Legal Questions About Facebook's Blocking Of Links To The Pirate Bay

Duke Nukem Forever Wins The True Lifetime Achievement Award For Vaporware: Coming Out Never

from the duke-nukem-for-never dept

Fri, May 8th 2009 3:38am — Mike Masnick

As plenty of folks know, the video game Duke Nukem Forever has long topped Wired's annual vaporware list. It's been promised for over a decade, and has always been a work in progress. Wired actually got so sick of having it at the top of the vaporware awards that it tried to push it off the list by giving it a "lifetime achievement award." But that was way back in 2003... and the fact that it stayed vaporware for a while meant that it came back on the list. However, it appears the game has now transcended all vaporware and officially become permanent vaporware as the developer working on it has shut down. At this point, it's hardly a surprise, but it does sorta make you wonder what they were working on for the past twelve years...

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: duke nukem forever, vapor ware
Companies: 3d realms

51 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

SteveD, 8 May 2009 @ 3:53am

Gamers are always complaining about publishers forcing titles out before they are 'complete', requiring technical fixes and gameplay patches over the following months.

But Duke Nukem Forever demonstrates the danger of a 'Its done when its done' attitude in the creative industry; a lack of enforced deadlines can mean something is never really finished.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 4:00am

looks like ars will be the only website to review it. I was kind of hoping it would revolutionize gaming because its meant to be played within a browser and can play with no problems on linux, mac, and windows.

link to the review:
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/reviews/2006/04/forever.ars
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Dan, 8 May 2009 @ 4:11am

title
Maybe you meant to say "Vaporware" in the title too!?

"what they were working on for the past twelve years..."
I think they were playing the latest release yes, the old one) to see what needs to be improved...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Poster, 8 May 2009 @ 4:18am

At this point, it's hardly a surprise, but it does sorta make you wonder what they were working on for the past twelve years...

Nothing, really. The last game 3D Realms developed internally was released in 1997; since then, they've mainly been publishing others' games.

3D Realms deserved to die.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 4:18am

I've heard that the rights have been acquired by someone else. So this thing isn't entirely dead.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
AdrianS, 8 May 2009 @ 4:23am

The joke is on you.
I think the joke is on websites that continue to report on this game.

Congratulations Techdirt, you're in good company.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Eclecticdave (profile), 8 May 2009 @ 4:24am

Ars
I can't figure out if AC#2 knows that the Ars review was an April Fools joke...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
yozoo, 8 May 2009 @ 4:30am

Hmm seems to me
This is about the 3rd developer to go under while "working" on Duke Nukem Forever. I think this is likely only a temporary setback, someone else will be "working" on it soon . . . there is just too much free buzz that comes with it
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 4:30am

Re:
Check the date on that ARS "review"...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Peet McKimmie, 8 May 2009 @ 4:32am

Re: Hmm seems to me
So, what you're saying is that developing DNF is a bit like drumming for Spinal Tap...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 4:37am

I think that people are missing part of the reason this game and similar games get pushed back so often. They start by being ambitious and trying to be the top of the line ground breaking game, but then get behind schedule. Which means that by their release date the game will be a dud, so they then need to entirely redesign large portions of the game either to stay up to date with graphics, or to add new features or to make the game play longer or deeper, or the level design more complex. But then since the management is clearly the issue, those features only push the game further behind schedule, until everything for the game except for potentially the script is reset, and they start from scratch.

It isnt hard to see how this could happen, its just unfortunate that it does.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Matt, 8 May 2009 @ 4:47am

Re:
please. There's a thing called balance. We want a game to be complete (and more importantly, well tested) when it's ready for release, and not rushed out.

Duke Nukem Forever is the extreme scenario, not the norm.

Sometimes a game takes forever to come out and is still broken such as Darkfall.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Haywood, 8 May 2009 @ 5:06am

Re: Re: Hmm seems to me
"Duke Nukem Forever" and "did not finish" have the same acronym, (DNF) coincidence? I think not.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 5:17am

its time to kick ass and chew bubble gum, I am all out of gum
[ link to this | view in thread ]
SteveD, 8 May 2009 @ 5:18am

Re: Re: Balance
And finding balance is part of the art of project management . But how complete is 'complete'? As the saying goes, most projects spend 95% of their time being 95% complete.

So how do you define 'rushed' and how do you define 'complete'?

A gamer who finds a bug that causes a fatal crash might complain the game wasn't complete or well tested, but consider this; you could put 1'000 man-hours of testing into a game and have it exceeded by 10'000 hours of play-time by your customers in the first week of release (what's more customers with a far more varied combination of technology then you had available to test with).

So you run beta's and you squash what bugs you can, but there's really no such thing as perfect code even if your engineers will happily waste months of time trying to create it.

