Thursday, October 14, 2004

The Mind Reels

Scott Miller of 3D Realms noted in his blog this week that "we're currently working on an unannounced game."

I think that 'unannounced' may be a typo. I think he meant 'undeveloped.' Duke Nukem was released in 1895, if I remember correctly, before women's suffrage and flying machines. It's been so long that urban legends are developing around the game. Just last week I heard that Lenin carried the source code with him when he returned to Russia from exile in 1905, then was arrested after he released it to the mod community.

3D Realms has been working on Duke Nukem Forever for a longer period of time than the formative years of the Wright Brother's development of the airplane.

I have a very negative, visceral response whenever I hear 3D Realms mentioned anywhere, and here's why. Every time 3D Realms gets interviewed, it takes attention away from a legitimate developer who actually ships games. There are only so many resources available to cover the gaming industry, and 3D Realms has received a hideously disproportionate amount of attention compared to their output.

What's really ironic, at least in my opinion, is that Duke Nukem was one of the most overrated games I've ever played. Yes, it had a sense of humor, if junior high school fart joke comedy is your lynchpin. Yes, it was a bit of fun. But it was a game that overperformed in an incredibly unsophisticated market. The competition is exponentially stiffer today.

For their new project, I suggest a railroad game with the working title The Gravy-Trained Express.

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