Richard ‘Levelord’ Gray has reportedly died, according to Apogee Entertainment and individuals who were close to the legendary and beloved level designer who helped create fan-favorite maps in games like Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, and Sin.

Gray, known online by his mapping handle Levelord, explained in a 2016 interview that he didn’t really start making maps in games like Doom until he was 35. He later joined the Duke Nukem 3D team in his 40s, relatively late compared to most other game devs working on shooters in the ’90s and early 2000s. After that, he left and formed his own studio, which would eventually become Ritual Entertainment. That team worked on Quake’s first mission pack, Scourge of Armagon, Sin, Star Trek: Elite Force 2, and Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, among other games.

While working on the Quake mission pack at Ritual, Gray created “The Edge of Oblivion,” the third and last secret level of Scourge of Armagon. This level is credited by many as being the first “islands in space” or “platform in the void” type of FPS map. That style of map would become extremely popular in later FPS games like Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 Arena. Levelord also designed the MP map “Behind Zee Bookcase” in Sin, which is often credited as one of the first examples of a 3D FPS level designed to make you feel like you were the size of a small mouse exploring a real-world environment.

And of course, during his time developing levels in Duke Nukem 3D , he became famous for his hidden Easter egg messages tucked away in a part of the map that you could only reach using cheats.

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