Duke Nukem 3D
Encyclopedia
Duke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter
computer game developed by 3D Realms
and published by GT Interactive Software
. The full version was released for the PC
(the shareware version was released on January 29, 1996). It is a sequel to the platform game
s Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II
published by Apogee. An expansion pack
, Plutonium Pak, was released in November 1996.
Duke Nukem 3D features the adventures of the titular macho
Duke Nukem
(voiced by Jon St. John
), who fights back an alien invasion
on Earth. Reception of Duke Nukem 3D has been largely positive. Reviewers praised the interactivity of the environment and the humor within the game. Similarly it was a big commercial hit selling about 3.5 million copies. The game's erotic elements and portrayal of women have incited controversy. After fifteen years in development hell
, a direct sequel was released called Duke Nukem Forever
.
, the gameplay of Duke Nukem 3D involves moving through levels presented from the protagonist's point of view, shooting enemies on the way. The environment of Duke Nukem 3D is highly destructible and interactive; most props can be destroyed by the player.
es make it easier to see, while water fountains and broken hydrants provide some health points) or simply provide diversion (tipping strippers
provokes a quote from Duke and a provocative reveal from the dancer).
), a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, pipe bomb
s, freeze- and shrink-rays, laser trip mines, and the rapid fire "Devastator" rocket launcher. There is also an extra weapon known as the 'Expander' which is only available in the Atomic edition of the game.
Other items can be picked up during play. A portable medkit allows the players to heal Duke at will. Steroid
s speed up Duke's movement, as well as instantly reversing the effects of the shrinker. Nightvision goggles allow players to see enemies in the dark. The "HoloDuke" device projects a hologram of Duke that can be used to distract enemies. Protective boots allow Duke to cross dangerously hot or toxic terrain. Where progress requires more aquatic legwork, scuba gear (an aqua-lung
) allows Duke to take longer trips away from air. Duke's jetpack allows the player to move vertically.
humans (the LAPD has been turned into "Pig-cops", a play on the derogatory term "pig" for police officers, with LARD emblazoned on their uniforms). As is usual for a first-person shooter, Nukem encounters a large number of lesser foes, and a small number of boss enemies (usually at the end of chapters). Like Duke, these enemies have access to a wide range of weapons and equipment (some weaker enemies have jet packs).
LAN
, modem or serial cable. Duke Nukem 3D players often either battled modem-to-modem, using the $20.00 IPX network utility Kali or the Total Entertainment Network
(TEN) online pay service. Kali allowed users to connect to a chat room to host and join games. The Total Entertainment Network featured hundreds of Duke 3D players online at any given time and players had to pay a monthly fee (originally $5.00, gradually increased to $20.00).
In 1996 TEN hosted a first of its kind, nationally participated in "online tournament" rewarding the champions with cash and prizes sparking an immediate surge in online gaming. Some of the first prizes were $500 cash and a lifetime membership to the service. The only Duke tournament was won by one of the first cyber athletes, Christopher S Carpentier, aka "Creamator", who battled over 14 thousand entries to claim the title of "One True Duke!" Most of these newly declared cyber athletes later went on to the PGL "Professional Gamers League" after TEN converted its business model to Pogo
.
Duke's levels were often used as the battlegrounds for these encounters and users were even able to create their own levels
(or maps) via the in-game Build engine. The game also features co-operative play (co-op) which allows players to complete the story based single player mode together. In the Atomic version, a new game play mode was introduced: Duke Tag, a "capture the flag
" style mode.
Duke Nukem multiplayer continues to exist online through launcher services maintained by fans such as YANG, Meltdown and Dukester X. This has been possible thanks to fan-made Windows and Linux ports of the game such as hDuke, xDuke and eDuke32. Various Duke Nukem 3D community maintained web sites still exist on the Internet supporting online play and there is still a community of players throughout the world currently playing.
s, a flooded city, space station
s, moon bases and a Japanese
restaurant.
The game contains several humorous references to pop culture, like some of Duke's lines that are drawn from movies like They Live
, Evil Dead II
, Jaws
, Dirty Harry
, Pulp Fiction
, and Aliens
; the mutated women begging "Kill me" are also a reference to the latter. The player will encounter corpses of famous characters such as Luke Skywalker
, Indiana Jones
, the protagonist
of Doom
, and a smashed T-800. During the second episode, the player can see The Monolith (from 2001: A Space Odyssey) on the Moon.
The game cover itself is a parody of Army of Darkness
, while Duke poses as Ash Williams
.
s after the completion of an episode. The introduction establishes that the game picks up right after the events of Duke Nukem II
, with Duke returning to Earth in his space cruiser. As Duke descends on Los Angeles
in hopes for a vacation, a blast rips through from unknown hostiles and critically damages Duke's ship. While sending a distress signal, Duke learns that aliens are attacking Los Angeles and have mutated the LAPD. With his plans now ruined, Duke hits the "eject" button, and vows to do whatever it takes to stop the alien invasion.
In "Episode One: L.A. Meltdown", Duke fights his way through a dystopic Los Angeles. At a strip-club, he is captured by pig-cops, but escapes the alien-controlled penitentiary and tracks down the alien cruiser responsible for the invasion in the San Andreas Fault
. After killing the first boss, the Alien Battlelord, Duke discovers that the aliens were capturing women, and detonates the ship.
In "Episode Two: Lunar Apocalypse", Duke journeys to space, where he finds many of the captured women held in various incubators throughout space stations that had been conquered by the aliens. Duke reaches the alien mothership on the Moon and kills an Alien Overlord. As Duke inspects the ship's computer, it is revealed that the plot to capture women was merely a ruse to distract him. The aliens have already begun their main and ultimate attack on Earth.
