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Doom Guy: Life in First Person
The inspiring, long-awaited autobiography of video-game designer and DOOM cocreator John Romero
John Romero, gaming’s original rock star, is the cocreator of DOOM , Quake , and Wolfenstein 3-D , some of the biggest video games of all time. Considered the godfather of the first-person shooter, a genre that continues to dominate the market today, he holds a unique place in gaming history. In DOOM Life in First Person , Romero chronicles, for the first time, his difficult childhood and storied career, beginning with his early days submitting Apple II game code to computer magazines and sneaking computers out the back door of his day job to write code at night.
Industry-redefining breakthroughs in design and tech during Romero’s time at id Software made DOOM and Quake cultural phenomena, and this thrilling story recounts every step of the process, from collaborative, heavy metal–fueled days spent crafting the industry’s most revolutionary and cutting-edge games to a high-profile falling-out with id cofounder John Carmack. After years in the gaming spotlight, Romero is now telling his story—the whole story—shedding new light on the development of his games and his business partnerships, from the highest highs to the lowest lows, sharing insights about design, code, the industry, and his career right up to today. Sharing gratitude for a lifetime in games, Romero reveals the twists and turns that led him, ultimately, to be called DOOM Guy.
John Romero, gaming’s original rock star, is the cocreator of DOOM , Quake , and Wolfenstein 3-D , some of the biggest video games of all time. Considered the godfather of the first-person shooter, a genre that continues to dominate the market today, he holds a unique place in gaming history. In DOOM Life in First Person , Romero chronicles, for the first time, his difficult childhood and storied career, beginning with his early days submitting Apple II game code to computer magazines and sneaking computers out the back door of his day job to write code at night.
Industry-redefining breakthroughs in design and tech during Romero’s time at id Software made DOOM and Quake cultural phenomena, and this thrilling story recounts every step of the process, from collaborative, heavy metal–fueled days spent crafting the industry’s most revolutionary and cutting-edge games to a high-profile falling-out with id cofounder John Carmack. After years in the gaming spotlight, Romero is now telling his story—the whole story—shedding new light on the development of his games and his business partnerships, from the highest highs to the lowest lows, sharing insights about design, code, the industry, and his career right up to today. Sharing gratitude for a lifetime in games, Romero reveals the twists and turns that led him, ultimately, to be called DOOM Guy.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published July 18, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
March 31, 2023
Wolfenstein 3-D, one of the first PC games I remember playing, always meant a lot to me. It was super fun and quite innovative for the time. That game was developed by id Software, who’d continue to innovate with games like Doom and Quake. I never got into the latter two games due to their darkness and my lack of a powerful enough PC to run them. I do recognize their importance to games, though.
In these dark, post-COVID times, I gravitate towards non-fiction books about things I’m nostalgic for. When I heard that id Software co-founder John Romero had one on the way called Doom Guy: Life In First Person, I knew I had to read it. Romero is a controversial figure in the games industry due in part to the “rock star” persona fostered upon him by marketing people and the press. He successfully surmounts that persona in Doom Guy. Turns out, despite what the advertisements for his first post-id game said, he doesn’t want to make you “his bitch.” That was all marketing.
The book begins with Romero being asked to give a talk at a game conference. They wanted him to talk about something he hadn’t addressed before, so he discussed his childhood. His upbringing and the things that went on in his family were quite interesting. One relative ran a brothel, there was some drug dealing, and other wild stories I won’t give away here. Sometimes I feel like memoirs start too early in their subject’s life. Romero stays with his childhood enough to give you a good overview of where he came from before getting to game design. And he keeps a good balance of personal and professional stories. There’s quite a bit of tech talk, but he describes it in such a way that even non-professionals would understand.
Doom Guy: Life In First Person is a wonderfully entertaining account of an important and influential company and designer. Video Games would not be where they are today without Romero. I highly suggest giving it a read if you’re a fan of games or tech history.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. It will be released in July.
In these dark, post-COVID times, I gravitate towards non-fiction books about things I’m nostalgic for. When I heard that id Software co-founder John Romero had one on the way called Doom Guy: Life In First Person, I knew I had to read it. Romero is a controversial figure in the games industry due in part to the “rock star” persona fostered upon him by marketing people and the press. He successfully surmounts that persona in Doom Guy. Turns out, despite what the advertisements for his first post-id game said, he doesn’t want to make you “his bitch.” That was all marketing.
The book begins with Romero being asked to give a talk at a game conference. They wanted him to talk about something he hadn’t addressed before, so he discussed his childhood. His upbringing and the things that went on in his family were quite interesting. One relative ran a brothel, there was some drug dealing, and other wild stories I won’t give away here. Sometimes I feel like memoirs start too early in their subject’s life. Romero stays with his childhood enough to give you a good overview of where he came from before getting to game design. And he keeps a good balance of personal and professional stories. There’s quite a bit of tech talk, but he describes it in such a way that even non-professionals would understand.
Doom Guy: Life In First Person is a wonderfully entertaining account of an important and influential company and designer. Video Games would not be where they are today without Romero. I highly suggest giving it a read if you’re a fan of games or tech history.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. It will be released in July.
August 27, 2023
If you are a nerd and have nostalgia for DOOM, Wolf3D, Commander Keen, BBSes etc. then the first two thirds of this book are a mildly interesting read, albeit very poorly written. After Ion Storm it rapidly becomes incredibly dull, cos who wants to read about Gunman Taco Truck or whatever else nonsense dude has done since id? Not me!
August 28, 2023
Я каким-то образом прочитал три или четыре книги, рассказывающих историю ранней id Software, и все они, закончив с описанием невероятного взлета, теряют запал, переходя к вопросу "а что все же случилось потом?".
Эта, как первая имеющая характер мемуара (а не журналистского расследования) гораздо более сентиментальна, и предлагает личный closure истории.
После нее в принципе можно больше не читать ничего по теме, хорошо (а то сколько можно уже).
Эта, как первая имеющая характер мемуара (а не журналистского расследования) гораздо более сентиментальна, и предлагает личный closure истории.
После нее в принципе можно больше не читать ничего по теме, хорошо (а то сколько можно уже).
July 18, 2023
john, you're amazing, but you don't need to repeat everything thrice, we get you from the get-go.
other than that - unique POV of a unique person.
p.s. hyperthymesia sounds like my personal nightmare and I remember about 70% of my life clearly, 100% would be nightmare fuel
other than that - unique POV of a unique person.
p.s. hyperthymesia sounds like my personal nightmare and I remember about 70% of my life clearly, 100% would be nightmare fuel
September 15, 2023
I’m definitely done with reading about Doom and id. Case closed
September 25, 2023
How I read this: Free audiobook copy received through Libro.fm
I really loved this book. Romero himself is narrating it, which made it so much more personal to me (plus, he just has such a nice friendly voice, I tripped time and again over my mental math trying to figure out how he can sound so young, lol).
I have never played Doom myself, but Quake III was the first FPS I ever had a chance to try (although from what I understand, he wasn't a part of that specific one anymore), and of course I played the demo levels of Wolfenstein, who hasn't? (Okay, so I guess Quake III wasn't the first!)
Anyway, I'm not much of a gamer, but I've always been very interested in gaming history, I watch way more YouTube essays about it than I should, considering I'm not a gamer myself. This hit the spot, it was so interesting to read about how Doom, the game that they'll put on anything these days, was made (I think I saw a video where A RING runs Doom??! Like a ring that you put on your finger!)
John Romero's childhood is also no joke, and was very interesting to read about. I had my own opinions about how little his family and interpersonal relationships show up in his radar in his adult life, but also, you can just tell, Romero is just so deeply concentrated on his craft that his craft IS his life (or maybe he didn't want to talk too much about his personal life in this book.) Truly a one of a kind person, and it was very interesting to hear this story told from his own perspective.
I have also never really known any history of the makers of Doom, and how apparently rocky it became right before their breakup, but I can say that Romero is very nice about it in this book. There's no blaming or bashing or anything like that. Of course, it's years in the past for him, so it's easier to put things in perspective, but you know. It's nice to read a constructive account on something like that.
All in all, there IS a lot of talk about how this or that level was built, how long the engine took to make, and all sorts of technical topics like that. It might be a bit much for some people, but I don't know, it worked for me, and like I said - it just shows how much it is part of Romero's life, so I enjoyed reading it all the same.
I thank the publisher and libro.fm for giving me a free copy of the audiobook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
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I really loved this book. Romero himself is narrating it, which made it so much more personal to me (plus, he just has such a nice friendly voice, I tripped time and again over my mental math trying to figure out how he can sound so young, lol).
I have never played Doom myself, but Quake III was the first FPS I ever had a chance to try (although from what I understand, he wasn't a part of that specific one anymore), and of course I played the demo levels of Wolfenstein, who hasn't? (Okay, so I guess Quake III wasn't the first!)
