Trammell Isaac Wild Ride - The Final Days

[WoodenSword]

I have to say, this has been very therapeutic to say the least but it's time to bring this to a close. The last 6 months leading up to D-day where nothing less than awesome. I think everyone on the team had gotten to a point that any and everything that we created was dead on. We had created "the perfect storm". We had a team that knew the product/ip inside and out, we were nailing our goals and then some on a weekly basis, we had a plan for not only completion but for success, and we had a team with the talent, will, and drive to take this mutha-kcufr across the finish line. What more could you ask for?

The guys on the DNF team, a team 1/3 the size of the average game dev team, were pulling out all the stops. I can honestly say that everyone was in the zone at this point. Cat's would go home on the weekend and fix issues/improvements in their "spare time" and then come in on Monday and say things like, 'that animation issue you were asking about....I fixed it...yep' or, 'you know that feature we talk about maybe we'd get it in .... got it in on Sunday. I was like, damn man.. thanks a lot. These random acts of super-bad-ass-ness were like fuel for the fire. Guys would see/hear about others on the team doing stuff like that and it would inspire them to do something like that as well. I remember one of the programmers, in his spare time, got the code running on a (non-PC) platform. This team was seriously operating on another level.

So, as you can see... the light at the end of the tunnel was brighter than ever. We knew our time frame of completion was short but no one really knew how short it truly was. To say that I was shocked by the news,.. naw... I had a feeling something wasn't right in the last couple of weeks but only in hind sight can you connect the dots. Even if I had figured it out... what could I do about it, not a gosh darn thing. Lol, I said gosh darn, anyway....We all gathered for the announcement that internal development would cease on DNF. That's pretty much it. As crappy as it was 3Dr were still class acts about it. They let guys work on their portfolios after they had officially shut down. They help tons of people find jobs. They invited big name companies to come in and 'head hunt' from the 3dr employees. 3dr did everything they could to minimize the impact the loss of a job would bring. I've never seen that kind of thoughfulness in my dealings in the industry. Steve, George, and Scott are class acts, genuinely gracious individuals. I don't think any of that was told in the "wired" article. That's why it had to be told here. segway..

Okay, so I read the "Wired" article "Learn to Let Go..." I have to admit it was very well written and the guy did some serious research considering he didn't get much help for any 3dr people. I have to applaud Clive for that. AND for the fact he can recognize great talent when he 'sees it'

"Many of those he hired were high-powered creatives, like Tramell Isaac, a 12-year veteran of the industry" (never knew I was "high-powered until then, good lookin' out...oh yeah, that's 15 year vet but anyway who's counting.

Clive, I'm sure you meant nothing by it but I do have to take offense to this line in the article..."On the last day, they gathered for a group photo. They were video game programmers, artists, level builders, artificial-intelligence experts. Their team was — finally — giving up, declaring defeat, and disbanding. So they headed down to the lobby of their building in Garland, Texas, to smile for the camera. They arranged themselves on top of their logo: a 10-foot-wide nuclear-radiation sign, inlaid in the marble floor.-----let me preface this next section by saying I'm not upset by this at all, it is just not accurate or indicative of the people that I worked with.

Why do I take offense to it?... because NO ONE gave up. Not a single person on that team wanted it to end, let alone end the way it did. As a matter of fact I know for sure that many people made sure that they wrapped up what they were working on and checked their data in before leaving that very day. Not because they were told to but because they cared about the project. They respected DNF enough to leave it with pride.

No one declared defeat, if it would have been possible, many if not all of the guys on the team would have worked on the game for free in order to finish it. To say that we gave up is like packing up the finish line and saying the runners still on the course were quitters because they didn't get there before the staging area was broken down. The guys on the DNF team were/are soldiers. We fought a battle that no one said could be won. Every time we put something out it was 50/50 love/hate..."get it done already"etc.. People had talked so much crap about the game and the company that it easy to recruit only those that cared to get the game done, lol, because they were the only ones that would touch it...ha..myself included. Everyone on the DNF team had to be very talented and thick skinned. We knew what we were getting into, so don't shed a tear for my Argentina. Bottom line, we came, we saw, and we conquered and as far as I'm concerned, we completed DNF.

