together, map 9 is not a "linear" map but one with a central hub area so it's not really backtracking in that sense.
The Duke Nukem Trilogy video is not a teaser, it's a looping demo that was supposed to play on some convention. It wasn't officially released online.
Curious how having to cut Bombshell from the game due to development issues is the only reason why Apogee/3D Realms got to keep the character and use her in later games.
And fittingly the best game she stars in (Ion Fury) is much more of a loving tribute to Duke 3D than DNF ever was
I really hope the 2001 DNF fan remake doesn't fall into the same trap that Apogee fell into where they just get caught into a cycle of needless updates that stop it from being released.
One issue the Restoration team has is that they can't take criticism very well. Take that as you will.
They don't have the tech train to keep up with.
They also don't have the endless supply of money
Thank you so much for finishing this series; this whole story is so fascinating and it's nice to have it documented in such an entertaining way like this! ❤
"You don't want this to be NO MORE HEROES FOREVER, do you?"
Wished that scene from No More Heroes was in this documentary since people were still making fun of DNF's long development cycle even when the game was nearing completion. Hell, I'd find it more significant than the Foxtrot DNF strip from 2006 in my opinion.
There's one thing that I still don't understand. It seems like Miller was the boss and owner of Apogee, so how did George get so much freaking leverage over the project?
I kinda have to respect Gearbox for ripping the game out of development hell and releasing it. For the shadiness around Randy and questionable quality of their titles, they did know how to manage this project and get it out the door.
Thanks for making this detailed series about the game's development, and showing us why it took "forever"! Very much appreciated, and very good work!
Thanks for covering this gaming history adventure Frame! Crazy how much money was sunk into the project throughout the years.
Holy crap the Trilogy trailer is YTP levels of editing lol. Sucks that so many talented people were removed from the team during development.
Damn I didn't know the *entire* story got leaked before 2011, in fact, I didn't know the "new" version was mostly finished before then.
Freakin' hilarious how they brought in an illustrator to have images for the magazine, incredible.
You got that damn right about how wrong the entire game world is and Duke himself, we need the real Duke back!
*Amazing job* covering the long history of this game in a greatly edited and informative series Frame, hats off to you!
5:45 Hey its my old neighbor: Jace Hall! true story: on Halloween 1999 there was a Halloween get together for the kids in my apartment complex & it Turns out Jace Hall [who lived in the complex] worked on BLOOD & BLOOD II: The Chosen. The best part? My older brother Dean dressed up as Caleb, complete with pitchfork
That's awesome!
Ah yes, The “Randy Years”. Exciting
12:31
"Oh... Hello Randy"
Just wanted to leave a comment that this has been a great series to watch, and you've done an amazing job with it! I can't imagine the amount of time you must have spent researching and having to piece together such a timeline, especially when it's sporadic and doesn't have a coherent foundation from looking on the internet. Good on you!
Also, I'm curious as to how Randy must have reacted to the DNF 2001 leak, considering there was colliding accounts of how much was complete. If I recall, some of the developers stated that a bunch was done, but in disjointed chunks. Randy insisted the only thing that existed was exactly what you see in the E3 trailer. So, obviously, he was incorrect on that one.
I appreciate your kind words! Yeah, I think Randy has been one of the best voice pieces regarding DNF stuff. Despite how limited that communication is, I haven't ever found him lying about stuff.
Thank you for all your work on this series. Truly informative and entertaining throughout.
A great end cap to this small series. Great job of presenting this in a fun but also informative format.
Such a great series thanks
These vids are so brilliantly researched and presented, thanks for all your hard work!
These series were pure gold! I've been following the development of DNF ever since 2001 and yet learned so many new things, it's crazy! Hopefully someone will pick this franchise from Gearbox and give Duke the Doom 2018 reboot treatment! We can only hope ...
This is the definitive Duke Nukem history overview. The whole thing was a great watch, thanks for all your detective work it took to document this wild story!
Never forget that Broussard NEVER OWNED A MONEY STAKE IN THE COMPANY. He should have been fired in 1999 after the second missed deadline. John Carmack would have done that. Hell, EA would have done that.
Here's what Take2 should have done. Strongarmed 3D Realms/Apogee into releasing the game AS IS for Xmas 2002. This would have forced them to patch the game and stopped Broussard from flushing a billion dollars down the toilet.