Anyway, I'm not much of a gamer, but I've always been very interested in gaming history, I watch way more YouTube essays about it than I should, considering I'm not a gamer myself. This hit the spot, it was so interesting to read about how Doom, the game that they'll put on anything these days, was made (I think I saw a video where A RING runs Doom??! Like a ring that you put on your finger!)
John Romero's childhood is also no joke, and was very interesting to read about. I had my own opinions about how little his family and interpersonal relationships show up in his radar in his adult life, but also, you can just tell, Romero is just so deeply concentrated on his craft that his craft IS his life (or maybe he didn't want to talk too much about his personal life in this book.) Truly a one of a kind person, and it was very interesting to hear this story told from his own perspective.
I have also never really known any history of the makers of Doom, and how apparently rocky it became right before their breakup, but I can say that Romero is very nice about it in this book. There's no blaming or bashing or anything like that. Of course, it's years in the past for him, so it's easier to put things in perspective, but you know. It's nice to read a constructive account on something like that.
All in all, there IS a lot of talk about how this or that level was built, how long the engine took to make, and all sorts of technical topics like that. It might be a bit much for some people, but I don't know, it worked for me, and like I said - it just shows how much it is part of Romero's life, so I enjoyed reading it all the same.
I thank the publisher and libro.fm for giving me a free copy of the audiobook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
October 12, 2023
это очень хорошо
September 3, 2023
Incredible. I cried many times, some of which were very warranted. Others were just my stupid tired brain throwing out chemicals with reckless abandon.
Listened to this narrated by Romero himself. While I have tremendous respect for the arts of voice acting and narration, and it was abundantly clear that Romero was not of that profession, the vibe created by his occasional slight verbal stumbles or off-kilter cadence made this feel like an intimate conversation rather than a piece of media. I think that added a lot of value to the audiobook, and I no doubt enjoyed it more as a result.
Listened to this narrated by Romero himself. While I have tremendous respect for the arts of voice acting and narration, and it was abundantly clear that Romero was not of that profession, the vibe created by his occasional slight verbal stumbles or off-kilter cadence made this feel like an intimate conversation rather than a piece of media. I think that added a lot of value to the audiobook, and I no doubt enjoyed it more as a result.
July 27, 2023
I've gained even more respect for Romero. It was also refreshing to get an objective view on him leaving ID and the aftermath, instead a story told by proxy.
April 10, 2024
Doom Guy : Life in First Person (2023) by John Romero is Romero’s autobiography. Romero was one of the founders of id Software and one of the co-creators of Doom, Quake and thus the genre of first person shooters.
Romero grew up poor with a alcoholic and violent father and then step fathers. He overcame a lot and became fascinated with computers and managed to gain access to them and worked incredibly hard to learn how to program them. He really, really wanted to create games and managed to do so.
After getting jobs in the games industry and making a go of it he teamed up with John Carmack and they formed id Games, which would drastically change the computer gaming world. Pushing the limits of what was possible with a PC first with Commander Keen and then with the huge breakthrough of Doom.
The books section on id as they created Doom are really good. It’s a fine portrait of a small team of incredibly hard working and skilled people creating a cultural touch point. Doom Guy provides an excellent view into this and adds to what was in the also excellent book Masters of Doom.
The creation of Quake and the spit between Romero and Carmack is well described with a remarkable lack of anger by Romero. The chapters on Ion Storm are also really interesting.
Romero has led an incredible life and helped to create something that had a huge impact. Doom Guy is well worth a read for anyone interested in computer games.
Romero grew up poor with a alcoholic and violent father and then step fathers. He overcame a lot and became fascinated with computers and managed to gain access to them and worked incredibly hard to learn how to program them. He really, really wanted to create games and managed to do so.
After getting jobs in the games industry and making a go of it he teamed up with John Carmack and they formed id Games, which would drastically change the computer gaming world. Pushing the limits of what was possible with a PC first with Commander Keen and then with the huge breakthrough of Doom.
The books section on id as they created Doom are really good. It’s a fine portrait of a small team of incredibly hard working and skilled people creating a cultural touch point. Doom Guy provides an excellent view into this and adds to what was in the also excellent book Masters of Doom.
The creation of Quake and the spit between Romero and Carmack is well described with a remarkable lack of anger by Romero. The chapters on Ion Storm are also really interesting.
Romero has led an incredible life and helped to create something that had a huge impact. Doom Guy is well worth a read for anyone interested in computer games.
July 9, 2023
I ordered this book a year and a half ago and asked for a dedication to a family member and a signature and John Romero actually fulfilled my request! Doing that for all his fans is definitely NOT an easy thing I wanted to recognize that. This book is great John is a gaming and technology legend if you're interested in either of those things read this book!
September 12, 2023
Is most interesting when it's focused on what Romero actually thinks and feels but there's very little of that once it gets out of his childhood. At that point it becomes a book about id software's history and design. Some stuff blatantly feels like it's in there to "set the record straight" where it doesn't feel natural. The guy's a programmer and designer, not a writer, and I felt like he could have used some help to flesh this out more. Also spotted a few typos.
January 6, 2024
This book is exactly what I expected it to be - and I love that. Romero gives a very brief outline of his childhood, providing good setting and context. The rest of the book takes you step-by-step through his 30 years in game development, obviously with strong focus on Doom, Quake, Id Software…it is really interesting seeing his best games and pivotal game dev moments through his eyes. For anyone with no interest in games/computer programming then this won’t be for you, but as someone who has a basic knowledge and passing interest in coding and LOVES Romeros games this was a great read. You don’t need to be a serious computer nerd to appreciate. I watched some playthroughs of the various games on YouTube alongside reading this, which I recommend if you don’t know all of his games, but also just for feeling. So glad I read this!
May 15, 2024
John Romero has always been one of my game development heroes and was behind some of my favorite games. When I was fifteen, I devoured the book “Masters of Doom” and was thrilled to finally get a peek behind the curtain of game development of my favorite game at the time: Doom. This book mentions Masters of Doom several times, mostly to correct the record. Romero’s story is inspiring, uplifting, and hopeful. Despite his rough childhood, the rapid rise to fame, and his fall from gaming grace; he still has a tremendous optimism that shines through all of the pages of this book. His reflections on his career are invaluable to read and can be applied to anyone that pursues a creative space. His humility is striking. I listened to the Audible version of this book because it only felt right to hear his story told with his voice.
Now it’s time to make some Doom 1&2 maps…
Now it’s time to make some Doom 1&2 maps…
March 1, 2024
By this account, Romero is an exceptionally hard-working and humble person. Reading through his life experiences, the ups and the downs, has been inspiring. I wish there was a little more coverage on the technical details for why Daikatana ended up the way it was at launch, but otherwise I'm satisfied with reading up on Romero's and his teams' significant impacts to the game industry.
December 29, 2023
I was skeptical about it after Masters of Doom, but it was definitely worth it. The book is very positive, highlighting key issues that contributed to fallout of ID and highlighting Romero’s journey after Ion Storm. As a designer and person who grew up playing Doom and Quake - this book rocks!
January 11, 2024
A must read if you played DOOM back in the day and have any interest in development or gaming. A little bit rambley, and Romero doesn't want to spill all the goods on what happened at id, but I can respect that.
January 15, 2024
The perfect complement to Masters of Doom. Where that book gives a lot of the initial context, this book clarifies and expands on it so much. They really do go together as a set.
August 30, 2023
I would strongly recommend this book to fans of ID and John Romero. The story of John’s life is told in a superbly reflective way - yes, there were ups and downs, but John has clearly taken the time to study the downs and has shown how to improve upon his (and his teams!) successes in light of them.
For those who love Doom, and further for those who do a little bit of mapping themselves, you’ll find within the book some really valuable golden rules of map design. But that’s not all. Romero’s insight has a much wider application to those who either work in the video game industry, or aspire to.
Thanks for releasing this book.
For those who love Doom, and further for those who do a little bit of mapping themselves, you’ll find within the book some really valuable golden rules of map design. But that’s not all. Romero’s insight has a much wider application to those who either work in the video game industry, or aspire to.
Thanks for releasing this book.
December 24, 2023
Enjoyed for the business adventure as much as the story behind the games and technology. For my friends that love Halt and Catch Fire, read this for Mutiny.
February 1, 2024
• Design Rule 1: The start of the level should present interesting choices or look impressive.
• Design Rule 2: The start of the level should fit its purpose. Do I want to teach the player or make them feel scared? If the former, there are no enemies. If the later, watch out.
• Design Rule 3: Reuse areas in the level as much as possible, as it reinforces the understanding of the space every time the player goes through an area again. For example, if players come back to a central hub before going out to a spoke, they will remember the hub the most.
