This weekend press outlets all over the net were lamenting the closure of 3D Realms and the possible last-minute cancellation of Duke Nukem Forever. Even we here at the GameFlavor Network got caught eulogizing the game and its creators before the supposed studio closure was even confirmed. The more we reflected on the news, however, the more we have become suspicious of the stories coming out of 3D Realms and resonating around the geek-o-sphere. Sure, studio closures are commonplace in the current economic recession, and we admit that the cancellation would make sense, especially if the developers really have accomplished nothing in the last 12 years of the game's development. Those cold facts aside, something tells us this story is fishy. And besides, everyone knows you never bet against the Duke.
The fist sign that something was afoot is the fact that this closure rumor emerged from within 3D Realms only weeks after George Brussard, the Producer, claimed that they had reached a "significant milestone". Why would Take Two cut funding for a project that its creators were evidently proud of? The folks at 3D Realms play a lot of games, heck - they've even made some good ones. Surely they know when they've reached a "significant milestone" without incurring the scorn of the higher ups at Take Two.
Which brings us to the next clue - supposed leaked footage of the game that shows what looks to be a fairly competent last-generation shooter. This test footage, which has circulated far and wide on the net, was supposedly leaked by an ex-employee. While it is meant to suggest that this is as far as the dev team got making the game before the plug was unceremoniously pulled, we are skeptical. This footage probably dates from the early 2000s and is a scrapped last-gen prototype for the real game. If we were going to fake a studio closure, this is exactly the kind of old footage we would circulate as the real thing.
The final piece in the viral marketing puzzle was a crazy blog post made by Charlie Wiederhold, a longtime 3D Realms employee. In it, he claimed that the development of Duke Nukem Forever has always been a huge conspiracy, and among other things, that Cliffy B went berserk and almost tried to kill him when he hesitated about keeping the scam a secret. What? None of this makes any sense as truth. But it does make sense in the context of a viral campaign to build hype for a - totally secret and shipping this fall - Duke Nukem Forever title.
Here's an excerpt from the (very long) story posted to his personal blog:
"The plan was actually pretty simple... create the longest developed game in history that eventually is one of the greatest games ever made. You have the time to work on it properly, so given the intelligence and talent of all the people involved, it was a pretty good bet. All 3DR had to do was make money on other stuff. All Epic had to do was open up a wide channel between the two companies. The boots on the ground just had to keep the drum beating and keep the image of business as usual going."
Mere weeks from E3, we look forward to the big reveal that 3D Realms is, in fact, not closed. We expect that the arrival of a larger-than-life Duke Nukem on the show floor should strike fear into any journalists who had the gall to bet against him. Not us, though. Remember, folks, you read it here first. 3d_realms_goodbye_fake.jpg The supposed "final going away photo from 3D Realms. Note that they don't look particularly sad. These 40 people are smiling because they just finished the best game ever AND punked the entire Internet both in the same week.
