The gaming world bids fond farewell to its first action hero.
My first rendezvous with it was about12 years ago. Then, as a teenager who had just discovered his love for gaming, I was awestruck by a character called Duke Nukem. He was foul-mouthed, walked with a swagger, and his main aim was to destroy everything evil that came in his way. In short, he had all the traits to attract a gamer.
After 13 years of being one of the most iconic characters in the gaming world, the creators of Duke, 3D Realms have called it quits due to funding problems. Though the game will still be available on handheld devices (since the developers of handheld games are different), the console and PC games will have a huge void to fill. We spoke to some avid gamers in this country to share their experiences of playing this game.
Vishal Gondal, CEO, IndiaGames, says that it was the first person shooting game which captured the imagination of gamers. “Till Duke came on the scene, there were games like Doom and Quake, which were popular but lacked charisma,” he says. What was it about Duke that had gamers enchanted? Arun Ravi, who has represented India at World Cyber Games, says that it was a complete package. “From graphics to characterisation to effects, the game had everything going for it,” he says.
That is absolutely true. Duke attracted several controversies as well. His associates included skimpily clad women and some even felt that this had explicit sexual overtones. But all this only added to the legend. As Gondal puts it, “It’s things like these which made it so popular and raised curiosity levels.” Duke was banned in Brazil for being a violent game.
Over the years, there were a lot of versions released of the game like Duke Nukem Forever and Duke Nukem Trilogy, which were well received across the world. There have been many other first person shooter games which came and went but never actually threatened Duke’s dominance. He was the quintessential angry young man. As is the case with most other first person shooters, Duke encounters a large number of lesser foes, and a small number of boss enemies (usually at the end of the chapters). Like Duke, these enemies have access to a wide range of weapons and equipment (some weaker enemies have jet packs). But, they didn’t possess Duke’s mean streak.
The game was actually released for PCs but went to consoles as well. In 2008, an Xbox version of the game was released and became a massive hit. Ravi feels it will take some time to find another hero like Duke. He says, “Games have little recall these days and certainly don’t fit the legendary bill.” No doubt, Duke was a legend and maybe some game developer might just revive him in the future.
The first time I played Duke Nukem was on a 386 PC, something which the current generation of gamers, I am sure, aren’t even aware of. But for followers of Duke, it doesn’t matter how and when you played it, as long as you did. They know the legend will continue, even if there won’t be any new versions of the gaming industry’s first action hero.
