Duke Nukem IIID - April 1994 Prototype

Channel:

DN Stuff

Subscribers:

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Published on December 7, 2024 1:26:40 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqShldEUWRo

Game:

Duke Nukem 3D (1996)

Duration: 0:00

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BACKGROUND: This is footage that was created by Richard "Terminx" Gobeille at the request of Frederik Schreiber, ex-CEO of 3D Realms. The video was originally uploaded to the 3D Realms YouTube channel on April 17, 2014, and it was delisted or made private after a full decade on this site. Although it is unclear why the video was delisted, its delisting coincides with a change in leadership at 3D Realms. Considering that the video promises "Beta Builds Coming Soon!" and was followed by a protracted lawsuit with Gearbox Software, it's possible the new leadership team is more risk-averse and wanted to delist the video in order to minimize legal liabilities. The video was originally created because 3D Realms, after being bought and restaffed by a new team in Denmark, was planning to repackage Duke Nukem 3D prototype content for public release. However, the new Danish team was confused or misled about their rights to the Duke Nukem franchise, which the previous American team had already sold exclusively to Gearbox Software. As a result, the only Duke Nukem 3D prototypes that have been released as of writing come from December 1994 and January 1996.

WHY REUPLOAD THIS?: I believe there are no other unedited copies of this video publicly available on the Internet (certainly not on YouTube). Therefore, this provides journalistic value by allowing others the opportunity to give their commentary and criticism on this lost footage.

NOTES ON THE VIDEO: According to Gobeille, this video comes from an April 1994 build, which is the oldest known build of the game. Ken Silverman uploaded to his website a version of the Build engine (Duke Nukem 3D runs in the Build engine, which was created by Silverman) that dates to the same month and year as this footage, allowing anyone to download it and experience it for themselves. Silverman's version does not include any of the game-related assets shown in the video, nor does it include the security camera functionality, which seems to have been added by Todd Replogle. The map shown in this footage is M1 from the December 1994 prototype, which is freely available to download under the moniker "LameDuke".

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
I highly recommend watching REVENANT EVIL's commentary here:    • Oldest Known DUKE 3D Prototype - An A...  
Visit the Duke4 forums and checkout the "Duke3D & SW - Early/Alpha/Beta/Gold Material" thread that coincides with the video's initial release (apologies, YouTube is blocking external links from this video for some reason)
Visit the Duke4 Discord and read messages in the "Duke Nukem" channel from November 4th-6th, 2024
Checkout analyses of the Duke Nukem 3D prototypes on The Cutting Room Floor (TCRF)
Checkout the Duke Nukem Wiki, which has a lot of prototype-related content

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