#89
Posted 07 December 2025 - 02:23 PM
I wouldn't have a problem with a future Duke Nukem game, as long as it stayed true to the spirit of Duke 3D or even Duke 1 and 2. And as long as Duke's personality is maintained. I don't want something like DNF, but something that was as revolutionary as 3D was at the time. I'm not referring to graphics and engine, but to the gameplay itself. I'd prefer to emphasize interesting gameplay rather than graphics that would only run on the latest NVIDIA card. Otherwise, it'll just be more of the same.
Duke Nukem doesn't need advanced graphics, but excellent gameplay, with interactivity and everything else that would make it stand out!
Now, regarding the setting...
An interesting thing would be to treat the current world in a Duke Nukem style. I'll give examples of how this could be explored.
Gay/Punk: The aliens discovered that if Duke Nukem's masculinity is somehow shaken, he would be defeated. So we would have gay and punk aliens. And these gay, punk aliens would do the job of attacking Duke's masculinity, along with other more conventional ones. They would shoot colored projectiles that would temporarily make Duke effeminate (like a screen and sound effect) and this would physically affect him (reduced movement and resistance), as well as temporarily effeminate his voice. It would be very funny, by the way. Pigcop himself already seems to have a punk style, because of his hairstyle. All that would be missing is a punk-gay variant of him as a progressive enemy. This could be done with others, a punk-gay variant. I think it would also work on Lizman. I don't know, that ring in his nose and that little hairstyle would be an indication of that. They would have clothes or armor in pink, lilac, or both colors. The effeminacy here would be a representation of male weakness, while the punk style would be a representation of the destruction of American civilization, a kind of delinquent socialist culture.
Feminism: Another interesting aspect would be having a female alien leader this time, like the Queen and empowered female variations of aliens. This would represent feminism. Thus, the aliens would be governed by a kind of feminist alien, representing the subjugation of men to this alien force, which Duke came to fight against. The aliens would also have a plan to replace human women with a more human version of the aliens, such as empowered hybrids, who would put human men to shame. Duke himself would encounter these empowered hybrid versions and, of course, be disgusted by them. His mission is to kill these hybrids and protect those who have not yet been contaminated. The fight against alien feminism.
Unwanted Immigration: This could be represented by the alien invasion itself, where they would take the place of humans on Earth, as happens in several countries in Europe, including the USA. Duke would also be a symbolic figure of combat against this invasion and replacement of the human race with a hybrid race. This would be the symbolic representation against unwanted miscegenation. The aliens would also have their own culture and religion, which in the game would attempt to replace human cultures. For most players, this religion and culture would be seen as Islam, and the aliens as Islamic invaders. It's not enough to just have an alien invasion scenario; a cultural one is essential. An alien invasion combined with a cultural invasion would be far more interesting than just an alien invasion. Cultural invasion brings a much more intense and interesting sense of rebellion to be explored and used as a symbol.
Geopolitics: The aliens would also have an authoritarian political regime, a clear allusion to the Chinese political regime. This alien political system would be authoritarian and similar to socialism, giving a more concrete sense of indirectly dealing with Chinese leaders. Here, Duke would be the greatest representation of American politics and nationalism, just as Superman is. Replace the green of the alien ships with red as a hidden socialist symbol to be combated. And of course, an alien symbol similar to communism. And if the green remains, then it would be like fighting against Islam.
Politically correct: The aliens supposedly have a culture where criticizing their social order is a crime; in other words, it's forbidden to criticize what is established by the alien government. Duke, with his iconic phrases, came to shock the alien world with his politically incorrect influence and ideas of free speech. The Duke here is the biggest source of embarrassment to alien society, as well as to humans influenced by the alien leftist culture. This will cause a great uproar among the alien elite, who would see the Duke as a symbol against the leftist order of political correctness. Duke Nukem would represent free speech.
Unarmed population: Another common characteristic of leftist governments. The population is prohibited from carrying weapons. Here, Duke and the rebellious humans will carry weapons, which will be seen as a great affront to the culture and politics of the aliens. Alien civilians are prohibited from carrying weapons, but seeing humans carrying weapons is criminal to them, something Duke will oppose to the end. This will be one of the greatest symbols of American freedom: the right to arm oneself against those who will take away one's freedom.
There are enough elements of the current world to be explored as symbols to be combated by an American hero. But this hero wouldn't do it out of empathy, but because of his own ingrained American egoism, the Duke's most prominent personality trait. I believe such a game could be well-received by the fanbase, who see themselves in a world threatened by these leftist policies and in need of a worthy American hero... Duke Nukem. Or rather, an anti-hero!
Then we would have a sequel that would explore against: gay culture, Marxist culture, feminism, unwanted immigration, contemporary geopolitics, politically correct and unarmed policy. What else could be explored from the current world in this hypothetical new game? What would be missing from the current world that would represent an anti-American cultural threat?
In this game, Duke would be seen as the rebirth and rescue of classic American culture against bad modern trends.
In my opinion, the next game in the franchise should not try to recreate Duke Nukem 3D, but rather be inspired by it, as a clear symbol of the fight against progressive and Marxist policies.
Would this work for a future game in the franchise?
This post has been edited by eniojr: 07 December 2025 - 02:26 PM
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Mike Norvak, on 23 August 2025 - 04:12 PM, said:
