Duke Nukem Forever - What Happened?

hello and welcome to another splendiferous episode of whopper the show where it's time to talk about Duke so yeah let's skip the pleasantries in the four plane get straight to the rough ride that was the 15 year development cycle of the most infamous first-person shooter of yeah scratch that the most infamous game of all time so before you RAM our fists deep into the never ending dark hole that has 3d realms engine switches and George Broussard let's take you back to the turbulent and raucous time period of 1991 duke nukem hits the pc scene in june and its some a fine run-and-gun platformer sells pretty good stars a muscular blond hero and was published by apogee 1993 he sees the release of duke nukem - and is a better game in pretty much every respect a pleasant little history lesson there about an up-and-coming franchise and sure [Music] so yeah to say that the transition to a 3d FPS was a good move for the franchise would be an under [ __ ] statement jokes aside the build engine did make people turn their heads from their dooms or their heretics as it presented almost limitless interaction with the game world this engine was marvelously robust and that it let players freely look around the environment jump to their heart's content experience lots of in-game scripted sequences and it also didn't hurt that the crude sense of humor unique weapons and dynamic maps all contributed to duke 3ds popularity so much so that in the late 90s Duke was everywhere multiple spin-off games total conversions action figures mr. Newcomb was actually in vogue for a little while as for what type of character he is well he's basically so yeah now now you know everything there is about Duke Nukem another name that was in vogue was George Broussard who worked as a designer on Duke - and had climbed up to a producer role on the franchise within 3d realms now despite a crazy amount of ports on the n64 the Saturn the game come and the spin-offs like zero hour or land of the babes none of these were actually full-fledged sequels to duke3d so while third parties were busy over here handling Duke mania 3d realms started kicking around ideas for what to do for a follow up so in 1997 the company officially announced the next adventure for mr. Newcomb would be dubbed Duke Nukem Forever and already outdated reference to the third Batman movie that released two years prior DNF was originally going to run on the quake engine since Edie was licensing it out to third parties in and around that time frame this is funny if you played Duke 3d as one of the levels had you destroying a building some it's texas-based headquarters before Duke Comley uttered but never mind all that the quake engine isn't being used anymore wait what because quake 2 was scheduled to come out in December of that year 3d realms and George Broussard didn't want third came Husing outdated technology that's that's that's so silly so when DNF was officially announced in April of 97 they proudly claimed who would run on edtech2 the game already had an engine switch before the public even knew it existed this is going to be a running theme later that year in November the first screenshots of DN f are shown in a series of pages that were bound together to form what was called a gaming magazine it seemed like progress was being made as it should be because Duke was scheduled to arrive on pcs in 1998 the following e3 the first video footage of forever is shown to the public and it looks good can't wait to play that you're gonna come out soon one month later 3d realms announces that the game is going to be switching engines from a tech 2 to unreal so so by this point they've already wasted time and money licensing out two different engines and wound up using neither this all comes back to George Broussard as he really did want Duke to shine on the best possible technology it also became quickly known around the 3d realms office that georgie-boy would tend to get sidetracked everytime new games or engines would be released while they were still knee-deep in development oh oh the quake engine cool wait no quick - whoa unreal that's actually a game screenshot well team let's go back to the drawing board that's me putting words into his mouth but what did mr. Broussard actually have to say about all this the switch to Unreal Engine was simply a business and it came down to what we wanted to do with Duke Nukem Forever and how best to achieve it it's important to note that this decision has nothing to do with its software and a relationship with them which still remains very strong yeah super tight love those guys we blew up the building [ __ ] so yeah changing from its tech to epics in the same year your game was supposed to originally release is probably gonna be detrimental to your game the VC but again George swooped in to allay those fears by saying the game should not be significantly delayed but it will take some time to get up to speed with the new engine and learn how to exploit it fortunately all our game data would transfer very easily and we see being back to where we were at e3 within a month to 6 weeks that's not how that works anyway DNF has now expected to release in 1999 and its title is a reference to a movie that then was 5 years old okay so the Unreal Engine is is some sexy stuff wool look at those polygons that's that's good ok ok we know we were settled on that now now we can just transfer our three years of work between two completely different development environments that's that's that's gonna be easy no no problems there we are set to go we're firing on all cylinders let's make this happen wha-ha-ha okay alright here we go stop 3d realms issues absolutely no updates for the majority of 1999 until November where PC gamer again featured Duke on the cover with the miss me tagline yes we missed you you son of a [ __ ] what happened to that hold six weeks jazz at the very least the screenshots looked good even sort of cutting edge still though I have a sneaking suspicion it might run into further trouble down the line also there is no longer anything approaching a release date anymore as their last target of 1999 was yeah no longer realistic one month later dns publisher GT interactive is purchased by Infogrames and nobody really cares that much five months later the gathering of developers the group that was comprised of a number of companies 3d realms included is purchased by take two five months later again it is now August 2000 the Duke Nukem IP and the forever publishing rights are then sold from Infogrames to a combination of 3d realms and take two with take two getting the back catalog of older Duke titles as well as a stake in future projects it's a little messy here and spoilers its kind of get Messier see take two and 3d realms I mean tape - and George Broussard never really got along and this is one of the main factors the rest of the game's development history was a little rocky for those still trying to keep track all of 2000 went without any significant updates on the game itself but that would finally change at e3 2001 the longest most detailed look at DNF yet was released in a trailer that showed lots of NPCs speaking and things blowing up have you focused on Las Vegas and yeah games still look pretty good but by this point lots of FPS is were looking pretty good Serious Sam was released and the vs. predator 2 returned to Castle Wolfenstein and a little indie title called halo the first person shooter world was quickly evolving outside the windows of the 3d realms office it would behoove them to release the game you know pretty soon two years later it's now 2003 no new media has been released for the game since that 2001 III so take to CEO Jeffrey lapping Jeffrey lapin whatever let it be known that DNF would again not make any sort of release date that year he also felt it necessary to add that he was writing off 5.5 million from take twos earnings to cover the fact that game would miss that release window haha Yuval the Beast rising from his two-year odinsleep Gorge Brossard actually said in a statement take two needs to shut the [ __ ] up we don't want take two saying stupid ass things in public for the sole reason of helping out their stock it's our time and our money that we are spending on the game so either we're absolutely stupid and clueless or we believe in what we are working on that's an actual quote that was said by someone who worked for a million dollar company in the same year it was also put forward that 3d realms was actually comprised of only 18 full-time members a former employee said that Broussard and 3d realms founder Scott Miller were still developing games with a 1995 mentality meaning they've been working on DNF for so long they were not hiring enough staff to keep up