In "Episode Three: Shrapnel City", Duke battles the massive alien resistance through Los Angeles once again, and finally saves the day after he kills the leader of alien menace: the Cycloid Emperor. The game ends as Duke promises in a voice-over that after some "R&R
", he will be "...ready for more action!", as an anonymous woman calls him back to bed.
The story continues in the Atomic Edition. In "Episode Four: The Birth", it is revealed that the aliens used a captured woman to give birth to the Queen, a creature which could quickly spawn deadly alien protector drones. Duke is dispatched back to Los Angeles to fight hordes of aliens, including the protector drones. Eventually, Duke finds the lair of the alien Queen, and kills her, thus thwarting the alien plot.
s and modifications to the original Duke Nukem 3D were produced in the following years of the game's initial launch.
Duke Nukem 3D (Game.com
) was released in 1997 in the USA only. Unlike every other version of the game, Duke Nukem cannot turn; he can only move forwards, backwards, and strafe left or right. Due to the Game.com's monochrome screen, it is also the only version to lack color. It includes only four levels from each of the three episodes for a total of 12 levels, all of which are modified to accommodate Duke Nukem's inability to turn.
Duke Nukem 3D (Sega Saturn) - the Sega Saturn
version was ported by Lobotomy Software
and published by Sega
. It retains the original name and uses Lobotomy's SlaveDriver engine. This version uses the Sega NetLink
for online gaming, and has built-in support for the Saturn's analog pad. It also includes a hidden multiplayer mini-game called Death Tank Zwei
and an exclusive bonus level called Urea 51, accessed through the main level Fahrenheit. It was the final game branded by Sega of America under the Deep Water label, employed for games featuring adult content such as this and Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side
.
Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown (titled simply Duke Nukem in Europe), the PlayStation version, contains all three original episodes, plus a new one, Plug 'n' Pray, which includes six extra levels and a secret level, the latter which was also included in the PC version. The new episode features several new enemies (including three new types of Pig Cops) and a new final boss, robot CyberKeef. The version also features remixed music, some rearranged from the PC version and some original, in streaming XA-Audio made by Mark Knight.
Duke Nukem 64 is a port for Nintendo 64
which features a split screen
4-player mode. In-game music was removed, many items were renamed to avoid drug and sex references, and several levels were altered to include areas from the Plutonium Pak (such as a Duke Burger outlet being present in the second level where there wasn't one in the original PC version). Game levels are played sequentially instead of as separate "episodes". Other changes included a fully 3D model for the final boss and new weapons. The Alien Beast monster seen in the Plutonium Pak also appears a few times in the standard levels where it wasn't in the original PC version at all.
Duke Nukem 3D (Mega Drive) was released in 1998 by Tec Toy. The visuals were drastically simplified, being closer to early shooters like Wolfenstein 3D
; also, it consists solely of Lunar Apocalypse, the second from the original game's three "episodes", which was heavily modified to suit the engine. This version was released in South America
only.
Duke Nukem 3D (Xbox Live). The game was released on September 24, 2008 for Xbox Live
. This version features the ability to "rewind" the game to any prior point upon dying, save clips of gameplay, and play co-operatively online, as well as the standard "Dukematch" online mode. The music received a slight quality upgrade with modern MIDI tools.
Duke Nukem 3D (iPhone
/iPod Touch
). The game includes the primary 3 episodes and all of the main sound fx, but does not include background music in-game. There is no multiplayer option and the framerate tends to fall dramatically when multiple enemies are on-screen. Lacks the ability to peer through windows to outdoor areas.
Duke Nukem 3D (Nokia N900
). On December 29, 2009 Duke Nukem 3D was released for a Nokia SmartPhone. As shown in a MaemoWorld's video, Duke is controlled using the Qwerty keypad and touchscreen.
The reimagining is set to only take core ideas and concepts from the original game and will be vastly different from Duke Nukem 3D.
. A bundle called Duke Nukem: Kill-A-Ton Collection features Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition, Duke Xtreme, Duke!ZONE II, Duke Nukem I (Duke Nukum), Duke Nukem II, and various other utilities. Earlier packages of Duke Nukem 3D also included the complete versions of Duke Nukem I and II as a bonus. Duke: The Apocalypse contains Duke Xtreme and Duke!ZONE II. Duke: The Apocalypse 2 Contains Duke!Zone, Duke It Out In D.C., a strategy guide and a T-shirt.
LameDuke is an early beta version of Duke Nukem 3D, which was released by 3D Realms as a "bonus" one year after the release of the official version. It has been released as is, with no support, and is currently available to download from the 3DRealms FTP.
LameDuke features four episodes: Mrr Caliber, Mission Cockroach, Suck Hole and Hard Landing. Some weapons were removed and/or altered from the original versions.
to the Duke Nukem 3D v1.5 executable, which uses the Build engine, was released as free software
under the GPL
on April 1, 2003. The game content remains under a proprietary license. The game was quickly ported by enthusiasts to modern operating systems. , these projects gave the game a second life in multiplayer games through the Internet and a growing community is still actively playing.
The first Duke Nukem 3D port was from icculus.org. It is a cross-platform project that allows the game to be played on BeOS
, FreeBSD
, Linux
, Mac OS X
, Solaris, and Windows
rather than DOS. The icculus.org codebase would later be used as the base for several other ports, including Duke3d_w32 and the official Mac OS X port of the game.