The game was self-funded, Take2 only ever had publishing rights and had no say in its development. And, really, would another unfinished mess of a game have made anyone happier?
Crazy that I was born in 1997 and my mother barley let me purchase DNF when it finally released in 2011. So my whole existence was this games development. I had only played DN3D prior to forever, but I did follow development for probably 2 years before release and was definitely excited. I really don’t hate the game as much as everyone else does, but if I was waiting 14 years for it, I would have probably been severely disappointed. At least we got the game at all! It could have easily of been scrapped and gone forever. This game makes for one hell of a story though, had no idea how deep it was until this series. Maybe one day we’ll get another duke game!! That would be sweet.
I will state one thing: DNF is definitely NOT the worst Duke game. In fact, it’s not even the second worst Duke game. Critical Mass is definitely the worst. I would say Duke LOTB is a close to second worst.
Even Critical Mass is not that bad if you compare it to the mobile games.
Thanks for finishing the series, FrameRater. I keep sending people curious about DNF’s history to your videos and now they have complete scope from beginning to end. Your dedication is definitely appreciated.
What are the odds that yesterday I watched the whole compilation and a new one just drops today
Ironically D.N.F also means “Did Not Finish”
Awsome video as always frame
Duke Nukem Critical Mass felt more like a low-budget version of Duke Nukem Manhattan Project. (6:57)
Great series man!
I didn't hate DNF. I hated what happened afterwards. Which is NOTHING!
I liked DNF quite a lot for what it was. But it can't be denied that the final product was a mere shadow of the initial ambition.
It saddens me that this game was the end of the Duke Nukem franchise. I do not anticipate a new game at any point, and if they were to make it, Duke would need heavy reworking. With so many people having thin skin and being offended by anything nowadays, and most western game companies caving into these people, I highly doubt Gearbox will want to risk angering them.
Makes you wish that DNF was still in development and close to release so this video series could continue.
Oh hey Civvie!
i love this series
I feel like Yahtzee summed up the main issue with DNF's development perfectly by comparing it to a man trying to build a beautiful shoreside house with a view of a boat. It sounds like a nice view, but the boat's not going to stay in one spot forever.
I'm super glad I watched this. This was the best history of and tips on what not to do when you're successful with your product. i still respect Ol dude for trying to make the best looking game but sometimes you just got to learn with what you got, and at that time is just like now. With better updated and new engines specially UE & UNITY games today are so easy to make its like cake walk. i wont say its not hard in the beginning but it does get easy after awhile. I use unity for years now and got better with time and i believe anyone can to. i hope all gets there dream game working and published and sold well. thank you for sharing this history of duke nukem forever.
I've been waiting for this. :)
What a fantastic series of videos!
I have adored the series, thank you, Framerater.
I hope when Winds of Winter releases, we get a video like this covering the development hell of the book
Back then, they could've dropped some smaller, rough-around-the-edges Duke3D games instead of chasing perfection and letting the franchise tank. They might've nailed the ultimate game they were dreaming of at some point. It's such a bummer, a real missed shot for an epic series. Makes you wonder if we'll ever get to see another Duke game, maybe from @nightdivestudios or something.
It's interesting that Triptych felt the game was 80% done, after cutting content, because didn't Randy say in an interview it was about 20% done when Gearbox got hold of it?
If you look at the videos, shots and leaks that came out it's clear very little was added to the single player after Gearbox took over aside from some polish. Most of their attention went to the console ports and multiplayer (which were handled by an outside company).
From what I’ve read Gearbox got a pile of “sequences” that they stitched together to make the final levels. It’s why the game has a weird sort of flow to sometimes.
This has been such a fantastic series Framerater!
Thanks for watching! 😃
"2 weapons has been standard since 2001, because consoles have limited weapons," guess that's why they went to weapon wheels.
That's how it was viewed at the time-that anything outside of the Halo/CoD formula was a relic of the past. Weapon wheels were not really a thing in FPS games at the time, it was seen as clumsy and outdated. Thankfully things have changed a bit since then.
DNF's development deserves a dramatization. It's sad, frustrating, and a character study of a crazy man.
Awesome video 😍
Hey, since we got a new episode of the history of DNF, I have a question.
Where did your Duke3D Mega Drive video go?
It's now available on the FrameRater Archives channel.
And now the grand finale, where Broussard's perfectionism finally destroys the project and Triptych Games take over to deliver the final product and destroy Duke's character.