with the workload 3d realms was developing within a bubble not even aware of how other companies were working and shipping titles anymore the year was capped off by Jeff lap ins lips getting looser as you confirm that 3d realms expected the game to release at the end of 2004 or at the very least the start of 2005 which George later denied in fact 3d realms had stopped committing to any solid release dates by this point and whenever asked for one George would famously say when it's done January 2006 the HD era of gaming was upon us and in an interview Broussard bursts out of another 3-year George sleep to say we're just basically pulling it all together and trying to make it fun Geoff flappin speaks up once more saying that they negotiated a new clause and the duke nukem forever deal saying that a 3d realm somehow managed to ship the game before december 29th of that year there would be a half million dollar completion bonus George stomped and hollered and said there would be no plans to release the game that year and if they didn't request or want any sort of bonus and finally that they would never ship a game early now while the cheek of that statement is still stunning you let us back up just a bit you know who might want that completion bonus the 3d realms employs the the ones in the trenches for many of them at that point TNF was the only game that had ever worked on so their resumes were you know a little light very few of them had experience in different genres or were familiar with other development skills and tool sets limiting their future hiring potential also 3d realms didn't pay them much in fact it was below the industry standard their business model was to keep weekly wages low and instead offer profit share when the games came out sounds good on paper but when your game has been in development for nine years then not a lot of profit is being shared behind not a lot of people so why even stay there for in early 2007 the ten year anniversary of DNF being announced a mass exodus employees rocked the company although exact numbers are not known the game was still not done and people just had to move on because that promise of profit share upon the game's success was looking farther and farther away this was the first big wake-up call for George Broussard he and 3d realm CEO Scott Miller were in fact paying for most of the development themselves but that money was drying up they realized they needed to cross that invisible finish line wherever it was so they hired a fresh batch of employees and soldiered on December 2007 a short teaser of the game is released remember this one the one that doesn't show any gameplay this was the first publicly released footage of DNF since e3 2001 six years ago now despite the minimalist approach of the trailer apparently a lot of progress had been made that year which was mostly due to the hiring of one Brian hook who nestled into a Project Lead position and answered only to George even more importantly however he knew when to not answer George it was reported that Brian was the first project lead that could successfully rebuff George's requests for tweaks and changes would deny them if he felt it would slow the game down 2008 this was just about the time where Broussard and Scott Miller's relationships started to fracture while 3d realms had always been flush with cash from the late 90s Scott trusted George would get it all done eventually but didn't think it would take 11 years to do so despite the short-lived Jace Hall Osho getting a shakey cam look at actual gameplay it didn't do much to reinvigorate interest in the game in general they needed to speak to take to and ask for additional funding if they wanted to finish the project and by 2008 they actually weren't far off real the game was pretty cohesive now this however due to the bad blood that already exists in between the two companies was something neither of them were really looking forward to still though they sucked it up and asked for 6 million dollars to complete duke nukem forever while the details of this meeting are not directly documented George and Scott alleged that take two initially agreed but then later low-balled them with a 2.5 million offer instead take 2 said that wasn't accurate and maintained they offered that 2.5 number of fronts and another 2.5 upon completion George just rejected this offer just straight up and said he was shutting down full-time development in early 2009 which by all accounts was probably just a bluff a bluff at didn't pan out for the next year an ugly legal battle ensued he said she said Paul [ __ ] was uttered and both companies finally just threw up their hands in 2010 and dismissed the entire thing outright be that as it may take to was still not funding anything so I know everyone just kind of reached a stalemate a few remaining members of 3d realms were working on the game in their spare time at home but as you can imagine minimal progress was being made these few developers eventually decided to form triptych games and rented a small office space in a larger building in Frisco Texas which just so happened to also be the home of gearbox software enter Mysterio himself Randy Pitchford old magic Randy actually worked at 3d realms back in early 97 and even spent a few weeks on Duke Nukem Forever weirdly enough triptych ask your box if they would fund the game which eventually led to a heartbreaking meeting between Pitchford and Broussard Randy reminisce that George was humbled by his failure to deliver the game stating this is the worst day of my life Randy having a soft spot for Duke felt he could save the game he spoke to tape to made a pitch promise they could release it by the end of 2011 across three different platforms and with the help of piranha software who did the console versions and multiplayer Ghadir done by summer of 2011 and the deal gearbox actually acquired the Duke Nukem IP 3d realms kept the doors open and that one guy who pre-ordered the game back in 2001 got his own copy and a care package from gearbox everyone wins except they didn't cuz the game wasn't very good so ya don't want to spend too much time on it but with a 15 year development cycle there was no way the game was gonna live up to any amount of hype justified or not it wasn't especially good-looking had tone-deaf and outdated humor I know right where I'd stick him blend gameplay poor pacing and technical performance and unsurprisingly was very different from all the old trailers fans had been seen for years apparently around the radio-silent years of the mid on somewhere around there everything seen up until that point had been scrapped and work had started anew anyway the final game reviewed pretty poorly and sold around three hundred and seventy thousand copies in its launch month across all versions because much of its development was paid for by 3d realms and some by Gearbox take to stated that DNF actually became profitable for them huh I guess that's good so that concludes the odyssey that was Duke Nukem Forever except that super doesn't now it's time for a new segment called Waddell's - June 2013 3d realms sues gearbox for unpaid royalties and missing liquid assets from having sold on the rights to the Duke IP but then just drop the suit three months later and publicly apologized for the incident saying they had worked out their dispute amicably and with that we can conclude the saga February 2014 gearbox sues 3d realms and Apogee software for attempting to develop a new game called duke nukem mass destruction gearbox held the rights to the IP so they were all like what the [ __ ] you guys doing 3d realms then issued another apology and admitted that yes they were in the wrong trying to start up another Duke game without Gearbox's permission so that yes okay that that's actually the end to the 15 year magnum opus that was the rise then fall then the rise then the fall of dune Nukem Forever 3d realms and void points are now developing the promising-looking FPS ion maiden which runs on a modified build engine which is what they should have done from the start and George Brassard seems to have retired from active game development and now has a very pleasant and wholesome Twitter where he posts sketchbook art and cats gearbox well they awkwardly kind of crammed duke nukem into Bulletstorm the full cliff Edition for some reason but not before they nailed aliens colonial marines a game that had no promise whatsoever and was a critical and commercial blockbuster loved by all so with that if you know of any other blasphemous video game blunders hit me up in the comments below or send a 90s catchphrase filled email to madman muscles at gmail.com we'll be working hard on that next episode but when can you expect it what kind of [ __ ] ending is bad [Music] you

