Duke Nukem Forever Nearly Died Without a Script

[Korzack]

For some reason I'm miffed that Duke is on store shelves a full four days before the country he's set in get it.

Ehh, considering the states usually gets games a month before the rest of the world (Except for Japanese based stuff), I wouldn't be too worried.
Although the fact 3D Realms hadn't put a narrative together amuses and doesn't really surpsise me, I'm not concerned at all (Even if Axl Rose took longer to put his Magnum Opus together + get it released). Gearbox were able to work a sense of narrative into Borderlands, so this?
Yeah, piece of cake.

 

[koroem]

It sure is a good thing they are focusing on a multiplayer mode. As if the rest of the game isn't going to be a big enough mess they have to further reduce the quality by spending time focusing on a mode that will get them blasted to dust by the COD kiddies complaining its not COD.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

Only Duke Nukem could get away with this, since the 'story' is basically aliens invading earth, you kill aliens; the 'dialogue' is a series of one liners, grunts and double entendres; and the 'character interactions' are basically Duke putting lead in anything that isn't female and his penis in anything that is.

'LARGE reered'. Captcha knows what I'm talking about.

 

[Braedan]

Bah unless it's an epic fantasy, or a thrilling drama, story is the easiest god damn part of making games! and they always screw it up! I don't want every game to be Mass Effect, I just want them to make sense! You can write the basics for a fun, simple story in half an hour, then flesh it out with believable dialog later, after the game play is made so we know why they moved from warehouse to sewers. I mean, there's no character development needed in an FPS.

 

[Ultimate Evil]

The Duke transends literary convention. He's too super-macho to be bound by our puny mortal words and relationships. I bet they did have people in 3D realms working on the script but their heads exploded from how awesome their own story was. He probably reached out of the game and killed them for writing him wrong or something...

Or at least that's what I tell myself.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

You don't even need a new script.

Just insert old Duke audio files, and ignore any sort of narrative altogether.

DONE.

 

[eharriett]

The story of this game's development and final release gets more and more fascinating and unique. I really hope someone publishes a well-researched book about it once it is out. I would be very interested in reading it.

 

[Druyn]

I honestly think Gearbox looked at this game and simply thought "... Well, someones gotta break the cycle".

I think it was more along the lines of "How many people are waiting for this game to be made? How many people will buy it if we make it? You mean will already have a million people who will buy this game no matter what if we make it? For Real? Okay, lets do it."

Seriously, how could anybody look at that and not see the huge sales potential inherent in the title.

 

[The Random One]

I would be angry if it wasn't Duke Nukem. But it is, so it just needs Duke to spout a few one liners making fun of other shooters as he nonchalantly traverses areas that have obviously been terraformed.

 

[thiosk]

This is a common problem in almost every field, not just game design!

I work in chemical research, and there are so many stories about projects that get started without a clear focus of what the goals are, what is hoped to be accomplished, what is success. So the mantra I tell younger students who are just starting out-- design and plan the goal before starting any experiments. Because if your experiments work, you don't know what you're doing, so you don't know when you're done running them.

Here it sounds like the same thing. Programmers and artists going to work every day, making things and doing things and working very hard, with no clear focus of WHAT ARE WE DOING.

I make a reccomendation for everyone: know your goals. If things change en route, so be it-- one need not be lashed to the hood of a plan as it careens towards a brick wall, but its better to have one than to keep paddling towards the sun. Pro tip: you never really get anywhere.

 

[GeorgW]

I was wonering how much of the script they had to change from the original 1996 version, since they seem to make so many references to the delay. I now see why.