Dave Theurer

David "Dave" Theurer is a game designer. In 1980, he created Missile Command, considered one of the great classic video games from the Golden age of arcade games. Another pioneering achievement, also in 1980, was Tempest. Theurer also designed I, Robot, the first commercial video game with filled 3-D polygonal graphics. All three were released by Atari.

David attended Wheaton College in Chicago initially following a path in Chemistry and then Physics, but with two years to go until completion changed once more to Psychology, earning a degree. He has said that earning the degree had helped him create addictive games by using the same techniques originally used on pigeons.

David worked for the college data processing center for approximately six months after graduating. After which he found a job as a junior programmer at Bunker Ramo Corporation, a company that built supermarket computer systems. He moved to California and joined National Semiconductor in 1976. Six months after joining National Semiconductor a co-worker was hired as Manager of Programmers for Atari Games and subsequently hired David without an interview.