Much love goes out to ALL the DNF fans and respect for EVERYONE on the last DNF team. I would gladly go to war with you guys again.

The End ........ ?

http://talkinrealatyou.blogspot.com/

[Baboy]

Sadly, this several-months long journey through Isaac's ended in a typical "3DR is awesome and flawless" thing we got used to hear. Everyone knows they are a bunch of very talented individuals: we saw Duke Nukem 3D, we saw the first 2 versions of DNF - all of these were mindblowing for the time. The latest version was not at all, and they couldn't even finish it. They failed hard, and there's less and less reason to believe we'll see Duke Nukem Forever out, with chances pointing towards some other Duke game instead. It's great Isaac shared his experience, but I'm wondering why is he seeing the whole thing as something absolutely bright, when in reality they worked 14 years on something that never became reality.

[DerricktheW]

Since I was told by Duke himself to "read between the lines" and Isaac said "The last 6 months leading up to D-day ," I can only come to the conclusion that we are in the last 6 months of waiting for DNF and it will be out around June

And looking back now, I'm thinking more specifically June 6th

OH SHIT D-DAY IS DOOMSDAY AND DUKES DAY!!

[prophecy holder]

I think it's safe to say that Derrik has finally snapped. Poor fella, guess 14 years was the breaking point.

[SpinX]

Originally Posted by DerricktheW

Since I was told by Duke himself to "read between the lines" and Isaac said "The last 6 months leading up to D-day ," I can only come to the conclusion that we are in the last 6 months of waiting for DNF and it will be out around June

And looking back now, I'm thinking more specifically June 6th

OH SHIT D-DAY IS DOOMSDAY AND DUKES DAY!!

you snapped for sure...

[MegaMustaine]

I think D-Day as was referred to by the Duke Nukem fan page could very well refer to June. I think it is pretty clear that what Issac was talking about was doomsday, or the day that 3DR shutdown their internal team. I do however believe that the "The End........." in his post hints at Duke still being worked on by an outside team. I guess we shall have to wait and see.

Edit: What teams are in Redmond, Washington by the way?? Besides Microsoft, I don't know of any big name developer that would be there. Do we know who Mr. Issac is working for? "The End........" and Microsoft seem to connect some dots in my head that don't need to be connected.

[DerricktheW]

I wasn't serious ladies

[MegaMustaine]

Zipper seems to be the only studio I can find other than Microsoft Game Studios located in Redmond. Also I would like to apologize for spelling Mr. Isaac's name wrong in my previous posts.

[JobivanHiob]

MegaMustaine what are you up to?

---------- Post added at 02:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:07 AM ----------

here are some more game studios in Redmond
http://www.gamedevmap.com/index.php?...&Submit=Search

[MegaMustaine]

The only other company you listed that he might work for would be Gas Powered games.

---------- Post added at 09:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 PM ----------

Well, I'm going to throw this out there. I believe a team was thrown together by MS in June to finish the project. Isaac alone being hired as a lead artist in the month of June in Redmond, Washington doesn't prove this but when you connect the other pieces of the puzzle it does make sense. Isaac being hired by "some company in Redmond, Washington" occurs on June 14th. On July 8th Scott Miller says ""If you haven’t heard, he took a little break, but is back in the game now." This quote almost certainly refers to DNF dev being started back up again, and based upon the theory of a team being assembled in June, it makes perfect sense. Now for the key part of the puzzle as I obviously understand that Isaac being hired by a "developer" based in Redmond, Washington and Scott Miller's quote don't necessarily connect if I cannot prove the MS connection besides Isaac's theorized employment.

