Duke developers jump ship

By Rob Fahey Published 1 September, 2006

DNF still on track, says Broussard.

It seems like every time we actually find out anything remotely interesting about the development of Duke Nukem Forever, it comes through the medium of 3D Realms' staff arguing with fans on Internet forums. It almost makes you hanker for the good old days of press releases, interviews, screenshots... Remember all that stuff? Ahh.

This time out, the monthly DNF spat has been kicked off by a report at Shacknews which claimed that 3D Realms is haemorrrhaging development staff at a worrying rate - naming seven employees who have left the company recently, four of whom have gone off to work for Brothers in Arms developer Gearbox Software.

Needless to say, this news kicked off intense speculation over the future of the lifetime award winner for Most Ironically Named Videogame, which is now rapidly approaching the tenth anniversary of its original announcement back in April 1997. Among our favourite rumours from the bunch are the claim that all 3DR staff have contracts which say they can't leave until the game is finished, so this means that Duke must be ready to ship out any minute now; and the one which says that the staff walked out after discovering that yet another total rewrite and redesign of the game is on the cards.

However, 3D Realms founder George Broussard popped up on Shacknews' forums to assure the Duke's now-a-decade-older fans that things are still rosy on the project.

"Physics and animation systems are virtually finished and shippable," he commented. "It's simply maintenance and polish from here on out. We haven't needed to make substantial changes to those systems in months. The changes we have made, were made without great effort."

"Things are never as bleak as they appear," he continued, "as is often the case when you simply have one side of the story." We continue to await Duke Nukem Forever with bated breath, a pastime which has claimed the lives of countless respirationally-challenged videogame journalists in the last ten years.

Picture of Rob.

About Rob Fahey

Rob Fahey is a former editor of GamesIndustry.biz who spent several years living in Japan and probably still has a mint condition Dreamcast Samba de Amigo set.

Read more articles from Rob by visiting the Rob Fahey archive page.

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Comments (50) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Zomoniac #1 6 years ago

    "Back in April 2007"

    Typo there methinks :)

    Oh, and first \o/

  • rudedudejude #2 6 years ago

    Proof-read me-lado!

  • T4RG4 #3 6 years ago

    Can someone tell me where they get the dosh to keep going?

  • TwistidChimp #4 6 years ago

    Max Payne, Prey.. you know, their other games :)

    Although how those support the entire team for DNF for a decade I have no idea.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/06 @ 17:10

  • MrAtheist #5 6 years ago

    Shake it baby!

  • Kostabi #6 6 years ago

    9 years in development is just stupid, right?

    I just don't understand why 3D Realms still bother with this. I remember being excited when DNF was first announced but nearly a decade on it's just a sad joke.

    The only upside I can see is that people will finally lay Daikatana to rest and pick on ol' Duke until the end of time.

  • Ikari2001 #7 6 years ago

    "It's simply maintenance and polish from here on out."

    I do love this guys positive outlook...

  • NthSimulachum #8 6 years ago

    They seem to have an engine going by their account. They do need visual and audio content, more programming, scripting etc.

    You know, the bits which usually take the longest.

  • zoidberg #9 6 years ago

    I think someone should do a documentary about DNF. I'm gonna want to show my son what game I've been waiting to play all my life. The game that has switched engines more times than Beckhams' hairstyles. The game that has seen developing staff off to their graves... People who coded DNF left comments in it for their grandchildren. Hopefully one of them will have the balls to stand up to expectations and release a half-baked game. So much ego in having the perfect game. If pride wasn't in this we would've been playing DNF 3 by now - or better yet, DNF 2 Episode 2.

  • Frogger #10 6 years ago

    I wonder which editor will give Broussard a new project to lead once DNF will be realeased...

  • T4RG4 #11 6 years ago

    I cannot believe the same ppl (Company) are able to release anything else... (well, obviously I can) its just totally crazy.

    They must be doing NOTHING or starting from scratch every week.

