Jun 13, 2013
Duke Nukem Forever developer sues Gearbox for unpaid royalties
Duke Nukem Forever
dukenukem


As if a hellish, 14-year development cycle weren’t enough, Duke Nukem Forever developer 3D Realms is now suing its former publisher, Gearbox Software, for unpaid royalties.

According to an article on Law 360, Apogee Software (the legal name for 3D Realms) filed a breach of contract suit on June 7, saying Gearbox failed to pay what it owed in the purchase agreement both companies signed back in 2010.  The now-defunct development company says Gearbox owes more than $2 million in unpaid royalties.

3D Realms was the original developer of Duke Nukem Forever before Take-Two Interactive acquired the publishing rights back in 2009. Take-Two actually filed a law suit against 3D Realms that year for failing to finish the game by the time it was supposed to, but the suit was later settled without disclosing further details.

Gearbox issued a statement to Polygon writing off the accusations as untrue.

“It's unfortunate that 3DR did not abide by the the objective audit rules outlined in the agreement and even more unfortunate that it chose to blame its failures on Gearbox. Since 3DR seems unable to accept reality and has chosen to become hostile, Gearbox is forced to bring its actual claims of breach of contract against 3DR and is confident Gearbox will prevail.

"Perhaps the lesson learned here is to never enter a gaming business deal with a person who has had more lawsuits than shipped games."

Ouch.
May 1, 2013
Duke Nukem Forever And Ever, A Mod
Duke Nukem Forever - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alec Meer)

Remember Duke Nukem Forever? No, not that one with the poo-throwing; the other one, the one people were excited about 12 years ago. The one in the 2001 trailer which appeared to offer endless impossible, fantastical things. By today’s standards, those things no longer seem impossible and quite a few them seem deeply unsavoury, but it remains a shame that the DNF we got was something entirely different. A group of modders have been busily attempting to rewrite history – by recreating the game that 2001 trailer suggested in good old Duke Nukem 3D. Given they suffered aa degree of 3D Realms-esque hubris in their struggle to finish the thing, are these the first Method Developers? (more…)

Apr 30, 2013
Duke Nukem Forever 2013 edition: modders return the king to his throne
Duke Nukem Forever
DNF2013


The problem with Duke Nukem Forever - other than that it was bad - was that it didn't provide the classic FPS experience that Duke Nukem 3D fans wanted, while also failing to be a decent modern shooter in its own right. That's why this is such a beautiful thing: with Duke Nukem Forever 2013, modders Gambini and Mikko Sandt have created the "game that was meant to be". Which apparently means a Duke Nukem 3D mod.

Duke Nukem Forever 2013 Trailer - Mod DB

Okay, it's not a complete old-school re-imagining of 2011's messy sequel, but then, it doesn't need to be. It transports some of the basic ideas and areas from Forever (and it's 2001 preview), and finds a much more suitable home for them inside the high-speed, twitch action of 1996.

To install, just download the mod from its ModDB page, unzip it, grab the DUKE3D.GRP file from the root directory of a Duke 3D installation, and copy it over to your DNF2013 folder. Run DNF.BAT and you're ready to kick ass and chew over the delicate nature of balancing a fleeting memory of gaming's past against the increasingly overwhelming demand of a modern audience.
Nov 1, 2012
Balls of iron(y): Duke Nukem voice actor dislikes violence, guns
Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem Forever - hail to the chef


When unloading a shotgunful of death or crushing a shrunken Pig Cop alien beneath your manly boots in Duke Nukem, you can always expect to hear a clever follow-up—quips that defined one of classic PC gaming's most memorable characters. Jon St. John, owner of the deep baritone fueling Duke's wisecracks, has reprised his role in a franchise spanning nearly 15 games, but he doesn't necessarily share Duke's pleasure of slugging bullets into warm bodies. In fact, during the latest episode of the Unlimited Hyperbole podcast (via PCGamesN), he revealed his aversion to guns and the violence they promote, saying, "I don't care for guns in general."

"It bothers me how free we are to bear arms," he continued. "They say ‘Guns don't kill people, people kill people.' Well, no, I think people with guns kill people. Quite frankly, I’d like to see stronger gun laws in this country. Hell, I don’t even like hunting. I don't like people out there shooting deer or elk or whatever unless they’re doing it to survive. If they're using every part of the animal in some way, then great, but I'm disturbed if they're killing it just to kill."

St. John, who established himself as a voice actor of great flexibility by assuming roles in such games as Half-Life: Opposing Force, Clive Barker's Undying, and Heroes of Newerth also stated "gratuitously violent" games such as Grand Theft Auto aren't his jam, preferring instead flying, racing, or driving experiences. Of course, he also recognized the glaring contrast between his personal stances and the testosterone-fueled gib-generator he voices.

"I've been connected to Duke for so long," he said. "And even though I'm on 150, 160 odd games in all, Duke Nukem is the one character who really made me famous in the industry. A few times at conventions I've had guys come up to me and say, 'Man, you're so badass,' but I'm really not. That's why I hesitated when you asked me about guns. I don't want to disappoint fans."
Sep 25, 2012
Don’t Call It A Comeback: 3D Realms’ Crowd-Funded FPS
Stronghold 3 Gold - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alec Meer)

Pigs have been flying more often than they probably should lately

I wanted to snarkily write ’3D Realms’ in the title, but when I added the apostrophe it looked like ’3D Realms” and everyone would have thought I’d just forgotten what type of speech mark I was using. Anyway! The 3D Realms name is indeed back, even if it’s currently somewhat unclear as to whether it’s anything more than a name at present. The Duke Nukem dev closed its doors after too many years and too much money spent creating the horrible piss-mountain that was Duke Nukem Forever, but owners including Scott Miller and George Broussard kept some intangible measure of it alive afterwards. And so it is that 3D Realms’ name is attached to crowd-funded, post-apocalyptic shooter Earth No More. (more…)

Sep 25, 2012
The Folks Behind Duke Nukem Forever Want Your Money for a "New" Game
Duke Nukem Forever

The Folks Behind Duke Nukem Forever Want Your Money for a "New" GameFor years, 3D Realms toiled on Duke Nukem Forever. After the game languished, another studio (Gearbox Software) came in and finished it. Now, 3D Realms is working on a new game. A game it's been working on for a while—and it wants your money to finish it.