• Design Rule 4: Provide contrast in every element of the design: light, sound, and action. This keeps a level fun and interesting and prevents it from falling into a monotonous loop of gameplay. We want the player to feel like they are on an exciting roller-coaster ride.
• Design Rule 5: Changes in wall or floor texture should be accompanied by a height change or border texture.
• Design Rule 6: Include at least four secrets in your level.
• Design Rule 7: When the player solves a piece of a puzzle, they should already know where to go next. An example would be that you have already tried to open the red door before you found the red keycard. A bad design would be to flip a switch, then see and hear nothing that shows you what you just did.
• Design Rule 8: If an area in your level looks like it could be made in an earlier tech, you have failed. Make the area more interesting and use more of the engine’s features to ensure that.
Rating: 5/5
“I told the audience all these things—how growing up in this family made me take nothing for granted, how my mom ended up finding happiness, how that happiness led to my first computer, and how that first computer led to the games everyone knew: Wolfenstein 3-D, DOOM, and Quake.
When the talk was done, I thanked everyone and stepped off the stage. The crowd of game developers applauded, and the chorus of “That wasn’t what I expected” commenced.”
“By the time I got to the slides about my family’s involvement in the drug trade, I could tell by the looks on people’s faces that this was not the story they expected to hear. Two first cousins were murdered. Two uncles ran drugs for a well-known cartel. My father and one uncle died from their addictions to everything from cocaine to alcohol. The rest of that generation managed to sober up before their addictions could claim them (my amazing Aunt Yoly miraculously escaped all of it).”
“I remember my dad walked in the front door one morning, hungry and looking for food. He’d been out all night at the bars. He stormed into the bedroom where my mother was still sleeping, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her out of bed and down the hallway, her feet trailing behind her. She yelled his name, begging for him to stop. I sat paralyzed in front of the TV where I was watching Saturday-morning cartoons, unsure what to do. I can’t remember what happened, but it still pains me to this day to think of it. My father was incredibly strong. He didn’t just make his living fighting rock—he beat it. He battered the earth down in the mines and won.”
“When there are no toys, you make your own fun,” I told them.”
“I don’t remember my dad ever being violent with us at social events. It was always at home. He drank from the moment he got home from work: beer, beer, and more beer. When he got older, he drank from the moment he got up. At one point, I thought beer was the only thing adults drank.”
“I was and still am incredibly close to my mother. She kept us alive, kept us sane and safe, and got us through some difficult times, especially when she was having such difficulty herself.”
“No doubt part of his joy came from thinking He’s taking after me. I even remember him saying stuff like that, comparing my early drawings to his paintings. He clearly thought I was talented and was the first person to express a sense of pride at my skills.”
“The biggest event that occurred during third grade was also a kind of horror story, but it began as a mundane-sounding venture, almost like the beginning of a country song: My dad told my mom he was going to the store for cigarettes.
He got in the car and drove away.
He never came home.”
“The act of creating something from nothing is incredibly empowering. I think most kids discover this on some level. Drawing provides instant gratification—especially if you do it well.”
“Of course, TV was as compelling as Peanuts. I grew up with Sesame Street, New Zoo Revue, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and The Electric Company. Like most of my generation, I also imbibed a steady diet of Saturday-morning cartoons—with Scooby-Doo, Tarzan, and live-action characters like Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. I also soaked up animation reruns after school—the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and so many others. These shorts exploded with gags, crazy voices, absurd plots, and soaring music. It was joyful, anarchic entertainment to me. Little did I realize how these elements would shape my creative future.”
“One of the games, Hunt the Wumpus, involved going into caves to look for a monster. A question appeared on the screen, and the player chose the direction of their search. It wasn’t a graphical game. Everything was left to the player’s imagination.”
“I think it is likely that my thirst to absorb everything about BASIC propelled the onset of my hyperthymesia, or made me and others aware of it. I was obsessed with retaining everything I learned, and so I compulsively repeated the things in my mind. There was no internet to look things up. There were precious few books, and I didn’t have the money to buy them anyway. So, necessity was the mother of retention. I took notes, I read whatever handouts and books people had in the lab, and I tried diligently to remember everything I encountered. Absolutely everything.”
“I put the first quarter in the slot and began what I can only describe as a joyous, spontaneous mind-meld between me and the game as I entered the blinking, blipping digital maze. If you’ve played Pac-Man, you know this feeling, particularly if you encountered it in the 1980s. It was the thing everyone was talking about. Pac-Man is a game of virtual tag where you get three lives as a chomping yellow icon that races around a maze lined with “Pac-Dots,” chomping the dots and other goodies (fruits, a bell and a key), while ghosts chase you. Any contact with the ghosts—Blinky (red), Pinky (pink), Inky (blue), and Clyde (orange)—and you lost one of your lives. It was exhilarating. Everything about the Pac-Man experience was different and just flat-out better than other arcade games. Its innovation was a revelation to me. Musicians sometimes describe a piece of music that changed them. This was the game that changed me.”
“My stepfather and I had a difficult relationship, as readers have no doubt gathered. However, he also had a significant positive influence on my life. He took us in, took care of us, gave me lectures that I hated but that also somehow sunk in, and ultimately recognized and enabled a talent he knew I had. There are tens of thousands of kids out there whose parents ignore their desire to code or to make games or insist they pursue fields that are more traditional. Getting that Apple II+ changed my life.”
“Games were still not part of the equation for him, but they were the endgame for me. Every day after school, I was programming games one after another. I remember thinking, “I want to do this every day for the rest of my life.” I was finished going outside.”
“With Christmas 1982 approaching, I asked my parents for two books. Assembly Lines: The Book by Roger Wagner was a how-to bible. The other book, Apple Graphics and Arcade Game Design by Jeffrey Stanton, was about making arcade games in Assembly. My parents still didn’t “get it,” but they had become less damning about my passion and were still hopeful that I’d move on to developing “useful” software. On December 25, the books were under the tree. I was elated.”
“I finished my version of Crazy Climber, but I was such a novice that I accidentally deleted it—my first Apple II+ game in history vanished into the ether!”
“That visit was inspiring, not least because it showed my parents were warming even more to my zest for computers. A year later, I devised a program that claimed to take your pulse when you touched the space bar. It was a prank program, obviously, written in two lines for Uncle Louie’s Perpetual Two-Liner Contest. I mailed the game from England as an entry to the contest, and Bert included it on a 1983 release called Silicon Salad. It was my first published program.”
“I started to make game after game after game. With each completed project, I put the code and a disk in a letter and submitted my work to programming magazines like the Apple-only Nibble and inCider. The first few months, I was rewarded with nothing but rejections, but I was determined, and eventually inCider bought my maze game Scout Search for $100. In it, players take the role of a Scoutmaster charged with gathering their lost scouts before a rampaging grizzly bear finds them. I was incredibly proud, and it fed my confidence. I was a professional programmer and game designer. Nobody could take that away from me.”
“Being surrounded by scientists day in and day out changed his perspective and educated him. Even though he didn’t have a day of college in him, he was a naturally curious man who liked to learn and absorbed whatever was happening around him.”
“Steve Meuse went first. “So, you’re here to do porting between the Apple II and the Commodore 64. Can you tell us about the similarities between the two computers?”
Where to even start? I didn’t want to risk leaving anything out, so I started at the beginning.
“They are 8-bit computers that have 64K of RAM and a ROM bank that controls all the functions of the computer. There are special memory locations that control hardware specific to both computers. The Commodore has a 6510 CPU and the Apple II has a 6502 CPU, which means they both have the same instruction set, but the Commodore has an 8-bit bidirectional I/O port on the back.”
No one stopped me, and so I kept going.”
“The next day, I went out and bought a book called Mapping the Commodore 64. I consumed the book. In two days, I felt I understood the entire machine—the operating system, its memory capability, the architecture, everything.”
“Over the course of my life, I have bonded with programmers, including some of the most legendary figures in games and computer design, from Steve Wozniak to Bill Budge to Nasir Gebelli and others. However, on that first meeting, Carmack and I instantly connected on multiple levels because we shared a deep knowledge base and passion that creates instant bonds; we understood each other and the significance of our respective work, and we admired each other’s abilities. We spoke a language that, while rooted in normal, everyday English, was unique. We saw a world of possibility in games, and we knew we had the knowledge and drive to master it. We saw that in each other. It’s hard to describe how it felt. Imagine caring deeply about something, so deeply that you feel compelled to master it. Imagine no one around you gets it—not your family, not your partner, not your friends. Not really. Imagine meeting someone else just like you for the first time. That’s what it felt like when we met each other.”
