This is sad.  Duke Nukem is Dead.  I learned a lot from Duke 3D.  When I joined Valve to work on Half-Life, there were many discussions of how well Duke had done things.  There’s a seminal moment where Duke is about to be executed, and suddenly you (as Duke) discover that you can break free and bust out of the execution chamber and (you being Duke) go on a rampage.  It’s safe to say this particular scene had a big impact on what I thought was possible in a first-person shooter.  Although the interminable wait for Duke Nukem Forever was, well, interminable, and made a great target over the years, the fact is, many of us were eagerly waiting for it, and couldn’t wait to be blown away.  Knowing people who worked on it over the years, and hearing them hint at how great it could be (if it would only ship), I have no doubt that over the course of its development, Duke was probably several dozen sorts of minor masterpiece at one time or another.  We’ll miss ya, ya big lug.