Richard Gray (also known as Levelord) is a video game designer who is best known for designing

levels Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...

for 3D video games. His most famous works are perhaps the levels for ''

Duke Nukem 3D ''Duke Nukem 3D'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms. It is a sequel to the platform games ''Duke Nukem'' and '' Duke Nukem II'', published by 3D Realms. ''Duke Nukem 3D'' features the adventures of the titular Duke N ...

'' and ''

SiN In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, ...

''. During development of the expansion for ''Duke Nukem 3D'', he quit his position at

3D Realms 3D Realms Entertainment ApS is a video game publisher based in Aalborg, Denmark. Scott Miller (entrepreneur), Scott Miller founded the company in his parents' home in Garland, Texas, in 1987 as Apogee Software Productions to release his game ' ...

to co-found the company that became

Ritual Entertainment Ritual Entertainment was an American video game developer established in 1996 by Robert Atkins, Mark Dochtermann, Jim Dosé, Richard 'Levelord' Gray, Michael Hadwin, Harry Miller, and Tom Mustaine. Based in Dallas, Texas, Ritual Entertainment wa ...

. He is known for hiding difficult to find

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest trad ...

s in his levels in the form of hidden messages. Some of these can only be found by viewing the level in an editor program or cheating in the game, with a message such as ''"You're not supposed to be here! - Levelord"''. ''Duke Nukem 3D'' is known for having many such messages written on walls in some levels. His chosen pseudonym dates back to his early work on what became ''

Blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in th ...

'' starting in September 1994, based on how he signed off e-mails to designer Nick Newhard. His transfer to the ''Duke Nukem 3D'' team in March 1995 was one of the causes of the strain that lead to ''Blood'' being published by

GT Interactive GT, Gt or G-T may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games * GT Interactive, an American video game developer * GameTrailers, a video game website * ''Golden Tee Golf'', golf video game * Gran Turismo (series), ''Gran Turismo'' (series), a series ...

over 3D Realms. He created the first suspended platform, aka "void", deathmatch called HIPDM1 or "The Edge of Oblivion" for the '' Quake'' add-on pack ''

Scourge of Armagon ''Quake'' is a first-person shooter game developed by id Software and published by GT Interactive. The first game in the ''Quake'' series, it was originally released for MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows and Linux in 1996, followed by Mac OS an ...

''. This "islands in space" design of this multiplayer map became a staple in ''

Quake III Arena ''Quake III Arena'' is a 1999 multiplayer-focused first-person shooter developed by id Software. The third installment of the ''Quake'' series, ''Arena'' differs from previous games by excluding a story-based single-player mode and focusing prima ...

'' and many other deathmatch games. He created the first player-the-size-of-a-rat deathmatch level with the release of SPRY or "Behind Zee Bookcase" for ''SiN''. With

MumboJumbo MumboJumbo, LLC was an independent developer of games for personal computers, game consoles and mobile devices. MumboJumbo Mobile, LLC publishes entertainment software for Android and iOS devices. History The company was founded in January 200 ...

's acquisition of Ritual and its transition from big-budget projects (like '' SiN Episodes'') to

casual gaming A casual game is a video game targeted at a mass market audience, as opposed to a hardcore game, which is targeted at hobbyist gamers. Casual games may exhibit any type of gameplay and genre. They generally involve simpler rules, shorter sessi ...

, he has been involved with smaller, more quickly developed and more experimental games. He has released a

hidden object game A hidden object game, also called hidden picture or hidden object puzzle adventure (HOPA), is a puzzle video game genre in which the player must find items from a list that are hidden within a scene. Hidden object games are a popular trend in casu ...

called ''Becky Brogan - The Mystery of Meane Manor'', using the game programming language

BlitzMax Blitz BASIC is the programming language dialect of the first Blitz compilers, devised by New Zealand-based developer Mark Sibly. Being derived from BASIC, Blitz syntax was designed to be easy to pick up for beginners first learning to program. Th ...

References

External links

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Mumbo Jumbo

from ''

Gamasutra ''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...

'' *
BlitzMax Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Richard 1957 births American video game designers Living people Artists from New Haven, Connecticut