[Kathy]

His rethoric about "Euro Duke" is bullshit.

[Jimmy]

I agree, introducing motorcycles and vehicles is hardly 'Euro.' But, I'm sure Fresch would have let Duke go through Love Parade, no doubt.

[Tetsuo]

Duke drives a hog (at least in style) anyway which is not euro style. Unless I didn't get the memo and it really is.
He wasn't driving a ducati....

Not that I'm defending them or anything. This project is dead and buried as far as I'm concerned and I had my doubts in the first place.

[Mad Max RW]

Fresch is starting to write about (or re-write) his own history. http://www.meny-graphics.dk/

Quote

My last update on this blog was on Feb. 21st, 2010. Back then I had just started working on my own little game development project. The Daikatana Remake. I had played around with level design since the old Duke 3D days, and i had experience with both the Unreal Engine and Hammer (Source). I was also finishing up my education as a Design Technologist, and starting my BA in Retail Management.

My day-to-day work primarily consisted of preparing my final exams, working as a freelance graphic designer, and working on small indie projects. I also ran a Nightclub Event with my buddy Henrik Stützer.

I also started to get more and more interested in Game Development, which ended up with the Rise and Fall of Duke Nukem Reloaded.

But before even starting my journey into the Duke Nukem IP, i worked with other franchises. Specifically Daikatana and SiN.
My first attempt at Game Development, was a Remake of one of my favourite games. Daikatana. It was a great practice in level design, but unfortunately the idea was'nt well received by the general gaming community - Not because of the screenshots i released of the game - But because of the bad reception of the original game. No one was interested in a new Daikatana title. Even though it got praised by one of the industry legends - John Romero - I decided to cancel the Daikatana Remake.

My next project was going to be another "Remake". A Remake of the 1998 First Person Shooter "SiN" by Ritual Entertainment. Development went great, and the project got a lot of media attention. But unfortunately I received a cease and desist letter from the owners of the SiN IP, which forced the project to get cancelled.

The year 2010 was also the year Gearbox Software bought the Duke Nukem IP. The very IP that got me interested in game development when i was a kid.

Duke Nukem 3D was the first multiplayer FPS experience I had.Back when I was a kid, I was a huge Schwarzenegger and Stallone fan, and Duke was the Schwarzenegger of gaming.

And I wanted to create a Duke Nukem 3D Remake.

For Duke Nukem I took a different approach and contacted Scott Miller from 3D Realms, and was asked to create some screenshots to show how my version of the game would look. The screens I created got everyone's attention.It was only a matter of hours before the screenshots had spread throughout the web. Major sites such as Kotaku, IGN and Gamespot covered the newly announced "Duke Nukem 3D Remake". Which was not even announced. The few screenshot mockups i did was not meant as an announcement, or something playable - It was only "Mockups" as a part of a pitch to get 3D Realms convinced that this was a good idea.

I contacted George Brussard and Scott Miller, to start a conversation about the project—the shots managed to convince Scott Miller to a certain degree—but the project was only doable if Take-Two would approve it.

I decided to go through Gearbox first, thinking that  it would increase my chances at an official blessing. I contacted AdamF, who passed me through to PJ Putnam, Vice President and General Counsel of Gearbox Software. Gearbox ultimately decided to support the project, and gave me a personal, non-commercial license to Duke Nukem 3D.

This became the start of the project that defined me as a game developer and designer...

Watch out for part 2!

In short, he started a few projects, rode the hype train for a while, then gave up for reasons all boiling down to blaming somebody else. With Daikatana it was the community's fault. With SiN it was the lawyers. Part 2 should be more interesting to see how he retells the story about losing Duke Nukem Reloaded.

Before anybody bitches about me quoting his entire article here, try to remember how fresch has a habit of frequently going back and censoring himself.

[Tetsuo]

You know something? Not sure if anyone caught this but the keyword to the license was PERSONAL. Which means the license right there even without going into the fine print implied keeping the work to himself for personal use. So it's his fault for not understanding what the word personal means when it comes to a license.

But yeah he seems to create projects to ride the hype train and then not follow through. But his type is a dime a dozen.. anybody and their grandma can come up with ideas but not everyone can execute and follow through. Younger people especially have this problem especially teenagers.

[Mr.Deviance]

And here I was thinking poorly of him just because he failed with DNR. Little did I know that after reading his bio, I would find out that he failed twice before in the exact same manner.
This guy is obsessed with remakes and keeps trying to get them done and always fails.
I would say DNR is Strike 3 and he's out.
If he will attempt a fourth time to remake something else, then he really doesn't get it.