Another popular early project was Jonathon Fowler's JFDuke3D, which in December 2003 received backing from the original author of Build, programmer Ken Silverman
. Fowler, in cooperation with Silverman, released a new version of JFDuke3D using Polymost, an OpenGL
-enhanced renderer for Build which allows hardware acceleration and 3D model support along with 32-bit color high resolution textures. Another project based on JFDuke3D called xDuke (unrelated to the xDuke project based on Duke3d_w32) runs on the Xbox
. Silverman had since helped Fowler with a large portion of other engine work, including updating the network code and helping to maintain various other aspects of the engine, but with no updates in nearly four years it is suspected the project may never see another release.
EDuke was a semi-official branch of Duke Nukem 3D that was released to the Internet as Duke Nukem 3D v2.0 by 3D Realms in 2000; it focused primarily on enhancing the CON scripting language in ways which allowed those modifying the game to do much more with the system than originally possible. Though a further version was planned, it never made it out of beta and was eventually canceled due to programmer time constraints. About a month after the release of the Duke Nukem 3D source code, Blood project manager Matt Saettler released the source code for both EDuke v2.0 and EDuke v2.1, the test version of what would have eventually become the next EDuke release, under the GPL.
While a few short-lived DOS
based EDuke projects emerged, it was not until the release of EDuke32, an extended version of Duke3D incorporating variants of both Fowler's Microsoft Windows
JFDuke3D code and Saettler's EDuke code, by one of 3D Realms' forum moderators in late 2004 that EDuke's scripting extensions received community focus. Among the various enhancements, support for advanced shader model 3.0 based graphics was added to EDuke32 during late 2008-early 2009. In June 2008, EDuke32 became the only Duke Nukem 3D port to compile and run natively on 64-bit
Linux systems without the use of a 32-bit compatibility environment thanks to significant porting contributions from the DOSBox
team.
On April 1, 2009, an OpenGL
Shader Model 3.0 renderer was revealed to have been developed for EDuke32, labeled as the Polymer renderer (to distinguish from Ken Silverman's Polymost). At first it was thought to be an April Fool's joke, but the renderer was later made public. It allows for much more modern effects such as dynamic lighting and normal mapping to name a few. Although Polymer is completely usable, it is technically incomplete and unoptimized, and is still in development. As of the 5th installment of the High Resolution Pack (released in 2011), the Polymer renderer is mandatory. Another signification development of EDuke32 in 2011 is true room over room (TROR), where sectors can be placed over other sectors, and can be seen at the same time. In practice, this allows for true 3-dimensional level design that was previously impossible, although the engine is still 2D.
's theme song Grabbag has elicited many spin-offs and remixes over the years by both fans and professional musicians, including an officially sanctioned studio version by the popular thrash metal
outfit Megadeth
. Another version of the song was recorded by Chris Kline in August 2005. 3D Realms
featured it on the front page of their website and contracted with Kline to use it to promote their Xbox
Live release of Duke Nukem 3D.
felt that it was "morally questionable", while the Game Revolution
reviewer noted that it was "done in a tongue-in-cheek manner," and he was "not personally offended". IGN
editor Cam Shea ranked it ninth on his top 10 list of Xbox Live Arcade games. He stated that it was as fun as it was in its initial release, and praised the ability to rewind to any point before the player died.
and murder. Media Watch made the following comments about the game:
However, the game does not have a scoring or rewards system of any kind, either for killing women or doing anything else. Instead, the game spawns even more enemies if the player kills a woman. No weapons, items or power-ups are ever given to players in return for violence towards women of any kind, though a cosmetic shower of dollar bills appears after killing a stripper. These cannot be collected and provide no gameplay or score bonus. The only exception is the "Fusion Station" level, where killing a certain woman will yield a shotgun as well as spawn an enemy.
As a response to the criticism encountered, censored
versions of the game were released in certain countries to avoid having it banned altogether. A similar censored version was carried at Wal-Mart
retail stores in the US.
In Australia
, the game was originally refused classification on release. 3D Realms repackaged the game with the parental lock feature permanently enabled, although a patch available on the 3D Realms website allows the user to disable the lock and revert the game back to its original uncensored version. The OFLC then attempted to have the game pulled from the shelves, but it was discovered that the distributor had notified them of this fact and the rating could not be surrendered. Six months later, the game was reclassified and released uncensored with an MA15+ rating.
In Germany
, the BPjM
placed the game on the List of Media Harmful to Young People, thus prohibiting its public distribution.
In 1999, Duke Nukem 3D was banned in Brazil
, along with Quake, Doom and several other violent first-person shooters after a violent rampage in and around a movie theater was allegedly inspired by the first level in the game.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
computer game developed by 3D Realms
3D Realms
3D Realms is a current video game publisher and former video game developer based in Garland, Texas, United States, established in 1987...
and published by GT Interactive Software
GT Interactive Software
GT Interactive Software Corporation was an American video game publisher and distributor, which later developed both video games and PC games....
. The full version was released for the PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
(the shareware version was released on January 29, 1996). It is a sequel to the platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
s Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II
Duke Nukem II
Duke Nukem II is a platform game developed by Apogee Software and released December 3, 1993. The game consists of four episodes , the first available as shareware...
published by Apogee. An expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
, Plutonium Pak, was released in November 1996.
Duke Nukem 3D features the adventures of the titular macho
Machismo
Machismo, or machoism, is a word of Spanish and Portuguese origin that describes prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity. As an attitude, machismo ranges from a personal sense of virility to a more extreme male chauvinism...
Duke Nukem
Duke Nukem (character)
Duke Nukem is a fictional character and action hero who has been the protagonist in over a dozen video games.The character first appeared in the 1991 video game Duke Nukem developed by Apogee Software...
(voiced by Jon St. John
Jon St. John
Jon St. John is an American voice actor and singer. He started his career in voice work in 1975, when he was a Top 40 radio DJ in North Carolina. Because of his vocal talent and technical skills, he was hired as a production director for several US radio stations in cities including: Norfolk, New...
