Room77 se toma un descanso por inconvenientes cerebrales.
No se si de manera temporal o para siempre (el "para siempre" me han demostrado que no existe, ya varias, varias veces).
Por ahora tengo que ocuparme de otros proyectos y de velar por otras cosas.

Sin embargo ¡Paul me lo dijo! sí será actualizado devotamente todos los lunes (por una promesa que me he hecho a mí mismo).
Este blog es un proyecto enteramente mío, que con la colaboración de varios, se hace más rico cada lunes. Bienvenidos sean todos.

Mientras tanto, Room77 queda en "stand by" por tiempo indefinido.

Ya nos veremos las caras de nuevo... o tal vez no.

     

And long for all of them to fall in love with you
But they never do, no they never do

    

Si yo fuera para mí,    una mujer como
                                                              tú /
que hincha el corazón en sus manos
como las velas de los barcos
                                         antiguos/
o
los alejandrinos sonidos del copihue en la ramada
(sobre nuestros sombreros)
o dos
lanzas del sol que ensartan nuestras palabras en la
atmósfera
y enebran una conversación ajena a la nuestra,

que ya hubiéramos querido nuestra/

y
  luego me explicabas
que antes de venirse, tu padre era un fulero que voceaba la
partida de los vapores/
que cogida de su mano en la baranda del muelle,
por la noche,
veías caer las estrellas luminosas
contra el asfalto/

(La rana por más largo que saltó
             volvió a caer en el   estanque)

Si yo fuera para mí,    una mujer como     tú/
que hincha el corazón en sus manos,

   como las enormes velas de los barcos antiguos
que de seguro verías zarpar en
                                       los puertos de tu infancia,
              
                                                        allá en Chile,

donde el estribor de mi voz,
no fue suficiente canto para ti

ni para nadie.


~ Bruno Polack

 

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., the maker of the “Grand Theft Auto” video games, sued Apogee Software Ltd.’s 3D Realms over the failed development of a sequel to the “Duke Nukem” game called “Duke Nukem Forever.”

Take-Two, owner of the publishing rights to the game, said Apogee breached an agreement to design the latest installment of Duke Nukem, a game in which the player “shoots” enemies. The new version has been under development since 1997, the company said yesterday in a complaint in a state court in Manhattan.

3D Realms, which was based in Garland, Texas, never produced the game and instead closed its studio on May 6, terminated development of the game and fired employees who had been involved in the Duke Nukem project, Take-Two said.

“Apogee continually delayed the completion date for the Duke Nukem Forever,” Take-Two said in the complaint. “Apogee repeatedly assured Take-Two and the video-gaming community that it was diligently working toward competing development of the PC Version of the Duke Nukem Forever.”

Take-Two said in 2000 it had an agreement with Apogee and paid $12 million for publishing rights to the forthcoming game. In 2007, the two companies entered into a second agreement.

The case is Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. v. Apogee Software Ltd. 601457/2009, New York State Supreme Court, New York County (Manhattan).

FUENTE: Bloomberg

Semana del 11 al 17 de Mayo.

I gave you everything you wanted
So you would never know anything else
But everytime I reach for you
You slip through my fingers into cold sunlight
Laughing at the things that I had planned

"Spiralling" - Keane

   

Duke Nukem Developer 3D Realms Shuts Down

Update 4: Images from 3DR's Duke Nukem Forever have started to leak.

Update 3: 3D Realms webmaster Joe Siegler has commented on the shut down, stating: "It's not a marketing thing. It's true. I have nothing further to say at this time."

Siegler's post also reflects the unexpected nature of the situation, as he was unaware of the impending shut down during an interview conducted yesterday afternoon.

Update 2: Duke Nukem Forever publisher Take-Two has confirmed to Shacknews that it was not funding ongoing development of the 3D Realms project.

"We can confirm that our relationship with 3D Realms for Duke Nukem Forever was a publishing arrangement, which did not include ongoing funds for development of the title," said Take-Two VP of communications Alan Lewis in a prepared statement.

"In addition, Take-Two continues to retain the publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever," he added.

Update: Apogee Software and Deep Silver have issued a statement to Shacknews, confirming that the situation at 3D Realms has not affected the development of Frontline Games' upcoming handheld Duke Nukem Trilogy.

"Deep Silver and Apogee Software are not affected by the situation at 3D Realms," a representative for the companies told us. "Development on the Duke Nukem Trilogy is continuing as planned."

Original story: A very reliable source close to Duke Nukem Forever developer 3D Realms today confirmed to Shacknews that the development studio has shut down.