[ThePinkus]

He should just try and finish the Daikatana remake

[TerminX]

Quote

This became the start of the project that defined me as a game developer and designer...

LOL. So, what, his whole stint as a "game developer and designer" is defined by a project featuring nothing but an unfinished map and no workable game code to speak of? Sounds about right! What a joke.

[ReaperMan]

TX, on 10 November 2011 - 06:59 AM, said:

What? He's right. It's true. DNR even has a texture where his face looks photoshopped onto some gay looking male model lifting up his shirt.

Duke4.net's next news article maybe?

[VinsaneOne]

Tetsuo, on 10 November 2011 - 03:19 PM, said:

You know something? Not sure if anyone caught this but the keyword to the license was PERSONAL. Which means the license right there even without going into the fine print implied keeping the work to himself for personal use. So it's his fault for not understanding what the word personal means when it comes to a license.

But yeah he seems to create projects to ride the hype train and then not follow through. But his type is a dime a dozen.. anybody and their grandma can come up with ideas but not everyone can execute and follow through. Younger people especially have this problem especially teenagers.

I still don't get why it couldn't be done. Is it really that hard to re-create DN3D's episodes/maps/levels using an Unreal engine of some kind?
There are tons of user maps for Unreal in all versions created by fans. They were not game developers or designers, and they looked quite impressive. I even saw a Duke map somewhere. No doubt it would be a ton of work from begining to end, but once it's accidentally leaked, oh well, it's released!

[Jimmy]

I love the part where he says that 3DR selling the IP to Gearbox inspired him to do a remake of Duke3D, so he pitched it to 3D Realms.

[X-Vector]

Captain Awesome, on 10 November 2011 - 11:19 AM, said:

But, I'm sure Fresch would have let Duke go through Love Parade, no doubt.

Interceptor could have relocated Duke to San Francisco.

[Mad Max RW]

Oh man, I just noticed he has a testimonials page. I won't quote any of it because you have to see for yourselves.

[Fox]

VinsaneOne, on 10 November 2011 - 09:27 PM, said:

Is it really that hard to re-create DN3D's episodes/maps/levels using an Unreal engine of some kind?

To say the truth I don't think it is, considering the Doom or Duke 3D levels remake I have seen before. I am pettry sure there is someone capable out there.

The problem is that the gaming company behind Duke 3D has shut down remake projects before. And of course when a license is actually granted they gave it to someone like Fresch.

(Not that I really think they can stop you from working on a mod, but some people out there would quit if they tell them to)

[ReaperMan]

Mad Max RW, on 11 November 2011 - 05:27 AM, said:

Oh man, I just noticed he has a testimonials page. I won't quote any of it because you have to see for yourselves.

This is my favorite quote...

"He is the reason why it is staying in development and he is the reason why it will be completed"

Guess that didn't happen.

[Ronin]

I think Ill just leave this here...and run.

[Graywolf]

Mad Max RW, on 11 November 2011 - 05:27 AM, said:

Oh man, I just noticed he has a testimonials page. I won't quote any of it because you have to see for yourselves.

where you guys are seeing this?

edit: NVM i found the link

[Mr.Deviance]

TX, on 10 November 2011 - 05:31 PM, said:

LOL. So, what, his whole stint as a "game developer and designer" is defined by a project featuring nothing but an unfinished map and no workable game code to speak of? Sounds about right! What a joke.

Sadly, his portfolio sounds like the standard for the new age game dev that you can find already hired in most studios these days.
And we wonder why gaming is going to shit.

[Mad Max RW]

Graywolf, on 11 November 2011 - 01:33 PM, said:

where you guys are seeing this?

http://www.meny-graphics.dk/

It's fresch's personal website. For some asinine reason he made everything out of Flash. Look for the testimonials (he calls it "testamonials") button at the upper left.

[Jimmy]

I've always felt that flash on a website meant that the web designer felt more inclined toward appearances than actual content. Which is incredibly on spot with Fresch.

[rasmus thorup]

lol i didn't know Fresch is from the same country as me. Still 300 kilometers away though.

[Graywolf]

Mad Max RW, on 11 November 2011 - 03:05 PM, said:

http://www.meny-graphics.dk/

It's fresch's personal website. For some asinine reason he made everything out of Flash. Look for the testimonials (he calls it "testamonials") button at the upper left.

yeah, I managed to find the link on a post of yours above. thanks

[Micky C]

Mad Max RW, on 11 November 2011 - 03:05 PM, said:

http://www.meny-graphics.dk/

It's fresch's personal website. For some asinine reason he made everything out of Flash. Look for the testimonials (he calls it "testamonials") button at the upper left.

Haha, with the exception of one, all the quotes were made within a day or two. It doesn't count when you ask them to say those things mate!

