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Duke Nukem Forever Due This Year?
nz17 writes "Under the original deal, 3D Realms was to receive some $6 million from Take-Two to develop the title. Now the Texas-based developer will receive only $4,250 for the oft-delayed game when it is completed. Just the same, 3D Realms has a fairly large incentive to get Duke Nukem Forever done by the end of the year; Take-Two has offered the studio $500,000 in the form of a promissory note if the game sees commercial release by December 31, 2006."
~11.6 years...sounds about right.
It's more than just $4,250: on the 10-Q, all dollar figures (with the exception of per-share amounts) are listed in thousands. Quoting the financial statement notes, the "In March 2005, the Company renegotiated a $6,000 contingent obligation due upon delivery of the final PC version of Duke Nukem Forever through the payment of $4,250 and issuance of a promissory note in the principal amount of $500." That would actually, then, be four-and-a-quarter million dollars rather than a paltry 4K.
compared to less than $5000 is a pretty decent incentive
You're forgetting one of the main slashdot rules - never ascribe to malace what can be explained by bad editing.
(The new amount isn't $4,250, it's 4.25 million.)
paintball
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_Cave_Adventu re
there's a link to a flash version of the game down the bottom.
There are more text adventures out there than you could probably play in a lifetime!
:)
The really nice thing is, the vast majority of them are developed on either of two system - TADS, the Text Adventure Development System or Inform, Infocom's system. Both are free for anyone to develop their own games with, and there are interpreters for these systems (especially Inform) on just about any platform you care to use.
A good central 'hub' to start from is the IF archive with some beginners guides on how to get started, and a massive collection of games to download and play. and googling for 'interactive fiction' will turn up lots more sites.
Have fun
Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
I'm not sure what you mean by "cancel the project". 3D-Realms is kind of in the same position as iD; both are (relatively) independent studios that make the games they want to. Nobody tells John Carmack to cancel Quake IV. Granted 3D-Realms isn't as high-profile as iD these days, but they are still working. Regardless of what you think of how they have handled the project, when it is done the publishers will line up; they know money when they see it, and that's the bottom line. And as far as taking it to another developer, that is impossible: 3D-Realms "owns" Duke Nukem.
Hmm. I may be missing something, but I think you're confusing Choose Your Own Adventure type multiple choice games with the more simulationist, finer-grained parser-based text adventures; the grand-parent post quoted the very first of the latter - the venerable (if primitive) Adventure/Colossal Cave from 1975 (or one of its various, er, mods.)
;)
Popular companies were Infocom, Magnetic Scrolls and Level 9, among others; these days, the form is kept alive by enthusiasts and frequently taken into directions more experimental and/or literary than throw the axe at the dwarf then pick up the gold.
Baf's Guide to the IF-Archive is a good place to start searching; as is the IF Review Conspiracy. Poke around and you'll notice most good games require either a "Z-Code" or "TADS" interpreter (VM); refer to the Inform homepage for a list of UNIX Z-Code interpreters or just go with Zoom right away (link has pretty picture). As for TADS games, here're the Linux TADS 2/3 Playkit and, alternatively, a QT-based TADS 2/3 interpreter.
TADS and Inform, incidentally, are the two most widely used Interactive Fiction programming languages. And although that's not their intended purpose, both have also been used for multiple choice games on occasion.
If you're interested, Brass Lantern has a collection of articles for beginners. If you're not, oh well
There's a similar, but more accurate, version of the story here. This article describes the potential dollars thus:
TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
In March 2005, the Company renegotiated a $6,000 contingent obligation due upon delivery of the final PC version of Duke Nukem Forever through the payment of $4,250 and issuance of a promissory note in the principal amount of $500. The payment of the promissory note is contingent upon the commercial release of such product prior to December 31, 2006.
If you look at the SEC filing (pg. 18), the $4,250 is actually abbreviated from $4,250,000. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/946581/0001 12528206003343/b413621-10q.htm
Actually 3DR has been doing quite well. Not only did they liscense Duke for a variety of other games for just about every platform out there (Even a cart racing game!), they are also behind Max Payne which raked in a ton of money.
That link doesn't work...? t=18360>
Try <URL:http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/showthread.php
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