The closure came about as a result of funding issues, our source explained, with the shut down said to affect both 3D Realms and the recently resurrected Apogee. Employees of both entities have already been let go.

Phone calls and e-mails to various 3D Realms veterans have thus far gone unanswered, with 3D Realms publishing partner Take-Two and Apogee partner Deep Silver likewise unavailable for comment. One 3D Realms spokesperson declined to comment when reached.

3D Realms was founded in 1987 by Scott Miller and George Broussard, and was best known for its Duke Nukem series of shooters starring the titular, bubblegum-lacking hero. The studio had infamously been working on Duke Nukem Forever, the next flagship franchise entry, for over 12 years.

===================================

A Decade of Duke: The Brief Long History of DNF

It's taken longer to develop than the mapping of the human genome. It's the first Google result for "When it's done." It's birthed the longest running development period in video game history, and the longest running joke in internet history. It's still not out.

Maybe the one thing you can't say about Duke Nukem Forever is that it's been canceled. And now, thanks to that fortune, we may yet be treated to a release of the infamous game. But how did we get here? I was in 7th grade when DNF was announced, and though I've followed its development since, my memory of that time is muddled with the pleasures of late 90s gaming, and the horrors of braces.

So how did this madness begin, again?

January 29, 1996: Duke Nukem 3D is released on PC. Mac, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Sega Saturn ports follow later in the year.

Mid-1996: Work on Duke Nukem Forever begins. The game, envisioned as a 2D/3D side-scrolling title in the vein of Donkey Kong Country, is soon abandoned when developer Keith Schuler shifts his focus to the Duke Nukem 3D Plutonium Pak.

January 1997: Early prototyping begins on the next true Duke game. The FPS sequel to Duke Nukem 3D is tentatively referred to as Duke Nukem 4.

March 1997: Daikatana development begins.

April 27, 1997: The fourth major game in the Duke series is announced by 3D Realms. Officially dubbed Duke Nukem Forever, the name is poached from the canceled side-scroller. id Software's Quake II engine is licensed for development. GT Interactive is set to publish.

August 1997: The first DNF screenshots are printed in PC Gamer, with other sites picking them up eventually.

November 1997: 3D Realms/Apogee founder Scott Miller states that Doctor Proton, Duke's nemesis from the original side-scroller, will return in DNF.

May 1998: The first trailer is unveiled at E3, depicting several scenes with a new pre-Alyx female sidekick, dubbed Bombshell. Wailing guitar, the infamous axe-wielding miner, and a variety of gameplay scenarios are also featured.

      

June 1, 1998: Team Fortress 2 development begins.

June 15, 1998: A few days following the Duke Nukem Forever trailer debut, 3D Realms drops the Quake II engine and licenses then-Epic MegaGames' Unreal engine. "We don't feel there will be a significant development delay," says Duke co-creator George Broussard.

August, 1998: "At this point, we are really in full production mode again on the game," reports Broussard in a .plan file. "We expect to have gun and guys walking around any day like we never switched engines." The team aims for a 1999 release.

September, 1998: Scott Miller claims that DNF will "set a new standard" for first person interactivity.

October 12, 1998: Duke Nukem: Time to Kill is released on PlayStation.

September 1, 1999: Duke Nukem: Zero Hour is released on Nintendo 64. Broussard is quoted as saying DNF will probably not feature a software renderer. (News)

October 22, 1999: Scott Miller tells 3D Unlimited that the game is now making use of improvements made to the Unreal engine developed for Unreal Tournament.

October 24, 1999: Miller calls on the Duke community to generate suitable names for the inevitable DNF sequel. (News)

November 1, 1999: New DNF screenshots surface, showing off the Unreal engine-powered graphics. Future Gears mastermind Cliffy B is quoted: "Those shots rock my nuts."

November 20, 1999: Broussard to Dukeworld on recent production delays due to engine updates: "We broke off our code at Unreal 220. But unfortunately that was a fairly unstable version of the engine. We had intended to continue on our own, but Epic simply did too good a job with UT. ...Not patching to it would be a colossal mistake."

November 30, 1999: Duke Nukem is released on Game Boy Color.

December 1999: Infogrames buys a majority stake in GT Interactive, eventually buying the company outright. DNF is slotted for a 2000 release.

March 10, 2000: Shacknews interviews Broussard, who speaks of a robust multiplayer component and innovative interactivity. "I'm not sure many people (other than the die hards) will play the game from beginning to end multiple times, but I do expect almost everyone to re-load maps and look at specific cool things they saw or did," says Broussard. "Strippers come to mind."

