[justLMAO]

Wallboobs and the semi-naked chicks sobbing in the Hive was controversial as fuck when the game released

What was your reaction to them?

The boobs never bothered me because it's obvious that they aren't human breasts, they're a provision in hives for baby aliens like Octababies to feed on. People assumed they were human for some reason, maybe the low resolution of the console ports or something.

The impregnated women in the Hive didn't bother me either, because it's supposed to be grim and gritty.

As for the turd flinging, I personally thought that was disgusting and pissed on Duke's character. I literally refused to do it. Duke doesn't pick up literal shit and throw it around like an insane asylum patient. I know some inside guys post here so if you could shine some light on what the HECK the devs were thinking I'd appreciate it (and what was up with the "looks like you're fucked" line? Really Duke?)

[necroslut]

It didn't bother me, I thought the hive level was one of the parts of DNF that most resembled Duke 3D in terms of tone. The tone of the game was all over the place though, so I can see how people less familiar with the previous game weren't at all expecting that.

The "shit-flinging" is a completely optional thing, what bothered me there was only the presentation. It should have been placed much later in the campaign, and absolutely not featured in the marketing - just a small bit of interactivity you could try out if you dared. First introduce interactivity and picking up items, making the player wonder "what happens if I use that?" followed by "eew, get it away", which of course results in it staining the wall etc. Could have been a fun "prank" at the player's expense.

[Redxplatinum]

The women in the Hive were.. disturbing, as it should be. There's really a sense of hopelessness, even Duke says so after he knock one down.

"Sorry babe, it's better this way"
"Not even I can save you now"
"She wasn't human anymore"

And with the way Octobabies explodes out of them, it encourages you to knock them out. Don't worry baby, they're just sleeping.

As for turd... I agree it shouldn't be the focus when marketing the game. Just let it be something the players discover it on their own.

https://steamuserima...46C83F1BDF705F/

[spessu_sb]

Wasn't offended by wallboobs. Found the turd throwing really lame. Wouldn't have found turd throwing as lame as current if it had been in it's original way. Non-advertised discovery by player as part of DNF's interactive world.

Hive could've been less linear.

[Never Forgotten]

I personally wasn't offended by the wall boobs, but those who were, didn't think they were human tits -at least not the reviews I read- they were offended because it's jarring compared to the rest of the level. You have this grim tone and atmoshpere, but what's that? Oh, you can smack some titties and get a joke from Duke.

[MusicallyInspired]

I still don't see how it's offensive. Jarring and out of place, sure. But offensive?

[Ninety-Six]

Wallboobs were just a thing. I didn't really have any reaction. They were just kinda there. The impregnated women were sort of inevitable, I think, considering Duke 3D. All in all the Hive had a very similar grim tone to Lunar Apocalypse, broken up by weirdly out of place gags (like the Enterprise bridge/"Really Ready Room" or the Force that this is to be reckoned with). I'm not sure if that justifies it or this was a chance for DNF to improve upon its predecessor. Merely something I noted.



As far as the turd flinging, I missed almost all of the marketing so I had no idea it was weirdly prominent. I actually sort of enjoyed that feature, because Duke would always complain when you did it. I enjoyed making him mad.


Yes I am easily amused.

[necroslut]

I think both these instances of interactivity are seriously hurt by the "Press E to ..." prompt, taking away any sort of surprise. It's not even "Press E to use" - it tells you exactly what will happen if you do! Like some goddamn trigger warning...
And then even having loading screen hint lines talking about them, plus featuring it in the advertising. Way to take a fun little detail and ruin it, guys.

[Zaxx]

I was not offended by this stuff, I was just embarrassed:

- When you see one of your childhood heroes play with shit, you're embarrassed.