“We didn’t do this because we had to. We did this because we wanted to. If you’ve ever stayed up far too late because you were playing a game, bingeing a series, or reading a book, code had the exact same effect on us. Learning more was its own reward.”
“I knew right then that we were going to make groundbreaking games. We were going to be the team to follow. Like Wozniak. Like Nasir. Like Budge. Like my game dev heroes. We were going to build our own game company!”
“Change whatever is needed,” we told him, “but get levels done.”
By this point, my own level design style had become codified. What started as an experiment in April was now a philosophy, and one I shared with Sandy. I believed in these design rules: [see list at top]"
“Kevin was learning new technology to create the 3D models we would eventually get into the engine. He cut out the model-making middleman we used for DOOM, Gregor Punchatz, by creating models digitally on our new Silicon Graphics Indigo workstation and using its 3D modeling program, Alias Wavefront. Many people go to college for four years to grasp what Kevin was about to teach himself. His goal? To design 3D models in Wavefront, then use Deluxe Paint II to create the textures to cover his models. Putting textures on the 3D models was the new frontier. Because they would be attached to 3D objects, the textures needed to fit the models like a shirt fits a human.* This process is known as “skinning.”
“While I wish it had not been as rocky as it was, I am grateful to everyone who was there, however briefly, and to those who stuck with it as long as they did. I’m also grateful to the fans who send me emails, sometimes apologetically, like they’re admitting to a crime, “I actually liked Daikatana.” I am sure they also like it more now that fan-made patches fixed the AI and other issues. I’m grateful for the lessons I learned, including the hard ones. If I had to sum it all up as a business lesson, this is it:
Don’t let problems magnify; deal with issues as soon as they arise. Problems always magnify over time.
Don’t hype what you don’t have.
Never insult your fans, even in jest.
Trust your gut instinct. If you think something is wrong, there’s probably a reason, even if it’s not obvious. (Though in the case of the Bitch ad, it was obvious).
Make sure people are treated well; games do not make themselves.
Focus on the fun; games do not design themselves.
Surround yourself with good people and give them what they need to make something great.
Find a way to support someone, like a video game publisher, who wants to make something else great, even if that something else is without you.
Vet your founders because you will face highs, lows, and challenges together.
Fail gracefully. Failure is a part of games, a part of life, and a part of success. Accept your flaws, reload your save and try again.”
“The response was through the roof. Sales rolled in. Critics lauded the game. Here’s one I especially like from Computer Games Magazine:
Satan, your game has arrived. It spits up blood and pisses vinegar. It sprouts horns from its head like the proud minion of evil that it is. It shoots lightning bolts, for cripes’ sake. It’s a game of pure evil, and even purer entertainment. It’s also the best action game on the planet.”
“Together, we founded the company that was to become Gazillion Entertainment. While there were multiple opportunities in the space, what attracted me to Gazillion was its focus.”
“Gunman Taco Truck,” he said.
“Yes!” I laughed at the sound of it and the possibilities it brought to my imagination.
We spent an entire Saturday working on code, getting a taco truck up on the screen, getting the truck moving, and mounting a gun to its roof. That night, as Brenda and I were hanging out, Donovan came bounding into our room.
“Mommy, Mommy. I know what the game is about.”
Like a proud game-dev parent, Brenda grabbed her phone, told him to wait, and started recording.
“You’re this Mexican gunslinger who runs a taco truck,” he began. “You’re trying to get through the wasteland to kill all the mutant animals, and once you do that, you finally get to the resisting safe bases. Every time you get to a resisting safe base, you get more money for selling tacos!”
“So you go to the bases and you serve tacos with your truck?” I asked.
“Yes. Randomly generated. There’s just … infinity, so it’s an endless game.”
I wanted to make sure I had it right. The kid had a solid core loop.”
“Failure is a part of games: Innovation is not certain, and sometimes you are not going to hit the mark. Failing means you’re trying and taking chances. The biggest lessons I’ve learned come from having tried and failed. Some of those lessons you know about, and others were fixed before they ever saw the light of day. Irish writer Samuel Beckett got it: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Don’t be afraid of failure. It’s a risk that’s necessary to innovate.”
“Resilience: Saved games are there for a reason. Game developers expect you to take a shot now and again. In life and especially in game dev, it’s no different. Get up and do it again. That said, if whatever you’re doing is not going according to plan, if it feels like you’re taking one too many knocks on the chin, leave and find a better place or start another game.”
“Execution is everything: Success is not defined by an idea. It is determined by your ability to execute on that idea. Surround yourself with good people who know when to compliment you and when to give you a critique.”
“Give credit where it is due: Thank you for reading my book and thank you so much for playing my games.”
“I hope my games have brought you a little bit of the same joy that you have given me. Emag eht niw uoy.”
• Design Rule 2: The start of the level should fit its purpose. Do I want to teach the player or make them feel scared? If the former, there are no enemies. If the later, watch out.
• Design Rule 3: Reuse areas in the level as much as possible, as it reinforces the understanding of the space every time the player goes through an area again. For example, if players come back to a central hub before going out to a spoke, they will remember the hub the most.
• Design Rule 4: Provide contrast in every element of the design: light, sound, and action. This keeps a level fun and interesting and prevents it from falling into a monotonous loop of gameplay. We want the player to feel like they are on an exciting roller-coaster ride.
• Design Rule 5: Changes in wall or floor texture should be accompanied by a height change or border texture.
• Design Rule 6: Include at least four secrets in your level.
• Design Rule 7: When the player solves a piece of a puzzle, they should already know where to go next. An example would be that you have already tried to open the red door before you found the red keycard. A bad design would be to flip a switch, then see and hear nothing that shows you what you just did.
• Design Rule 8: If an area in your level looks like it could be made in an earlier tech, you have failed. Make the area more interesting and use more of the engine’s features to ensure that.
Rating: 5/5
“I told the audience all these things—how growing up in this family made me take nothing for granted, how my mom ended up finding happiness, how that happiness led to my first computer, and how that first computer led to the games everyone knew: Wolfenstein 3-D, DOOM, and Quake.
When the talk was done, I thanked everyone and stepped off the stage. The crowd of game developers applauded, and the chorus of “That wasn’t what I expected” commenced.”
“By the time I got to the slides about my family’s involvement in the drug trade, I could tell by the looks on people’s faces that this was not the story they expected to hear. Two first cousins were murdered. Two uncles ran drugs for a well-known cartel. My father and one uncle died from their addictions to everything from cocaine to alcohol. The rest of that generation managed to sober up before their addictions could claim them (my amazing Aunt Yoly miraculously escaped all of it).”
“I remember my dad walked in the front door one morning, hungry and looking for food. He’d been out all night at the bars. He stormed into the bedroom where my mother was still sleeping, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her out of bed and down the hallway, her feet trailing behind her. She yelled his name, begging for him to stop. I sat paralyzed in front of the TV where I was watching Saturday-morning cartoons, unsure what to do. I can’t remember what happened, but it still pains me to this day to think of it. My father was incredibly strong. He didn’t just make his living fighting rock—he beat it. He battered the earth down in the mines and won.”
“When there are no toys, you make your own fun,” I told them.”
“I don’t remember my dad ever being violent with us at social events. It was always at home. He drank from the moment he got home from work: beer, beer, and more beer. When he got older, he drank from the moment he got up. At one point, I thought beer was the only thing adults drank.”
“I was and still am incredibly close to my mother. She kept us alive, kept us sane and safe, and got us through some difficult times, especially when she was having such difficulty herself.”
“No doubt part of his joy came from thinking He’s taking after me. I even remember him saying stuff like that, comparing my early drawings to his paintings. He clearly thought I was talented and was the first person to express a sense of pride at my skills.”
“The biggest event that occurred during third grade was also a kind of horror story, but it began as a mundane-sounding venture, almost like the beginning of a country song: My dad told my mom he was going to the store for cigarettes.
He got in the car and drove away.
He never came home.”
“The act of creating something from nothing is incredibly empowering. I think most kids discover this on some level. Drawing provides instant gratification—especially if you do it well.”
“Of course, TV was as compelling as Peanuts. I grew up with Sesame Street, New Zoo Revue, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and The Electric Company. Like most of my generation, I also imbibed a steady diet of Saturday-morning cartoons—with Scooby-Doo, Tarzan, and live-action characters like Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. I also soaked up animation reruns after school—the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and so many others. These shorts exploded with gags, crazy voices, absurd plots, and soaring music. It was joyful, anarchic entertainment to me. Little did I realize how these elements would shape my creative future.”
“One of the games, Hunt the Wumpus, involved going into caves to look for a monster. A question appeared on the screen, and the player chose the direction of their search. It wasn’t a graphical game. Everything was left to the player’s imagination.”
