Dave Taylor (game programmer)

He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1993.{{cite web |url=https://alcalde.texasexes.org/2012/07/ut-alum-beats-angry-birds-with-a-game-of-his-own/ |title=UT Alum Beats Angry Birds with a Game of His Own |last=McDowall |first=Katy |date=July 3, 2012 |website=The Alcalde |access-date=June 29, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827021331/https://alcalde.texasexes.org/2012/07/ut-alum-beats-angry-birds-with-a-game-of-his-own/ |archive-date=August 27, 2012}} Prior to working for id, he was a member of The Kernel Group, which worked on Unix kernel debugging.{{cite web|url=https://www.talisman.org/~erlkonig/misc/ddt.shtml|website=GA-Source|title=Interviews - Dave Taylor, Transmeta|first=James|last=Hills|date=1999-06-19|access-date=2023-03-21}}

Taylor worked for id Software between 1993 and 1996, and was during the time involved with the development of Doom and Quake. He created ports of both games to IRIX, AIX, Solaris and Linux, and helped program the Atari Jaguar ports of Doom and Wolfenstein 3D.{{cite web |url=http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/1 |title=DOOM |last=Johnson |first=Michael K. |date=December 1, 1994 |website=Linux Journal |access-date=January 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128231357/http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/1 |archive-date=January 28, 2010}} He also considers himself to have been the "spackle coder" on Doom, for adding things such as the status bar, sound library integration, the automap, level transitions, cheat codes, and the network chat system.{{cite web |url=http://www.blankmaninc.com/david-taylor-interview |title=Dave Taylor Interview |last=Hawk |first=Lucky |date=October 17, 2012 |website=BLANKMANinc |access-date=June 29, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629004105/http://www.blankmaninc.com/david-taylor-interview |archive-date=June 29, 2013}} On Quake, he wrote the original sound engine, the DOS TCP/IP network library, and added VESA 2.0 support. One of the musical themes in Doom II, "The Dave D. Taylor Blues", was named after him by Robert Prince.{{cite web |url=http://www.blankmaninc.com/david-taylor-interview/2 |title=Dave Taylor Interview |last=Hawk |first=Lucky |date=October 17, 2012 |website=BLANKMANinc |access-date=June 29, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101062657/http://www.blankmaninc.com/david-taylor-interview/2 |archive-date=November 1, 2013}}

The 2003 book Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture mentions his habit of passing out from motion sickness after prolonged playing of Doom, and how the other employees would, after such incidents, sketch a body outline of his unconscious form with masking tape. After the success of the game, they bought him a couch to pass out on. His attempts to "talk up" Quake on-line, his purchase of an Acura NSX with Doom money, his friendship with American McGee, and his eventual departure from the company are also mentioned.{{cite book |last=Kushner |first=David |date=2003 |title=Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture |location=New York |publisher=Random House |page=89 |isbn=0-375-50524-5}}

Taylor founded a small game company called Crack dot Com from 1996 to 1998. Crack dot Com released only one game, Abuse, a PC platform shooter. In a 1997 interview, he claimed that he wasn't particularly proud of Abuse, and that "he set out to prove that a person could sell 50,000 copies of a so-so game."{{cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/1997/04/28/focus2.html |title=Past Doom turns into glory for Crack dot Com game firm |last=Murphy |first=Shelby L. |date=April 27, 1997 |website=Austin Business Journal |access-date=October 24, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624121136/http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/1997/04/28/focus2.html |archive-date=June 24, 2016}} He then led the effort to build Golgotha, a first-person shooter / real-time strategy hybrid,{{cite web |url=http://www.linuxgames.com/?dataloc=articles%2Fdave_taylor_interview |title=Dave D. Taylor interview about Crack.Com |website=LinuxGames |access-date=March 7, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018202647/http://www.linuxgames.com/?dataloc=articles%2Fdave_taylor_interview |archive-date=October 18, 2006}} but the company folded before its completion.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/10/24/crack-dot-com-shuts-down |title=Crack dot com Shuts Down |date=October 23, 1998 |website=IGN |access-date=October 24, 2015}}

Between 1998 and 2001 he worked for Transmeta.{{cite web |url=http://www.talisman.org/~erlkonig/misc/ddt.shtml |title=Interviews - Dave Taylor, Transmeta |last=Hills |first=James |date=June 19, 1999 |website=GA-Source |access-date=March 7, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160628135829/http://www.talisman.org/~erlkonig/misc/ddt.shtml |archive-date=June 28, 2016}} He was president of Carbon6 from 2001 to 2002, there also working as lead designer and producer for the Game Boy Advance game Spy Kids Challenger. Since 2002 he has been vice president of Naked Sky Entertainment and since 2003 also an advisor and freelance game designer.{{cite web |url=http://www.intuitive.com/blog/dave_taylor_on_sex_in_video_games_1.html |title=Dave Taylor on Sex in Video Games |last=Taylor |first=Dave |date=June 5, 2006 |website=Intuitive Systems |access-date=March 7, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529223747/http://www.intuitive.com/blog/dave_taylor_on_sex_in_video_games_1.html |archive-date=May 29, 2013}} He is also willing to act as a Linux game porter for pay projects.{{cite web |url=http://linuxgamingnews.org/2009/11/04/gnulinux-game-porters-needed/ |title=GNU/Linux Game Porters Needed ! |last=Bardin |first=Maxim |date=November 4, 2009 |website=Linux Gaming News |access-date=January 23, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124221751/http://linuxgamingnews.org/2009/11/04/gnulinux-game-porters-needed/ |archive-date=November 24, 2010}}

In 2009, he produced Abuse Classic{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/games/abuse/iphone-61230 |title=Abuse - iPhone |website=IGN |access-date=March 7, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309024052/http://www.ign.com/games/abuse/iphone-61230 |archive-date=March 9, 2017}} for the Apple iPhone and Beakiez for the PC.{{cite web |url=https://www.escapistmagazine.com/bigger-better-beakiez-busts-loose/ |title=Bigger, Better Beakiez Busts Loose |last=Chalk |first=Andy |date=June 22, 2010 |website=The Escapist |access-date=June 22, 2010}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20181016114536/http://www.davetaylor.name/ Dave Taylor's Official Website]
• [http://www.talisman.org/~erlkonig/misc/ddt.shtml Interview with Dave Taylor] by James Hills (June 19, 1999)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061018202647/http://www.linuxgames.com/?dataloc=articles%2Fdave_taylor_interview Dave D. Taylor interview about Crack.Com] from LinuxGames (2003)
• [http://www.beakiez.com Beakiez], a game by Taylor

{{Linux people}}

{{id Software}}

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Category:Cockrell School of Engineering alumni

Category:Linux game porters

Category:Linux people

Category:Living people

Category:American video game programmers

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)