[You]

Seeing as this thing is as dead as 3DR, could someone accidently leak me a copy

[OpenMaw]

You know what though You? I gotta be honest.

If someone did leak this... I wouldn't care or even look, and that's not normal. I LOVE looking at prerelease stuff and fiddling with it, and getting inside the dev's heads.... But this whole project seemed like a big mind-fuck from very early on. Just makes the whole memory very painful and off putting. Don't even want to look cause these folks were just jerking us around.

[thelegend4ever]

Hey, atleast Fuegerstef was a smart enough man to up and leave the sinking bullshit ship that is...well...whatever the fuck Fresch's company's called. Smart guy.

[Full Metal Jacket]

Helel, on 10 November 2011 - 07:12 AM, said:

His rethoric about "Euro Duke" is bullshit.

[Stabs]

Commando Nukem, on 11 November 2011 - 06:56 PM, said:

You know what though You? I gotta be honest.

If someone did leak this... I wouldn't care or even look, and that's not normal. I LOVE looking at released stuff and fiddling with it, and getting inside the Dev's heads.... But this whole project seemed like a big mind-fuck from very early on. Just makes the whole memory very painful and off putting. Don't even want to look cause these folks were just jerking us around.

like i said, horrid user mod, too much input with no direction, i swear 90% people don't know how to ride the helm of game/mod with clear guidance, and u need someone like that with vision and direction, someone with the understanding of the realm between talking shit & the actual reality's of your proposed coding because that has limitations., someone to direct the art in uniform way, basically someone to envision an entire project in perfection and to ensure people under your wing achieve that goal under your direction.

I have played enough game over the years to recognize all the slight flaws graphically and game play wise in games and i really believe i have the drive the aptitude to make something great, and you will see that in coming months.

[Mad Max RW]

Part 2:

Quote

After a great talk with both Gearbox Software and 3D Realms, i was given a personal License to recreate the smash hit “Duke Nukem: 3D”, with modern technology.
The license was pretty straight forward - It was a “Non-Commercial” license which meant that no one could make money on it. And i had no problem with that. The reason why this project came about, was because of the love of the original title.

My goal was simple - Recreate Duke Nukem: 3D, as if it was made today, without alienating the game from it’s hardcore roots. The best of both worlds.

The first 2 months went solely with the documentation process. Hundreds of pages needed to get written. Everything from Game Design Documentation, Vision Documentation, LDD’s etc. to Milestone Planning, Project Management Solutions and so on, needed to get settled before even starting looking for a team.

I went with the Scrum Method as my primary task management solution - Scrum basically means that you divide each milestone, such as Documentation, First Playable etc. into sprints. Each sprint has a duration from 1-5 weeks, and ends with a “Sprint Review”, where everthing from the previous sprint gets reviewed, optimized and bugfixed.

Scrum is a necessary model in a distributed project, since you need to have smaller, and more doable milestones, in order to keep everything under control.

In early december, i began assembeling a team.

Many factors came into play - First of all, I wanted to differentiate the development team, from a “Fan Product” to actual professional developers. To do this, i needed to focus on the benefits of joining the team, such as working on the Duke Nukem IP, getting a shot at resurrecting  Duke Nukem 3D; and getting our product on the map.

Things went well, and i managed to establish a team of around 40 people.
The core team, working every single day on Reloaded, consisted of around 10 team members. Development officially began in mid January, based on Epic’s Unreal Engine 3.

Our first big internal milestone was the “First Playable”.
The First Playable milestone was a complete blockout of one map (Hollywood Holocaust), including the primary weapons of the game, HUD, Menu system, the main character, network code etc. A “Pitch” version, to show off different elements of what we were trying to achieve. This version was going to get presented to Gearbox Software in mid June, which gave us approx. 6 months.

The purpose of the “First Playable”, was to have different areas of the map, show different aspects of the game. A specific area would showcase environmental kills, another would demonstrate the artstyle, a third would showcase interactive elements in the game, etc.

The First Playable was also the only version actually including an installer (meaning that the game ran independent of the sourcecode, and could be installed on client and server PC’s).

The next step was to present the game to Gearbox Software.
Our team went “All in” on this project, sacrificing a lot. Both personal sacrifices, economical, and job related. We all worked night and day on this product, all leading up to a conclusion - The meeting at Gearbox Software, in Plano - Dallas, Texas.

Watch out for part 3 of the blog...

In short, it's fresch patting himself on the back for organizing Duke Nukem Reloaded. Nothing interesting or new. He's just crafting his own image.

[Mikko]

He may be flamboyant but this topic smells of bitter envy. Ooh, the nerds are angry!