- When you're at a cool atmospheric section like the Hive and then random tits appear on walls (and it really doesn't matter if they are not human boobs, the association is what matters and that part was VERY clear), women are tied to giant dicks and enemies that look like ball sacks attack you by shooting cum in your face then you're like "oh fuck, they made Lula: The Sexy Empire out of Duke because they are tasteless fucking idiots." That was embarrassing too but even more than that I just remember being baffled, it was all "man, they fucking did this, I can't believe this is the level where Duke is at now."

But hey, on the next level you have to find condoms for whores while playing with dildos, that was so much better...

Quote

I know some inside guys post here so if you could shine some light on what the HECK the devs were thinking I'd appreciate it

Now that's something I'd love to know too, I like laughing at bad ideas. Anyway I guess it was that they just lost focus and one thing led to another.

[KaijuTurtle]

The poop flinging was a crude, but funny in a childish way, joke as it was implemented- the problem was that they drew a massive amount of attention to it. There was a minute long trailer for the game that was entirely centered around throwing the turd. If it was never in any gameplay footage and never spoken about in the leadup to the game, it would be a great easter egg. Of course the big [E] in the middle of the screen when you moused over it would be a tip off but that's a whole other thing.

The hive didn't really bother me. I don't think I even interacted with a wallboob on my first playthrough. The women captured by the aliens didn't phase me because I've seen the Alien movies and they were IN Duke 3D. It was a disturbing scene, yeah, but that's obviously the point. What did actually bother me was Duke's line to the twins before they died, that was a really terrible attempt at comedy and it soured me to hear. Obviously not to the degree it pissed off, say, the GiantBomb guys who basically made their entire DNF video to shit on the game based on that level, however I feel that it exemplifies how DNF's biggest issue is the writing from start to finish. It didnt carry a sufficient tone to let the game get serious for a moment and amp up the stakes with something a bit darker.

[justLMAO]

Quote

What did actually bother me was Duke's line to the twins before they died, that was a really terrible attempt at comedy and it soured me to hear. Obviously not to the degree it pissed off, say, the GiantBomb guys who basically made their entire DNF video to shit on the game based on that level, however I feel that it exemplifies how DNF's biggest issue is the writing from start to finish. It didnt carry a sufficient tone to let the game get serious for a moment and amp up the stakes with something a bit darker.

The "looks like you're fucked" line before Octobabies exploded out of the twins' stomachs was tone-deaf, pissed on Duke's character, and made him look like some heartless neckbeard. And so say we all.

[necroslut]

justLMAO, on 19 September 2018 - 04:41 AM, said:

The "looks like you're fucked" line before Octobabies exploded out of the twins' stomachs was tone-deaf, pissed on Duke's character, and made him look like some heartless neckbeard. And so say we all.

That's not how I read it at all. It don't think it's meant to come across like he's making a joke - he's saying it in all seriousness as he realizes there's nothing he can do, and it gets turned into a "joke" by the circumstances for the player. I understand why you still might not like it and find it in bad taste, but I don't agree that it "pisses on Duke's character".

[HulkNukem]

Yeah, the "Looks like you're... fucked" if the most offensive thing in the entire game.

It really makes Duke look like a giant douche and it was such an odd thing to say for his character.

When the twins get kidnapped, he gets fucking pissed and aggressive.
When those same twins have been impregnated by aliens, he makes a dumbass joke.

Had the same exact joke been said if he found the president in the place of the twins, it could've worked.

[Ninety-Six]

necroslut, on 19 September 2018 - 05:54 AM, said:

That's not how I read it at all. It don't think it's meant to come across like he's making a joke - he's saying it in all seriousness as he realizes there's nothing he can do, and it gets turned into a "joke" by the circumstances for the player. I understand why you still might not like it and find it in bad taste, but I don't agree that it "pisses on Duke's character".

While possible, the delivery definitely doesn't imply that.