  • BillGaitas #12 6 years ago

    Duke is my hero since i was 14 ;)

    To me this game just needs to be reasonable to be great.

  • Daryoon #13 6 years ago

    It will probably premier on Holodeck 360,000

  • Hughes. #14 6 years ago

    What actually was the last Duke game? I remeber playing A Time to Kill on PS1 about 8 years ago and haven't heard of another one since.

  • Jacko #15 6 years ago

    There was Duke Manhattan Project on PC a few years back.

  • chupachups #16 6 years ago

    "I just don't understand why 3D Realms still bother with this. I remember being excited when DNF was first announced but nearly a decade on it's just a sad joke. "

    Duke Nukem is really the only in-house property at 3D Realms/Apogee that's still viable, all their other in-house brands are defunct (unless anyone here fancies a game of Blake Stone, Monster Bash or... Balls Of Steel).

    But unless they release DNF within the next year or two I doubt that most gamers will remember DN3D at all, it was such a long time ago.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/06 @ 18:56

  • dudefella #17 6 years ago

    If they are so close to finishing it, why the shit was there nothing at E3? I think this is just the longest running practical joke ever... if not, I feel sorry for Broussard because every time he says something about DNF the entire community is like 'yeah whatever man'

  • Poorandugly #18 6 years ago

    Zoidberg: "I think someone should do a documentary about DNF."

    A DNF documentary is possibly the only thing that could contain more one-liners than DNF the game.

    /besides army of darkness

  • kafka7 #19 6 years ago

    The longest running joke in gaming history. I'll almost be sorry if this ever gets released. It will be the end of an era.

  • Artemus #20 6 years ago

    Staff leaving? Maybe they want to get some actual work done somewhere else. Can't be good to have DNF on your CV.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/06 @ 20:51

  • tenma #21 6 years ago

    When this game launches, it'll give S.T.A.L.K.E.R. some competition. ;)

  • chupachups #22 6 years ago

    Anyone here remember the TV series "Moonlighting"? Remember the Onsolmo Case they kept talking about in every episode but never solved? That's DNF in a nutshell... :)

  • urban #23 6 years ago

    my god...they must have some really gutsy investers behind them

  • SimonM7 #24 6 years ago

    A funny thing though.. Except all the obvious funny things...

    Were DNF to come out now, I think it's coming out in a far, far better climate than way back in.. 2000 or whenever they were hoping to bring it out. FPS' have gotten to a point where you can't really tell one WW2 take from the next, and iconic video game heroes are incredibly scarce. The success of something like Tomb Raider Legend is proof that the market really does want heroes back, and Duke is an incredibly strong icon that I think the average gamer today (18-30 as opposed to, I dunno, 13-18 back then?) can really appreciate on the intended level of irony and satire.

    That is if the game is any good of course, won't help if it's a stinkah.

  • Freek #25 6 years ago

    my god...they must have some really gutsy investers behind them

    I want to see Broussard in Dragons Den looking for investment in DNF. :D

  • oerhoert #26 6 years ago

    Yeah, they need to get it finished. I'm still looking forward to it though.

  • chupachups #27 6 years ago

    "I'm still looking forward to it though."

    Surely no game can possibly be worth waiting 10 years for?

  • BigJKO #28 6 years ago

    "Surely no game can possibly be worth waiting 10 years for?"

    Worth waiting for? I can only speak for myself, but I haven't used up energy anticipating this game. It's not like the developer is requesting money from me, each time they delay the game. I'm not sure exactly what you think you're investing when waiting for a game. Do you hold off playing other games?

  • AaronTurner #29 6 years ago

    tf2

  • PearOfAnguish #30 6 years ago

    "It's simply maintenance and polish from here on out", said George, as he was wheeled into the padded 'guest suite'.

