The #first three #games in the series were developed by Apogee Software, which in 1996 rebranded as 3D Realms. The #original #game, #duke #Nukem, was released in 1991. It is a two-dimensional platform game for the IBM PC and features 320×200, 16-color EGA graphics with vertical and horizontal scrolling. The original game has three episodes, the first distributed as shareware. When Apogee learned that the name "Duke Nukem" might have already been trademarked for the Duke Nukem character from the television series Captain Planet and the Planeteers, they changed it to Duke Nukum for the 2.0 revision.[3] The name was later determined not to be trademarked, so the spelling Duke Nukem was restored for Duke Nukem II and all successive Duke games.
The sequel, Duke Nukem II, is more than four times larger and took advantage of 256-color Video Graphics Array (VGA) graphics, Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) music, and digitized sound. While the game uses three different 16-color palettes, only 16 colors are actually used onscreen at once.
The third game of the series is the first-person #shooter (FPS) Duke Nukem 3D, released in 1996. Like most #fps #games of the day, Duke Nukem 3D features three-dimensional environments with two-dimensional sprites standing in for weapons, enemies, and breakable background objects. Duke Nukem 3D was released for #MS-DOS, Mac OS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, game.com, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Nintendo 64, and later re-released during 2008 for Xbox Live Arcade, and for iOS and Nokia N900 during 2009. Duke Nukem 3D has more than a dozen expansion packs.
The most recent installment in the main #video #game series, Duke Nukem Forever, was delayed for more than a decade after the initial announcement during April 1997, leading to its being named as a piece of vaporware. Initial development had begun at 3D Realms, but in 2009, 3D Realms was forced to lay off many of its staff, and development of Duke Nukem Forever stalled. Take-Two Interactive, which was to publish the game, sued 3D Realms for failing to deliver, which was settled in 2010. Gearbox Software had close contact with many of the laid off 3D Realms staff and quietly hired them to continue its development as Triptych Games. 3D Realms sold the rights to Duke Nukem to Gearbox in 2010. The game was officially released on June 10, 2011.
List:
Duke Nukem (1991)
Duke Nukem 2 (1993)
Duke Nukem 3D (1996)
Duke Nukem: Time to Kill (1998)
Duke Nukem: Zero Hour (1999)
Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes (2000)
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project (2002)
Duke Nukem Forever (2011)
Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour (2016)