Patrick D

Lead Programmer

Bio

Patrick came to Gearbox Software in 1998 after working previously at Ion Storm on Anachronox. Prior to that he has contributed to many titles including Dominion, Monty Python And The Quest For The Holy Grail, and Arcade America. He started down the path of a game developer by programming home games on the Apple II in 1982. Before getting into professional game programming Patrick worked on two non-game commercial products: Actor, an object oriented programming language for Windows, and PyWare 3D, a tool to choreograph marching band drills in a 2D/3D environment. In Patrick's spare time he managed to earn a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and he's healing up nicely.

Length of time I have been employed in the industry

It's coming up on 12 years.

Game companies I have worked for

7th Level, Ion Storm

Titles I have worked on

Battle Beast, Arcade America, Monty Python and the Quest For the Holy Grail, Ace Ventura, Dominion: Storm Over Gift3, Anachronox, Opposing Force Blue Shift, Half-Life for Playstation2, 007: Nightfire, Brothers In Arms: Road To Hill 30, Brothers In Arms: Earned In Blood

Advice

Resources I would recommend for those interested in getting into game development (books, tutorials, sites, etc)

Resources for getting into game development depend on existing abilities and potential interest in game development. Picking up "The C++ Programming Language" by Bjarne Stroustrup is a good place to start in terms of learning C++ itself. Making sure to learn good object oriented practices through classwork or books is also good. At that point a book series like Game Programming Gems can be handy as a way to explore different areas of game development.

Favorites

First game I remember playing

Text Adventure on the Apple ][

All-time favorite game

Ultima II (played on my Apple ][)

Non-video gaming hobbies

Riding my motorcycle. Cooking. Landscaping.

Favorite bands/music

I like so much that I don't want to play favorites.

Favorite books/authors

Harlan Ellison is my favorite author

Favorite TV shows

Currently "Heros"

Favorite movies

A Clockwork Orange

Favorite quote

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."