  • MrGrumpy.au #31 6 years ago

    This is so depressiing cause the longer DNF take the more unlikely a Shadow Warrior sequel is to be (dreaming here!). The thought of "Lo Wang" teaming up with his new sexy female sidekick "Vy Agra" would be Shadow Warrior heaven. :-D

  • chupachups #32 6 years ago

    "Worth waiting for? I can only speak for myself, but I haven't used up energy anticipating this game. It's not like the developer is requesting money from me, each time they delay the game. I'm not sure exactly what you think you're investing when waiting for a game. Do you hold off playing other games?"

    If I see an interesting preview for a game and then 10 years later it still isn't ready, it's been restarted two or three times, the project staff have quit, there's no release year, and there's no sign of it ever being ready, I give up expecting it to ever appear.

    You said you were looking forward to it, but how can you look forward to something that will probably never get finished?
    Edited by 2 at 02/09/06 @ 16:18

  • Dezm0nd #33 6 years ago

    Prey took about the same time didn't it? That turned out great fun, don't know why people are moaning about it so much. If 3drealms didnt say anything about this whilst reworking it 2 or 3 times no one would bat an eyelid.

    Not everygame is perfect during development. And the lads just want the best possible experience from this game.
    Edited by 1 at 02/09/06 @ 20:12

  • Kostabi #34 6 years ago

    "Not everygame is perfect during development. And the lads just want the best possible experience from this game."

    But 9 years! We're into the third generation of consoles since DNF was announced. It seems like 3D Realms are designing Duke with a constantly moving goalpost in mind.

  • chupachups #35 6 years ago

    "Prey took about the same time didn't it? That turned out great fun, don't know why people are moaning about it so much."

    "Not everygame is perfect during development. And the lads just want the best possible experience from this game."

    Fair enough, Prey did take as long, and that's the one reason to believe that DNF might actually appear some day. (Mind you Prey wasn't an established hit franchise the way Duke Nukem was, so there wasn't any pressure to get it out of the door.)

    But a 10+ year development cycle isn't about getting the best possible experience from a game, because if you take longer than 3 or 4 years you have to start all over again as the hardware generation has moved on.

    The development of DNF and Prey isn't a case of working on the game for 10 years, it's a case of working on the game for three years, abandoning it, starting again from scratch, working on the game for three years, abandoning it, starting again from scratch... etc.

    Imagine if a famous director had started and restarted a film three times, each restart using a completely new cast, a completely new script and a completely new crew, never managing to finish the film. You'd think he/she was nuts! :-)

  • kezef #36 6 years ago

    Does DNF stand for Did Not Finish?

  • Freek #37 6 years ago

    Prey diden't actually take that long, the project was canceled completly, dead. Untill the IP got picked up by Humanhead. Prey as we know it today was in development for about 3 years untill it was revealed. And released a year or so later. Pretty regular dev time.
    The IP simply sat there waiting for a couple years till somebody came along and thought it would be a good idea to give it a try.
    Edited by 1 at 03/09/06 @ 13:36

  • Dr.Mott #38 6 years ago

    I reckon this'll be out on the release date 1up is giving. March 5th, 2999.

  • chronom4n #39 6 years ago

    We haven't needed to make substantial changes to those systems in months" because we haven't been doing anything that is why!

  • Ed_209uk #40 6 years ago

    The same people who fund the development of DNF must also be the financial backers of the movie careers of Steven Seagal and Steve Martin. That can be the only explanation of how they continue to be paid...

  • chupachups #41 6 years ago

    "Prey as we know it today was in development for about 3 years untill it was revealed."

    That's exactly what I was trying to say, the same is true of Duke Nukem Forever, it's been cancelled and started from scratch several times. The trouble seems to be that they always take too long on a particular attempt and have to cancel because it's out of date for current hardware.

    This is why some people have their doubts that 3D Realms is capable of actually creating a game for current systems.

  • neuroniky #42 6 years ago

    Nobody steals our chicks - and lives.

