Duke Nukem Forever producer shares her take on the perverted humor
2K Games' Melissa Miller has been working in the games industry for nearly 10 years. In that time, she's helped ship both BioShock titles and a handful of licensed fare (Family Guy: The Game, among others). She even briefly worked on Borderlands.
Currently, she's a senior producer on Duke Nukem Forever -- a game laden with puerile boy jokes. At a recent press event, we asked Miller what it's like to be a woman working on a title that so blatantly relies on juvenile, sexist humor to engage players. She was quick to answer:
"I think it's interesting, because I've definitely watched through the years: There's this attention to women in games, and I always got the sense that people felt like there should be something tangible that says, 'This is what we get (in a good way) when women are involved in games and part of making them.' And it almost seems like they were waiting for us to say, 'There are more unicorns and rainbows in games!'
"And I really feel very strongly that, despite gender, all you're bringing to the game is you; you're bringing your personality and your experience, and the things that are important to you -- that you would push for and so forth. I definitely, with Duke especially -- guess what? I'm not always gonna find the same things funny as other people, and I appreciate that. For me, I just wanna help these guys make the best game possible and do what I can."Three-breasted aliens and first-person-fellating be damned, Miller clearly wants Duke fans to love the game as much as she does -- and even to laugh. Miller's own take on the humor? "I think it's funny!"
Currently, she's a senior producer on Duke Nukem Forever -- a game laden with puerile boy jokes. At a recent press event, we asked Miller what it's like to be a woman working on a title that so blatantly relies on juvenile, sexist humor to engage players. She was quick to answer:
"I think it's interesting, because I've definitely watched through the years: There's this attention to women in games, and I always got the sense that people felt like there should be something tangible that says, 'This is what we get (in a good way) when women are involved in games and part of making them.' And it almost seems like they were waiting for us to say, 'There are more unicorns and rainbows in games!'
"And I really feel very strongly that, despite gender, all you're bringing to the game is you; you're bringing your personality and your experience, and the things that are important to you -- that you would push for and so forth. I definitely, with Duke especially -- guess what? I'm not always gonna find the same things funny as other people, and I appreciate that. For me, I just wanna help these guys make the best game possible and do what I can."Three-breasted aliens and first-person-fellating be damned, Miller clearly wants Duke fans to love the game as much as she does -- and even to laugh. Miller's own take on the humor? "I think it's funny!"
