TTYW - Behind the Scenes: Fahrenheit

Angel Ramon
Nov 3, 2017
3 min read

Hey everyone, what's good on this awesome Friday night? What are your plans on this night, TGIF! Anyway here is the second post of this series as we head behind the scenes of my Sci-Fi/Gamelit/LitFPS book series, The Thousand Years War. Today we look at the third to last level/chapter in Area 5: Hollywood and its secrets that await the reader.

This is yet another chapter that was inspired by my favorite FPS shooter, Duke Nukem 3D and it is a level in the game as well. This level is not close to as fustrating as Flood Zone. For me, this was actually one of my favorite levels to play in the entire game. It's a small level compared to Flood Zone and others, however it's fast paced. I fell in love with the level because it always seemed to give the illusion that there was more to the level and more stuff to do, only to realize that I had explored the whole level. Perhaps it was the cool enivroments such as the firehouse, the apartment building, and radio station that drew me in to the level. Unlike Flood Zone, there is only a very small underwater part that is only seconds long. The level is not overly long or difficult, except for the twin BattleLords at the end if you should select "Come Get Some" as your skill level.

If you played the N64 verison of Duke Nukem 3D, you will notice that the firehouse has more detail on the inside and has more for you to do as well. I worte this chapter using the N64 version as my inspiration. I really enjoyed writing this level/chapter as it fits my MO of writing pure action scenes. No sex/love or emotional scenes, just plain kick-ass alien blasting just like the Duke himself. This was perhaps one of the easiest chapters I did, took me only a day to write the entire thing. However, I kept the small level charm, even in the book itself.

Here's a quick blurb of what to expect from this chapter in the book:

Maria and Angel managed to escape from highway after defeating one of the robots from the glooba army. They get down from the collapsing highway and enter a courtyard of a middle-class apartment complex through an alleyway. They have to find a way out of this small middle-class area with a firehouse and radio station close by in order to meet up with the others at the all-star hotel.

Above is a picture of a popular easter egg with Duke Nukem 3D fans which is a sign showing guilty. This is a reference to the OJ Simpson trial that took place from November 1994 to October 1995. The guilty sign is a reference of when he was found guilty after a long 11-month trial. In fact a sign saying Innocent? can be found back in the very first level of Duke Nukem 3D - Hollywood Holocaust. Fahrenheit is in the point of view of Angel and Maria since they are the only two players in the level, as in they're the only two to access the level.

Secrets of Fahrenheit:

- As noted above, the reference to the OJ Simpson trail when he was found guilty.

- In the apartment building there is a cabinet of wine bottles that if it were to be broken would had revealed a secret area where drugs were being stashed.

- In the book Fahrenheit is after the Highway level. However in Duke Nukem 3D, Duke comes from a secret cave area from the train station level - Rabid Transit.

- The firetruck in the book and game has the number 451. This is a reference to Fahrenheit 451, a novel by Ray Bradbury.

- The apartment building that the two explore is actually the apartment belonging to the news reporter Chuck Thomas that is killed in chapter 3 of the book.

- The apartment complex is known as Green Arces Apartments and one that Maria considered moving to if she moved to the Hollywood area.

Players in the level: Two (Angel and Maria)

Difficulty Level if it were an actual game: Medium

Actual Diffculty in Duke Nukem 3D: Easy on Piece of Cake and Let's Rock. Medium - Hard on Come Get Some/Damn I'm Good.

Well that wraps up another level/chapter in this series. I hope you are enjoying this blog series where I break up each chapter down to the foundation. If you like the series, like and comment. If you haven't read the series, give it a go for your weekend read!