  • AcidSnake #43 6 years ago

    Is there any word if Jon St. John has already been called in to record duke's one liners?...
    Or have they called him 3 times already?...

  • oerhoert #44 6 years ago

    <em>It seems like 3D Realms are designing Duke with a constantly moving goalpost in mind.</em>

    They actually do. The culture at the studios, at least according to an article I read, is to put in everything they think will be cool, which of course isn't going to work if the whole team's always full of ideas and never attended project management classes. I don't know how much of the current 3DR team that consist of old-timers, but the veterans over there seem to be bedroom coders, not project planners/estimators.

    <em>The same people who fund the development of DNF must also be the financial backers of the movie careers of Steven Seagal and Steve Martin. That can be the only explanation of how they continue to be paid...</em>

    It's been paid by 3DRealms itself the whole time.

    <em>Does DNF stand for Did Not Finish?</em>

    Haha. Funny. Did you make up that one yourself? That's so original!

  • Lagto_Soa #45 6 years ago

    The same people who fund the development of DNF must also be the financial backers of the movie careers of Steven Seagal and Steve Martin.

    Put those two together in a film. Right now. Steve Martin could be a motormouth used car salesman mistaken for a forensics expert and teamed up with reluctant grizzled cop Steven Seagal as he tries to stop Eastern European drugs dealers in Miami by waving his fat hands at them while Steve Martin hides under a table with a briefcase over his head doing one-liners. Joe Pantoliano can be in it as well if he likes.

  • crazyhorse174 #46 6 years ago

    Oerhört - do you work for 3DRealms?

    If not, why are you getting so wound up about the comments people have been saying on here!?

    Your being very pedantic about clarifying everyones questions. Who really gives a shit! This game will *never* see the light of day!

    And for the record - the DNF joke (Did Not Finish), was quite amusing. I think you need to get your sense of humour surgically re-attached...
    Edited by 1 at 04/09/06 @ 12:37

  • oerhoert #47 6 years ago

    <em>Oerhört - do you work for 3DRealms?</em>

    Actually, no. I don't. :)

    <em>If not, why are you getting so wound up about the comments people have been saying on here!?</em>

    Because I feel it's unfair to the studio that people complain about things that are actually misconceptions.

    <em>Your being very pedantic about clarifying everyones questions. Who really gives a shit!</em>

    Well, obviously the ones that care enough to make a comment about the game in this thread. Also, me. I still think DNF has the potential to be all kinds of awesome. Maybe I'm wrong, but either way there's no reason to not clarify obvious misconceptions.

    <em>This game will *never* see the light of day!</em>

    So you think they've been spending all that money on it for fun? I agree, it <em>may</em> never see the light of day, but I don't see the point in dealing with absolutes on this matter. Unless you have inside information, I don't see why you should be better suited to judging the probability of release than the rest of us.

    <em>And for the record - the DNF joke (Did Not Finish), was quite amusing.</em>

    Yeah, it was. In 2003.

  • chupachups #48 6 years ago

    "So you think they've been spending all that money on it for fun?"

    I think they've been spending all that money on it out of stupidity, just like lots of other games projects that went on for years before being permanently cancelled.

    Surely the 10 years they've spent on DNF is evidence of their incompetence, because spending 10 years on a game doesn't produce anything better than spending 3 years on a game. It's like spending a week making an omelette, you'll have to constantly throw it away and start again if you spend that long on it.

  • HIGHVOLTAGE #49 6 years ago

    Heh it's not quite up to the standard of Guns and Roses Chinese Democracy album, which must have been in the making about 14 years now. In which time Axel Rose managed to not just sack Slash and friends, but every group of session musicians he's worked with so none of them can get a cent in royalties off him should the album ever turn up, but its getting close...

  • kangarootoo #50 6 years ago

    I never cease to be amazed at the extremes people will take "looking forward to" to. I would have thought anyone following the progress of this would have lost interest years ago.

    Seriously, its only a bloody game. Get outside and ride your bike or something.