“I think it is likely that my thirst to absorb everything about BASIC propelled the onset of my hyperthymesia, or made me and others aware of it. I was obsessed with retaining everything I learned, and so I compulsively repeated the things in my mind. There was no internet to look things up. There were precious few books, and I didn’t have the money to buy them anyway. So, necessity was the mother of retention. I took notes, I read whatever handouts and books people had in the lab, and I tried diligently to remember everything I encountered. Absolutely everything.”
“I put the first quarter in the slot and began what I can only describe as a joyous, spontaneous mind-meld between me and the game as I entered the blinking, blipping digital maze. If you’ve played Pac-Man, you know this feeling, particularly if you encountered it in the 1980s. It was the thing everyone was talking about. Pac-Man is a game of virtual tag where you get three lives as a chomping yellow icon that races around a maze lined with “Pac-Dots,” chomping the dots and other goodies (fruits, a bell and a key), while ghosts chase you. Any contact with the ghosts—Blinky (red), Pinky (pink), Inky (blue), and Clyde (orange)—and you lost one of your lives. It was exhilarating. Everything about the Pac-Man experience was different and just flat-out better than other arcade games. Its innovation was a revelation to me. Musicians sometimes describe a piece of music that changed them. This was the game that changed me.”
“My stepfather and I had a difficult relationship, as readers have no doubt gathered. However, he also had a significant positive influence on my life. He took us in, took care of us, gave me lectures that I hated but that also somehow sunk in, and ultimately recognized and enabled a talent he knew I had. There are tens of thousands of kids out there whose parents ignore their desire to code or to make games or insist they pursue fields that are more traditional. Getting that Apple II+ changed my life.”
“Games were still not part of the equation for him, but they were the endgame for me. Every day after school, I was programming games one after another. I remember thinking, “I want to do this every day for the rest of my life.” I was finished going outside.”
“With Christmas 1982 approaching, I asked my parents for two books. Assembly Lines: The Book by Roger Wagner was a how-to bible. The other book, Apple Graphics and Arcade Game Design by Jeffrey Stanton, was about making arcade games in Assembly. My parents still didn’t “get it,” but they had become less damning about my passion and were still hopeful that I’d move on to developing “useful” software. On December 25, the books were under the tree. I was elated.”
“I finished my version of Crazy Climber, but I was such a novice that I accidentally deleted it—my first Apple II+ game in history vanished into the ether!”
“That visit was inspiring, not least because it showed my parents were warming even more to my zest for computers. A year later, I devised a program that claimed to take your pulse when you touched the space bar. It was a prank program, obviously, written in two lines for Uncle Louie’s Perpetual Two-Liner Contest. I mailed the game from England as an entry to the contest, and Bert included it on a 1983 release called Silicon Salad. It was my first published program.”
“I started to make game after game after game. With each completed project, I put the code and a disk in a letter and submitted my work to programming magazines like the Apple-only Nibble and inCider. The first few months, I was rewarded with nothing but rejections, but I was determined, and eventually inCider bought my maze game Scout Search for $100. In it, players take the role of a Scoutmaster charged with gathering their lost scouts before a rampaging grizzly bear finds them. I was incredibly proud, and it fed my confidence. I was a professional programmer and game designer. Nobody could take that away from me.”
“Being surrounded by scientists day in and day out changed his perspective and educated him. Even though he didn’t have a day of college in him, he was a naturally curious man who liked to learn and absorbed whatever was happening around him.”
“Steve Meuse went first. “So, you’re here to do porting between the Apple II and the Commodore 64. Can you tell us about the similarities between the two computers?”
Where to even start? I didn’t want to risk leaving anything out, so I started at the beginning.
“They are 8-bit computers that have 64K of RAM and a ROM bank that controls all the functions of the computer. There are special memory locations that control hardware specific to both computers. The Commodore has a 6510 CPU and the Apple II has a 6502 CPU, which means they both have the same instruction set, but the Commodore has an 8-bit bidirectional I/O port on the back.”
No one stopped me, and so I kept going.”
“The next day, I went out and bought a book called Mapping the Commodore 64. I consumed the book. In two days, I felt I understood the entire machine—the operating system, its memory capability, the architecture, everything.”
“Over the course of my life, I have bonded with programmers, including some of the most legendary figures in games and computer design, from Steve Wozniak to Bill Budge to Nasir Gebelli and others. However, on that first meeting, Carmack and I instantly connected on multiple levels because we shared a deep knowledge base and passion that creates instant bonds; we understood each other and the significance of our respective work, and we admired each other’s abilities. We spoke a language that, while rooted in normal, everyday English, was unique. We saw a world of possibility in games, and we knew we had the knowledge and drive to master it. We saw that in each other. It’s hard to describe how it felt. Imagine caring deeply about something, so deeply that you feel compelled to master it. Imagine no one around you gets it—not your family, not your partner, not your friends. Not really. Imagine meeting someone else just like you for the first time. That’s what it felt like when we met each other.”
“We didn’t do this because we had to. We did this because we wanted to. If you’ve ever stayed up far too late because you were playing a game, bingeing a series, or reading a book, code had the exact same effect on us. Learning more was its own reward.”
“I knew right then that we were going to make groundbreaking games. We were going to be the team to follow. Like Wozniak. Like Nasir. Like Budge. Like my game dev heroes. We were going to build our own game company!”
“Change whatever is needed,” we told him, “but get levels done.”
By this point, my own level design style had become codified. What started as an experiment in April was now a philosophy, and one I shared with Sandy. I believed in these design rules: [see list at top]"
“Kevin was learning new technology to create the 3D models we would eventually get into the engine. He cut out the model-making middleman we used for DOOM, Gregor Punchatz, by creating models digitally on our new Silicon Graphics Indigo workstation and using its 3D modeling program, Alias Wavefront. Many people go to college for four years to grasp what Kevin was about to teach himself. His goal? To design 3D models in Wavefront, then use Deluxe Paint II to create the textures to cover his models. Putting textures on the 3D models was the new frontier. Because they would be attached to 3D objects, the textures needed to fit the models like a shirt fits a human.* This process is known as “skinning.”
“While I wish it had not been as rocky as it was, I am grateful to everyone who was there, however briefly, and to those who stuck with it as long as they did. I’m also grateful to the fans who send me emails, sometimes apologetically, like they’re admitting to a crime, “I actually liked Daikatana.” I am sure they also like it more now that fan-made patches fixed the AI and other issues. I’m grateful for the lessons I learned, including the hard ones. If I had to sum it all up as a business lesson, this is it:
Don’t let problems magnify; deal with issues as soon as they arise. Problems always magnify over time.
Don’t hype what you don’t have.
Never insult your fans, even in jest.
Trust your gut instinct. If you think something is wrong, there’s probably a reason, even if it’s not obvious. (Though in the case of the Bitch ad, it was obvious).
Make sure people are treated well; games do not make themselves.
Focus on the fun; games do not design themselves.
Surround yourself with good people and give them what they need to make something great.
Find a way to support someone, like a video game publisher, who wants to make something else great, even if that something else is without you.
Vet your founders because you will face highs, lows, and challenges together.
Fail gracefully. Failure is a part of games, a part of life, and a part of success. Accept your flaws, reload your save and try again.”
“The response was through the roof. Sales rolled in. Critics lauded the game. Here’s one I especially like from Computer Games Magazine:
Satan, your game has arrived. It spits up blood and pisses vinegar. It sprouts horns from its head like the proud minion of evil that it is. It shoots lightning bolts, for cripes’ sake. It’s a game of pure evil, and even purer entertainment. It’s also the best action game on the planet.”
“Together, we founded the company that was to become Gazillion Entertainment. While there were multiple opportunities in the space, what attracted me to Gazillion was its focus.”
“Gunman Taco Truck,” he said.
“Yes!” I laughed at the sound of it and the possibilities it brought to my imagination.
We spent an entire Saturday working on code, getting a taco truck up on the screen, getting the truck moving, and mounting a gun to its roof. That night, as Brenda and I were hanging out, Donovan came bounding into our room.
“Mommy, Mommy. I know what the game is about.”
Like a proud game-dev parent, Brenda grabbed her phone, told him to wait, and started recording.
“You’re this Mexican gunslinger who runs a taco truck,” he began. “You’re trying to get through the wasteland to kill all the mutant animals, and once you do that, you finally get to the resisting safe bases. Every time you get to a resisting safe base, you get more money for selling tacos!”
“So you go to the bases and you serve tacos with your truck?” I asked.
“Yes. Randomly generated. There’s just … infinity, so it’s an endless game.”
I wanted to make sure I had it right. The kid had a solid core loop.”
