Interview with Ken Silverman

Recently, I've become interested in working with voxels, and naturally ended up looking into Ken Silverman's Voxlap engine.  I decided that I might as well see if he would agree to do a short email interview.

Ken Silverman singlehandedly coded the Build engine, which was used in Duke Nukem 3d, Blood, and Shadow Warrior.  He and John Carmack are considered the two biggest contributers to 3d technology in that era.  Visit his website here to learn more.


Jefequeso: Some people say that voxel technology is obsolete, as polygons can be used now to do most of the things that voxels traditionally excelled at (full environmental destruction, natural height maps, etc).  Do you agree? 

Ken Silverman: No. Neither technology is obsolete. Voxels can be made to do everything that polygons can and vice versa. It just takes the right algorithm and a good platform to prove it.


 J: I notice that you keep your computer hardware up-to-date.  Do you also try to keep on top of contemporary developments in 3d engines?  And if so, is there a particular development that you've been impressed with or excited about? 

KS: I try not to look at what other people are doing. It only makes me feel depressed. 


J: Out of the handful of games that used the Build engine, do you have a favorite? 

KS: In conversation, I usually mention Duke3D because it was the first and most popular of the 3D Realms games. In terms of artwork and features, I'd have to say that Blood and Shadow Warrior were the best games made with the Build Engine. 


J: Your name is pretty well-known to anyone with even a casual interest in mid-90s FPSs.  Yet after Build, you didn't do any more work for commercial FPSs.  What made you decide to step out of the industry?  And would you ever consider doing commercial engine work again? 

KS: I left 3D Realms because I felt that I was way behind in terms of Quake level technology and I wouldn't have been able to satisfy their needs. I never started my own company because I didn't feel I had the personality or ambition to do so.


J: Red Faction 1's Geomod technology tried to simulate fully deformable terrain and voxel-like destruction in a polygonal environment.  Are you familiar with the technology, and do you have any thoughts on it? 

KS: Sure, I played Red Faction when it came out. I even wrote my own geomod-like test using a BSP. It's not a good solution because it does not naturally clean itself up. Eventually it runs out of memory and you have to reset. 


J: I'm a little bit of an "engine geek," in that I enjoy researching and comparing 3d engines with one another.  Do you have a favorite engine? 

KS: My favorite engine is whatever I'm currently working on.


J: Do you like what people have done with the Voxlap engine, or do you feel that its potential has been underused? 

KS: I think Voxelstein has some really great artwork (although I certainly don't endorse the vulgar stuff). Also I wish I could have come up with a character animation system similar to what they have. Ace of Spades seems to be its killer app and also an opportunity that I really missed out on.


J: What programs/games of yours are you most proud of?

KS: The Build Engine will always remain as the biggest project I've worked on that I will never top.
 

J: You had some contact with John Carmack during the 90s, and he obviously had great admiration for you.  Have you talked with him since the Build days?

KS: He emailed me a job offer a few years ago. I guess he was frustrated with his current employees. I declined it though because I didn't care to move to Texas. Other than that, no.
 

J: The 90s were a very exciting time for videogames and for videogame technology.  What was it like participating in the innovations that helped define one of the biggest genres today?

KS: Texas in the mid 90's was certainly fun at times. Every day, the developers were trying to impress each other with cool contributions to the project. I didn't realize how unique that kind of environment was until I left.

J: In your FAQ, you mention that you don't play many games.  Is this still true? 

KS: Yup. I just get depressed when I see the opportunities I missed out on. 


J: Are there any specific programmers out there that you admire? 

KS: Sure. Obviously I admire the success that Carmack has had. But I also like to follow those people who I've mentored, including those kids who I've worked with personally, and also those people who I've collaborated with over the internet. 


J: Do you program for a living, or do you have a "day job?" 

KS: I spend half my time working at my dad's lab at Brown University, where I help to mentor students on projects and also write code for various hardware gadgets. For the other half of my time, I work at home on my own stuff. 


J: Just for fun, do you have any thoughts on Duke Nukem Forever, now that the sorry tale of its development has come to an end?

KS: The Duke franchise is not mine and I never had much say in it. I played it once on my brother's XBox. The game has some funny easter eggs that remind me of the original, but otherwise I have no investment in it.