86 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
86 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
title: "gunz: the duel"
|
|
author: "yehorovye"
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
**gunz: the duel** is a third-person online multiplayer shooter originally developed by the
|
|
korean studio [maiet entertainment](/maiet-entertainment) and first released in 2003 as a closed beta.
|
|
it became well-known in the mid-2000s for its acrobatic movement system (heavily inspired by Matrix), anime aesthetics,
|
|
and broken-but-beautiful mechanics like k-style (korean style).
|
|
|
|
unlike traditional shooters, gunz let players wall-run, flip, dash, block bullets with swords,
|
|
and cancel animations to chain attacks at superhuman speed.
|
|
the result was a glitchy yet fluid combat system that felt more like a fighting game than a shooter.
|
|
|
|
## core mechanics
|
|
|
|
- third-person shooting with swords, pistols, shotguns, rockets
|
|
- fast-paced movement with wall runs, dashes, flips
|
|
- **k-style**: abuse of animation canceling and dash mechanics to move and fight faster
|
|
- custom characters with leveling, cosmetics, and equipment
|
|
- lobbies and p2p rooms instead of matchmaking
|
|
- community-run private servers with custom content
|
|
|
|
## development and decline
|
|
|
|
maiet released the original version in korea and partnered with ijji (in the us),
|
|
ph, br, and other regional publishers.
|
|
despite its popularity, gunz never got a proper sequel or modernization.
|
|
a spiritual sequel, **gunz 2**, was released in 2013, but it removed all of the gunz essence and eventually
|
|
(more like instantly) died.
|
|
|
|
eventually, maiet went bankrupt in 2013.
|
|
the intellectual property rights became murky, with the failed gunz 2 and server shutdowns,
|
|
fans were left to maintain the game via private servers.
|
|
|
|
## ip drama
|
|
|
|
in the 2020s, korean mobile game publisher [masangsoft](/masangsoft) began claiming ownership over gunz, sending dmca takedowns to private server operators and asserting vague rights over the brand. their claims are **highly questionable**, as they never developed the game and appear to have acquired old maiet assets without any formal transfer of rights.
|
|
|
|
meanwhile, [gosu games](/gosu-games), a community-driven team, is working on gunz.gg. TODO.
|
|
|
|
## why it should be considered a based game
|
|
|
|
- movement system was discovered, not designed, raw, emergent gameplay
|
|
- janky af, yet high skill ceiling
|
|
- completely unique feel, no other game ever matched it
|
|
- community has kept it alive for 20+ years through pure obsession
|
|
- proof that good games don't need balance or polish, just soul
|
|
|
|
despite all these reasons that prove that gunz is pretty based, game relies
|
|
in Microsoft APIs and it can only be played in [Windows](/windows), which
|
|
is a big big mistake.
|
|
|
|
## source code
|
|
|
|
gunz source code can be found in GitHub in many phases, gunz code has been leaked so many times
|
|
it's hard to tell which one is the original one.
|
|
|
|
gunz is made in [C++](/cpp) and the code itself is a fucking unreadable trash with comments in korean.
|
|
|
|
the game is poorly optimized, despite being 20 years old, it will run laggy on modern and old hardware, as result of
|
|
the fucking shit it has as code.
|
|
|
|
## legacy
|
|
|
|
gunz remains a cult classic, especially in southeast asia and south america
|
|
its influence can be seen in mods, movement shooters, and indie games, but nothing has replicated the original chaos.
|
|
|
|
many still play it on private servers like FGunZ or some [malware](/malware) servers like FXP GunZ and iGunZ.
|
|
|
|
## gameplay styles
|
|
|
|
TODO.
|
|
|
|
## see also
|
|
|
|
* [maiet entertainment](/maiet-entertainment)
|
|
* [k-style](/k-style)
|
|
* [masangsoft](/masangsoft)
|
|
* [gosu games](/gosu-games)
|
|
* [gunz: origin](/gunz-origin)
|
|
* [freestylers gunz](/freestylers-gunz)
|
|
* [universe gunz](/universe-gunz)
|
|
* [animation canceling](/animation-canceling)
|
|
* [dead games](/dead-games)
|
|
* [movement shooters](/movement-shooters)
|