“Failure is a part of games: Innovation is not certain, and sometimes you are not going to hit the mark. Failing means you’re trying and taking chances. The biggest lessons I’ve learned come from having tried and failed. Some of those lessons you know about, and others were fixed before they ever saw the light of day. Irish writer Samuel Beckett got it: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Don’t be afraid of failure. It’s a risk that’s necessary to innovate.”
“Resilience: Saved games are there for a reason. Game developers expect you to take a shot now and again. In life and especially in game dev, it’s no different. Get up and do it again. That said, if whatever you’re doing is not going according to plan, if it feels like you’re taking one too many knocks on the chin, leave and find a better place or start another game.”
“Execution is everything: Success is not defined by an idea. It is determined by your ability to execute on that idea. Surround yourself with good people who know when to compliment you and when to give you a critique.”
“Give credit where it is due: Thank you for reading my book and thank you so much for playing my games.”
“I hope my games have brought you a little bit of the same joy that you have given me. Emag eht niw uoy.”
August 26, 2023
A great autobiographical and entrepreunarial tale filled with game dev and game industry insights but also and more importantly a window on someone's life great success and failures. The positive message and the sheer grandeur of the entrepreunarial adventure of Romero and his party made me get off the couch and venture forth to my projects with renewed motivation.
February 13, 2024
Romero is a rock star.
August 22, 2023
I think as a biography and a historical record this book is an informative read however if you are looking for tips on how to succeed as a game developer or even for spicy dramatic retellings of arguments of the past this isn't the book for you. Romero does give plenty of detail, sometimes maybe a little too much detail, but also remains even tempered and it is clear that despite the past trouble is still very close with his co-founders and has gained perspective with time. I think if there are lessons about game development to be taken from this book it's mostly related to learning management and business skills can be really important to the success of a game and company. Also that change in the game industry is rapid and relentless. The video game industry of today is very different from the industry when Doom launched and that even for someone as experienced as Romero success means adapting to the changes and is no guarantee there won't be failures along the way.
September 25, 2023
This is a very engaging history of John Romero's life and how he cowrote one of the biggest games in history, Doom. I've read other video game histories and biographies and this one was the. most compelling due to Romero's storytelling.
It can be a bit detailed for the layperson but the storytelling makes it so much more interesting than your standard video game/computer history biography. Most people didn't know that John Romero was born and raised in poverty in Arizona. He outlines his path to teaching himself programming on many systems and moving all over the country in his quest to be a part of the small group of game programming/design experts in games' infancy.
I would recommend this book for anyone interested in computer history, video game history, the game Doom or even just general biographies.
I received a promotional copy and am giving an honest review.
It can be a bit detailed for the layperson but the storytelling makes it so much more interesting than your standard video game/computer history biography. Most people didn't know that John Romero was born and raised in poverty in Arizona. He outlines his path to teaching himself programming on many systems and moving all over the country in his quest to be a part of the small group of game programming/design experts in games' infancy.
I would recommend this book for anyone interested in computer history, video game history, the game Doom or even just general biographies.
I received a promotional copy and am giving an honest review.
July 22, 2023
Книга замечательная. Это прекрасное дополнение к «Повелителям DOOM», которое ощущается как спин-офф про вот того патлатого чувака. Джон фигура безусловно противоречивая, но невозможно отрицать его гениальность и вклад в золотую эпоху id, о чем он без стеснения рассказывает. Иногда он слишком увлекается рассказами о своем детстве, иногда повторяется (большая беда авторов, пишущих на английском), но он умудряется рассказать интересную историю о самом себе и людях и вещах, окружавших его в тот или иной период.
В книге уйма трогательных моментов, есть конкретная мораль и мысль, и бесконечное количество флекса. Но, будем честны, Джону есть, чем флексить. Вопрос в том, симпатичен ли вам Ромеро. Если вы его недолюбливаете или хейтите, то книга вас вряд ли переубедит, если уважаете, то вы сможете получше узнать Джона и даже перенять часть его опыта и знаний (по крайней мере, мне так кажется).
В книге уйма трогательных моментов, есть конкретная мораль и мысль, и бесконечное количество флекса. Но, будем честны, Джону есть, чем флексить. Вопрос в том, симпатичен ли вам Ромеро. Если вы его недолюбливаете или хейтите, то книга вас вряд ли переубедит, если уважаете, то вы сможете получше узнать Джона и даже перенять часть его опыта и знаний (по крайней мере, мне так кажется).
October 26, 2023
Kind of conflicted about this one. It's certainly a worthy companion to Masters of Doom if that story is important to you. The vast majority recounts the time up to the end of the id era, though what I mostly wanted to hear was more about the time after that. I had hoped to maybe hear a different side of the Daikatana story, and more about what Romero did after Ion Storm's collapse, but there's no such acquittal here.
Romero's early struggles and successes as a programmer and game lover are captivating, and worth a read. Unfortunately some of the later parts, as one enters periods of great public drama, read as overly defensive and are at times hard to believe as both honest and representative of the whole truth.
There also aren't really too many gems of game design wisdom in this, but it is inspiring, at points. Maybe telling is that there are glaring perils-to-avoid obvious in the retelling that Romero never acknowledges as perils or mistakes made.
Romero's early struggles and successes as a programmer and game lover are captivating, and worth a read. Unfortunately some of the later parts, as one enters periods of great public drama, read as overly defensive and are at times hard to believe as both honest and representative of the whole truth.
There also aren't really too many gems of game design wisdom in this, but it is inspiring, at points. Maybe telling is that there are glaring perils-to-avoid obvious in the retelling that Romero never acknowledges as perils or mistakes made.
November 2, 2023
UCZCIWIE O ŻYCIU PROGRAMISTY
"DOOM Guy. Życie w pierwszej osobie" to niecodzienna autobiografia, która zabiera czytelników w fascynującą podróż przez historię wielu gier, przekazując przy tej okazji głębsze prawdy na temat sensu życia i nieustępliwości w dążeniu do sukcesu. Książka ta stanowi nie tylko hołd dla fanów serii DOOM, ale także analizę jej wpływu na przemysł gier i popkulturę jako całość. Przede wszystkim jednak jest to przesłanie od Johna Romero, który ma nam sporo do powiedzenia.
Autor jest znany w środowisku graczy jako twórca nie tylko kultowego "DOOM'a" ale również "Quake'a", w którego grały miliony dzieciaków w latach 90-tych. Jego autobiografia jest pełna fascynujących anegdot, które rzucają światło na proces tworzenia gier i przemysłu rozrywkowego. Jednak to przede wszystkim relacja z własnego życia autora czyni tę książkę tak interesującą.
Książka "DOOM Guy. Życie w pierwszej osobie" zaczyna się od wspomnień Johna Romero z dzieciństwa. Zainteresowanie grami wideo, które wtedy się zrodziło, stawało się z czasem jego sposobem na życie. Dość lapidarnie streszcza wczesne lata kariery jako programisty, gdy pracował nad tytułami, które były prekursorami "DOOM'a". Ale to właśnie te początki tworzenia gier wideo, pełne nieprzespanych nocy, ukazują pasję i determinację Johna Romero. Czytelnicy dowiadują się, jak powstała idea "DOOM'a" i jakie wyzwania trzeba było pokonać, aby stworzyć grę, która zmieniła przemysł.
Jednym z najważniejszych aspektów tej książki jest opis samego procesu tworzenia "DOOM'a". John Romero szczegółowo opisuje techniczne trudności, z jakimi musiał się zmierzyć, i jakie innowacje wprowadził w grze. Dla fanów serii jest to nieoceniona wiedza o kulisach powstawania jednej z najważniejszych gier w historii.
Książka ta ukazuje także relacje i dynamikę w zespole tworzącym tę klasyczną "strzelankę". Czytelnicy dowiadują się o nieuniknionych konfliktach jakie miały miejsce, ale także jakie były sposoby, by je przezwyciężyć. To wszystko składa się na fascynujący portret twórców gry i proces tworzenia niezapomnianego dzieła. John Romero analizuje, jak seria ta wpłynęła na rozwój przemysłu gier wideo, a także jakie były jej konsekwencje dla szeroko pojętej kultury masowej. "DOOM" to gra, która w znaczący sposób przyczyniła się do popularyzacji gier akcji, a jej wpływ jest nadal widoczny w wielu współczesnych produkcjach.
Książka jest także nasycona różnymi anegdotami i opowieściami, które ucieszą każdego fana serii. Autor dzieli się historiami związanymi z graczami, turniejami, spotkaniami i wydarzeniami promującymi grę. Te opowieści dodają książce nieco luzu i pozwalają poczuć unikalną atmosferę czasów gdy na rynku było znacznie mniej gier, a ich premiery były niemalże świętem. Łezka kręci się w oku gdy człowiek przypomina sobie czasy sprzed szerokopasmowego Internetu, gdy gry kupowało się na płytach CD.
