The 3dfx Voodoo story: as the graphics card tech turns 30, we talk to cofounder

This is a retrospective interview with 3dfx cofounder Ross Smith that traces how the Voodoo Graphics chipset rewired PC gaming. It recounts the founders’ SGI roots, their spin‑outs (Pellucid and a stint at Media Vision), and a pivotal meeting with arcade developers that convinced them home gaming needed better 3D. The piece situates the October 1996 Orchid Righteous 3D launch as a turning point - Voodoo’s demos and Glide API made PC visuals far ahead of consoles - and explains how early skepticism from established vendors gave way as partners like Diamond and Guillemot embraced the tech.

The account explains the deliberate technical and business choices behind Voodoo: rather than integrating 2D VGA, 3dfx focused strictly on rasterization, texture mapping and very high memory bandwidth to optimize games, using a separate 2D card with an analogue pass‑through that physically “clicked” when switching into 3D. Key contributors - Gary Tarolli’s algorithmic shortcuts and Scott Sellers’ silicon design - are credited for enabling a gaming‑focused architecture. The company’s funding story is covered too: Gordie Campbell joined as CEO/chair to help raise venture capital, starting with about $5M and ultimately $40-50M to reach market, enabling the unique, game‑first hardware that defined an era.