Spoiler

Though I'll admit that doesn't say much, since apparently JSJ had no direction during recording

[MusicallyInspired]

It was an immense mistake to try to, after all the dark atmosphere from that area of the game up until that point, draw cheap laughs from the player. It was totally jarring because that wasn't what the scene called for. It dumbs the whole game down to childish humour. There's a place for childish humour in Duke, to be fair, but that was the least appropriate. It wasn't just that line, though. It was also the twins' lines "it was our first time with an alien," "we'll work the weight off we promise!" It just kept mucking up the atmosphere when it should have stayed serious for that moment. It could have amped up the player for some revenge killing by seeing two characters they know Duke is attached to dying. It's like the designers of that sequence didn't have any lines in mind but made the whole scene dramatic. Then in stepped the clueless writers (probably years later) and pencilled in some awful jokes on top of it that undermined the suspense and tension of that entire chapter of the game. Duke does get sufficiently angry after they die, but the payoff could have been much better if it had stayed serious. Duke isn't all jokes all the time. It's stupid stuff like that that I think could have potentially saved the game had they not just been "you know what would be funny?..." all the time. It was trying to be too funny too much of the time.

[necroslut]

MusicallyInspired, on 19 September 2018 - 07:52 PM, said:

It's like the designers of that sequence didn't have any lines in mind but made the whole scene dramatic. Then in stepped the clueless writers (probably years later) and pencilled in some awful jokes on top of it that undermined the suspense and tension of that entire chapter of the game.

I'm pretty sure that's exactly how the entire game was written.

[MusicallyInspired]

Yes, but that was the worst offender.

[Outtagum]

justLMAO, on 08 September 2018 - 05:26 AM, said:

The impregnated women in the Hive didn't bother me either, because it's supposed to be grim and gritty.

Except the dialogue from the women kills the tone.

[hismasterplan]

This was "The Abyss" of Duke Nukem Forever, except linear and without secrets. I enjoyed the level except for reasons already stated here. Every time I play this level, I turn dialog off. Duke 3D knew how to show, not tell.

[MusicallyInspired]

That's....brilliant.

[Ninety-Six]

hismasterplan, on 20 September 2018 - 07:23 PM, said:

This was "The Abyss" of Duke Nukem Forever, except linear and without secrets. I enjoyed the level except for reasons already stated here. Every time I play this level, I turn dialog off. Duke 3D knew how to show, not tell.

I'm going to go ahead and be the idiot, here.

I don't follow.

[hismasterplan]

Ninety-Six, on 21 September 2018 - 05:44 AM, said:

I'm going to go ahead and be the idiot, here.

I don't follow.

Which part?

[Ninety-Six]

hismasterplan, on 21 September 2018 - 06:17 AM, said:

Which part?

Why "the Abyss" specifically.

[hismasterplan]

Ah, well overall it was the subterranean environment; the creepy decent, deeper into something sinister. It was dark, had weird sounds that would have creeped me out as a kid, similar to the chanting man sound in the Abyss (still don't know what the heck that was). It was also about the same length into the game as The Abyss was in D3D from what I remember.

[MusicallyInspired]

The atmosphere in The Abyss was oppressive as all get out. Boy what an atmosphere! I wouldn't say it was on the same level, or even vibe, as that but I get what you mean.

[Ninety-Six]

MusicallyInspired, on 21 September 2018 - 08:31 PM, said:

The atmosphere in The Abyss was oppressive as all get out. Boy what an atmosphere! I wouldn't say it was on the same level, or even vibe, as that but I get what you mean.

"Incubator" was probably closer in tone, but I sort of get what he meant by The Abyss now.

[Tea Monster]

Like Leisure Suit Larry narrating the hive/refinery sequences in 'Aliens'.

[Jimmy]

The turd flinging was even in old builds of the game but it wasn't meant to be used as a selling feature. It was more akin to an Easter egg. You were supposed to be like "There's no way I can pick up this log..." But apparently Gearbox is ALL ABOUT handling turds.

[Person of Color]

I'm not gonna lie, the poop was my favorite part of the game. I fucking love poop.

[Outtagum]