Post: #1

Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture
http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Creat...812972155/

This book chronicles the careers of video game developers John Carmack and John Romero, founders of Id Software and creators of legendary game series such as Commander Keen, Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake. Since they are both still alive and very active in the game developer scene the book is not a comprehensive look at their careers but gives a fantastic overview of their impact on the game industry during the late 80's and 90's.

I just finished this book recently and thought it was fantastic. You will get the most out of this book if you have a decent history with PC gaming. If you do not, you can still enjoy the story but some of the events might not register as much emotionally with you because you don't have the historical attachment in your mind. This book can also be enjoyed very much from a business and programming perspective. There are a lot of fantastic parts in the book showing how these 22 year old kids started making tons of money extremely fast through their games. I gained a new appreciation for how pioneering a figure Carmack was/is in the development of graphics technology and the importance of Romero's design skills. Its also a great story about how these guys rebelled against the system to achieve greatness, something I'm gaining a lot more appreciation for as I read about the old school computing legends of the 80s.

If you have a history with PC gaming, or are a programmer, or are an entrepreneur, you will definitely enjoy this book. I sure did. Recommended.

Post: #2

Thanks for sharing. There is also a video on youtube from Machinima that goes over the history of Id. They went from making video games out of their apartment to living in mansions. Although today I really hope that Id steps up the quality of their products. Their last few releases didn't do as well as they should have. It seems that they are stuck in mimicking FPS's from the 90s. However, they set the standard when it comes to the development of graphics and game engines. Call of Duty, even the most latest releases, runs off of the Quake 3 engine which was made in 1999.

Also, Carmack recently left the industry to focus on his space program. Though I believe id is still his, at least partially.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YreEwtV7D0

Post: #3

Carmack is one of the best and most successful programmers of all time. /end kanye

^^^ Carmack sold ID to ZeniMax, the owners of Bethesda (Fallout, TES), Carmack is part of the occulus rift team will be interesting to see what he'll help bring to the table.

Post: #4

Daikatana.........