Veteran game programmer and engineer Stephen Ash has passed away at the age of 51.
Ash moved to California to start his career in the game industry at LucasArts Entertainment Company after completing an advanced degree in Pure Mathematics from New York University’s Courant Institute.
In his time at LucasArts, he worked on Outlaws, Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Mysteries of the Sith, and Grim Fandango. Ash was recruited to Ion Storm Dallas while on Star Wars: Starfighter to be Lead Coder on John Romero’s Daikatana.
Ash returned to California to work at Big Ape Productions, and then was one of the first employees at Double Fine Productions, where he was responsible for the physics system on Psychonauts. Later at Factor 5, he contributed to the development of the dragon flight mechanics in Lair.
Ash found his home at id Software, where he developed foundation gameplay mechanics and interactions for Doom (2016).
These found their way into many games: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, Quake: Champions, and Doom VFR. He spent a decade at id Software, calling it the “best company I've ever worked at”. Ash’s final work will be playable in Doom Eternal.