[ultra tree 85!]

What do you think is going to happen to DNF? Will it be completed somehow, or fade away and be forgotten? I am personally hoping at this point that someone gets the rights away from George and finishes the game by the end of the year. I think that it's probably the best we can hope for, but I'm not sure how likely it is.

[oskar345]

I hope the same,cos i wona play Duke Nukem Forever

HAIL TO THE KING

[Kathy]

DNF was a cursed project. Better to make Duke Nukem Begins or something. Oh, and IP will be sold. Quite frankly, I would sell this IP once and for all if I was George. I wouldn't want to work on this IP again. Better to invest some money(from selling IP) into new projects. Or not sell and not do anything about this IP if he loves it so much.

[AlexGK]

Oh yes, the IP must be sold, but DNF is as good as dead. Whether or not George loves it, he no longer has other choice...

[Serge]

Maybe you should add the option "Nothing will be done and the current version of the game will be leaked".
I voted (and i hope) for the second possibility.

[motionblur]

My bet is on "IP remains at 3DR - game will be finished by someone else".
Frankly I could seen any of the latter three happening though.

[AlexGK]

Oh yes, the IP must be sold, but DNF is as good as dead. Whether or not George loves it, he no longer has other choice...

[Ramen4ever]

Voted for the last option but I'm not an optimist. I wouldn't rule out DNF being thrown over to Radar Group or something. Could become one of their unannounced projects. And quite frankly if they didn't announce it till like a week before game release. It wouldn't bother me much. Also.. after reading some stuff on radar and scott.. 1.1 billion in IP sales? and fund problems. wow.. just wow. That official 3dr statement better not be what I'm currently thinking.

[Redcard]

Ramen4ever, on May 9 2009, 12:24 PM, said:

Voted for the last option but I'm not an optimist. I wouldn't rule out DNF being thrown over to Radar Group or something. Could become one of their unannounced projects. And quite frankly if they didn't announce it till like a week before game release. It wouldn't bother me much. Also.. after reading some stuff on radar and scott.. 1.1 billion in IP sales? and fund problems. wow.. just wow. That official 3dr statement better not be what I'm currently thinking.

I'm curious what you're thinking.

Personally, I'm not entirely convinced this is a bankruptcy.

[Nihilanth]

All options that would keep DNF alive are very problematic and / or highly unlikely. However it'd be really depressing, especially for dev team if they just threw it away. I mean, even if the game was not ready, this version has been in development for like 6 years. It's been playable, they were polishing it... I kind of doubt GB will just throw it away. That's why I'm so eager to hear the official comment from him regarding DNF. 3DR is gone but we'll see about DNF.

[Redcard]

Do remember.. this is work for hire.

The programmers don't own this. The developers don't own this. They're fired. They're out of the picture.

The owners of the code are the owners of the company. And they might or might not sell their assets, transfer them into other projects, or any such things.

If you ever want to get into the industry of software design, you need to learn one harsh rule. You don't own your code.

[Ramen4ever]

Well at this point the confusing part is the rights. 3dr has the IP rights if I'm not mistaken and Take 2 has the publishing rights. So it's quite complicated. especially for DNF. Take 2 would have to buy the IP in order to get another studio to squeeze DNF out. At the same time I think that would also mean that even if 3dr sold or transferred or allowed another studio to use the IP (however that legal aspects work), they would have to deal with Take 2 for publishing rights or the studio that would take over would have to.

Redcard: I rather not say what I was thinking since it would just be speculation and placing blame were it most likely does not belong.

[Nihilanth]

Redcard, did I say programmers own DNF? I even said "I kind of doubt GB will just throw it away" meaning he is the one who'll decide.

[Redcard]

Nihilanth, on May 9 2009, 12:59 PM, said:

Redcard, did I say programmers own DNF? I even said "I kind of doubt GB will just throw it away" meaning he is the one who'll decide.

No, but I'm seeing a lot of people saying things like "It'd be a shame for the devs to get nothing out of it" or "all these devs work have gone to waste if they can the project."