You know you're screwed when apparently, Dylan, mean-spirited "jokes," and Duke being the best man in the world rather than the insane man in a serious land like intended were NOT Broussard's idea. But it happened any way because the whole thing was Broussard's fault, screwing over his developers in search of a level of perfection that in all honesty, would never have been achievable.
Thankfully, although Duke is now in Gearbox's hands and is on a looooong hiatus, Apogee have turned out better: After teaming up with some swedes named Voidpoint Interactive, Apogee reused their 3D Realms branding for stuff like a new Build Engine FPS titled "Ion Fury" and a Quake engine outing titled "Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, before ultimately selling the branding to Voidpoint and beginning a new era as Apogee with a new logo in the 2020s, slowly reclaiming their crown as the Indie King with new and interesting games like Bred and Fred, rereleases of their older titles including an upcoming one for Rise of the Triad this July, and yes, a new First Person Shooter starring an OTT action hero (Turbo Overkill). All with Scott Miller himself at the helm. The Duke might be in limbo, but from the ashes of his latest adventure, the original creators returned stronger than ever. So yeah, the ending to the Duke Nukem Forever story was beautifully bittersweet: Duke's down, but Broussard's now a LOLcow and Apogee are as good as they've ever been. We might not see Duke again, but things worked out for the better.
Voidpoint never purchased the 3D Realms branding. They are two separate and different companies. The Apogee of today also didn’t have anything to do with Ion Fury or Wrath. That’s all the new 3DR company. Voidpoint did develop Ion Fury and its upcoming expansion for 3D Realms but that’s all. Now 3DR are under the Embracer Group.
Mods and Ion Maiden (yes, I will call the game that, forever) are all that's left of Duke Nukem. Speaking of mods, I hope AMC doesn't end in a cliffhanger. Same with Alien Armageddon. Probably worrying for nothing but I've dealt with unfinished business too much.
Loved the Civvie reference!
I was looking forward to this, great video!
Yusssss I've been so hyped for this!!
finally part 4! nice work
“A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.. unless you’re Duke Nukem Forever that is, that game was delayed and still turned out terrible.”
- Shigeru Miyamoto, 1958
3D Realms delayed it
Gearbox rushed it
A perfect trainwreck
Nice, a quote from Shigeru when he was 6 years old 😂😭
wasn't mario sunshine rushed? tbf i've never played it but i've heard it's good
Jokes aside, miyamoto says that but he is known for rushing a lot of development for some games.
LOOK MOM I'M ON THE UA-camS!
thank you so much for making these FrameRater! (my original comment got deleted for too many excited caps lol)
What an amazing docu series this has been from you. I hope this finally silences all the bullshit talk about how Gearbox ruined DNF, or about how DNF is an anti publisher story.
DNF was a game killed by the project lead that constantly kept this game from getting released to the point he infuriated an entire studio of people, a giant global publisher, and the very guys that picked up the game in the end to finish it. Randy was never an ass hole and I hope this series finally makes people like Civie be more mindful of what they say about this narrative.
DNF, in the end, was a simple story. A failed development project and nothing more. Broussard is fully responsible for the Duke Nukem franchise's end.
Well, i feel like the hate for Randy Pitchford is justified. I don't have anything against Gearbox, heck, i love the Borderlands series, and i consider Borderlands 3 to be the best game in the series(apart from it's story, though i feel like it gets way too much criticism from some people), and the way that DNF turned out(though, again, i don't consider it to be as bad as people make it out to be) probably wasn't his fault. The problem is with his personality and general behavior in the recent years, which seems to have hurted the studio's reputation. Like, some of the controversies surrounding him are really unbelievable, and it's really baffling how he wasn't fired from the company. I think that this is the reason why people don't like Randy Pitchford, at least from what i understand.
Honestly. I've never played a Duke Nukem Game nor have the interest of playing any of them in the near future.
But for some reason this game's whole development has always fascinated me.
And the thing is: I don't know exactly why.
Maybe because. Before, I've always looked this case as a typical game that just set the bar to high for "itself" and nothing more.
But the past year leaked build kinda revived my interest of knowing this game's development hell history a little bit more, so here we are. And yes most of the reasons of this game being a disaster are the same as stated before but it turns out there's more than that obviously.
