View source for Ken Silverman

{{Use American English|date=October 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{short description|American game programmer (born 1975)}}
{{about||the American guitarist and composer|Ken Silverman (musician)|the American author|Kenneth Silverman}}

{{BLP self-published|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Ken Silverman
| image              = Ken Silverman - American Computer programmer in 2021.png
| caption            = Silverman in 2021
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1975|11|1|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Mount Kisco, New York]], U.S.
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| occupation         = [[Game programmer]]
| known_for          = [[Build engine]], [[Ken's Labyrinth]], [[Voxlap]]
| education          = [[Brown University]] [[Bachelor of Science|(BSc)]]
| spouse             = 
| years_active       = 1989-present
| website            = {{URL|http://advsys.net/ken/}}
}}
[[File:Ken Silverman.jpg|thumb|Silverman in 2002]]
'''Ken Silverman''' (born November 1, 1975) is an American [[game programmer]], best known for writing the [[Build (game engine)|Build engine]]. It was most notably utilized by ''[[Duke Nukem 3D]]'', ''[[Shadow Warrior]]'', ''[[Blood (video game)|Blood]]'', and more than a dozen [[Build engine#List of Build Engine games|other games]] in the mid- to late-1990s.

Once considered the primary rival of [[John D. Carmack|John Carmack]] (later succeeded by [[Tim Sweeney (game developer)|Tim Sweeney]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://games.slashdot.org/story/99/10/15/1012230/John-Carmack-Answers |title=John Carmack Answers |publisher=[[Slashdot]] |date= October 15, 1999|accessdate=December 10, 2015}}</ref> Silverman started work on the Build engine sometime before his first semester at [[Brown University]] in 1993, under a contract with [[3D Realms|Apogee Software]]. In the wake of ''Duke Nukem 3D'' and other Build engine games, Silverman left the commercial game industry.

Silverman has been CTO and co-founder of Ardfry Imaging, LLC responsible for the PNG Compression tool [[PNGOUT]]. He is the founder and Chief Computer Scientist of [[VOXON]], makers of the world's most advanced 3D volumetric display system.

== Projects ==

=== Ken's Labyrinth ===
{{Main|Ken's Labyrinth}}
''Ken's Labyrinth'' is a [[first-person shooter]] video game coded by Silverman. It was originally released in 1993 as shareware by [[Epic MegaGames]]. The source code to the project and even older versions can now be found on Silverman's website.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://advsys.net/ken/klab.htm |title=The official Ken's Labyrinth page |website=advsys.net}}</ref>

=== Build engine ===
{{Main|Build engine}}
The Build engine is a first-person shooter engine created by Ken Silverman for 3D Realms from 1993 to 1996. The engine was used in a number of popular games of the era, and its source code was released on June 20, 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://advsys.net/ken/build.htm |title=Ken Silverman's Build Engine Page |website=advsys.net}}</ref> Shortly after the ''Duke Nukem 3D'' source code was released in 2003, Silverman added the [[Build engine#Polymost|Polymost]] renderer to the Build engine. From 2006 to 2011 he prototyped a successor to the engine, titled [[Build engine#Successor|Build2]]. He released his drafts for the engine on March 7, 2018.

=== Voxlap ===
In 2000, Silverman started work on Voxlap, a [[voxel]]-driven graphics [[game engine|engine]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://killscreen.com/articles/meet-the-voxel-pixel-cousin-betamax/ |title=Meet the voxel, the pixel's long-lost cousin, and why it became videogames' Betamax |website=Kill Screen| date=July 24, 2013| author=Jason Johnson}}</ref> In addition to the engine, a Voxlap-powered tech demo was produced in cooperation with [[Tom Dobrowolski]]. Since 2003, development on the engine has been fairly static, the source code to the engine was released by Silverman in 2005,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://advsys.net/ken/voxlap/voxlap05.htm |title=Voxlap Engine source code |website=Ken Silverman's website}}</ref> allowing commercial derivatives with permission.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://advsys.net/ken/voxlap/readme.txt |title=Voxlap engine notes |website=advsys.net}}</ref> ''[[Ace of Spades (video game)|Ace of Spades]]'', a 2011 online multiplayer shooter, was developed from the Voxlap engine.

=== Other projects ===
Other creations by Silverman include the [[ZIP (file format)|ZIP]] file archiver KZIP, the EVALDRAW programming environment, and the [[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]] file-size optimizer [[PNGOUT]]. In 2006, a GUI-driven version of PNGOUT known as PNGOUTWin <ref>{{cite web |url=http://ardfry.com/pngoutwin/ |title=PNGOUTWin homepage |website=ardfry.com}}</ref> was released by Ardfry Imaging, a small company Silverman co-founded in 2005.

===Voxon Photonics===
In early 2013, Silverman joined Voxon Photonics as Chief Computer Scientist.  His role is primarily that of programming the volumetric graphics engine for the Voxiebox, a swept surface [[volumetric display]] being described by Voxon as "the world's first holographic arcade game system". The Voxiebox is capable of generating points of light within a volume of space, and in doing so enables the creation of 3D multiplayer gaming experiences that can be viewed from any angle without special glasses.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/voxiebox |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140208081350/https://www.facebook.com/voxiebox |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 8, 2014 |title=voxiebox facebook page |website=facebook.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/nows-your-chance-to-make-a-home-hologram/ |title=Now's Your Chance to Make a Home Hologram |website=Motherboard |date=October 23, 2015}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{official website|http://advsys.net/ken/}}
* [http://picklesrevil.com/kensinterview An interview with Silverman]
* [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,1008/ MobyGames' rap sheet on Silverman]
* [http://legacy.3drealms.com/news/2006/02/the_apogee_legacy_8.html 3D Realms "Legacy Interview" with Silverman]
* [http://www.ardfry.com/ Ardfry Imaging, LLC] – Silverman is CTO and co-founder of Ardfry
* [http://advsys.net/ken/util/pngout.htm PNGOUT Tutorial]
* [http://www.classicdosgames.com/interviews/kensilverman.html Interview with Classic DOS Games]
* [http://advsys.net/ken/ti1984.htm] – Interview with Silverman's father

{{Build engine games}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverman, Ken}}
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American video game programmers]]
[[Category:Brown University alumni]]