), who fights back an alien invasion
Alien invasion
The alien invasion is a common theme in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial life invades Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under a colonial system, harvest humans for food, steal the planet's resources, or destroy the planet altogether.The...
on Earth. Reception of Duke Nukem 3D has been largely positive. Reviewers praised the interactivity of the environment and the humor within the game. Similarly it was a big commercial hit selling about 3.5 million copies. The game's erotic elements and portrayal of women have incited controversy. After fifteen years in development hell
Development hell
In the jargon of the media-industry, "development hell" is a period during which a film or other project is trapped in development...
, a direct sequel was released called Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem Forever is a 2011 first-person shooter video game for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 developed by 3D Realms and Triptych Games and finished by Gearbox Software and Piranha Games...
.
Gameplay
As a first-person shooterFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
, the gameplay of Duke Nukem 3D involves moving through levels presented from the protagonist's point of view, shooting enemies on the way. The environment of Duke Nukem 3D is highly destructible and interactive; most props can be destroyed by the player.
Level design
Levels were designed in a fairly non-linear manner such that players can advantageously use air ducts, back doors and sewers to avoid enemies or find hidden caches. These locations are also filled with objects with which the player can interact, that either benefit the player in some form (light switchLight switch
A light switch is a switch, most commonly used to operate electric lights, permanently connected equipment, or electrical outlets. In torches the switch is often near the bulb, but may be in the tail, or even the entire head itself may constitute the switch .-Wall-mounted switches:Switches for...
es make it easier to see, while water fountains and broken hydrants provide some health points) or simply provide diversion (tipping strippers
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
provokes a quote from Duke and a provocative reveal from the dancer).
Weapons and equipment
Weapons include the "Mighty Foot" (a basic kick attack), a pistol, a shotgun, a chain gun (similar in design to the Nordenfelt gunNordenfelt gun
The Nordenfelt Gun was a multiple barrel machine gun that had a row of up to twelve barrels. It was fired by pulling a lever back and forth. It was produced in a number of different calibres from rifle up to 25 mm...
), a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, pipe bomb
Pipe bomb
A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device, a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively large explosion, and the fragmentation of the pipe itself creates potentially...
s, freeze- and shrink-rays, laser trip mines, and the rapid fire "Devastator" rocket launcher. There is also an extra weapon known as the 'Expander' which is only available in the Atomic edition of the game.
Other items can be picked up during play. A portable medkit allows the players to heal Duke at will. Steroid
Steroid
A steroid is a type of organic compound that contains a characteristic arrangement of four cycloalkane rings that are joined to each other. Examples of steroids include the dietary fat cholesterol, the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, and the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone.The core...
s speed up Duke's movement, as well as instantly reversing the effects of the shrinker. Nightvision goggles allow players to see enemies in the dark. The "HoloDuke" device projects a hologram of Duke that can be used to distract enemies. Protective boots allow Duke to cross dangerously hot or toxic terrain. Where progress requires more aquatic legwork, scuba gear (an aqua-lung
Aqua-lung
Aqua-Lung was the original name of the first open-circuit free-swimming underwater breathing set in reaching worldwide popularity and commercial success...
) allows Duke to take longer trips away from air. Duke's jetpack allows the player to move vertically.
Monsters
The game features a wide range of monsters, some of which are aliens, other mutatedMutant (fictional)
The concept of a mutant is a common trope in comic books and science fiction. The new phenotypes that appear in fictional mutations generally go far beyond what is typically seen in biological mutants, and often result in the mutated life form exhibiting superhuman abilities or qualities.-Marvel...
humans (the LAPD has been turned into "Pig-cops", a play on the derogatory term "pig" for police officers, with LARD emblazoned on their uniforms). As is usual for a first-person shooter, Nukem encounters a large number of lesser foes, and a small number of boss enemies (usually at the end of chapters). Like Duke, these enemies have access to a wide range of weapons and equipment (some weaker enemies have jet packs).
Multiplayer
Duke Nukem 3D features multiplayer. At the time of its release, Internet-based gaming was just beginning. Duke Nukem 3D did not support the TCP/IP client/server model, instead basing its network play on the IPXIPX
Internetwork Packet Exchange is the OSI-model Network layer protocol in the IPX/SPX protocol stack.The IPX/SPXM protocol stack is supported by Novell's NetWare network operating system. Because of Netware's popularity through the late 1980s into the mid 1990s, IPX became a popular internetworking...
LAN
Län
Län and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010....
, modem or serial cable. Duke Nukem 3D players often either battled modem-to-modem, using the $20.00 IPX network utility Kali or the Total Entertainment Network
Total Entertainment Network
Total Entertainment Network was an online gaming service that existed from September, 1996 until October, 1999. T E Network, Inc., which created and operated the TEN service, was formed from the merger of Optigon Interactive and Outland in June, 1995 when they received their first round of venture...
(TEN) online pay service. Kali allowed users to connect to a chat room to host and join games. The Total Entertainment Network featured hundreds of Duke 3D players online at any given time and players had to pay a monthly fee (originally $5.00, gradually increased to $20.00).
In 1996 TEN hosted a first of its kind, nationally participated in "online tournament" rewarding the champions with cash and prizes sparking an immediate surge in online gaming. Some of the first prizes were $500 cash and a lifetime membership to the service. The only Duke tournament was won by one of the first cyber athletes, Christopher S Carpentier, aka "Creamator", who battled over 14 thousand entries to claim the title of "One True Duke!" Most of these newly declared cyber athletes later went on to the PGL "Professional Gamers League" after TEN converted its business model to Pogo
Pogo.com
Pogo.com is a gaming website that offers a variety of free casual games, from card and board games to puzzle, sports, and word games. It is owned by Electronic Arts....
