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Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to produce the most notoriously successful game franchises in history - Doom and Quake - until the games they made tore them apart. This is a story of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry - a powerful and compassionate account of what it's like to be young, driven, and wildly creative.
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And what's best.. It's the author's style. He certainly knows how to write a good book.
If you are in anyway interested in creating games but have been long put off by the stale state of the industry, then you'll find this a rewarding and exciting read in many respects.
Two guys that not only changed the world of gaming forever but stuck to their guns and fought tooth and nail throughout to remain independent.
I couldn't help but feel that Carmack emerged the victor in any battle that was staged, but Romero's child-like "rock stardom" is as endearing as Carmack's geekiness.
The only down side for me was the lack of detail on Doom's early development for which I know there is plenty to tell.
But that's game specific and this book concentrates on the personalities that contributed to their development.
A great read.
Written in a very appealing and non-technical way, the book is as much a thriller as it is a record of events. My only slight gripe with the book is the fact that it glosses over the technical side of things to favour the "people" side of the story. This is by no means a fatal flaw, since the book is fantastic, it just would have been nice to have had a little more technical details to go on.
According to the writers notes, the book took 6 years to write, which included endless interviews and contact with all involved.
Simply marvellous!
As a hobby, I develop games myself and reading this book was
possibly the most exciting confidence building experience ever.
The book complements the two Johns extremely well, and while
it may be obvious that not everything would have been as
described, it certainly shows how they went from simple guys
who worshiped those big names in the game industry, guys
with a passion and a dream, to those who are idles for future
game designers. There are even times when you can relate to
them in one way or another, taking you deep within an imaginary
and vivid world.
The book is extremely well paced and the chapters are nice and
short making it an interesting read that will definitely give
you laughs and also raise your eye brows as you read the book.
There are games I have played as a child like Commander Keen,
Rescue Rover and Spear Of Destiny and it was an amazing shock
to realise those games that remained on my favorites list
were produced by the same guys (obviously working for different
companies).
All in all if you like games or are a games developer, this
book is the confidence boost you always wanted. Heading over
to the ID Software website shows some familiar names still
in the team!
