History VideoGame / DukeNukem

The Duke Nukem franchise started early in TheNineties as a series of regular side-scrolling [[PlatformGame platformer games]]. It started under Apogee Software[=/=]3DRealms development, but in 2010, the rights of the series went to Gearbox Software.

* TookALevelInBadass: It's hard to believe that, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness once upon a time,]] [[RealMenWearPink Duke wore a pink shirt and watched Oprah]], his hair was curly and his language never strayed beyond BadButt and GoshDangItToHeck Then [[TheNineties something]] happened in between the two alien invasions...

* TookALevelInBadass: It's hard to believe that, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness once upon a time,]] [[RealMenWearPink Duke wore a pink shirt and watched Oprah]], his hair was curly and his language never strayed beyond BadButt and GoshDangItToHeck Then something happened in between the two alien invasions...

* TookALevelInBadass: It's hard to believe that, once upon a time, [[RealMenWearPink Duke wore a pink shirt and watched Oprah]], his hair was curly and his language never strayed beyond BadButt and GoshDangItToHeck Then something happened in between the two alien invasions...

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with a member of]] WesternAnimation/{{Captain Planet|AndThePlaneteers}}'s RoguesGallery.

There were also several spinoffs for consoles.

* EarlyInstyallmentWeirdness: The third game presented a massive shift in both genre and tone.

** The company that made ''VideoGame/DukeNukem'', 3D Realms, later released a {{pinball}} game named ''Balls of Steel'', which featured a Duke Nukem-themed table.

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with a member of]] CaptainPlanet's RoguesGallery.

* NegativeContinuity: [[ZigzaggedTrope Zigzagged]]. The guns at the Duke Museum in ''Forever'' state that they were used by Duke in 1996 ... which refers to the year when ''3D'' came out. ''II'' was supposed to happen in 1998, since ''Duke Nukem'' is set in 1997, and the introduction of ''II'' mentions "defeating Doctor Proton last year", with ''3D'' happening immediately after ''II'''s conclusion. However, the ''Balls Of Steel Limited Edition Guide'' says: "This pegs the original invasion around 1999, which works out, since ''Duke Nukem'' and ''Duke Nukem II'' are set in the then-near future of 1997 and 1998."

-->--'''[[WordOfGod Randy Pitchford]]''', April 2011 US Xbox 360 Magazine on why the game's humor is so effective

[[redirect:Franchise/DukeNukem]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Duke_Nukem2_sm_1447.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[VideoGame/DukeNukemForever Always bet on him]].]]

The Duke Nukem franchise started early in TheNineties as a series of regular side-scrolling [[PlatformGame platformer games]]. It started under Apogee Software[=/=]3DRealms development, but in 2010, the rights of the series went to Gearbox Software.

The series is composed of several games which follows a loose continuity:

[[index]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Duke Nukem|I}}'' (1991)
* ''VideoGame/DukeNukemII'' (1993)
* ''VideoGame/{{Duke Nukem 3D}}'' (1996)
* ''VideoGame/DukeNukemManhattanProject'' (2002)
* ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' (2011)

%% Don't pothole the below, otherwise, it screws the index.
There were also several spinoffs for consoles.
%% Don't pothole the above, otherwise, it screws the index.

* ''Duke Nukem: Time to Kill'' (1998)
* ''Duke Nukem: Zero Hour'' (1999)
* ''Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes'' (2000)
[[/index]]

There are also hints of a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Nukem_(character)#Proposed_feature_film live-action film]] being made.

And, as a bit of good news after ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'', Gearbox has shown their support for and licensed a [[http://www.dukenukemreloaded.com/ fan-made remake of Duke Nukem 3D]] by fan studio Interceptor.