But these are simply technical challenges. There are artistic challenges in coming up with an idea but not releasing a game around it for years; what seemed innovative originally becomes dated by release. That's what happened to the infamous Daikatana. This is also what has happened to Duke Nukem Forever; they kept 'updating' the graphics engine to keep it looking modern, in the process throwing away years of work.

If you listen to the developer commentary of the Half Life 2 games the developers mention a bunch of features they'd originally intended to be in a title but (due to un-realistic expectations of development time or complexity) had to shelve for future titles. A fan might consider this evidence of an uncompleted game, but good managers know better.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 5:31am

"I don't have time to play with myself" Geez I think 12 years was plent of time
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ima Fish, 8 May 2009 @ 5:32am

Re:
I think you hit the nail on the head. That's exactly what happened.

However, there was a certain amount of laziness you forgot to factor in. DNF started out with a Quake2 engine, if my memory serves me. Because the engine and physics were already set, there was simply no reason DNF could not have been released within a year.

Sure when the Quake3 engine was released, they decided to change gears and start all over again. However, once again, DNF could have been released a year later.

And when it switched to the Unreal engine, once again, it could have been released a year later.

Sure their drive for perfection was a huge problem, but clearly their completely lack of actual work on the game led to its downfall too.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
JohnForDummies (profile), 8 May 2009 @ 5:41am

It's a hard thing to balance... to have a franchise as popular as Duke Nukem (esp. with the hype behind Duke Nukem Fornever), which direction do you go? On the one hand, it has to be GOOD or you risk disappointing your legion of fans, on the other hand, it has so many fans, the game coulda been "Duke fartin' on a snare drum" and it would have made millions. Had the developers not started over every time a new 3D engine came out, maybe they could have released SOMETHING.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
WarOtter (profile), 8 May 2009 @ 5:46am

Re:
Man it takes a special kind of dumb to be fooled by a 3 year old April Fools Day prank... Congrats AC!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
WarOtter (profile), 8 May 2009 @ 5:47am

Re:
It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of ass.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 5:51am

Wut have I missed guise?
I still have a 3DFX Voodoo 3500.

But recently, I've been eyeballing this $399 iMac Mini tho. Her OS will shut up in 10 seconds when I tell her to, and warm up in 27 seconds flat.

These things will put a warm spot in you too, guaranteed.

She's super cute too. I'll get her all the perephials she wants.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 6:05am

"Did Not Finish" now became "Did NEVER Finish"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Evan, 8 May 2009 @ 6:38am

Ironically,
Duke Nukem Forever's initials are DNF, the same acronym used in racing to mean, 'Did Not Finish.'
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Tgeigs, 8 May 2009 @ 6:43am

Re: Wut have I missed guise?
First of all, Spamalot, outstanding spelling in the title there. Which desolate country are you the prince of again?

Secondly, I don't want your warms spots in me, thank you very much.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Tgeigs, 8 May 2009 @ 6:45am

I'm fairly certain that w/all the hype this shutdown of 3Drealms is creating, SOMEONE will pick up "Forever", throw some polish on the turd sandwich of whatever they'd already developed, and release it for consumption.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 6:51am

Why doesn't Obama give a tax credit to the folks who can bring it to market?

$3T was found elsewhere. If he's such a geek as the media makes him out to be, he'd understand...

Then again, he still hasn't showed up to get his Stan Lee signed copy of Spiderman at Colbert yet either.

Hmm. Priorities... Yes, let's spend $3T on whatever the hell sounds good. Has anyone torn apart the new budget yet?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chronno S. Trigger, 8 May 2009 @ 6:52am

Re:
Yeah, when I was reading the articles on Google news yesterday I kept hearing the quote about the Duck Nukem trilogy was still in production and work on DNF was on schedule. I started laughing when I read that last part.

"Deep Silver and Apogee Software are not affected by the situation at 3D Realms" and that "Development on the Duke Nukem Trilogy is continuing as planned."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 6:56am

some times good things come to those who wait. The new Team Fortress is a perfect example
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 6:58am

Re: Re: Wut have I missed guise?
Well, Mr. Navy Special Services Intelligence Officer in Chicago with a DJ company, sir,

I appreciate your warm response and will keep it in mind going forward.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 7:50am

Re:
Looks like hes all out of kick arse too
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ryan, 8 May 2009 @ 7:53am

Re:
Actually, that sounds like it would fit in absolutely perfectly with Obama's current strategy; provide 3D Realms with a $10-20 billion bailout, ostensibly so that they retain their jobs and the nation is not critically damaged by the cancellation of Duke Nukem Forever. Given that they never actually do anything, the administration would likely see this as an ideal project since it would "require" more billions every six months or so to stay afloat, although I doubt 3D Realms has expended much of their capital on lobbying bribes--which could hurt them if they attempt to pursue this course of action. I really would not be the least bit surprised...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
chris (profile), 8 May 2009 @ 7:59am

Re: Re: Hmm seems to me
So, what you're saying is that developing DNF is a bit like drumming for Spinal Tap...

or that the DNF source code is like the hope diamond.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Matt, 8 May 2009 @ 8:00am

Re: Re: Re: Balance
no game has an equal level of rushed vs complete. That is absolutely something on a case by case scenario.

