H1Z1's Lead Animator Passes Away

A less publicly recognized -- but still incredibly important -- member of the Daybreak team passed away this week. Dave "Sarge" Carter, who was most recently the lead animator for the zombie survival game H1Z1, spent 25 years in the industry. During that time, he worked on not just Daybreak products (although some players may have seen his work in PlanetSide 2) but other popular games such as Unreal Tournament, Borderlands, Saints Row, Doom 4, Red Faction, and Brothers in Arms.

News of his passing came via Twitter as those that have worked with Carter in the past and members of the Daybreak staff.

Just got some rough news.

David "Sarge" Carter passed away.

You probably haven't heard his name but if you played PlanetSide 2 or H1Z1 you've seen his work. Incredibly talented animator.

We worked together for a few years at SOE, tremendous dude.

— Jimmy Whisenhunt (@jimmywhis) June 25, 2018

My condolences to the family and friends of David "Sarge" Carter, Lead Animator at @DaybreakGames, who passed away this weekend.

You can see Carter talking about @H1Z1 in this Dev Spotlight from a few years back: https://t.co/zrx0YGN6mI

— 🚀 autenil (@autenil) June 25, 2018

Former Daybreak CEO John Smedley also sent out a tweet calling Carter a "top-tier animator" and an "amazing teammate." He also told Massively that Carter's passing "really made [him] sad, noting that he was "amazing to work with", and calling him "an optimist".

David was an amazing teammate and a top-tier animator! https://t.co/owYoItdRi0

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) June 26, 2018

Our thoughts go out to Carter's family and friends, as well as everyone whose life he had even the smallest impact on while hanging out on this crazy globe.