Well, this is where Rebecca Heineman comes in. We know for a fact that she worked on the DN:MP 360 port that for a fact does exist. It is not a rumor, as she wouldn't have stated she worked on it unless it exists. Now MS doesn't most of the time work on its own XBLA titles. The only reason it would do so is if it had direct interest in the IP. Well it did directly work on the MP port as Ms. Heineman works for MS and she stated she coded on the game. Here is her linkedin page to prove her employment at MS: http://www.linkedin.com/in/burgerbecky. An XBLA title is small fries for a company such as Microsoft unless it were to be used for something bigger. Maybe for promotion of an exclusive that they now possess. The only thing that would need to be taken care of is the mess with T2, but I'm sure that that will be resolved shortly if it hasn't been already.

[kj_57701]

Well. Wild Tangent would work out "If they're willing to change the engine" BWHAAAA, HAAAAA!

[Steve]

Originally Posted by MegaMustaine

The only reason it would do so is if it had direct interest in the IP.

That actually makes sense.

[Kristian Joensen]

MegaMustaine I hate to burst your bubble but T. Ray is working at SOE Seattle, which you would know if you checked out his linkedin.com profile linked from his blog(where this is from): http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tramell-ray-isaac/7/551/bba

[MegaMustaine]

Just a crazy conspiracy theory anyways but

[Kalki]

Thank you Trammell.

[X-Vector]

Originally Posted by Baboy

Everyone knows they are a bunch of very talented individuals: we saw Duke Nukem 3D, we saw the first 2 versions of DNF - all of these were mindblowing for the time.

Duke 3D, early DNF, middle DNF, late DNF - all different teams, so I don't think there is a "they" you can speak of.
If I'm not mistaken, the only common factors during the years were George Broussard and Allen Blum.

[peoplessi]

Originally Posted by Baboy

Sadly, this several-months long journey through Isaac's ended in a typical "3DR is awesome and flawless" thing we got used to hear. Everyone knows they are a bunch of very talented individuals: we saw Duke Nukem 3D, we saw the first 2 versions of DNF - all of these were mindblowing for the time. The latest version was not at all, and they couldn't even finish it. They failed hard, and there's less and less reason to believe we'll see Duke Nukem Forever out, with chances pointing towards some other Duke game instead. It's great Isaac shared his experience, but I'm wondering why is he seeing the whole thing as something absolutely bright, when in reality they worked 14 years on something that never became reality.

You know, I don't know what draw you to this conclusion. I haven't seen DNF finished, haven't played the final product - to pass such judgement. You can though? Yeah right.

[Baboy]

Originally Posted by peoplessi

You know, I don't know what draw you to this conclusion. I haven't seen DNF finished, haven't played the final product - to pass such judgement. You can though? Yeah right.

You misunderstood me - I don't think the game looks top-notch right now, but it might actually be. What they failed in is releasing a game in like 14 years. That is a failure. Maybe they've got the best game ever but it's a failure of delivering if we don't get a chance to play it. That's like I wrote an amazing book that could sell milions, but I don't publish it. It might be amazing but it doesn't exist in people's minds until it's out.

[alex d]

It's more like if you wrote an amazing book which could sell millions and suddenly your publisher turns around and sues you for the rights to it just after you've got the final page of the final draft written instead of hiring the editor they promised you. Would you be the failure in that scenario?

Pretty much anyone would feel they completed their job in that situation and the failure lies with those who roadblocked the release on the final leg, which is pretty much what this Tremmell Isaac was going on about in this blog post: the game failed to be released yet but the team didn't fail in finishing their work on it, give or take some polish, testing and tightening the up the graphics on level 3.

[WoodenSword]

I think Trammell Isaac's post is cool and well written.

I think it confirms common sense: either too optimistic speculations (by fanboys) or too pessimistic (by haters) are wrong.

What happened at 3d realms from the last years up to May 2009 is simple and it is what we already know. No conspiracy theories, no marketing tricks, no lazy employees or evil company owners.

[duubhglas]

It was good to read. Damn man, he give more ammunition to hate Take Two.

[unforgiven]

we came, we saw, and we conquered and as far as I'm concerned, we completed DNF.

[JobivanHiob]

doesn't he talk about him finishing the animations and art in the game?

