Duke Nukem Forever: The fall of George Broussa(r)d

[Thewho]

It seems now that the dust has settled over the whole DNF debacle we can analyze the reason behind why the project itself took well over a decade to get made. It's easy to point the finger at mistakes made during the development itself, oh they switched to the wrong engine, feature creep, incompetent management, but I think one of the most important reasons stems from the desire to get the game done on the cheap. I remember reading a quote from Scott Miller sometime in about 2010 after 8-9 years of development that the entire development had cost only $5 Million up to the point. Even though that figure sounds like a lot that is tiny compared to what nearly all AAA budgets cost at the point, usually in the range of $20-30Million. Also, that would be for much shorter development periods.

I think there was some sort of pay structure where employees would get a bonus upon completion of the project, but actual wages were very low compared to the average in the industry. I think at some point George Broussard realised that if you want to create an AAA product in a hyper-competitive market you need to employ the right people, and that meant a massive increase in development costs which almost worked, nearly completing the project without financial assistance from Take2, but then the funds ran out, which led to a quick sale of the Duke IP and a product rushed out the door by Gearbox and a subsequent critical mauling by critics who got their revenge for the total media blackout for over a decade.

Just my 2 penneth worth.

[Robman]

Originally Posted by Thewho

Just my 2 penneth worth.

What's the frequency penneth?

[dnkroz]

Xxxxx

[Damien_Azreal]

The real reasons behind DNF's troubled development cycle will never be truly known.
As, they are only known by those that experienced it.
Some, don't want to talk about it. As they respect the people they worked with and don't wish to put a negative light upon anyone.

Others, left at different times, and their experiences differ greatly from others who stayed on.

But, as for 3DR trying to do it "cheaply"... no.
They self funded the game, were as most studios get funding and backing from a publisher. 3DR didn't.
And, besides, George and Scott have already publicly said people at 3DR weren't making what they could've been making at other studios.
They were also trying to make the game with a very small staff, a fraction the size of most studios.


In the end, unless George and Scott sit down and detail the development cycle... we'll never completely know.
We've heard stories, gotten single sided views of events. And I've chatted with a few different people, gotten some insight into the development and heard how some felt things could've or would've gone better.
But, the one thing I've always heard from the people I've talked to... they believed in what they were doing completely.
They didn't want to jump ship for a bigger paycheck. They didn't want to cut corners and just dump it out. There was a real sense of love and respect there.
Problem that 3DR just didn't evolve as a studio to handle what was needed to get the game out the door properly.

Of course, just my opinion. I enjoy DNF for what it is. There are problems, and things I wish would've been done differently. And looking back, I see things that I just can't help but think were better on paper. But, it is what it is.

[Thewho]

Yeah, DNF was good enough. No way was it a product worth 12 years of development time, more like maybe 2-3 years, but still a good Duke title nonetheless. Now, let's see where Gearbox can take it if anywhere at all.

[Damien_Azreal]

No game is "worth" 14 years.
No game can live up to that level of hype and anticipation.

Even my all time favorites, the games I love above all others. Playing those, and enjoying every second. I can still say with an open mind, they wouldn't be worth waiting 14 years for.

[Joe Siegler]

Originally Posted by Damien_Azreal

No game is "worth" 14 years.
No game can live up to that level of hype and anticipation.

We were WELL aware of that internally.

[Damien_Azreal]

It's a sad truth.

As much as I LOVE Blood. Had a third Blood game been announced, and been pulled along for 14 years... I would have still had a cautious feeling going into it.

And, really, DNF isn't as bad as people make it out to be. At least not in my eyes.
Yes, there are problems and design decisions that I question. But, really, I had fun with it. And that's all that matters.

[Steve]

The lack of interactivity (even compared to duke3d) and linear level design let me down a lot. To me, duke was about those things rather than duke the character.

[Damien_Azreal]

Yeah, I think DNF ran too hard on the "game is so funny!" bit.
DN3D had it's funny moments, but, overall it was a pretty dark and serious game that had fleeting bits of black humor and sarcasm.

It was funny because it was a "I get that movie reference." type of thing.
DNF took an element of DN3D that was a very small piece, something that was window dressing, and made it a main part of the vibe.


But really, personally, I felt had they increased the battles... more enemies, increased the ammo you could carry.
Launched the game with the 4 weapon system (honestly, I'm fine with that).

And a few tweaks to some levels. Such as the Vegas levels, more destruction, more innocents running for their lives, more carnage and devastation to show the impact of the aliens.
And, the Vegas strip... night. I think it would've made a much bigger impact had it taken place at night.

[Steve]

It seemed like 3dr added the "duke attitude" to duke3d at the end of its development, Focusing on fun game play and level design first and duke the character second. DNF was around the other way, and it paid for it.

[Damien_Azreal]

IIRC, that's actually true.
Duke's voice was added in at the last minute, up until then the plan was to release the game with Duke not talking.

[Steve]

Heh. It shows