The Masters of DOOM - Still a Big Deal?
I think everyone who considers themselves a gamer knows that DOOM was (and still is in many ways) a big deal. In the early ‘90s, DOOM simply redefined what a video game was as a piece of entertainment and how much of a revelation the technology behind its creation was.
Something the game also redefined (especially in the Western world) was just how big a business the video game industry could be. But, it was the business side of things that ultimately divided the two guys (“The Two Johns,” John Carmack and John Romero) who were responsible for the lion’s share of what made their company, id Software, what it was.
In 2003, the fantastic book, Masters of DOOM: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture, by David Kushner chronicled the textbook “fire and ice” relationship between the stoic Carmack and the flamboyant Romero. To his credit, Romero said the book was spot on, going as far as to sell signed copies of it through his own online store. Carmack was less thrilled about the book because, in essence, he is depicted as more of the unfeeling, almost robotic, villain with a speech impediment.
Whether that is true or not is, of course, up for debate. But over the years, the programming god who left id in 2013 to join Oculus VR and is now working on artificial intelligence projects, has softened a bit and has, well, become more human.
This is evident in a recent interview with Carmack on the Lex Fridman Podcast. While Fridman’s style and tone definitely could use some serious work (how that guy has over two million subscribers is a bona fide mystery), it is refreshing to see Carmack talk so openly and engagingly about his relationship with Romero and his perspective on how things shook out at id Software:
Check out the full, five hour long interview with Carmack here if you wish. Be sure to have your popcorn ready because there’s a lot to absorb.
And, of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the games themselves as the legacy of DOOM still rages on and on as the most excellent Bethesda/id remakes, DOOM (2016), and DOOM Eternal (2020) are still played quite a bit; enhanced versions of DOOM and DOOM II were re-released on GOG (Good Old Games) last week; a modded, voxel version of the original DOOM also came out last week; a PC version of DOOM 64 was released back in 2020, but a GOG version was finally released back in June. Plus, there is still the threat of a TV mini-series adaptation of Masters of Doom that’s been floating about since 2019, so who knows if that’ll ever see the light of day?
A man can dream, but all I know is that DOOM and its storied, cult-of-personality-esque creators aren’t going away anytime soon…and that ain’t no bad thing in my book.
💬 Have you played DOOM or any other id Software games? Let us know what you think of them in the comments! Even if you haven't played anything by id, leave a comment sharing your thoughts on your favorite FPS's or video game creators!
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