Zaxx, on 01 February 2019 - 07:56 PM, said:
Duke should keep his red tank top, the other post suggested a red t-shirt... not too big a deal, but he's always worn a tank top. Duke doesn't have to have a character arc for it to work, make him a one-lining badass, instead of the douche he was in DNF. I also hate the 'personal struggle' trope that bogs down so many movies and games lately. It's cheap and overused. Duke doesn't have to have something like that motivate him, the aliens are fucking up his good time, that should be his motivation. Now I actually don't mind the hub idea, as I've mentioned it before. As much as I hate to say it... I agree there needs to be a recast. Jon is too old to portray the character correctly now, and we don't need a 40's-50's Duke.
The main thing is Duke isn't the type of character to expand upon too much. Look at Dutch from Predator, we get to know enough about him to understand who he is, and what kind of character he is, but we aren't bogged down by unnecessary exposition/personal struggle arcs. Things can be in it that expand on Duke's character like Graves, with Graves Duke's military background and early life could be explored, make Graves an old family friend, maybe even father figure to Duke. Maybe add Bombshell as someone Duke used to be on a unit with, there could be some back-and-forth with them. There are opportunities to do it, without forcing in a personal struggle story. I'm rambling now, in short Duke's story should be something along the lines of: They spilled his bear, took his babes, and worst of all they destroyed his motorcycle/muscle car. That would be motivation enough for Duke, in my opinion
I'm not trying to say everyone's idea sucks but my own, I've heard/seen plenty of great ones, but this one just didn't feel like Duke to me, mostly. Looking back I can see some thing I overlooked in my haste, like the hub, recasting Duke is Jon can't pull of the younger Duke, as well as the game taking place in L.A. Now with all this being said, I did enjoy seeing someone else's take on Duke, it's always refreshing to see what someone else could bring to the table, should they have the chance. Also, sadly enough, I know this would be better than what Gearbox would shit out... If I ever come off as rude with my opinions about Duke, I apologize, I've been a hug Duke fan for most of my life, being introduced around 1999 when I was only three/four, and Duke had a lasting impact on me. The character is very dear to me, and I hope we someday get to see him back on his throne.