"well how would you make Duke Nukem Forever?"

[Treblaine]

It's (un)official. Duke Nukem Forever has failed to deliver. It seems they completely lost sight of what Duke is supposed to be which begs the question... what IS a Duke Nukem game supposed to be?

A lot like how Lucas betrayed his own vision, how about you - the fans - give your take on what a Duke Nukem game is supposed to be like?

Not a complete overview, but what kind of weapons should it have? Like aim-down-sights?

-What kind of game progression? (what might be described as a "plot")

-What characters? (Duke's Austrian father... about as clear reference as Sean Connery (Bond) as Indiana Joneses Dad)

-How should a Duke Nukem game in the 2010's approach women while still being a Duke Nukem game?

-Gameplay mechanics: how can the expectation of rebounding health work with how Duke shouldn't act cowardly like hiding in cover to regain health.

-How should it riff on popular culture and even to get a bit more "meta" why we are so interested in a 12 year old franchise that was riffing on cliche's that were a decade old when the first Duke game came out.

 

[Alfador_VII]

At this point, encase it in glass, put it in a lead box, bury it under tons of concrete for Millenia.

Or just shoot it into the sun.

Basically, it's not worth making now.

 

[Sethzard]

Does [url:]http://bit.ly/iGvhRZ[/url] count?

If not then I would say by keeping him true to his routes, he's not a pussy and can carry more than 2 guns.

 

[Euhan01]

Leave it alone.

 

[Treblaine]

At this point, encase it in glass, put it in a lead box, bury it under tons of concrete for Millenia.

Or just shoot it into the sun.

Basically, it's not worth making now.

Why? Everyone was totally hyped about Duke Nukem Forever when we didn't know much about it, everyone obviously had high expectations that have now been let down that we realise what it has actually turned out to be.

What did you expect it to be?

You can't have so little faith that it would have been IMPOSSIBLE to make a good Duke Nukem game...

 

[DannyFree]

From the parts I got to play on a friend's copy, I'd say the movie references to classic movie references worked... ok (Reservoir Dogs taunt, "1.21 Gigawatts" written over a door, etc) but the satire on US policies fell a bit flat for me. The whole WMD joke has been driven into the ground already, and I think the comical parts and the straight-up Americanism smacks a little of trying to have one's cake and eat it.

 

[Nouw]

Make the game-play feel like Duke Nukem 3D and add new features/improve existing ones. The dialogue, from what I've seen in gameplay videos, is hilarious and hits the spot.

And that's all I have to say, speaking as someone who hasn't played it.

 

[Morbissus]

Not try to renvision it & make Duke Nukem 3D 2. Fun level design, no story, return secrets & power ups (atomic health, shields, etc.) & the jetpack (in single player).

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

I would've kept Bombshell in, she was intended to be a capable action girl who wasn't the slightest bit impressed with Duke's stupid macho behaviour, just the type of character you need to make it, y'know, actual parody.

But alas, little more than concept art remains of her.

 

[GeorgW]

I'd completely get rid of the first half, and double the last.
You can read more of my opinion here: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.291283-Hypnotic-reviews-Duke-Nukem-Forever#11590762

 

[Nightmare-Child]

I wouldn't have made the game at all.

 

[Jere Koskela]

Having just finished the game, I honestly enjoyed it. The things that bugged me about the game were the recharging Ego meter (otherwise this was a great idea), the strip club level and the underwater air bubble vents, and that last one feels like a fairly petty criticism. Obviously I don't mean that the game was worth 12 years, clearly it wasn't and I don't think a game could be. But the shooting was fun, the platforming worked, the vehicle sections were great and the boss battles ranged from slightly meh to groin grabbingly funtastic. The final one in particular. A good time was had and I think the game was easily worth my £30, even with the aforementioned flaws.

 

[Rabish Bini]

To address your points:

-No real progression. Split the game into 3-4 episodes of 8+ levels each with short cutscenes of Duke being a badass in between

-Characters? HA! This is Duke Nukem, all you need is Duke.

-It should approach women the same way it did in '96. I'd love to see feminists get their panties all in a bunch.

-Regeneration should be removed entirely. Keep the ego mechanic, just refine it, and have good ol' fashioned health packs littered around the joint.

Also, make the level design non-linear, and packed full of secrets. Remove the 2-weapon limit and make the game more colourful.

Basically, just make Duke Nukem 3D 2

 

[The Amazing Tea Alligator]

Make the plot about Duke having a midlife crisis, trying to find his place in modern day shooters.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

Easy. Stack some charcoal and firewood, place DNF's source code in the middle and stack more charcoal and wood on top, dump a several gallons of kerosene, acetone and gasoline on the wood, and strike a match. I would probably die from the resulting fireball, but at least Duke died with me.