.
Duke's levels were often used as the battlegrounds for these encounters and users were even able to create their own levels
Level (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
(or maps) via the in-game Build engine. The game also features co-operative play (co-op) which allows players to complete the story based single player mode together. In the Atomic version, a new game play mode was introduced: Duke Tag, a "capture the flag
Capture the flag
Capture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...
" style mode.
Duke Nukem multiplayer continues to exist online through launcher services maintained by fans such as YANG, Meltdown and Dukester X. This has been possible thanks to fan-made Windows and Linux ports of the game such as hDuke, xDuke and eDuke32. Various Duke Nukem 3D community maintained web sites still exist on the Internet supporting online play and there is still a community of players throughout the world currently playing.
Setting
Duke Nukem 3D is set on Earth "sometime in the early 21st century". The levels of Duke Nukem 3D take the player outdoors and indoors through rendered street scenes, military bases, desertDesert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s, a flooded city, space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
s, moon bases and a Japanese
Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes throughout Japan. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of shogun rule...
restaurant.
The game contains several humorous references to pop culture, like some of Duke's lines that are drawn from movies like They Live
They Live
They Live is a 1988 science fiction/horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym Frank Armitage ....
, Evil Dead II
Evil Dead II
Evil Dead II, also known as Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, is a 1987 horror comedy film directed by Sam Raimi. It is a retcon sequel to the 1981 film The Evil Dead. The film was written by Raimi and Scott Spiegel, produced by Rob Tapert and starring Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams...
, Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
, Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
, Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
, and Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
; the mutated women begging "Kill me" are also a reference to the latter. The player will encounter corpses of famous characters such as Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
, Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
, the protagonist
Doomguy
The Doomguy is the protagonist of the Doom series of video games created by id Software, and its sequels and spin-off media.In all the games, he is a UN marine, wearing green combat armor, working with the Union Aerospace Corporation. He never speaks . In the games, he is never referred to by name...
of Doom
Doom (series)
Doom is a series of first-person shooter video games developed by id Software. The series focuses on the exploits of an unnamed space marine operating under the UAC , who fights hordes of undead and demons in order to survive...
, and a smashed T-800. During the second episode, the player can see The Monolith (from 2001: A Space Odyssey) on the Moon.
The game cover itself is a parody of Army of Darkness
Army of Darkness
Army of Darkness, also known as Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness or simply Evil Dead III, is a 1992 horror comedy fantasy action film directed by Sam Raimi. It is the third and final installment in The Evil Dead trilogy. The film was written by Raimi and his brother Ivan, produced by Robert Tapert,...
, while Duke poses as Ash Williams
Ash Williams
Ashley J. "Ash" Williams is the protagonist in the Evil Dead horror film franchise, played by Bruce Campbell, and created by director Sam Raimi. Throughout the series, Ash has to face off against his loved ones inside an abandoned cabin as they are possessed by "deadites", the evil souls of the dead...
.
Story
There is little story in the game except for a brief text prelude located under "Help" in the Main Menu, and a few cutsceneCutscene
A cutscene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no or only limited control, breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, strengthen the main character's development, introduces enemy characters, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue, and clues...
s after the completion of an episode. The introduction establishes that the game picks up right after the events of Duke Nukem II
Duke Nukem II
Duke Nukem II is a platform game developed by Apogee Software and released December 3, 1993. The game consists of four episodes , the first available as shareware...
, with Duke returning to Earth in his space cruiser. As Duke descends on Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in hopes for a vacation, a blast rips through from unknown hostiles and critically damages Duke's ship. While sending a distress signal, Duke learns that aliens are attacking Los Angeles and have mutated the LAPD. With his plans now ruined, Duke hits the "eject" button, and vows to do whatever it takes to stop the alien invasion.
In "Episode One: L.A. Meltdown", Duke fights his way through a dystopic Los Angeles. At a strip-club, he is captured by pig-cops, but escapes the alien-controlled penitentiary and tracks down the alien cruiser responsible for the invasion in the San Andreas Fault
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental strike-slip fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
. After killing the first boss, the Alien Battlelord, Duke discovers that the aliens were capturing women, and detonates the ship.
In "Episode Two: Lunar Apocalypse", Duke journeys to space, where he finds many of the captured women held in various incubators throughout space stations that had been conquered by the aliens. Duke reaches the alien mothership on the Moon and kills an Alien Overlord. As Duke inspects the ship's computer, it is revealed that the plot to capture women was merely a ruse to distract him. The aliens have already begun their main and ultimate attack on Earth.
In "Episode Three: Shrapnel City", Duke battles the massive alien resistance through Los Angeles once again, and finally saves the day after he kills the leader of alien menace: the Cycloid Emperor. The game ends as Duke promises in a voice-over that after some "R&R
R&R (military)
R&R, military slang for rest and recuperation , is a term used for the free time of a soldier in the US military or International UN staff serving in non-family duty stations. R&R includes various forms, including mail, sports, film screenings, using the services of prostitutes and leave time...
", he will be "...ready for more action!", as an anonymous woman calls him back to bed.
The story continues in the Atomic Edition. In "Episode Four: The Birth", it is revealed that the aliens used a captured woman to give birth to the Queen, a creature which could quickly spawn deadly alien protector drones. Duke is dispatched back to Los Angeles to fight hordes of aliens, including the protector drones. Eventually, Duke finds the lair of the alien Queen, and kills her, thus thwarting the alien plot.
PC versions and add-ons
Various spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
s and modifications to the original Duke Nukem 3D were produced in the following years of the game's initial launch.