Jednak książka nie jest tylko sentymentalnymi wspomnieniami. John Romero nie unika mówienia o trudnościach i niepowodzeniach, które towarzyszyły tworzeniu gier i rozwojowi jego kariery. To uczciwe podejście do tematu czyni tę książkę bardziej osobistą i wiarygodną. Pisze szczerze nie tylko o wzlotach, ale również o upadkach. Życia autora nie było usłane różami - sporo w nim cierni, które utrudniały parcie naprzód. Można wiele się od niego nauczyć, nie tylko jako od programisty, ale przede wszystkim jako od drugiego człowieka, pełnego pasji i... pokory.
Jestem zaskoczony jak dobrze się czytało tę biografię. To prawdopodobnie połączenie talentu Romero do snucia narracji, oraz wysiłków wydawcy - w nasze ręce oddano książkę, która wciągnie nie tylko miłośników gier. "DOOM Guy" to ciekawe spotkanie z arcyciekawym człowiekiem.
PS. Nie bójcie się, że zgubicie się w trakcie lektury. Nawet fragmenty, które tyczą się typowo programistycznych zagwozdek napisane zostały w taki sposób, aby osoby "nie siedzące w temacie" wszystko zrozumiały.
Książka z Klubu Recenzenta serwisu nakanapie.pl.
"DOOM Guy. Życie w pierwszej osobie" to niecodzienna autobiografia, która zabiera czytelników w fascynującą podróż przez historię wielu gier, przekazując przy tej okazji głębsze prawdy na temat sensu życia i nieustępliwości w dążeniu do sukcesu. Książka ta stanowi nie tylko hołd dla fanów serii DOOM, ale także analizę jej wpływu na przemysł gier i popkulturę jako całość. Przede wszystkim jednak jest to przesłanie od Johna Romero, który ma nam sporo do powiedzenia.
Autor jest znany w środowisku graczy jako twórca nie tylko kultowego "DOOM'a" ale również "Quake'a", w którego grały miliony dzieciaków w latach 90-tych. Jego autobiografia jest pełna fascynujących anegdot, które rzucają światło na proces tworzenia gier i przemysłu rozrywkowego. Jednak to przede wszystkim relacja z własnego życia autora czyni tę książkę tak interesującą.
Książka "DOOM Guy. Życie w pierwszej osobie" zaczyna się od wspomnień Johna Romero z dzieciństwa. Zainteresowanie grami wideo, które wtedy się zrodziło, stawało się z czasem jego sposobem na życie. Dość lapidarnie streszcza wczesne lata kariery jako programisty, gdy pracował nad tytułami, które były prekursorami "DOOM'a". Ale to właśnie te początki tworzenia gier wideo, pełne nieprzespanych nocy, ukazują pasję i determinację Johna Romero. Czytelnicy dowiadują się, jak powstała idea "DOOM'a" i jakie wyzwania trzeba było pokonać, aby stworzyć grę, która zmieniła przemysł.
Jednym z najważniejszych aspektów tej książki jest opis samego procesu tworzenia "DOOM'a". John Romero szczegółowo opisuje techniczne trudności, z jakimi musiał się zmierzyć, i jakie innowacje wprowadził w grze. Dla fanów serii jest to nieoceniona wiedza o kulisach powstawania jednej z najważniejszych gier w historii.
Książka ta ukazuje także relacje i dynamikę w zespole tworzącym tę klasyczną "strzelankę". Czytelnicy dowiadują się o nieuniknionych konfliktach jakie miały miejsce, ale także jakie były sposoby, by je przezwyciężyć. To wszystko składa się na fascynujący portret twórców gry i proces tworzenia niezapomnianego dzieła. John Romero analizuje, jak seria ta wpłynęła na rozwój przemysłu gier wideo, a także jakie były jej konsekwencje dla szeroko pojętej kultury masowej. "DOOM" to gra, która w znaczący sposób przyczyniła się do popularyzacji gier akcji, a jej wpływ jest nadal widoczny w wielu współczesnych produkcjach.
Książka jest także nasycona różnymi anegdotami i opowieściami, które ucieszą każdego fana serii. Autor dzieli się historiami związanymi z graczami, turniejami, spotkaniami i wydarzeniami promującymi grę. Te opowieści dodają książce nieco luzu i pozwalają poczuć unikalną atmosferę czasów gdy na rynku było znacznie mniej gier, a ich premiery były niemalże świętem. Łezka kręci się w oku gdy człowiek przypomina sobie czasy sprzed szerokopasmowego Internetu, gdy gry kupowało się na płytach CD.
Jednak książka nie jest tylko sentymentalnymi wspomnieniami. John Romero nie unika mówienia o trudnościach i niepowodzeniach, które towarzyszyły tworzeniu gier i rozwojowi jego kariery. To uczciwe podejście do tematu czyni tę książkę bardziej osobistą i wiarygodną. Pisze szczerze nie tylko o wzlotach, ale również o upadkach. Życia autora nie było usłane różami - sporo w nim cierni, które utrudniały parcie naprzód. Można wiele się od niego nauczyć, nie tylko jako od programisty, ale przede wszystkim jako od drugiego człowieka, pełnego pasji i... pokory.
Jestem zaskoczony jak dobrze się czytało tę biografię. To prawdopodobnie połączenie talentu Romero do snucia narracji, oraz wysiłków wydawcy - w nasze ręce oddano książkę, która wciągnie nie tylko miłośników gier. "DOOM Guy" to ciekawe spotkanie z arcyciekawym człowiekiem.
PS. Nie bójcie się, że zgubicie się w trakcie lektury. Nawet fragmenty, które tyczą się typowo programistycznych zagwozdek napisane zostały w taki sposób, aby osoby "nie siedzące w temacie" wszystko zrozumiały.
Książka z Klubu Recenzenta serwisu nakanapie.pl.
February 20, 2024
I didn't know much at all about John Romero before reading this book besides the advertisement he blessed to market a game he was developing. The ad's copy read: "JOHN ROMERO'S ABOUT TO MAKE YOU HIS BITCH. Suck It Down." (If you'd like to view the ad, see it here: https://imgur.com/a/ZDCEC).
The game wasn't much better -- it was widely panned by critics, which in my mind was the final nail in Romero's professional coffin.
So reading this book, I was surprised to learn that he actually seems like a pretty OK guy, that he has continued to make games (with some success) and that he's accomplished many impressive things in his career, despite the terrible ad and some of his other mistakes, which he's generally reluctant to spend much time on in this book (more on this in a moment).
As a games industry insider, I enjoyed the first-hand account of how some of the games I grew up playing were created. I played Doom. I played Quake. And so I owe a debt of gratitude to Romero and his colleagues for these games. Fans of Doom/Quake/ID and gaming lore will get a kick out of this book for sure.
However, as a reader of many, many autobiographies, I found this one to be very weak in the essential elements that make the great autobiographies truly great. The flaws are primarily in the realm of editorial judgement and in demonstrating awareness. In terms of editorial judgement, lots of words are spent on ephemera (such as lore for failed kickstarter games) at the expense of time spent on truly momentous, life-changing decisions. For example, the discussion of the "BITCH" ad takes roughly a fifth to a tenth of the space dedicated to truly inconsequential details covered in agonizing detail regarding some recent Doom levels he developed and released.
In terms of self-awareness -- here's a guy who drove his Ferrari 175MPH on an (empty) public road, approved the "BITCH" ad, contributed to acres of fawning press coverage, and who rehashes old arguments, using his prodigious memory to batter his absent opponents in the pages of this book. For example, he says that the "BITCH" ad was really not his fault, but was actually the fault of the marketer that proposed it (whom he names, of course). He's convinced his memory is excellent, which allows him to win all of the arguments that he re-litigates in these pages. But we never hear the other side of these tussles in high fidelity. Romero's arguments are rendered in 4K HD resolution, his opponents' arguments are rendered in 16-bit VGA. He just doesn't come across as a trustworthy narrator of his own story.
And then of course there are the four marriages, the end of the first three of which aren't covered in any detail at all. That's of course his prerogative and choice to make, but it's a choice that's terrible for the quality of the memoir. Braver and more capable memoirists have shown us how to write about breakups in a way that's fully personal and that doesn't step on the toes of the former partners. It is possible to talk about breakups in a way that doesn't rob others of their dignity or privacy while simultaneously sharing intimate thoughts, feelings, and learnings, but he doesn't even attempt to go there.
As much as I found myself liking Romero as a result of this book (he really does seem like a better person than I was led to believe by the "BITCH" ad), I think the book fails as a work of art and as an example of autobiography.
Edit: after reading the book and writing this review, a friend I shared the review with forwarded me this article: https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022...
