Will “Duke Nukem Forever” ever appear on store shelves?

There’s a special class of software, prepared by gaming companies and promised by shady… There’s a special class of software, prepared by gaming companies and promised by shady advertising agents, that’s so delayed in coming out you wonder if it even exists in the first place.

Whether the developers find themselves battling slow programmers, or whether constant delays are the fault of business managers and money flow problems, some software takes ages to come to market.

Software that seems never to near completion is known as vaporware.

The vaporware label for “Duke Nukem Forever” may be short-lived, however. The Dallas Business Journal reports a release date for the game in late 2008.

Some vaporware takes the market by storm when it finally does surface – after all, absence makes the heart grow fonder for many gamers. Other vaporware that never comes out ends up as an Internet joke.

“Duke Nukem Forever,” promised by 3D Realms in 1996, is a prime example of vaporware. It was originally proposed by 3D Realms as a whizz-bang followup to its immensely popular “Duke Nukem 3D,” which was published so long ago that many modern computers will not successfully run it without an emulator or at least some compatibility software.

“Duke Nukem 3D” was somewhat revolutionary because it used an updated game engine from the “Doom” engine that many previous games used.

Unlike the “Doom” engine, which was characterized by two-dimensional maps a player navigated through without jumping or going up or down any hills, the “Duke Nukem 3D” engine included levels with elevation. Many of the maps included gradients, hills and ramps.

“Duke Nukem Forever” promises to continue the technological advancements of its original version: It was originally announced in 1997 and excited the gaming world into thinking that “Duke Nukem Forever” would join the ranks of wonderful video game sequels like “Quake II” and the litany of sequels to “Doom.”

The only problem with “Duke Nukem Forever” is the fact that it has yet to come out. Screenshots and promos became available in 1998, but there’s still no playable game.

In 2000, additional screenshots came out. They looked starkly different and highly exciting, and they didn’t correlate to any product that one could buy. The delays were because of, in large part, a confusing development schedule.

The developers changed their minds repeatedly, even changing the game engine.

One year after development was announced and started, a change to the new and exciting “Unreal Tournament” engine was announced, and the development schedule was put back significantly.

In 2004, a switch to the engine used by “Doom 3” was announced, and the development schedule was put back once again. No one could seem to get the project along, and the software quickly became known infamously as vaporware.

As a result of the announcement from 3D Realms, many gamers are saying “Duke Nukem Forever” will finally be out for the gaming public to enjoy and scrutinize.

The game should include many of the original themes and characters, including the epic and terrifying alien invasion. Of course, because of the many game-engine updates, the aliens will be much more minutely rendered and more entertaining to destroy.

The only problem that may arise for “Duke Nukem Forever” is the fact that it has gone through so many engine updates. Even the most updated engine thought to be used for the game is somewhat old, compared to other games that have been developed recently.

The general gaming community should not have a problem with this, however. The game is a remake of “Duke Nukem 3D,” and therefore its retro display qualities should only add to its entertainment value.

“Will it run on my machine?” you may ask. According to the article in the Dallas Business Journal, 3DRealms is planning on releasing editions for the major video game consoles. This includes Windows PCs, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s Playstation 2.

This isn’t confirmed, however, and if 3D Realms sees fit to delay the release once again, “Duke Nukem Forever” may eventually be created for whatever console is most popular in the future.

Whether it comes out or not, many gamers have taken this announcement as a source of hope.

At any rate, 3D Realms is still working on “Duke Nukem Forever,” and it would be rather unlikely that the company who put so much work into the project would simply drop “Duke” without releasing anything.