- Plutonium PAK/Atomic Edition: The Atomic Edition of Duke Nukem 3D was released in November 1996, and contained the original 3 episode game as well as a new eleven-level fourth episode. The Plutonium PAK was also released as an upgrade package to convert the original release of Duke Nukem 3D (v1.3d) to the new Atomic Edition (v1.4, later patched to v1.5). It introduces new enemies, a new final boss (The Queen), a new weapon, and changes to the script to make it easier to mod. Finally, the player can set up a multiplayer session against CPU bots. This is the only official add-on for the game.
- EDuke: Following the release of the Doom source code in 1997, gamers wanted a similar source code release from 3D Realms. The last major game to make use of the Duke Nukem 3D source code was TNT Team's WWII GI in 1999. Its programmer, Matthew Saettler, obtained permission from 3D Realms to expand the gameplay enhancements done on WWII GI to Duke Nukem 3D. EDuke was released as a patch for Atomic Edition users on July 28, 2000, and included a demo mod made by several beta testers. http://www.saettler.com/eduke/
- Duke Caribbean: Life's a Beach: This is an authorized add-on developed by Sunstorm InteractiveSunstorm InteractiveSunstorm Interactive is an Indianapolis-based video game developer founded in 1995 by Anthony Campiti, which specialized in hunting simulators and first-person shooters...
. Duke is relaxing on a tropical island when he discovers that the aliens are having their own "vacation". This unofficial add-on includes a sunny Caribbean atmosphere and theme such as beaches, vacation hotels. Charlie Wiederhold created several levels for this add-on. Wiederhold was later hired by 3D Realms to work on the sequel Duke Nukem ForeverDuke Nukem ForeverDuke Nukem Forever is a 2011 first-person shooter video game for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 developed by 3D Realms and Triptych Games and finished by Gearbox Software and Piranha Games...
. - Duke it out in D.C.: In this storyline, President Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
is captured by alien forces, and Duke must save him. This expansion pack featured levels that were based on real-world locations, such as the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, the FBIFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
headquarters, the Smithsonian museum, and the Washington MonumentWashington MonumentThe Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
and other places in Washington, D.C. This game was also developed by Sunstorm. The add-on was unofficial but was included in an official compilation called Duke Nukem: Kill-A-Ton Collection through business deals with 3D Realms. Charlie Wiederhold also created levels for this add-on. - Duke: Nuclear Winter (also called Duke Nukem: Nuclear Winter): This add-on was developed by Simply Silly Software and WizardWorks. In the storyline, Santa ClausSanta ClausSanta Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
is being mind-controlled by aliens into causing trouble on Earth. Several of the levels take place near the North PoleNorth PoleThe North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
. - Duke Xtreme: An add-on developed by Sunstorm and contained 50 levels and various utilities.
- Duke!Zone: A product called Duke!ZONE was once sold by WizardWorksWizardWorks SoftwareWizardWorks Software was a video game developer and publisher located in Minneapolis, MN. Focused on casual consumer games sold through mass-merchants like Target and Wal-Mart, WizardWorks was best known for publishing the Deer Hunter series of video games developed by Sunstorm Interactive but also...
, which included over 500 fan-made levels. - Duke!Zone II: WizardWorks later created an add-on called Duke!ZONE II, which contained three episodes of its own design and the same 500+ levels from Duke!Zone.
- Duke Assault: A further authorized add-on containing over 1500 levels for Duke Nukem 3D. Sold by WizardWorksWizardWorks SoftwareWizardWorks Software was a video game developer and publisher located in Minneapolis, MN. Focused on casual consumer games sold through mass-merchants like Target and Wal-Mart, WizardWorks was best known for publishing the Deer Hunter series of video games developed by Sunstorm Interactive but also...
and also created by fans of Duke Nukem 3D.
Console versions and add-ons
Duke Nukem 3D was ported to many of the consoles of that time. All the ports featured some sort of new content.Duke Nukem 3D (Game.com
Game.com
The Game.com is a handheld game console released by Tiger Electronics in September 1997. It featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience, sporting PDA-style features and functions such as a touch screen and stylus...
) was released in 1997 in the USA only. Unlike every other version of the game, Duke Nukem cannot turn; he can only move forwards, backwards, and strafe left or right. Due to the Game.com's monochrome screen, it is also the only version to lack color. It includes only four levels from each of the three episodes for a total of 12 levels, all of which are modified to accommodate Duke Nukem's inability to turn.
Duke Nukem 3D (Sega Saturn) - the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
version was ported by Lobotomy Software
Lobotomy Software
Lobotomy Software was an American video game company, best known for the game PowerSlave as well as the successful Sega Saturn ports of Duke Nukem 3D and Quake.The company is no longer active.-History:...
and published by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
. It retains the original name and uses Lobotomy's SlaveDriver engine. This version uses the Sega NetLink
Sega NetLink
Sega NetLink was an attachment for the Sega Saturn game console to provide Saturn users with internet access, a web browser, and access to email through their console. NetLink consisted of a 28.8 kbit/s modem that fits into the Sega Saturn cartridge port, although there was a cheaper version that...
for online gaming, and has built-in support for the Saturn's analog pad. It also includes a hidden multiplayer mini-game called Death Tank Zwei
Death tank
-Saturn version:Death Tank is a 2D multiplayer versus shooter, set on a hilly terrain. Although similar to Scorched Earth, Worms, or Gunbound the gameplay is real time instead of turn-based. It supports up to 7 differently-colored tanks with a range of weapons to battle it out...
and an exclusive bonus level called Urea 51, accessed through the main level Fahrenheit. It was the final game branded by Sega of America under the Deep Water label, employed for games featuring adult content such as this and Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side
Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side
Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side is a fighting video game for the Mega-CD/Sega CD...
.
Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown (titled simply Duke Nukem in Europe), the PlayStation version, contains all three original episodes, plus a new one, Plug 'n' Pray, which includes six extra levels and a secret level, the latter which was also included in the PC version. The new episode features several new enemies (including three new types of Pig Cops) and a new final boss, robot CyberKeef. The version also features remixed music, some rearranged from the PC version and some original, in streaming XA-Audio made by Mark Knight.
Duke Nukem 64 is a port for Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
which features a split screen
Split screen (computer graphics)
Split screen is a display technique in computer graphics that consists of dividing graphics and/or text into non-movable adjacent parts, typically two or four rectangular areas. This is done in order to allow the simultaneous presentation of related graphical and textual information on a computer...
4-player mode. In-game music was removed, many items were renamed to avoid drug and sex references, and several levels were altered to include areas from the Plutonium Pak (such as a Duke Burger outlet being present in the second level where there wasn't one in the original PC version). Game levels are played sequentially instead of as separate "episodes". Other changes included a fully 3D model for the final boss and new weapons. The Alien Beast monster seen in the Plutonium Pak also appears a few times in the standard levels where it wasn't in the original PC version at all.
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D is a video game that is generally regarded by critics and gaming journalists as having both popularized the first-person shooter genre on the PC and created the basic archetype upon which all subsequent games of the same genre would be built. It was created by id Software and...
; also, it consists solely of Lunar Apocalypse, the second from the original game's three "episodes", which was heavily modified to suit the engine. This version was released in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
only.
Duke Nukem 3D (Xbox Live). The game was released on September 24, 2008 for Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
. This version features the ability to "rewind" the game to any prior point upon dying, save clips of gameplay, and play co-operatively online, as well as the standard "Dukematch" online mode. The music received a slight quality upgrade with modern MIDI tools.
Duke Nukem 3D (iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
/iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
). The game includes the primary 3 episodes and all of the main sound fx, but does not include background music in-game. There is no multiplayer option and the framerate tends to fall dramatically when multiple enemies are on-screen. Lacks the ability to peer through windows to outdoor areas.
Duke Nukem 3D (Nokia N900
Nokia N900
The Nokia N900 is a smartphone made by Nokia. It supersedes the Nokia N810. Its default operating system, Maemo 5, is a Linux-based OS originally developed for the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. It is the first Nokia device based upon the Texas Instruments OMAP3 microprocessor with the ARM Cortex-A8...
). On December 29, 2009 Duke Nukem 3D was released for a Nokia SmartPhone. As shown in a MaemoWorld's video, Duke is controlled using the Qwerty keypad and touchscreen.
Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded
The independent development team Inceptor Entertainment is currently developing a reimagining under a limited licence from Gearbox under the name Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded.The reimagining is set to only take core ideas and concepts from the original game and will be vastly different from Duke Nukem 3D.
Compilations
Duke Nukem 3D is included in several compilations. A bundle called East Meets West includes the full versions of Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition and Shadow WarriorShadow Warrior
Shadow Warrior, often known by its initials SW, is a first-person shooter computer game developed by 3D Realms and released on May 13, 1997 by GT Interactive. Shadow Warrior was developed using Ken Silverman's Build engine and improved on 3D Realms' previous Build engine game, Duke Nukem 3D...
. A bundle called Duke Nukem: Kill-A-Ton Collection features Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition, Duke Xtreme, Duke!ZONE II, Duke Nukem I (Duke Nukum), Duke Nukem II, and various other utilities. Earlier packages of Duke Nukem 3D also included the complete versions of Duke Nukem I and II as a bonus. Duke: The Apocalypse contains Duke Xtreme and Duke!ZONE II. Duke: The Apocalypse 2 Contains Duke!Zone, Duke It Out In D.C., a strategy guide and a T-shirt.
Development
LameDuke features four episodes: Mrr Caliber, Mission Cockroach, Suck Hole and Hard Landing. Some weapons were removed and/or altered from the original versions.
Source code
The source codeSource code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
to the Duke Nukem 3D v1.5 executable, which uses the Build engine, was released as free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
under the GPL
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
on April 1, 2003. The game content remains under a proprietary license. The game was quickly ported by enthusiasts to modern operating systems. , these projects gave the game a second life in multiplayer games through the Internet and a growing community is still actively playing.
The first Duke Nukem 3D port was from icculus.org. It is a cross-platform project that allows the game to be played on BeOS
BeOS
BeOS is an operating system for personal computers which began development by Be Inc. in 1991. It was first written to run on BeBox hardware. BeOS was optimized for digital media work and was written to take advantage of modern hardware facilities such as symmetric multiprocessing by utilizing...
, FreeBSD
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, Solaris, and Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
rather than DOS. The icculus.org codebase would later be used as the base for several other ports, including Duke3d_w32 and the official Mac OS X port of the game.
Another popular early project was Jonathon Fowler's JFDuke3D, which in December 2003 received backing from the original author of Build, programmer Ken Silverman
Ken Silverman
Ken Silverman is a game programmer, best known for writing the Build engine used in Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, Blood, and more than a dozen other games in the mid- to late-1990s...
. Fowler, in cooperation with Silverman, released a new version of JFDuke3D using Polymost, an OpenGL
OpenGL
OpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
-enhanced renderer for Build which allows hardware acceleration and 3D model support along with 32-bit color high resolution textures. Another project based on JFDuke3D called xDuke (unrelated to the xDuke project based on Duke3d_w32) runs on the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
. Silverman had since helped Fowler with a large portion of other engine work, including updating the network code and helping to maintain various other aspects of the engine, but with no updates in nearly four years it is suspected the project may never see another release.
