Duke Nukem: The Once & Future King?

Posted 11/19/2010 at 3:33pm | by Nathan Grayson

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The inside story on PC gaming's greatest comeback—and a look at the game itself

Thrills, drama, a long grind, and a twist ending—these are the sorts of things you normally expect from a videogame. They are not what you expect from the story behind a game. But then, Duke Nukem isn’t any ordinary game, and the saga of its development has been anything but normal. For more than 13 years, the gaming world’s been waiting for Duke, and now the end is in sight. But first, let's review what's happened until now.

It all started back in 1996, with Duke Nukem riding high. The game for which he was known, Duke Nukem 3D, was a megaton hit, and gamers clung to the cocksure hero’s every machismo-laden word. He was, quite literally, the king. He was on top of the world. Then in 1997, the follow-up, Duke Nukem Forever, was announced and, shockingly enough, it was all downhill from there. Duke disappeared. Year after year passed, and short of a few quick glimpses of the game, Duke was a disappointing no-show. His once-loyal fan base declared him dead. Anticipation rotted and festered, boiling over into angry cynicism.

The nail in Duke’s supposed coffin, however, came in the form of developer 3D Realms closing up shop in 2009 and a subsequent lawsuit from publisher Take-Two Interactive. And then everything went silent. Game Over. Continue? 5... 4… 3… 2… 1…

But wait! At the last second, Borderlands developer Gearbox Software stepped in and saved the day. Now, Duke Nukem Forever’s back on track and—get this—it’s actually going to come out this time. So, how’s the game? Who’s in charge now? After more than a decade of waiting, will it all be worth it?

We traveled deep into the heart of Texas—to Gearbox’s only-slightly evil lair—for three interviews with the men responsible for the past, present, and future of Duke Nukem. We’ll tell you what they have to say about the legendary franchise and we’ll share the details of our hands-on experience with the upcoming game. Yes, Duke fans, it’s safe to dream again.

Duke Nukem Then

Original Duke Nukem designer George Broussard explains the series' turbulent development history

Maximum PC: Duke's come a long, long, long way. So we're just gonna ask: what took so long? What made you shy away from releasing DNF for all these years?

George Broussard: I wish there was an easy or dramatic answer for what took so long but there just isn't.  It was just never ready.  We had lots of development issues along the way.  It wasn't a quest for perfection as some silly article in Wired implied last year.

I think what hurt us the most was licensing engines and trying to change them too much.  Shit happens and after delays the options are to continue or kill the game.  I never wanted to kill the game.  We got things turned around dramatically in 2007-2009, with a lot of new hires, and most of the game as it exists today was created in that timeframe.

Do you worry that, in your pursuit of technological superiority, you allowed Duke Nukem to become a relic himself? Do you think Duke, with his crass and juvenile ways, can still be relevant in today's super-serious shooter world?

Duke offers contrast and something very unique and different from the cookie cutter, cardboard, generic game heroes that don't have an ounce of personality.  It's ok to not like Duke or think him juvenile, but at least he's not boring and vanilla.  Most people play games to escape and enjoy a fantasy for a while.

What do you think makes Duke so endearing as a character? Why have people continued to care so much for so long?

I think like Darth Vader is an ultimate archtype of a villain, Duke follows the archtype for the alpha male action hero.  When we created Duke's character outline we wanted him to be a combination of Arnold Schwarzennegger, Clint Eastwood and John Wayne.  Combine those characters with a distinct look, attitude and one-liners and the result is that Duke is just an iconic character.

Expect to relive this football stadium battle in Duke Nukem Forever.

How'd the Gearbox deal come about?

First, we had a relationship with Randy and Gearbox.  Randy worked for us in 1996-97 and I play poker with Randy and some Gearbox guys every week.  Second, we were in a bitter lawsuit with Take 2 that was going to last for years as they had shown no interest in being reasonable.  Third, behind the scenes, there were 9 or so ex-3DR guys (Triptych Games) that were working on DNF in secret, on their own money, out of a house, because they believed in the game.

Summer of 2009, I played Borderlands at Gearbox, prior to release.  That afternoon, Randy and I talked about the suit and how things were going.  He mentioned that he'd love to help or get invovled, and while it wasn't clear what that meant, it was clear he was passionate to somehow get involved with Duke. 

A couple weeks later I mention Randy's interest in passing to my partner Scott and everyone got to talking.  Around Xmas 2009 a strategy was planned that would leverage Gearbox's positive relationship with Take 2 (due to Borderlands' success), settle the suit, and get the game published. 

How do you feel about that deal? Is it a best-case scenario for DNF? How much input do you have on the game now, if any?

It's the result of several back to back miracles that people will get to see this game.  Imagine flipping a coin 5 times and getting heads each time.  It should be win win for everyone involved.  From what I've seen the game is still largely what we had in May 2009, but with a year of work and polish from the guys at Triptych Games.  We provide feedback when asked about all things Duke but it's largely out of our hands now so we'll see what happens.

Is it difficult letting someone else finish up and ultimately take the reins on your creation? Do you regret not getting to finish the game yourself?

Sure, but it is what it is, and at some point you get enough distance and perspective to let things go.  It probably took about a year.  I'm just glad we worked it all out.

How did you originally envision Duke Nukem Forever? Gearbox’s goal seems to be a sort of tribute to all that Duke stands for. Their mantra seems to be “It’s the Duke you’ve always known, but bigger, better, etc.” Was that your goal throughout Duke Nukem Forever’s development process as well?

Part of why we did this deal is that we knew Randy pretty well and he worked on the add-on for the original game and he loves and gets Duke.  So, it's probably in pretty good hands and I think they will treat it as a top series inside Gearbox.  It's hard to continue an ip that someone else created, but by them owning it now, they are incentivised to care about it and not treat it as a middle tier licensed project.

What’s next for you? Do you still want to develop games? Or does the future hold something entirely different?

To be honest I haven't thought much about it.  I'm just enjoying the time off.  I still play games and love making them.

Next page: Duke Nukem Now with Gearbox cofounder Brian Martel »