The fact is, as a codemonkey, projects get cancelled all the time. I've worked six months before on something that had funding pulled two days before release. All the code gone. It wasn't ever used again. I've also worked in projects where I've worked 2 months on something that got cancelled.. but used somewhere else.

Things happen.

But coders don't own code.. and assuming that it'd be a waste if DNF got cancelled only is true if they really didn't do a lot of work.

[Kathy]

Actually, no one's work have gone to waste. The were paid for it. Thus, their work was not wasted.

[Ramen4ever]

That's a bit like getting payed to build a house for a family but before it's completed a hurricane blows it away.

[Kathy]

Yes, it is a pity, but your work was not wasted if you got payed.

[Ramen4ever]

Lotan, on May 9 2009, 12:29 PM, said:

Yes, it is a pity, but your work was not wasted if you got payed.

The family is still homeless.
As in.. we're still without a game.

I can only hope that when hurricane season is over (economic crisis stabilizes enough for gaming companies to prosper) we will get some version of the game everyone's been waiting for.

[Redcard]

Ramen4ever, on May 9 2009, 01:33 PM, said:

The family is still homeless.
As in.. we're still without a game.

I can only hope that when hurricane season is over (economic crisis stabilizes enough for gaming companies to prosper) we will get some version of the game everyone's been waiting for.

There's a difference.

A family that has paid for a house to be built has paid for it. They technically own the work.

We don't own this work. We're not owed a game. Even if they promised it for a hundred years and never delivered, we still aren't owed this game.

So 3dRealms owed nobody anything.

And as for getting the version of the game everyone's been waiting for, won't ever happen. The game people have been waiting for will never exist.

[Yatta]

There should be a fifth option IMO, that says 3DR will retain the IP but will oversee another company who'll make the game. Just like they did with Prey.

edit: Oops, that's already there.

[Kathy]

If I was George, after such a failure I would just quit industry. He have a lot of money, I think, to just do nothing. Well, if he was doing anything at all before the closure.

[Ramen4ever]

Redcard, on May 9 2009, 12:45 PM, said:

There's a difference.

A family that has paid for a house to be built has paid for it. They technically own the work.

We don't own this work. We're not owed a game. Even if they promised it for a hundred years and never delivered, we still aren't owed this game.

So 3dRealms owed nobody anything.

And as for getting the version of the game everyone's been waiting for, won't ever happen. The game people have been waiting for will never exist.

Evidently you failed to comprehend the point. Which is that even if we wanted to buy it, the closing of the company and the cancellation of the game prevents us from ever doing so. Unless another company picks it up in some way somewhere down the line.

Anyway, Yatta's option sounds like one of the better scenarios. Would be neat.

[Kathy]

Yatta, on May 10 2009, 12:48 AM, said:

There should be a fifth option IMO, that says 3DR will retain the IP but will oversee another company who'll make the game. Just like they did with Prey.

Isn't that a 2nd option in the poll?

[Ramen4ever]

^
why yes, yes it is.

[Kathy]

I think that the first two options are HIGHLY unlikely in the first several years. The first one is obvious. the second one... You need to find a studio and lead designer who would be willing to be George's monkey. Also, highly unlikely given George's record.

[ultra tree 85!]

The absolute worst thing that could happen would be for George to just allow the current build to become outdated, wasting 7 years of work. I wish we had some evidence that assured us that that will not be the fate of the game that some of us have literally spent years and years dreaming about. It is more than just a game for much of the community, and some people don't understand just how important it is to us.

[Yatta]

Lotan, on May 9 2009, 02:14 PM, said:

Isn't that a 2nd option in the poll?

Heh, I'm blind. Must be the lack of sleep over the last 2 days over this fiasco.

[gt1750]

I voted for the third option. I'm afraid the fourth one is more likely to happen though...

[Ramen4ever]

What will happen to DNF is simple. Unless George and Scott have some good plans for the future, a bigger company will eventually gobble up the DN IP.

[ultra tree 85!]

Well, at least most people who have voted so far are optimistic. It's slightly reassuring that so many people still think there's a chance. At this point, I would consider any of the three top outcomes to be fantastic. It's just the last one that would be completely unacceptable.