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with a member of]] CaptainPlanet's RoguesGallery.
----
!!Tropes found across the series include:
* AwesomeMcCoolname
* {{Badass}}: Duke Nukem, of course!
* BagOfSpilling: In the first three games, Duke loses all weapons he picks up across episodes. Averted in ''Forever'' [[spoiler:until the final battle]].
* BrassBalls: One of VideoGame/DukeNukem's catchphrases.
--> ''"I've got balls of steel!"''
** The company that made ''VideoGame/DukeNukem'', 3D Realms, later released a {{pinball}} game named ''Balls of Steel'', which featured a Duke Nukem-themed table.
* CanonDiscontinuity: The [[GaidenGame third person shooters]] ''Time to Kill'' and ''Land of the Babes'', for the original Playstation, while decent in their own right, aren't regarded as canon. The fact that they were made by different developers probably has something to do with that.
* ChivalrousPervert: Duke is a royal jackass who has no problem shitting down an alien behemoth's neck after killing it, but he will never insult a woman directly.
* DamselInDistress: All of Earth's women.
* InconvenientlyPlacedConveyorBelt: All four installments to date have at least one.
* LockAndKeyPuzzle: The games are full of them. Lampshaded in ''Forever'', where the trope takes on a more creative twist.
* ManInAKilt: Believe it or not, Duke himself wears a kilt in the Medieval levels of ''Time to Kill'', and a tunic in the Ancient Roman levels.
** CensorShadow: Most of the time, except . . .
** {{Mooning}}: . . . in an EasterEgg, where he imitates ''Film/{{Braveheart}}''.
* MascotMook: The L.A.R.D pig cops have become this.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Duke Nukem. Kinda obvious to see what happens when you piss him off.
* NegativeContinuity: Implied. The guns at the Duke Museum in ''Forever'' state that they were used by Duke in 1996 ... which refers to the year when ''3D'' came out. ''II'' was supposed to happen way into the future, since ''Duke Nukem'' sends Duke into the future ... from 1997, with ''3D'' happening immediately after ''II'''s conclusion.
* OneManArmy: Duke Nukem, alone, takes on a mad scientist and his robot army, followed by two alien armies, the latter of which had already at least partially conquered Earth the first time. Acknowledged in a 2001 trailer of Duke Nukem Forever when a SWAT Officer asks "Hey pal, what are you gonna do, save the world all by yourself?"
* PopCulturedBadass: Duke, of course.
* PreAsskickingOneLiner: Duke has many of these.
* RatedMForManly: And how!
* RefugeInAudacity: Duke's bread and butter.
-->''The Secret to Duke's Humor is that he and his universe actually are serious. In his world, it makes perfect sense for families to be visiting the Fellatio hotel (i.e., the Bellagio) in Las Vegas. Everything in his world is real for them, authentic. It's only when we look at it through the lens of our world that we get the joke.''
-->--'''[[WordOfGod Randy Pitchford]]''', April 2011 US Xbox 360 Magazine on why the game's humor is so effective
* ShoutOut: Check [[ShoutOut/DukeNukem the page]].
* StoppedNumberingSequels
* TestosteronePoisoning
* TookALevelInBadass: It's hard to believe that, once upon a time, [[RealMenWearPink Duke wore a pink shirt and watched Oprah]], his hair was curly and his language never strayed beyond BadButt and GoshDangItToHeck Then something happened in between the two alien invasions...
----

* AntiHero: Type V in the SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes

* '''''TestosteronePoisoning'''''

* ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'' (1996)

* ManInAKilt: Believe it or not, Duke himself wears a kilt in the Medieval levels of ''Time to Kill'', and a toga in the Ancient Roman levels.

* ManInAKilt: Believe it or not, Duke himself wears a kilt in the Medieval levels of ''Time to Kill''.

** {{Mooning}}: . . . in an EasterEgg, he imitates ''Film/{{Braveheart}}''.

** {{Mooning}}: In an EasterEgg, he imitates ''Film/{{Braveheart}}''.

* NegativeContinuity: Implied. The guns at the Duke Museum in ''Forever'' state that they were used by Duke in 1996 ... which refers to the year when ''3D'' came out. ''II'' was supposed to happen way into the future, since ''Duke Nukum'' sends Duke into the future ... from 1997, with ''3D'' happening immediately after ''II'''s conclusion.

* BrassBalls: One of DukeNukem's catchphrases.

** The company that made ''DukeNukem'', 3D Realms, later released a {{pinball}} game named ''Balls of Steel'', which featured a Duke Nukem-themed table.

->''"You're wrong Proton-breath. I'll be done with you and still have time to [[RealMenWearPink watch Oprah!]]"''

'''Duke Nukem''' is the first game of the DukeNukem series.

It was a no-brainer platform game, split in three episodes, and starts in [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture the near future of 1997]], where Dr. Proton, your average MadScientist, attempts to TakeOverTheWorld with his army of Techbots. The eponymous Duke Nukem, self-proclaimed hero extraordinaire, who is very angry about the fact that the attack has interrupted his favorite day-time {{Soap Opera}}s, gets hired by the CIA to repel the invasion and take the fight back to Dr. Proton's lunar base.

!This game shows examples of:

* BlandNameProduct: Soon after the launch of the first game, the name was changed to "Duke Nukum" because of the character Duke Nukem from ''CaptainPlanet''; however, since the name was not trademarked, they switched back to "Duke Nukem".
** In VideoGame/DukeNukemForever, Duke's (in)famous "watch [[OprahWinfrey Oprah]]" line is [[{{Retcon}} changed]] to "watch Lenoman".
* CheckPoint: One in every stage.
* CollisionDamage: [[EverythingTryingToKillYou Everywhere]].
* DestroyableItems: The soda cans.
* ExplodingBarrels: Boxes containing bombs, and barrels of radioactive waste.
* InASingleBound: Duke can jump about 1.5x his height.
* InexplicableTreasureChests: Dr Proton's base is filled with treasure yielding (or trapped) boxes.
* RealMenEatMeat: And shoot it first (to turn it into bigger meat).
* RealMenWearPink: Classic Duke's a bit more in touch with his feminine side. He wears a pink beater, watches Oprah, and rocks a curlier 'do than in later games.
* ScoreScreen: The game has tons of secrets and achievements that rewarded bonus points.
* {{Shareware}}
----