Remembering Paul Steed

For the second in our series on the developers who helped create Chris Roberts’ worlds we are remembering Paul Steed, a world-renowned artist and 3D innovator who sadly passed away earlier this year.

Paul Steed was 27 years old before he even used a computer… but once he did, the techniques he would pioneer would change gaming forever. In 1991, after serving six years in the United States Air Force, Paul answered an Origin Systems advertisement looking for artists. Already a gifted sketch artist, he joined Chris Roberts’ team doing 2D work for Strike Commander. Feeling that 3D polygons like those used in the Falcon series and others weren’t adequate to the level of detail he wanted, Roberts had initially decided to use pre-rendered sprites like those in Wing Commander I and II for the game’s aircraft. The ground and less detailed objects like buildings would be done in actual 3D. Paul was assigned to test the software for the 3D portion… and within days was using the software intended for the low resolution background models to craft detailed fighters, tanks and ships.

The result was so impressive that on his work alone 2D sprites were thrown out entirely and the game—and most games that would follow to this day!—went fully 3D. Paul had invented low-poly texturing. He went on to build every single object in Strike Commander and then to train Origin’s artists on the system themselves. As such he was responsible not only for Strike Commander’s stunning graphics, but the 3D art seen in Wing Commander Armada, Heart of the Tiger, The Price of Freedom, Pacific Strike, Wings of Glory, Bioforge and others.

After leaving Origin, Paul joined id software where his name and art style became synonymous with the massively succesful Quake series. In the 21st century, Paul published three books on the now-industry-dominant 3D modeling techniques he helped create. He served as Creative Director at Atari and then went on to help found Exigent, a game art clearing house company that assisted projects on contract. Paul died unexpectedly in August, 2012, leaving behind a body of work and an impact on game design for which he will be long remembered.

Games Strike Commander (1992)

Wing Commander: Privateer (1993)

Wing Commander Armada (1994)

Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994)

Wings of Glory (1995)

Bioforge (1995)

Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1996)

Quake (1996)

Quake II (1997)

Quake III: Arena (1999)

Bad Betty (2002)

Shadow Ops: Red Mercury (2004)

Neverwinter Nights 2 (2006)

Marc Ecko’s Getting Up (2006)

BattleZone (2006)

Act of War: High Treason (2006)

Test Drive Unlimited (2007)

Kwari (2008)

Sorcery (2012)

Zum zweiten Mal in unserer Serie über die Entwickler, die Chris Roberts' Welten mitgestaltet haben, erinnern wir uns an Paul Steed, einen weltbekannten Künstler und 3D-Innovator, der Anfang des Jahres leider verstorben ist.

Paul Steed war 27 Jahre alt, bevor er überhaupt einen Computer benutzte.... aber sobald er es tat, würden die Techniken, die er entwickeln würde, das Spiel für immer verändern. 1991, nachdem er sechs Jahre bei der United States Air Force gearbeitet hatte, antwortete Paul auf eine Anzeige von Origin Systems, in der er nach Künstlern suchte. Bereits ein begabter Skizzenzeichner, schloss er sich Chris Roberts' Team an und arbeitete für Strike Commander in 2D. Da Roberts das Gefühl hatte, dass 3D-Polygone wie die in der Falcon-Serie und andere nicht dem gewünschten Detaillierungsgrad entsprachen, hatte er sich zunächst entschieden, vorgefertigte Sprites wie die in Wing Commander I und II für das Flugzeug des Spiels zu verwenden. Der Boden und weniger detaillierte Objekte wie Gebäude würden in 3D erstellt. Paul wurde beauftragt, die Software für den 3D-Teil zu testen.... und innerhalb weniger Tage benutzte er die Software für die niedrigauflösenden Hintergrundmodelle, um detaillierte Jäger, Panzer und Schiffe herzustellen.

