Garry’s Mod modder Dave Hunt, also known as “Dav0r”, has passed away at the age of 35. The news was shared on social media and in Facepunch Studios‘ Discord server by his friends.
Hunt was the designer and developer of the Tool Gun, an item that let Garry’s Mod players wield different functions in the sandbox Source engine mod with one tool. In essence, it is a revolver with an LCD screen strapped to the top of the barrel with ribbon cable.
Thematically, it combines the propensity for games to use guns to solve issues with the capability of creating anything from the component attached to it. As PC Gamer pointed out in its own coverage, the Tool Gun was a fast-favourite with fans before Valve thought up the Portal gun.
The idea came to him when he was “a fledgling modeller in [his] late teens” and since became a staple of the experience and the myriad of things that the community could create.
I’m Dav0r, the original creator of the Toolgun.. I felt it was in need of a little revamp.
byu/dav0r123 ingmod
Former Facepunch Studios community manager Hezzy broke the news to players with “the heaviest of hearts” and praised Hunt’s “unique brand of humour”. A memorial service will be held for the community in October.
“His work was instrumental to not only the game but countless people’s childhoods, and he has a decorated history in the community as a very funny and kind soul,” shared Richter Overtime, a YouTuber who specialises in Valve and Source content, in a post to X. “It’s honestly unreal to think he’s gone.”
Garry Newman, founder of Facepunch Studios, spoke to PC Gamer on the 20 year friendship he had with Hunt. “Like most Facepunchers, he didn’t take things too seriously, always joking, easygoing.”
“I was shocked and saddened to hear of his passing. It was so unexpected that I did consider it might be a joke – because that was exactly his sense of humour.”
Supporters of Hunt’s work over the years in Source engine are encouraged to say goodbye to him and offer his family their memories of his presence in the community in a Google Form.