Urk... Sorry for writing this weird nonsensical comment but I just wonder if someone else shares the same "history"/"opinion" as me.
Anyways Thanks for these series.
And also your other videos.
don't forget:
*ALWAYS BET ON DUKE.*
Even after knowing about the development story and it’s trouble I feel bad for apogee, I know that they made a lot of mistakes but I believe that they deserve another chance on duke nukem
Ps: fuck take two and fuck gearbox
it's funny how the consoles controller is blamed as a reason for restricting the combat to 2 weapons. When things like Weapon wheels (bioshock and ratchet and clank) or swapable weapon inventory (borderlands) had been a thing for a long time.
2 weapon limits make sense when you're making a more serious tone shooter where ammo management is an important factor, but in a game where you'll be given a fun freezeray or ultra powerful nuke type gun, you don't wanna be thinking "oh that looks fun but I doubt I'll get ammo for it better stick to shotgun and SMG"
That's what almost everyone was doing at the time. Weapon wheels for some reason were seen as acceptable in third person shooters, but not first person ones.
Personally I felt the DLC The Doctor that Cloned Me was just more of the same kind of feeling of the main game, I don't agree it was an improvement.
It wasn't really an improvement. But I guess people's expectations were different at that point and everyone loves a redemption arc.
You should have started where it all began, back in the 90s. The original duke nukem games were the best.
Fantastic documentary series.
I still miss the 1998 Bombshell.
Yeah so much lost potential. DNF had potential to be a masterpiece at one point in its earliest conceived stages because it was doing so many new things
This period of Duke Nukem Forever's development is when shit really did hit the fan and in the worst way possible. The 2007 trailer gave everyone hope that the game was still alive and it was still in some form going to be fun to play and awesome. The footage Jace Hall was able to record was interesting, but it showed the game was still a mess and was just a watered down version of the 2011 game we got. In 2009, when 3D Realms was shut down, the footage leaked from that developer's portfolio showed that the game we got in 2011 WAS 3D Realms version. Everyone thinks that the 2011 version is Randy's cursed shitty version, and that is only half true. Most of the design elements that make the 2011 version horrible in many ways are due to 3D Realms. The forced turret sections, the AWFUL shrunken down RC car segments, the 2-weapon limit, and regenerating Ego are 3D Realms game design choices. Randy, however is the one responsible for changing Duke Nukems model the good one from 2007 to the douche model from 2011. He is also responsible for all the juvenile turd humor, the bad jokes, and the misogyny that paint Duke in such a bad light. In my personal opinion, and I could be wrong on this, but I believe the reason the 2011 version has all the nasty shit from Randy is in part due to both the shitty writers they hired for the game and also it was Randy's way of getting payback to 3D Realms and Duke.
Randy bought the rights to the game and IP so he could make a quick buck off capitalizing the "fame" Duke Nukem Forever had over its troubled development. In the past, he did, at one point work at 3D Realms and made maps for the 4th episode of Duke Nukem 3D, but I read from a few sources online that he was picked on/bullied while working there before he left to form GearBox. Years later, after this disaster happens to 3D Realms and the Duke IP, hot off the money he made from Borderlands 1, he sees an opportunity to make some quick cash by purchasing DNF and the rights to the series. He passes off a bullshit act stating how much he loves the series and tells this story about wanting to help 3D Realms, comparing the disaster they were facing akin to a horrible car crash (3D Realms) and the paramedics and ambulance arriving to help them. (Gearbox) In reality, his purchase allows him to make (At least to him it does) a significant amount of additional capital to fund another Borderlands game and get back at those who picked on him at 3D Realms by taking away their original IP that made them rich and famous and make a mockery out of their beloved character by having him act selfish, pick shit out of toilets, dress him like a douchebag from Jersey Shore, and worst yet lack of love and respect for the babes. Randy is responsible for ALOT of shady and despicable shit and he outright lies all the time. Even though what I've said is still speculation, I'm highly confident I'm right about all of this. If you do enough digging and research on the internet about Randy Pitchford you'll completely understand what I mean.
Back onto the topic of the 2011 retail version of the game everyone knows about now. Is it really a bad game? Yes, it is. Is it a bad Duke Nukem game? Yes, it is. Is it the worst game of all time and does it deserve all the hate thrown its way? No it does not and there are FAR worse and downright HORRIBLE games that make the 2011 version of DNF look like a masterpiece. Parts of it are boring and parts of it are some of the most unfun shit I've ever played, but there are times when the action and gunplay IS fun and driving the monster truck is honestly a lot more exciting than an on rails slow paced donkey riding section. Those fun sections though are few and far too in between though.
