How the Game "Duke Nukem 3D" Was Created: 17 Interesting Facts About the Iconic Game (12 photos)

Many of you know about the game "Duke Nukem 3D", and many of you, of course, played it. The crazy parody first-person shooter instantly gained popularity among gamers.





1. The developers of this game initially wanted to make something like a parody of the famous action films of the 80s with Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the center of the game, according to their idea, there should have been a pumped-up cool guy, for whom the destruction of various alien monsters would be no more difficult than brushing his teeth.

2. The creators of the game immediately called their project "Duke Nukem", but a little later there were some difficulties with this name. The fact is that in the animated series "Captain Planet Rescue Team" such a character as Duke Nukem already appeared. Therefore, the developers changed the character's name to Duke Nukum.



But later it turned out that the name of this character was not protected by copyright, so the creators, taking advantage of this loophole in the law, left the name Nukem as is.

3. The game "Duke Nyukem 3D" was released in 1996. But they started working on it long ago — back on the wave of success of the first two parts, which were simple platformers. Changing genres is a risky step, but "3D Realms" did not look for easy ways. And they did the right thing.





4. "Duke Nukem 3D" is based on the "Build" engine by Ken Silverman. It was not a real 3D, like "Quake", but it allowed you to make levels where you could destroy, jump, look under skirts... just kidding (or not?). It was an engine with a soul.



Ken Silverman

5. The creators did everything to make the levels in the game "live". Toilets, strip clubs, movie theaters, bar counters, exploding walls - all this made the map not just a decoration, but a full-fledged playground. "Doom" looked like a gloomy hermit brother next to it, although I was also a wild fan of "Doom" at the time.



Moreover, in this game we could interact with many elements of the scenery: look in the mirror, turn the lights on and off, use the toilet, use surveillance cameras, play billiards (just be careful not to break the ball), etc.

6. The development team was small, but they had a lot of fire. They constantly argued, joked, improvised. The plot of the game changed on the fly, and some levels were made at night. Yes, according to the developers, they stocked up on carbonated drinks and pizza, after which they actively worked on their future hit.



7. Radio DJ John St. John was approved to voice Duke. He came to the studio "just to try", but in the end he became a symbol. His phrases and delivery, one could say, made Duke more alive.



8. The developers did not stand on ceremony with the main character's lines. Phrases such as "Hail to the king, baby!", "Your face, your [fifth point] - what's the difference?" .

etc. have gained great popularity among gamers.

9. Duke was a reference to some action heroes of the 80s: Rambo, Ash from "Evil Dead", even Arnie. He said what he wanted, but was not allowed.



By the way, the famous cover of the game "Duke Nukem 3D" is a direct reference to the cover of the cult film "Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness". See for yourself.

10. On one of the levels you can find a dead Doomguy (the main character of the game "Doom"). And in principle, the game is simply stuffed with parodies of "Terminator", "Star Wars", "Total Recall", "Alien" and other popular films. Here you have corpses, and posters, and evil jokes. It was a real cultural cocktail with sarcasm for dessert.



For example, the holographic double is a reference to the film "Total Recall".

11. The game "Duke Nukem 3D" was the first first-person shooter where you could fully use mirrors. That is, we could see what our hero looked like from the outside.



12. In the first two parts of the game, Duke walked around without his signature glasses, and only in the third part of the game did he put on dark glasses, which became his signature feature, and which to this day continue to be his constant accessory.

13. After the game was released, it was criticized by feminists. The reason was the words and expressions that Duke sometimes used when addressing women.

14. The game was reissued several times: Megaton Edition, World Tour, etc. New levels were added, the graphics were improved, the spirit was preserved. The main thing is that they didn’t spoil it.



15. Rumors have been circulating for a long time about a secret level. Allegedly, one of the builds of the game had a level where Duke had to save the US president captured by aliens. The level was almost ready, but at the last moment it was cut - either for political reasons or because of jokes that “didn’t pass censorship.” Who knows?

16. The game was developed at a cost of $300,000, which doesn't seem like much, especially compared to the development of "GTA 6", which cost the studio $2 billion. But the times were different back then. And be that as it may, the budget spent was more than justified, and the game became a real hit.

17. Immediately after the game's release, film producers acquired the rights to the film adaptation, but in the end, over these almost 30 years, the film was never made. Filming was constantly postponed, and then completely frozen. Many claim that the failure of the film "Doom" was the reason for the refusal to make the adaptation, but it is unknown whether this is true.



The latest information about the filming was published in 2020. It was reported that filming would begin soon, and the main role in the film would be played by the actor (and former wrestler) John Cena, known from the series "Peacemaker".

"Duke Nukem 3D" is not just a pixel pseudo-3D action movie. It is an era, a mood, a character. It is about freedom, courage, banter and a loud soundtrack. About the time when games were made not for reporting, but for love.

Have you played Duke Nukem 3D? If so, did you complete it? Write your opinion about the game in the comments.