Build Engine Guru Interviewed

Thanks to BluesNews for pointing to a DOS Game Archive interview with Ken Silverman, creator of Apogee's Build Engine, as used for Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, Shadow Warrior, Redneck Rampage, and more. The interview discusses the genesis of the Build Engine ("Around March of 1993, id Software released a set of alpha screenshots of DOOM. That's about when I started to work on Build... I decided to start with angled walls with a little prototype I wrote in QuickBasic (named PICROT)"), as well as some of Ken's more 'unique' non-programming skills ("I can draw the borders of all U.S. states from memory.")

Comments

Back to school

[trompete]

I read this a while ago, and my favorite part was how he left game programming to finish his college degree. I mean...who needs a degree when you are so well known in the industry.

He's got it right.

[Anonymous Coward]

Earn and save money first. Then go to school. The primary reason to go to college is to get a wife. So when you start to think about getting married, go back. Other than a centralized place for single women, college has nothing to offer for any reasonably bright person.

Re:He's got it right.

[Anonymous Coward]

Spoken truly like someone who's flipping burgers and wishes to encourage others to do the same.

Re:He's got it right.

[Anonymous Coward]

Spoken like someone who's wasted the best years of their life sucking the asses of egotistical professors who are totally out of touch with reality.

Re:He's got it right.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm the original poster. I have no degree (although I did spend more than 4 years and 80k trying). I left school only one class short from a CS degree and 2 classes short of a Math degree. I hate myself for staying there and wasting so many good years of my life. I earn $100 an hour consulting, the last 9-5 type job I had was paying me 76k a year.

Re:He's got it right.

[peripatetic_bum]

100$ an hour?

ok, but how many hours are you now getting?

I think the point of college has to be more than "to make a buck" BUT not every one is lucky enough to be able (ie rich parents) to think like that.

What seems to be going on is that as college's keep getting more and more expensive the idea that college is there to educate jsut seems to get more and more laughable.

I can see both sides. I went to college, and now am currently makeing twice (at least) what the poster above is making AND I also got very lucky in that I did earn (not recieve) a good education. however right now that good education just lets me seen the how very uneducated most every else is, BUT that for another discussion

Thanks for reading

Re:He's got it right.

[GigsVT]

If you have a medical degree, I think that is a slightly different matter from a normal 4 year degree, especially in CS. In medcine it could cost lives if the professors are totally out of touch and don't teach you well.

In CS, it's expected that the professors have their heads up their asses.

Re:He's got it right.

[Anonymous Coward]

Pfff. I guess you dropped out, huh?

Relevant link.

[hackwrench]

http://doomencyclo.free.fr/e_interviews_kensilv.ht m
Also, It's too bad PICROT isn't available for download. Did a google search that turned up the above link, but no PICROT download.

Re:Relevant link.

[Anonymous Coward]

I know an alpha of Blood escaped into the wild back then. Zips were weak vs. dictionary attack.
Contained a lot of binary and source code for some parts.

He's a...

[jrivar59]

NERD!

Oh wait... I can't stop coding either.. damnit...