The M1911 Pistol is a weapon in Duke Nukem Forever.
Description[]
Colt pistol modified to include Duke’s symbol on the grip. It is the first mandatory weapon picked up. It packs the most punch when aiming for the head, inflicting quadruple the damage. It also has the fastest Melee attack in the game, about twice as fast as any other weapon.
The first one found in the game is the only gold-plated one. All M1911s obtained later from EDF soldiers and Pigcops are the original dull black finish.
Development[]
Both the 1998 and 2001 trailers for DNF show different designs for the Pistol/M1911. The 1998 trailer shows a futuristic, round design that has a scope attached to it to act as more of a 'Sniper pistol'. The scope could actually be used to zoom in, as seen in the trailer.
The 2001 trailer shows the Pistol as a gold Desert Eagle. Marketing material from that period also show Duke wielding a Desert Eagle. This pistol also appeared in a promo picture released for the current version of DNF in 2007. While it was removed in favor of the M1911, the Desert Eagle can be found wielded by the statue the Pigcops are toppling in the 2011 reveal trailer.
In the DNF Balls of Steel edition art book, there are several pages describing the history of Duke's pistol to the current format. The developer's write that originally the gun was designed to have a scope and be very high-tech looking, but was later altered into a golden desert eagle that was kept for a large amount of time, before being swapped out to a M1911. Images on the page show they played with several scoped gun designs, including a revolver of unknown make, M1911, and a Desert Eagle. On a separate page the writer mentions that they wanted the gun to be so accurate to a real gun that George Broussard brought a real M1911 into the office to assist in making the in-game model look and sound like the real thing. (an action that proved frightening when a co-worker picked it up and started playing around with it).
The DNF Pistol went through various incarnations while the game was created:
- 1997-1998 High-tech modified Glock 17, 3D Realms wanted to keep a part of the original Duke Nukem 3D style.
- 1999-2008 Golden Desert Eagle.
- 2008-2011 Colt 1911 (Note: In the 2008 and 2009 version, it still used the Desert Eagle sounds)
Trivia[]
- The M1911 first appeared in the N64 port of Duke 3D, and that the one in DNF shares the same initial ammo count as well (64).
- There is an Achievement/Trophy for carrying the first one throughout the entire game without dropping or losing it.
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