[Psyrgery]

Originally Posted by unforgiven

we came, we saw, and we conquered and as far as I'm concerned, we completed DNF.

As Jon St. John said, you have to read between the lines.

By that he means they didn't give up or ran away as scared chickens, there is no completed game in here ladies.

[digimonkey]

I thought there were a couple of odd bits in that write up:

1.) He said "internal development would cease", which just might be the way he says it without much thought, but I believe most people would've said development and left out the 'internal' part since it's pretty obvious that is the development which was halted.

2.) The whole part in which he says they/most of them would've been happy to work for free on the project to get it done. Why couldn't they? This would kind of correlate with number 1, that development hasn't ceased, it's just being done elsewhere besides 3drealms.

[Duke's New Chainsaw]

[duubhglas]

The neverending story, part 203890235

[WoodenSword]

Originally Posted by digimonkey

2.) The whole part in which he says they/most of them would've been happy to work for free on the project to get it done. Why couldn't they? This would kind of correlate with number 1, that development hasn't ceased, it's just being done elsewhere besides 3drealms.

Why couldn't they?

They asked for it, but Scott and George denied it (imo they did the right thing since the future for DNF was uncertain -Letting them would be selfish,unethical and unprofessional. Most of them have families to feed)

This would kind of correlate

No, i think it doesn't. I wish that was true.Wieder has already suggested that most key DNF developers found a job elsewhere. And i don't think they do it in their free time.It was difficult for them when they were working all together in the same building at working hours. Cooperating when they are situated in different cities/countries/states is impossible.

My speculation is that IF(!-wild speculation-) some people are working on DNF now it would be a new, coherent external development team with one or two key ex-employees giving directions/help (Allen Blum...where is he now, btw?? )

[fast-1]

Maybe the development is stopped for the moment.

Kind of means no DNF for a while.

[wayskobfssae]

Originally Posted by fast-1

Maybe the development is stopped for the moment.

Kind of means no DNF for a while.

Ohoooo... well there's a switch.

[marioman360]

I found that story really inspiring for some reason.

It's kinda hard not to be cynical when thinking about Duke Nukem Forever but things like this just kinda... reached me?

[RipNLa]

That he mentioned 'D-day' is interesting

The "internal development" ceased wording was interesting.

The bit about as far as he's concerned, they finished DNF is also interesting.

The End ...... ? Is ALSO interesting

Also 'and respect for EVERYONE on the last DNF team.' Last could mean FINAL, or PREVIOUS..interesting

BTW, heres my conspiracy hope for external development:
Rumor has it that Infinity Ward is NOT working on Modern Warfare 3 but something else entirely (http://www.vg247.com/2010/01/07/sour...ern-warfare-3/). Now IW is owned by Activision, so odds are this is impossible unless Activision/TakeTwo/3DR came to an agreement, but I recall that in that old employee fallout that a lot of the old DNF team went to IW.. if so, they'd probably be a good fit for a reliable team that knows how to make fun games and understands Duke to finish DNF!

[Duke's New Chainsaw]

Oh gawd no...

[alex d]

IW have their own brand new property, which is apparently where the whole "They're not working on MW3" rumour stems from. It's practically certain that they would have nothing to do with Duke, especially as Actiblizard and Take2 are competitors.

[Duke's New Chainsaw]

I think it's the CoD MMO.

[dukeMadness]

(Allen Blum...where is he now, btw?? )

Well at http://www.linkedin.com/in/allenb3d it says that he is still working at 3d Realms as Senior Level Designer.(probably outdated)


But who knows.....??? He is one of the few key DNF players that we haven't heard where they are now. Unemployed?

[Conan of Cooma]

So it's finished?

WTF is the problem then? Where is the game?!?

[DerricktheW]

No, the game isn't finished

If they finished the game before they left, there wouldn't be a lawsuit

Don't look too into Isaac's words.

[Duke's New Chainsaw]

Read. Between.

The. Lines.

[Conan of Cooma]

Oh, read *between* the lines.

How silly of me.