Channel: Matt McMuscles

Views: 1,039,230

Rating: 4.8892822 out of 5

Keywords: Duke Nukem Forever, Duke Nukem, Wha Happun?, Video Game Disasters, Matt McMuscles

Id: EL7HETVAiXY

Length: 20min 49sec (1249 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 21 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Karlosios]

Ahhh man. I remember when this came out and one of my friends kept on saying how good it was. I told him that it didn't look that great with the reviews saying its bad. He said I had bad taste and was an idiot. WELL I DIDN'T SPEND FULL PRICE ON DUKE NUKEM FOREVER WHO'S THE IDIOT NOW, DAVID!?

[u/The_Draigg]

I didn't even know that Duke Nukem Forever's title was a reference to Batman Forever. That fact is like the cherry on top of this corn-filled shit sundae.

[u/Ishmaelcs]

Whu didn't happen with this one honestly

[u/PongWithTheLongDong]

Isn't Matt a millennial?

[u/len24]

My brother bought this game for me as a joke. I played it once for ten minutes and never played it again

[u/psychocanuck]

That clip of the old PS3 commercial brought back memories of that whole weird ad campaign. WTF was that, was Sony briefly taken over by David Lynch?

[u/Sperium3000]

I was actually looking forward to this piece of shit. Duke Nukem Forever, not the video. I mean I was looking forward to the video, I'm saying it's no-OH YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!

[u/KaiserBeamz]

I honestly remember that brief period in 2011 when people honestly had hope that this game would be good.

[u/Velvet_Daze]

Remember when two virgins are getting raped by a tentacle pit and Duke makes jokes at their expense before the alien fetuses explode out of them?

Stay classy Gearbox