gbaz69: Not sure who invented WASD, but I do understand the need to 'use keys on the left side of keyboard for comfort', out of necessity.
I thought you was meaning, who set up the letter layout on standard keyboards... all I know is it has to do with math and how often a letter comes up in typing and its placement (and other variables, like be on different hands for faster typing speeds) I allways use a/d to strafe :P and mouse to turn.
<3 quake 1, I remember playing it in school on Macs... I hated only having one mouse button to no end)
The DVORAK keyboard layout is the one based on the frequency of letters occurring in use in English. The standard QWERTY layout evolved over time primarily to help prevent keys from jamming on old fashioned typewriters, and allegedly so that salesmen could type the word "typewriter" quickly without knowing how to type (all of the letters in the word typewriter are in the top row). :)