The game is Earth No More, a first-person shooter that seems to be inspired by War of the Worlds. Thing is, this title that was originally supposed to be out in 2009, but was later put on ice.


Development on it was hardly smooth, and 3D Realms was actually sued for allegedly stealing the game's concept.


Today, however, 3D Realms is announcing that it's taking Earth No More to crowd funding site Gambitious, which is different from Kickstarter in that investors can buy equity in a project. (Oh, and Eurogamer reports that 3D Realms co-founder Scott Miller is one of the five people on the Gambitious advisory board.)


Still, it sounds like 3D Realms is keen to give the game another go. So if you really like 3D Realms games and are confident that this won't turn into Duke Nukem Forever and Ever, it might be worth checking out the Gambitious site.


3D Realms returns with post-apocalyptic FPS Earth No More on new crowdfunding site Gambitious [Eurogamer]


Aug 13, 2012
Borderlands 2′s Best Friends Forever Furore
Rock, Paper, Shotgun - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alec Meer)

You can't fight here, this is the war room

Here’s today’s scandal, then. The Mechromancer, a post-release DLC character for Borderlands 2 has been revealed, and one of her skill trees is aimed at making the game more accessible to people who don’t play shooters. Officially, this set of abilities is called ‘Best Friends Forever’, and includes skills such as missed shots having a chance to auto-ricochet into their intended targets – i.e. allowing some victory from imprecise aiming. That’s fine. That’s even quite a good idea for anyone who wants to play the game with someone who isn’t well-versed in such things. I quite want to play it with my Dad, in fact.

The trouble is that a dev at Gearbox unofficially dubbed it ‘the girlfriend mode’ when talking to Eurogamer, which is clearly all kinds of offensive and quickly caused online outrage – definitely justified were the skills truly called ‘girlfriend mode’ but rather less cut and dried if it turns out to be just one guy’s personal (and foolish) nickname for the real title of Best Friends Forever. Gearbox are claiming the drama stems from misinterpretation and sensationalism. (more…)

Jul 16, 2012
Fifty Shades of Babe: Duke Nukem Reads E. L. James
Duke Nukem Forever - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alec Meer)

I thought about photoshopping an image, but my brain balked at the terrible and possibly illegal possibilities

I had been worried that Duke Nukem would never, ever make me laugh again. Then I listened to his voice actor Jon St. John reading an extract from ubiquitous rutting tome 50 Shades of Gray in character as Duke, and a multitude of recent sins were forgiven. (more…)

Jul 3, 2012
If You Blew $50 on Duke Nukem Forever, Would You Blow $300 On This?
Duke Nukem Forever

If You Blew $50 on Duke Nukem Forever, Would You Blow $300 On This?It's been over a year since Duke Nukem Forever was released, and to commemorate (commiserate?) the whole experience, Sideshow is next year bringing out this 16" statue of the Duke.


Selling for USD$300, he's certainly not cheap, and given the reception to the last game in the franchise, may seem entirely unwarranted. But then, there's the beauty in leaving the character himself largely unchanged between games. Fans of Duke 3D or even the originals can get this and, if they ignore the contemporary enemy corpse embedded in the base, pretend this is 1996's most advanced and expensive adult collectible based on a video game.


Duke Nukem [Sideshow]


If You Blew $50 on Duke Nukem Forever, Would You Blow $300 On This? If You Blew $50 on Duke Nukem Forever, Would You Blow $300 On This? If You Blew $50 on Duke Nukem Forever, Would You Blow $300 On This? If You Blew $50 on Duke Nukem Forever, Would You Blow $300 On This? If You Blew $50 on Duke Nukem Forever, Would You Blow $300 On This? If You Blew $50 on Duke Nukem Forever, Would You Blow $300 On This?
Feb 17, 2012
Vita Launch Feels Like the "Last Dinosaur" Says Duke Nukem Forever Designer
Duke Nukem Forever

Vita Launch Feels Like the "Last Dinosaur" Says Duke Nukem Forever DesignerIf anyone would know what it's like to show up late to a party it's the man that worked on Duke Nukem Forever for over a dozen years.


Fanning the flames of the smartphone versus dedicated gaming handheld debate via Twitter yesterday, Duke Nukem co-creator George Broussard compared the launch of Sony's latest shiny gaming toy to the last remnant of Earth's one-time reptilian masters stumbling into monkey town. At least that's how I am imagining it. The monkeys are all standing on two legs, crafting tools, and drinking martinis; the dinosaur (I'm thinking velociraptor) starts flailing its tiny arms in frustration.


Of course the last dinosaur showing up at the mammal party could still do a great deal of damage, unlike Duke Nukem Forever, released last year after being handed off to Gearbox Software to reviews that amounted to pages of repressed laughter.


Where the comparison really falls through, however, is the fact that the Japanese love giant lizards.


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