What kinds of things mean rushed? Failing to acknowledge flaws when they are found, insufficient periods of beta testing (and insufficient periods of open beta testing) are certainly 2 things that are extreme indicators of this. Doing short open/closed betas is not only bad for development but bad for marketing as well.

Other things: making sure things are consistent, having games tested by testers internally (not by employees, but tested at the company by external individuals) are all extremely important facets.

Other things: How about proper hardware support/keeping a as trim/optimized as possible (demigod is an example of releasing too early with that). People recognize it's not going to be perfect out the door but "not horrible" is expected if not required.

When a game has huge gamebreaking inherent flaws, that would be rushing to production. When you pull a game at the last minute and say "we're releasing it next month instead", that shows that you're not rushing. So it is just as much people's perspective as it is legitimate issues.

I myself have done gaming beta testing hired by companies, volunteer, open beta, and other forms for 13 years, and I'm only 26 (I started with Konami/Virgin). There are ways to do this well, and of course larger companies have easier resources to do so.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
chris (profile), 8 May 2009 @ 8:02am

Re: Re:
It's time to kick bubblegum and chew ass, and I'm all out of time.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 8:11am

Its time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of funding.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Yakko Warner, 8 May 2009 @ 8:16am

Working on the engine
There's a theory that they were just working on the engine, and that the "DNF project" was really just a research project for technology used in the Unreal engine. It helps to explain how they stayed in business, throwing resources into a project that never got finished, if they sold the tech for things like Unreal and Gears of War.

I don't know how much stock I put in it, but it's a nice theory... ;)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 9:16am

I have seen spinets of Duke Nukem ForNever over the years.
It always looked impressive so it lead me to ask what else needs to be done to release to market? Just release the whole thing as open source and let the community finish it.
Enough is enough I want to play it now while I am still young enough.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 9:18am

Re: Re:
I would support Bush's policy here, go in, blow the whole thing up, let the next guy clean the mess.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Adam, 8 May 2009 @ 9:38am

Re: Re: Re: Balance
They obviously got way too stuck in waterfall mode on DNF. But look at a game like Too Human. That was originally set to be on the Gamecube, and ended up releasing on the Xbox 360. It was so badly balanced in terms of play that, for example, your character could be poisoned, and you would watch your health drain all the way to the point where it killed you without any way of healing yourself. Unless you picked the ONE character version with a healing ability to play as. Encounters were far apart, with little points of interest in between. It was one of the most downloaded demos on Xbox Live, and sales tanked. Clearly, more dev time was needed, even after all the years they put into it. I could see DNF happening the same way. Everybody stuck dithering over something, and nobody in a leadership position strong enough to say, "This is what we're doing, now stop talking about it and get to work!"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Tgeigs, 8 May 2009 @ 9:39am

Re: Re: Re: Wut have I missed guise?
Yeah, I definitely wasn't Special Services, nor do I own a DJ company. But I'm glad you've taken a Navy Scout/Recon E6 that runs trivia nights at a few Chicago bars and turned him into a special forces DJ! Please tell me you work in PR.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Lucretious, 8 May 2009 @ 11:02am

George Broussard always said that we'd know "in a big way" when Duke was ready.

Part of me wants to beleive its all a PR stunt.....

dammit, I really wanted to play this thing :(
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Thomo, 8 May 2009 @ 11:08am

Meet techdirt's stds
At least the company wasn't clogging up the competitive landscape with copyrights or patents. But then, maybe it was their 'freeware' business model that was not commercially viable.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous12, 8 May 2009 @ 11:14am

its time to kick ass and chew bubble gum, AND I'M all out of gum...

If you're going to quote Duke, do it right..
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 2:02pm

The mythical release
One wonders how many times they did the old "add more manpower to a late project" thing along the way...

[ link to this | view in thread ]
Mike (profile), 8 May 2009 @ 2:27pm

Re: title
Maybe you meant to say "Vaporware" in the title too!?

Oops. Yes. Fixed. Thanks.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Azrael, 9 May 2009 @ 1:01am

Re:
Probably they were suffering from upgadeitis.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2009 @ 11:00am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Wut have I missed guise?
PR? I've done some of that too. Right now, I'm working as a Sanitation Engineer.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2009 @ 7:40pm

It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum; and i'm all outta gum.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Steve, 10 May 2009 @ 1:16am

Re:
Please. This thing was entirely dead in 2001.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Lucretious, 10 May 2009 @ 2:41pm

Re:
and out of money obviously.....
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 Jun 2011 @ 9:14am

It's amazing what can happen in two years...
[ link to this | view in thread ]