You were 100% right FrameRater. We were robbed of an experience and what would have been one of the most incredible games ever made if they just released a complete version of 2001 / late 2002. It's physically painful to see all those awesome screenshots from 1999-2001 and then see how it all turned out by 2011. All those poor overworked developers who worked their asses to the grindstone to finish multiple versions of DNF only to have their hard work cut, scrapped, or restarted over and over again. All the fans who patiently waited to play the game we all wanted in 2001 only to be rewarded with disappointment, frustration, and betrayal. It's a fucking damn shame and so fucking sad what happened to this game and this great series. However, there is still hope for the series, DNF, and Duke himself and it will be the fans that bring him back to life and help the king take back his throne. The thriving modding community for Duke3D to this day, the DNF2001 Restoration project made by those fantastic members, the DNF Directors cut mod to fix the horrible issues with the 2011 version, and all those who still talk about Duke make artwork of him and share his best games with others is how the king will live on. Always bet on Duke.
Thanks for this fantastic series of videos FrameRater. Highly informative, right on point, interesting, no obnoxious music, incredible documentation and presentation that I have no doubt took TONS of work. Thanks man A+ job; Duke would be proud!!!
All they need to do is Doom 2016 the hell out of Duke Nukem 3D and ship it with enhanced ports of “Duke I & II + Duke 3D. Everyone would be happy. It’s been long enough since the sins of DNF.. people would eat it up.
Just to clarify, what I mean by “Doom 2016 the hell out of it”, is that they managed to bring back the very classic nearly arcade like gameplay in a fun new way, without all the bloat and rpg like elements often found in (and imo drag down) modern shooters. They brought Doom to the modern era and managed to retain the essence of what Doom was.
It doesn’t have to go for an ultra realistic look, overdeveloped story or over the top gross out poop humor. It just need to be FUN, fast, and silly. Give me key cards, individual and palatable levels, and for the love of god please no crafting or skill trees.
While that seems to be the obvious path I do think it's a bit harder to pull of for Duke than for Doom. Duke 3D was a much more 'advanced' game than Doom in many gameplay areas, and thus to recapture the same feel you can't really be as 'basic'.
Excellent video
Broussard should have been fired in 1999 after the 3rd missed deadline.
Fired by who? He was the co-owner of the company. In 1999 the development had barely started.
If they had managed to release the game in 2002-03 it would've sold millions. There was literally no competition prior to 2004.
Dum dum Broussard really screwed everyone. The IP, the employees, the money and the fans.
I think the deck was kind of stacked against them from the start. They were essentially an indie developer trying to make a super-ambitious game at a time when tech and graphics expectations were advancing at a crazy rate.
@@todesziege Not really, It was just Broussard who kept delaying because he saw something shiny in another game.
Croteam was also a Indie Dev group, they managed to not only code an entire engine from scratch but also deliver a fun and nice looking game. They were developing Serious Sam around the same time 3D Realms were making DNF. (1995/6-2001 iirc)
@@FR4M3Sharma Serious Sam wasn't nearly as ambitious as DNF. It also didn't have the same expectations to live up to as it came out of nowhere.
Finally
YEAH FRAME RATER
"Brought in companies to head hunt, and find everyone jobs," wonder if that's code for "Apogee made finder's fees."
great series of videos man, a great look back onto how duke was made, his history, and the legacy, if that one guy Brian Hook, WAS actually there from 1998 too 2001, Duke Nukem Forever would've EASILY come out during that time, cause he told that fat piece of shit george broussard off, and he FINALLY started to listen, and that's a GOOD thing too, that way, the game was getting 90 - 100% completed, and they made FAR more progress done on it, then ANY other time period, and it would've came out during that time, and it would've been fucking awesome, and one of the GREATEST games to have ever existed, i still get quite a few mixed feelings looking at the past of DNF, happy, glad, really sad, and just this terrible feeling of "what could have been" it's a horrible fucking feeling, but i'm glad DNF 2001 DID finally leak, and the game DID finally come out, now all we gotta do is wait for the other leaks of the DNF builds to come out, and we're all good ;D and not to mention the future of duke will LIVE ON, he's one of my favorite video game characters, and he deserves the best, cause he's also the fucking king, just like ME, Always Bet On Duke, and fuckin awesome video Framerater, you've got some BIG balls of steel man, keep it REAL
4:38 *Vegas Streets 😉 Great vid otherwise!
