Richard "Levelord" Gray, the level designer best known for his work on Duke Nukem 3D, has died at 68. Apogee Entertainment announced his death on social media, paying tribute to his "legendary work on Duke Nukem 3D" and the legacy he left behind.
Joe Siegler wrote that he had received the news from Gray's wife, Olga, and that Gray had dealt with cancer on and off for some time; Siegler gave Gray's dates as November 15, 1957 to October 12, 2026. A cause of death has not been announced.
Gray began as a level designer on Duke Nukem 3D, which launched in 1996. Apogee founder Scott Miller told PC Gamer that he hired Gray in 1994 after seeing his Doom levels in the mod scene, and that Gray moved to Dallas to work from the studio's offices. In a 2016 interview with Duke64Nukem.com, Gray said he was 35 when he made his first Doom level, calling himself "a late bloomer with games".
Richard loved to push the engine to its limits and he came up with a lot of fun level design tricks, using portals for example, that our other level designers learned from.
After Duke Nukem 3D launched, Gray left 3D Realms and co-founded Hipnotic Interactive, later renamed Ritual Entertainment. His credits there included Quake: Scourge of Armagon, Sin, Star Trek: Elite Force 2, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and 25 to Life. He was also known for the "You're not supposed to be here" Easter egg in Duke Nukem 3D, which players could reach only by cheating.
Tributes came from across the industry. Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski wrote that Gray "paved the way for so many level/environment designers", and Slipgate Ironworkers CEO Frederik Schreiber called him "one of the kindest people I've ever met in the games industry". John Romero described him as "a gentle soul, and an excellent level designer", and composer Andrew Hulshult also paid tribute.