EDuke was a semi-official branch of Duke Nukem 3D that was released to the Internet as Duke Nukem 3D v2.0 by 3D Realms in 2000; it focused primarily on enhancing the CON scripting language in ways which allowed those modifying the game to do much more with the system than originally possible. Though a further version was planned, it never made it out of beta and was eventually canceled due to programmer time constraints. About a month after the release of the Duke Nukem 3D source code, Blood project manager Matt Saettler released the source code for both EDuke v2.0 and EDuke v2.1, the test version of what would have eventually become the next EDuke release, under the GPL.
While a few short-lived DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
based EDuke projects emerged, it was not until the release of EDuke32, an extended version of Duke3D incorporating variants of both Fowler's Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
JFDuke3D code and Saettler's EDuke code, by one of 3D Realms' forum moderators in late 2004 that EDuke's scripting extensions received community focus. Among the various enhancements, support for advanced shader model 3.0 based graphics was added to EDuke32 during late 2008-early 2009. In June 2008, EDuke32 became the only Duke Nukem 3D port to compile and run natively on 64-bit
64-bit
64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have existed in supercomputers since the 1970s and in RISC-based workstations and servers since the early 1990s...
Linux systems without the use of a 32-bit compatibility environment thanks to significant porting contributions from the DOSBox
DOSBox
DOSBox is emulator software that emulates an IBM PC compatible computer running MS-DOS. It is intended especially for use with old PC games. DOSBox is free software....
team.
On April 1, 2009, an OpenGL
OpenGL
OpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
Shader Model 3.0 renderer was revealed to have been developed for EDuke32, labeled as the Polymer renderer (to distinguish from Ken Silverman's Polymost). At first it was thought to be an April Fool's joke, but the renderer was later made public. It allows for much more modern effects such as dynamic lighting and normal mapping to name a few. Although Polymer is completely usable, it is technically incomplete and unoptimized, and is still in development. As of the 5th installment of the High Resolution Pack (released in 2011), the Polymer renderer is mandatory. Another signification development of EDuke32 in 2011 is true room over room (TROR), where sectors can be placed over other sectors, and can be seen at the same time. In practice, this allows for true 3-dimensional level design that was previously impossible, although the engine is still 2D.
Enhancement by fans
Lee JacksonLee Jackson (composer)
Lee Jackson was the Music and Sound Director for the video game developer 3D Realms from 1996 through 2002. He is most well known for his work on Duke Nukem 3D, specifically for creating the game's main theme titled "Grabbag". He, along with Robert Prince, created the game's instrumental background...
's theme song Grabbag has elicited many spin-offs and remixes over the years by both fans and professional musicians, including an officially sanctioned studio version by the popular thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
outfit Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
. Another version of the song was recorded by Chris Kline in August 2005. 3D Realms
3D Realms
3D Realms is a current video game publisher and former video game developer based in Garland, Texas, United States, established in 1987...
featured it on the front page of their website and contracted with Kline to use it to promote their Xbox
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
Live release of Duke Nukem 3D.
Reception
The reviewers paid a lot of attention to the sexual content within the game. Their reception of this element varied: Tim Soete of GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
felt that it was "morally questionable", while the Game Revolution
Game Revolution
Game Revolution or GR is a gaming website created in 1996. Based in Berkeley, California, the site includes reviews, previews, a gaming download area, cheats, and a merchandise store, as well as webcomics, screenshots, and videos...
reviewer noted that it was "done in a tongue-in-cheek manner," and he was "not personally offended". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
editor Cam Shea ranked it ninth on his top 10 list of Xbox Live Arcade games. He stated that it was as fun as it was in its initial release, and praised the ability to rewind to any point before the player died.
Controversy
The game has been heavily attacked by some critics, who allege that it promotes pornographyPornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
and murder. Media Watch made the following comments about the game:
"Duke Nukem 3D moves the 'shooter' through pornography stores, where Duke can use XXX sex posters for target practice. Duke throws cash at a prostituted woman telling her to 'Shake it, Baby' his gun ever ready. In the game bonus points are awarded for the murder of these mostly prostituted and partially nude women. Duke blows up stained glassStained glassThe term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows in an empty church or goes to strip clubStrip clubA strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
s where Japanese women lower their kimonoKimonoThe is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...
s exposing their breasts. Duke is encouraged to kill defenseless, often bound women.— Media Watch, Teaching Boys To Kill
However, the game does not have a scoring or rewards system of any kind, either for killing women or doing anything else. Instead, the game spawns even more enemies if the player kills a woman. No weapons, items or power-ups are ever given to players in return for violence towards women of any kind, though a cosmetic shower of dollar bills appears after killing a stripper. These cannot be collected and provide no gameplay or score bonus. The only exception is the "Fusion Station" level, where killing a certain woman will yield a shotgun as well as spawn an enemy.
As a response to the criticism encountered, censored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
versions of the game were released in certain countries to avoid having it banned altogether. A similar censored version was carried at Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
retail stores in the US.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the game was originally refused classification on release. 3D Realms repackaged the game with the parental lock feature permanently enabled, although a patch available on the 3D Realms website allows the user to disable the lock and revert the game back to its original uncensored version. The OFLC then attempted to have the game pulled from the shelves, but it was discovered that the distributor had notified them of this fact and the rating could not be surrendered. Six months later, the game was reclassified and released uncensored with an MA15+ rating.
In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the BPjM
Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien
The Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons is an upper-level German federal agency subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. It is responsible for examining media works allegedly harmful to young people and entering these onto an...
placed the game on the List of Media Harmful to Young People, thus prohibiting its public distribution.
In 1999, Duke Nukem 3D was banned in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, along with Quake, Doom and several other violent first-person shooters after a violent rampage in and around a movie theater was allegedly inspired by the first level in the game.