This article has a talk page!This page details pre-release information and/or media for Duke Nukem (DOS).
Development Timeline#
1991
- Unknown - Development of the game begins.
- July 1 - Version 1.0 is released as Duke Nukem.1
- August 1 - The date on the game data files in the registered version of Version 1.0.
- November 1 - Version 2.0 is released as Duke Nukum.
More Detailed Credits#
Name |
In-Game Credits |
More Detailed Credits |
|---|---|---|
Todd Replogle |
Programmer |
Programming, design, early sprites |
Jim Norwood |
Graphics |
Background artwork |
Allen H. Blum III |
Graphics |
Foreground tilesets, Episodes 2 and 3 level design |
George Broussard |
Graphics |
Final sprites |
Scott Miller |
Producer |
Design, sound effects, Episode 1 level design |
Id Software |
Special Thanks |
John Carmack provided hand-rolled assembly to speed up parts of the engine (see below). |
(Source: "Shareware Heroes: The renegades who redefined gaming at the dawn of the internet", by Richard Moss (Unbound, 2022))
Original Title#
According to Scott Miller, the original proposed title of the game was Heavy Metal. Miller did not approve of this name, and suggested to Todd Replogle that they "should do what they do with comic books and name the game after a lead character." Miller subsequently proposed Duke as the first name, intending it to come off as sounding strong. Replogle then proposed Nukem, and those two ideas formed the final name.2
John Carmack's Involvement#
Despite what the in-game credits may suggest, Replogle wasn't the only one who did programming for the game. In a 2001 interview, he mentioned how John Carmack of id Software contributed some assembly code:
[Strife Streams:] If John Carmack called you up today, and offered you a job at id software, would you take it?
[Todd Replogle:] No. I’d be a tempting offer. Again, what is the future of video games? Oh BTW, John deserves credit for helping me code some low level code in Duke Nukem One. I’m not a very good assembly language programmer, and John was kind enough to help make Duke successful with well-written optimal assembly.
Duke's Smile#
Miller brought what he had of Duke's sprites to George Broussard, who wasn't part of Apogee at the time, intending for him to make them more appealing. Broussard "nailed the right look" and gave Duke his winning smile.
Trademark Issues#
Following the original release, Apogee got hit with letters about trademark concerns from two entities. The first was Duke University, who insisted Duke Nukem violated their trademark and wanted it to be changed. They backed off once Apogee's attorney pointed out how DU had no conflicting video games, and that the two trademarks would be hard to confuse.
Then Apogee got a letter from the Ted Turner Network, claiming Duke Nukem infringed on their character of the same name from Captain Planet and the Planeteers. This led to Version 2.0 of the game changing the spelling to Duke Nukum. Apogee's attorney subsequently deemed the original spelling as safe to use, as there was no trademark for the name of the Captain Planet character, and Apogee's market was different. As such, the original spelling was officially restored by the time Duke Nukem II was out.