Das Ergebnis war so beeindruckend, dass allein bei seiner Arbeit 2D-Sprites komplett weggeworfen wurden und das Spiel - und die meisten Spiele, die bis heute folgen würden - vollständig in 3D ausgeführt wurden. Paulus hatte die Low-Poly-Texturierung erfunden. Er baute jedes einzelne Objekt in Strike Commander und trainierte dann die Origin-Künstler selbst auf dem System. Als solcher war er nicht nur für die atemberaubende Grafik von Strike Commander verantwortlich, sondern auch für die 3D-Kunst in Wing Commander Armada, Heart of the Tiger, The Price of Freedom, Pacific Strike, Wings of Glory, Bioforge und anderen.

Nachdem er Origin verlassen hatte, kam Paul zu id software, wo sein Name und sein Kunststil zum Synonym für die äußerst erfolgreiche Quake-Serie wurden. Im 21. Jahrhundert veröffentlichte Paul drei Bücher über die von ihm mitentwickelten, heute in der Branche dominierenden 3D-Modellierungstechniken. Er war als Creative Director bei Atari tätig und half dann bei der Gründung von Exigent, einer Game Art Clearing House Company, die Projekte im Auftrag unterstützte. Paul starb unerwartet im August 2012 und hinterließ eine Menge Arbeit und einen Einfluss auf das Spieldesign, an den man sich lange erinnern wird.

Spiele


Strike Commander (1992) Wing Commander: Privateer (1993) Wing Commander Armada (1994) Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994) Wings of Glory (1995) Bioforge (1995) Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1996) Quake (1996) Quake (1996) Quake II (1997) Quake III: Arena (1999) Bad Betty (2002) Shadow Ops: Red Mercury (2004) Neverwinter Nights 2 (2006) Marc Ecko's Getting Up (2006) BattleZone (2006) Act of War: High Treason (2006) Test Drive Unlimited (2007) Kwari (2008) Sorcery (2012)

For the second in our series on the developers who helped create Chris Roberts’ worlds we are remembering Paul Steed, a world-renowned artist and 3D innovator who sadly passed away earlier this year.

Paul Steed was 27 years old before he even used a computer… but once he did, the techniques he would pioneer would change gaming forever. In 1991, after serving six years in the United States Air Force, Paul answered an Origin Systems advertisement looking for artists. Already a gifted sketch artist, he joined Chris Roberts’ team doing 2D work for Strike Commander. Feeling that 3D polygons like those used in the Falcon series and others weren’t adequate to the level of detail he wanted, Roberts had initially decided to use pre-rendered sprites like those in Wing Commander I and II for the game’s aircraft. The ground and less detailed objects like buildings would be done in actual 3D. Paul was assigned to test the software for the 3D portion… and within days was using the software intended for the low resolution background models to craft detailed fighters, tanks and ships.

The result was so impressive that on his work alone 2D sprites were thrown out entirely and the game—and most games that would follow to this day!—went fully 3D. Paul had invented low-poly texturing. He went on to build every single object in Strike Commander and then to train Origin’s artists on the system themselves. As such he was responsible not only for Strike Commander’s stunning graphics, but the 3D art seen in Wing Commander Armada, Heart of the Tiger, The Price of Freedom, Pacific Strike, Wings of Glory, Bioforge and others.

After leaving Origin, Paul joined id software where his name and art style became synonymous with the massively succesful Quake series. In the 21st century, Paul published three books on the now-industry-dominant 3D modeling techniques he helped create. He served as Creative Director at Atari and then went on to help found Exigent, a game art clearing house company that assisted projects on contract. Paul died unexpectedly in August, 2012, leaving behind a body of work and an impact on game design for which he will be long remembered.

Games Strike Commander (1992)

Wing Commander: Privateer (1993)

Wing Commander Armada (1994)

Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994)

Wings of Glory (1995)

Bioforge (1995)

Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1996)

Quake (1996)

Quake II (1997)

Quake III: Arena (1999)

Bad Betty (2002)

Shadow Ops: Red Mercury (2004)

Neverwinter Nights 2 (2006)

Marc Ecko’s Getting Up (2006)

BattleZone (2006)

Act of War: High Treason (2006)

Test Drive Unlimited (2007)

Kwari (2008)

Sorcery (2012)