Reading the Vanity Fair article and then comparing it to the overly sanitized story told in this book, I feel I've been hoodwinked, and that I was far too kind with my review. My bullshit detector should've been clicking like a Geiger counter at Chernobyl -- I'm embarrassed to admit that I was gullible enough to be taken in by this very one-sided account.
The game wasn't much better -- it was widely panned by critics, which in my mind was the final nail in Romero's professional coffin.
So reading this book, I was surprised to learn that he actually seems like a pretty OK guy, that he has continued to make games (with some success) and that he's accomplished many impressive things in his career, despite the terrible ad and some of his other mistakes, which he's generally reluctant to spend much time on in this book (more on this in a moment).
As a games industry insider, I enjoyed the first-hand account of how some of the games I grew up playing were created. I played Doom. I played Quake. And so I owe a debt of gratitude to Romero and his colleagues for these games. Fans of Doom/Quake/ID and gaming lore will get a kick out of this book for sure.
However, as a reader of many, many autobiographies, I found this one to be very weak in the essential elements that make the great autobiographies truly great. The flaws are primarily in the realm of editorial judgement and in demonstrating awareness. In terms of editorial judgement, lots of words are spent on ephemera (such as lore for failed kickstarter games) at the expense of time spent on truly momentous, life-changing decisions. For example, the discussion of the "BITCH" ad takes roughly a fifth to a tenth of the space dedicated to truly inconsequential details covered in agonizing detail regarding some recent Doom levels he developed and released.
In terms of self-awareness -- here's a guy who drove his Ferrari 175MPH on an (empty) public road, approved the "BITCH" ad, contributed to acres of fawning press coverage, and who rehashes old arguments, using his prodigious memory to batter his absent opponents in the pages of this book. For example, he says that the "BITCH" ad was really not his fault, but was actually the fault of the marketer that proposed it (whom he names, of course). He's convinced his memory is excellent, which allows him to win all of the arguments that he re-litigates in these pages. But we never hear the other side of these tussles in high fidelity. Romero's arguments are rendered in 4K HD resolution, his opponents' arguments are rendered in 16-bit VGA. He just doesn't come across as a trustworthy narrator of his own story.
And then of course there are the four marriages, the end of the first three of which aren't covered in any detail at all. That's of course his prerogative and choice to make, but it's a choice that's terrible for the quality of the memoir. Braver and more capable memoirists have shown us how to write about breakups in a way that's fully personal and that doesn't step on the toes of the former partners. It is possible to talk about breakups in a way that doesn't rob others of their dignity or privacy while simultaneously sharing intimate thoughts, feelings, and learnings, but he doesn't even attempt to go there.
As much as I found myself liking Romero as a result of this book (he really does seem like a better person than I was led to believe by the "BITCH" ad), I think the book fails as a work of art and as an example of autobiography.
Edit: after reading the book and writing this review, a friend I shared the review with forwarded me this article: https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022...
Reading the Vanity Fair article and then comparing it to the overly sanitized story told in this book, I feel I've been hoodwinked, and that I was far too kind with my review. My bullshit detector should've been clicking like a Geiger counter at Chernobyl -- I'm embarrassed to admit that I was gullible enough to be taken in by this very one-sided account.
December 23, 2023
This is a detailed overview of the technical, creative and team effort behind games like Doom or Quake. It is written and narrated by John Romero - so you get to hear it straight from the man himself. I appreciate his openness and willingness to share episodes from his childhood, and the fact that he acknowledges his mistakes.
Thank you, John! For the many hours of fun id games gave me, for the book, and the inspiration as a programmer, as well as a human being.
-----------Notes
- Alcoholic dad.
- Mexican background.
- Hyperthymesia - top notch autobiographic memory.
- first child at 20 year old (Michael)
- early projects
- original games
- porting others' games to new platforms
- id software
- id, not eye-dee
- team "in demand", "ifd=ideas from the deep" - >id
- Freud's term for "primitive, instinctual part of the mind" (спинно-мозговик :-)
- "great tools make great games, I think it is important to spend as much time on tools as possible".
- tool for transferring data between different computers [and different architectures], a proto-network; prior to that they'd just re-type the code!
- installer that makes it possible to write a game to several floppy disks
- game engine
- level editor
- music tool
- Apogee sales process = bottleneck
- call a 0800 number, dictate card number
- it is written down on paper and pinned on a metal rod
- at the end of the day someone would type them all into a word processor and eventually ship the items
- test call: they were put on hold for 30min
- > a non-technical bug
- idea to log all keystrokes and timings and allow players to replay a game (and share replays) - >speedrun
Doom
- first id software game developed entirely on nextStep machines
- doomEd: level editor baked into the design
- it made it easy to quickly prototype
- change, review, iterate
Design documents
- They didn't have them
- projects grew organically
- the game was the design document
Buy a cray supercomputer
- deal to put them somewhere in the game
- get a discount for a real one
- cray was very powerful and useful in their map processing
- deal was accepted, they got a cray for 500k usd
Found a floating point division bug in an Intel CPU
- not immediately clear
- but after thorough debugging they were certain the code was right
- asked a friend who knew someone from Intel
- it was a Hardware bug
Quake was initially planned as an RPG, but was then turned into an FPS.
- because of time pressure, low morale
- they didn't have enough energy to implement their original vision
- so it was "doom-like, but with a new engine"
Quitting id
- Romero got 0 money from quake
- because their rule was to calculate compensation based on the revenues for the past year
# terms
- deathmatch
- frag (reference to Vietnam war era military slang)
- fps - first person shooter
- ftp model - free to play
- wad file = where's all the data
- crunch time in the war room =everyone working in the same room when pressure arose, to increase efficiency and synergy :-) (what I call "zombie mode", but without a room)
- mouselook = use mouse to look around and keyboard to move
# lessons
- don't let problems magnify: deal with issues as they arise
- don't hype what you don't have
- never insult your fans
- trust your gut instinct
- treat people well
- focus on the fun
- surround yourself with good people and give them what they need to do something great
- support others who want to do great things (even if they do it without you)
- vet your co-founders
- fail gracefully, failure is a part of life; accept your flaws and try again
Thank you, John! For the many hours of fun id games gave me, for the book, and the inspiration as a programmer, as well as a human being.
-----------Notes
- Alcoholic dad.
- Mexican background.
- Hyperthymesia - top notch autobiographic memory.
- first child at 20 year old (Michael)
- early projects
- original games
- porting others' games to new platforms
- id software
- id, not eye-dee
- team "in demand", "ifd=ideas from the deep" - >id
- Freud's term for "primitive, instinctual part of the mind" (спинно-мозговик :-)
- "great tools make great games, I think it is important to spend as much time on tools as possible".
- tool for transferring data between different computers [and different architectures], a proto-network; prior to that they'd just re-type the code!
- installer that makes it possible to write a game to several floppy disks
- game engine
- level editor
- music tool
- Apogee sales process = bottleneck
- call a 0800 number, dictate card number
- it is written down on paper and pinned on a metal rod
- at the end of the day someone would type them all into a word processor and eventually ship the items
- test call: they were put on hold for 30min
- > a non-technical bug
- idea to log all keystrokes and timings and allow players to replay a game (and share replays) - >speedrun
Doom
- first id software game developed entirely on nextStep machines
- doomEd: level editor baked into the design
- it made it easy to quickly prototype
- change, review, iterate
Design documents
- They didn't have them
- projects grew organically
- the game was the design document
Buy a cray supercomputer
- deal to put them somewhere in the game
- get a discount for a real one
- cray was very powerful and useful in their map processing
- deal was accepted, they got a cray for 500k usd
Found a floating point division bug in an Intel CPU
- not immediately clear
- but after thorough debugging they were certain the code was right
- asked a friend who knew someone from Intel
- it was a Hardware bug
Quake was initially planned as an RPG, but was then turned into an FPS.
- because of time pressure, low morale
- they didn't have enough energy to implement their original vision
- so it was "doom-like, but with a new engine"
Quitting id
- Romero got 0 money from quake
- because their rule was to calculate compensation based on the revenues for the past year
# terms
- deathmatch
- frag (reference to Vietnam war era military slang)
- fps - first person shooter
- ftp model - free to play
- wad file = where's all the data
- crunch time in the war room =everyone working in the same room when pressure arose, to increase efficiency and synergy :-) (what I call "zombie mode", but without a room)
- mouselook = use mouse to look around and keyboard to move
# lessons
- don't let problems magnify: deal with issues as they arise
- don't hype what you don't have
- never insult your fans
- trust your gut instinct
- treat people well
- focus on the fun
- surround yourself with good people and give them what they need to do something great
- support others who want to do great things (even if they do it without you)
- vet your co-founders
- fail gracefully, failure is a part of life; accept your flaws and try again
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