April 14, 2000: Daikatana is released.

September 19, 2000: Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes is released on PlayStation.

December 5, 2000: Publisher Infogrames sells the Duke Nukem rights to Take-Two Interactive. Take-Two subsidiary publisher Gathering of Developers is now lined up to publish DNF.

March 28, 2001: A Gathering of Developers calendar reveals inklings of a plot: Duke is forced out of a Las Vegas retirement when Dr. Proton blows up the city. Shooting commences. (News)

May 17, 2001: The second DNF trailer debuts on the first day of E3 2001, comprised mainly of in-game footage. It is epic.

      

August 2001: Gathering of Developers closes its doors, and Take-Two takes over the duties of DNF publisher. During a Take-Two conference call, the company notes that DNF won't see a release until 2002 at the earliest. (News)

2002: The Dark Age of Duke. Work on the current version of DNF is halted. The vast majority of level design work is scrapped in transition to a new, mostly home-grown engine. Unstable Unreal code is blamed for the previous delays. New talent is brought on to continue development, bringing the team size to over 30.

May 14, 2002: Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is released on PC.

August 12, 2002: Duke Nukem Advance is released on Game Boy Advance.

May 29, 2003: Take-Two CEO Jeffrey Lupin informs reporters that Duke Nukem Forever will not be out by the end of 2003. Broussard fires back shortly after, reminding readers that DNF remains self-funded, while also issuing a famously stiff rebuttal to its publisher: "Take Two needs to STFU imo." The spate makes national news, including a story on CNN. (Broussard's comments)

January 20, 2004: After winning the Wired.com Vaporware Award for two years in a row, Duke Nukem Forever is given an honorary Lifetime Achievement award.

September 9, 2004: New Take-Two CEO Rich Roedel claims the game is using Doom 3 technology. Broussard denies it. (News)

September 14, 2004: 3D Realms announces that the Karma physics engine will be replaced with technology from Meqon Research, a company that will later be acquired by AGEIA in 2005.

February 16, 2005: Scott Miller announces that all future 3D Realms releases will be delivered digitally by the Game xStream service, later renamed Triton. (News)

September 30, 2005: Broussard flashes Shacknews regular mr. sleepy with a handful of DNF screenshots, which the user characterizes as "awesome." (Comment)

January 31, 2006: Interviewed by 1UP, Broussard is asked of DNF's progress, responding: "We're basically just pulling all the pieces together and making the game out of it. There's a lot that's finished. All the guns are finished. Most of the creatures are finished."

April 12, 2006: Computer Games Magazine visits 3D Realms and reports on the game's current state. They are shown "mainly just pieces of the game in progress and tech demos", such as "an early level, a vehicle sequence, a few test rooms."

August 30, 2006: Shacknews reports that 3D Realms has seen several employee departures over the previous year. 3D Realms downplays the impact of the losses, asserting that work on DNF is still progressing. "Physics and animation systems are virtually finished and shippable," Broussard replies. "It's simply maintenance and polish from here on out." (News)

October, 2006: The Triton download service begins to fail when the developing company, Digital Interactive Streams, abruptly goes out of business. Triton users who had purchased the recently released, 3D Realms-published Prey are given retail copies as compensation. The game is added to Valve Software's Steam digital distribution service on December 1.

December 27, 2006: DNF wins Wired.com's Vaporware Award again, despite already winning the Lifetime Achievement years in the past.

January 26, 2007: A small thumbnail attached to a 3D Realms job posting is later revealed to be an in-game Duke Nukem Forever screenshot. One additional shot is later released in this manner. (News)

March 20, 2007: Scott Miller tells YouGamers that DNF is running under a heavily modified version of the Unreal Engine.

October 10, 2007: Team Fortress 2 is released.

December 18, 2007: 3D Realms announces a new DNF teaser trailer will debut on the following day, and releases a single screenshot in advance. Shacknews user Dognose slips into cardiac arrest. (News)

December 19, 2007: Shacknews premieres first Duke Nukem Forever teaser trailer in over six years.

Semana del 4 al 10 de Mayo.

Lo que pasa es que también me da miedo de crecer,
me da miedo quedarme solo, me da miedo volverme viejo,
No quiero [...]
Ta ra ra ra rara ra ra, Ta ra ra ra ra ra ta rara ra ra...

"Cerca al Infernillo" - Beto Bicot & The International Suspiros