Oops, that was a silly mistake lol.
Duke Nukem Forever sucked the big one, and it was one of the biggest failures in video game history. And to celebrate its failure, and probably for shits and giggles, there is DLC for this game. Duke Nukem Forever was such an epic failure that it killed the franchise. It was panned by critics and gamers alike for its outdated gameplay, graphics, and humor. Fifteen years in the making, and the result was a disaster. When the game was released, everybody was angry. To quote the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto, "A delayed game will eventually be good, but a rushed game will forever be bad." No pun intended. Not only is this fame delayed to death, but it's also been rushed. This game went down in history for being the longest-developed game in history. I'll be damned if Beyond Good and Evil 2 would suffer a similar fate.
really with that two gun thing i am confused how he thought how switching to only two weapons was a good idea considering he would of had resistance 2 how that work here a hint not well it ended up pretty soul less and bad while the first one is still great it adds a level of complexity on how to deal with the enemy
All first person shooters did it at the time.
They should make Duke Nukem 3D3 now. Make it a throw back to the classic FPS but put a battle royale mode on it. Make it in a brand new build engine with cad style map editor like the original and let players make maps with it.
I love Duke Nukem, but Duke Nukem Forever's DLC is better than the base game.
I'm not sure how you can spend 14 years working on a game and end up with something mediocre.
After watching this series, it's pretty clear that DNF's history and sort of downfall was because of George Broussard, though Randy Pitchford also didn't help at all. George might not be the sole reason for DNF's development hell, but he was the pinnacle. That's why some people can't have power, let alone give any kind of power to them.
Duke's rise can also be attributed largely to Broussard, though. The flipside of being a perfectionist.
Stoked for this
Lets see how long it will take to make a new Duke Nukem game 😂 if there ever will be one since with DNF they ruined the franchise into oblivion .
Also i prefer have an arsenal of weapons like the movie Commando starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in FPS games than a two weapon + knife limit which is more suited in realistic games like Battlefield, Call of Duty but certainly not FPS like Duke Nukem, Blood, Doom, Hexen , etc...
So we can all agree they were all guilty from the delay of the making from Duke Nukem Forever and it's not the fault on Randy Pitchford only . Guess they were all wanting something different and by the years that passed became tired of it and some of them became greedy . ( somehow similar story with Valve and Gabe Newell with not releasing Half-Life 2 : Episode 3 which is what all fans are waiting for . So we can finally turn the page of the HL2 universe and start fresh with a new one with Half-Life 3 )
I have been asking myself that for many years and believe that as long as it stays with Gearbox, its too financially risky and still has a very negative stigmatism to it. Gearbox probably wont bet on Duke again at this point outside of rehashes of old stuff
26:41 That never made me laugh... On the contrary, I lost the desire to have lunch when I saw that mini trailer
Yeahhh, Framerater
The repeated flippant comments about carrying all your weapons at once being outdated is utterly absurd, considering the Ratchet & Clank series was still booming, Jak and Daxter was quite respected, and Serious Sam 3: BFE released that same year.
Weapon wheels were almost exclusively used in third person games at that time, it would take years for their use to gain widespread acceptance in first person shooters.
Serious Sam 3 is an outlier because it was strictly a PC-first game and consoles weren't really taken into consideration for its design.
Unlike DNF, Beyond 2 will never see the light of day.
Which is probably for the best, actually. They were turning it from an actual sequel to a live-service try-hard "prequel" revolving around space pirates with blood and swearing, soooooo... No great loss.
Frame this is not Henry totally i need 50000 doobloons to nuke george shituard trust me its important
"Entire plot leaked lol"
Douche Nukem Forever
ua-cam.com/video/EQLqjm_njhk/v-deo.html This ia very good interview done by TWiT podcast back in 2011 right around when the game came out with Jay Brushwood who worked at 3D Realms in the late 2000's on the project. Really gives some good insight on the project along with how Brian Hook coming onto the team was vital on getting it into highgear.
Dude! Where the, "yeah frame rater!"?
I do love the channel though. Didn't mean to sound negative.