David Vonderhaar, also known as Vahn, (born September 8, 1972) is an American

video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...

and

game design Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...

er. He is best known for his work on the ''

Call of Duty ''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter military video game series and media franchise published by Activision, starting in 2003. The games were first developed by Infinity Ward, then by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. Several spin-of ...

Black Ops'' franchise.

Career

Vonderhaar began his career at

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

as a

quality assurance Quality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to assure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design ...

tester,

web design Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites. The different areas of web design include web graphic design; user interface design (UI design); authoring, including standardised code a ...

er and online manager for several titles. In 2006, he led the design of ''

Call of Duty 3 ''Call of Duty 3'' is a 2006 first-person shooter game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It is the third major installment in the ''Call of Duty'' series. It was released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and W ...

'' and several other ''

'' titles developed by

Treyarch Treyarch Corporation ( ; formerly Treyarch Invention LLC) is an American video game developer based in Los Angeles with Additional studio locations in Vancouver, Canada; and Austin, Texas. Founded in 1996 by Peter Akemann and Doğan Köslü, it ...

. He designed the multiplayer systems for '' Call of Duty: Black Ops'' and '' Call of Duty: Black Ops II'', along with the campaign, multiplayer and free run modes for '' Call of Duty: Black Ops III''. Vonderhaar led the design systems for the campaign and multiplayer experiences of '' Call of Duty: Black Ops 4'', before transitioning to full-time development on Blackout after the campaign mode was cancelled. He also worked on the multiplayer of '' Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War'' and its Fireteam modes. On August 18, 2023, Vonderhaar announced his departure from Treyarch, revealing he is working on an unannounced project. He established

NetEase NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company founded by Ding Lei in June 1997. It provides online services with content, community, communications, and commerce. The company develops and operates online PC and mobile games, adverti ...

's company BulletFarm.

Design philosophy

Vonderhaar has a competitive-focused agenda and is inspired by

Esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

gameplay design. Vonderhaar has spoken on the development of League Play, a competitive mode introduced in '' Call of Duty: Black Ops II'', and their goal to make Treyarch games "fun to play, and fun to watch". Starting with '' Call of Duty: Black Ops'', Vonderhaar worked closely with competitive players and Esports professionals to improve the spectating and gameplay experience of ''

''.

Games

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:David, Vonderhaar Living people Creative directors 1972 births