 

[Wintermoot]

the duke would carry enough weapons to arm a small army
the duke get,s his kick back scratch that DOUBLE KICK
life will still be his ego and health packs will be "Why I,m Awesome" by D.Nukem
the plot will be simple "martians kidnapped our women duke kick their asses"
also it will poke fun at every shooter made after 1998 (not very simply every big shooter like 3D)
woman will be treated the same way duke has always treated them: by sending them to the kitchen to make his sandwich.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well most of the stuff is beyond saving, so I'll concentrate on combat:
- after the first scene where they cut back to Duke playing the game he goes off to find the development team office and kicks some serious ass, then tells them how this shit is done

- EGO meter doesn't recharge when you're being a pussy but when you kill an enemy, or do extra nasty things (head shots, crotch shots, sploding barrels,...)
- an overboost bar at the end of the EGO meter, and once you fill EGO it starts to fill overboost and once you get that you go into a short burst of craziness(extra damage, extra speed, increased jumping,...)
- collectable upgrade coins dropped by enemies ad hidden in levels, that you then use to upgrade your weapons and yourself (add more weapon slots, up the damage, up your speed, ...)
- multi level boss fights
- bring back the all mighty boot!

Honestly if you intend to go oldschool then do it proper and then turn everything to 11

 

[GoddyofAus]

The Duke Nukem franchise is dead.

 

[xvbones]

It's (un)official. Duke Nukem Forever has failed to deliver. It seems they completely lost sight of what Duke is supposed to be which begs the question... what IS a Duke Nukem game supposed to be?

A lot like how Lucas betrayed his own vision, how about you - the fans - give your take on what a Duke Nukem game is supposed to be like?

Not a complete overview, but what kind of weapons should it have? Like aim-down-sights?

-What kind of game progression? (what might be described as a "plot")

-What characters? (Duke's Austrian father... about as clear reference as Sean Connery (Bond) as Indiana Joneses Dad)

-How should a Duke Nukem game in the 2010's approach women while still being a Duke Nukem game?

-Gameplay mechanics: how can the expectation of rebounding health work with how Duke shouldn't act cowardly like hiding in cover to regain health.

-How should it riff on popular culture and even to get a bit more "meta" why we are so interested in a 12 year old franchise that was riffing on cliche's that were a decade old when the first Duke game came out.

I wouldn't make DNF.

2k buying the game from 3D Realms was a fairly blatant cash-grab, as the title is so well-known, the game was basically guaranteed first-day sales. That's why they did that. Those of you who bought this game knew damn well it was going to be a massive disappointment and you bought it anyway. Like my roommate, who has been actually waiting for this, and was excited to spend his $60 on this blatant cash-grab, because he wanted to see how bad it would be.

If I had the money and resources to make DNF, I would, instead, make a completely different game.

If I was forced to make DNF, i would take the game to People Can Fly and let them re-make Painkiller with Duke skins over everything. It would be derivative shit, but it would at least be entertaining derivative shit.

If I was forced, with a pistol to my mother's face, to make DNF myself, I would strip the Duke world of all its pretension and remove the wholly unironic way the game seems to assume we all love the Dukey. Watching the game world slither up to Duke and literally fellate him and how amazingly awesomely wonderfully great he is was fucking embarrassing.

I would make Duke a broken-down relic whom the world has largely forgotten, a former hero that has fallen on harder times and is now coping with sheer irrelevance in a world that no longer needs him or cares about him.

I would start with a True Hollywood Story-styled montage showing his rapid decline into drug abuse, alcoholism and obesity, the messy divorces, the catastrophic lawsuits and arrests, the bankruptcy.

When we first start seeing the world through Duke's eyes, he is a lethargic mess of misremembered catchphrases and sexually-transmitted diseases. He and he alone would consider himself to be 'The King' and everyone else would see him as 'that fat, creepy guy down the block that often passes out stone drunk in the gutter in front of his dilapidated old house.'

Then the aliens invade and once again the spotlight is on Duke, he now must regain his old physique and skills in order to defend the planet from invasion and regain his fame and relevance. Only now he's a train wreck, he smells, nobody wants to talk to him, nobody wants to be near him, he leches all over everything with tits and he is the only hope of the world.

Wait. Why is Duke the only hope in the world? Who is this guy again? He's an over-the-top parody of heroes from action movies that are over 30 years old, he steals all his best lines (and then misquotes them), he has the sensibilities of a seven-year-old screaming the word 'Boobies!' at the top of his lungs and then giggling maniacally... what the hell does this guy have that makes him heroic?

Why did this game need to be made, again?

Oh, right. Blatant cash grab banking on a recognizable name and morbid curiosity. Almost forgot.

 

[Griphphin]

I would have gone as over the top as humanly possible. As huge as possible, man!
[HEADING=1]HUGE![/HEADING]