Creator of DirectX Found Dead

erek

erek

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"Windows inserted itself between game programs and the computer hardware in a way that slowed down graphics and animation. Game developers vastly preferred the DOS operating system, which didn't gum up their special effects. That created an opportunity for three Microsoft misfits — Eric Engstrom, Alex St. John and Craig Eisler. Mr. Engstrom, who died Dec. 1 at the age of 55, and his pals formed one of several factions within Microsoft trying to solve the game problem. Openly contemptuous of colleagues who didn't share their ideas, they were so obnoxious that Brad Silverberg, who ran the Windows business, dubbed them the Beastie Boys. He had to fend off frequent demands for their dismissal.

Yet the solution they developed, DirectX, beat anything else on offer inside Microsoft. DirectX software recognized games and allowed them direct access to the computer's graphical capabilities, allowing a richer game experience than DOS could. "It was brilliant," Mr. Silverberg said. Launched in 1995, DirectX wowed game developers and led to a flood of new games for computers loaded with Windows. That success emboldened Microsoft to plunge deeper into the lucrative gaming market by developing the Xbox console.

Microsoft's game business produced $11.6 billion of revenue in the year ended June 30...

"He thought things were possible that nobody else on the planet thought would be possible," said Ben G. Wolff, a friend who runs a robotics company, "and sometimes he'd be right."
"DirectX remains the foundation for many games on Windows 10 and the Xbox Series X," writes Engadget, "and it's likely to remain relevant for years to come."

And VentureBeat shared this remark from Alex St. John at a memorial service for Engstrom. "He had huge dreams and huge fantasies, and he always took us all with him.""

https://www.livemint.com/companies/...-company-into-game-market-11607581949960.html
 
Krenum said:
Wow, never knew the Sega Dreamcast used Direct X, which in turn paved the way for the Xbox.
Click to expand...

not all games used it. But the Dreamcast was actually capable of running Windows CE. So the game disc would actually boot a version of that which could then run directx.

I don’t remember it being very common.
 
deruberhanyok said:
not all games used it. But the Dreamcast was actually capable of running Windows CE. So the game disc would actually boot a version of that which could then run directx.

I don’t remember it being very common.
Click to expand...
Dreamcast OS was actually a variant of Windows CE, and the front of a Dreamcast had a windows compatible CE logo on it. I remember it clearly I owned one.
 
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jmilcher said:
Dreamcast OS was actually a variant of Windows CE, and the front of a Dreamcast had a windows logo on it. I remember it clearly I owned one.
Click to expand...
Well, sort-of, it runs windows ce development environment games or actual dreamcast hardware games. The Windows CE ones actually contain Windows CE on the disc itself which it runs and then runs the game.
 
D-EJ915 said:
Well, sort-of, it runs windows ce development environment games or actual dreamcast hardware games. The Windows CE ones actually contain Windows CE on the disc itself which it runs and then runs the game.
Click to expand...
Yes exactly. Technically the Windows print said “compatible with windows CE” but I was lazy when I typed the last post. But yes exactly right.
 
erek said:
Yet the solution they developed, DirectX, beat anything else on offer inside Microsoft. DirectX software recognized games and allowed them direct access to the computer's graphical capabilities, allowing a richer game experience than DOS could. "It was brilliant," Mr. Silverberg said. Launched in 1995, DirectX wowed game developers and led to a flood of new games for computers loaded with Windows. That success emboldened Microsoft to plunge deeper into the lucrative gaming market by developing the Xbox console.
Click to expand...
I remember finding a old computer magazine of that era talking about DirectX upcoming launch with the Microsoft dev, with the journalist after getting a description of the technology asking them:

"But would it not one day force people to play a game on Windows instead of the OS of their choice ?"

Quickly reassured that this will never be the case of course.
 
55? Wow, that sucks. Never heard his name before, but seems like he was pretty important for PC gaming. Rest in peace.
 
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