Difference between revisions of "Masters of Doom"
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'''''Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture''''' is a non-fiction biography written by [[David Kushner]] and published on 2003-05-06. It is about the lives of the game developers who co-founded [[id Software]] and created the video game ''[[Doom]]'', focusing mostly on [[John Romero]] and [[John Carmack]]. The book describes their lives from childhood into adulthood as they expanded their video game hobby into a career, and into stardom. | '''''Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture''''' is a non-fiction biography written by [[David Kushner]] and published on 2003-05-06. It is about the lives of the game developers who co-founded [[id Software]] and created the video game ''[[Doom]]'', focusing mostly on [[John Romero]] and [[John Carmack]]. The book describes their lives from childhood into adulthood as they expanded their video game hobby into a career, and into stardom. | ||
| − | I bought this book as part of a Humblie Indie Bundle for game-themed audio books. | + | ==Personal== |
| + | I bought this book as part of a Humblie Indie Bundle for game-themed audio books, and, being a big fan of the games of id Software, especially ''Doom'', I listened to it, finishing it on 2019-11-25. | ||
==Status== | ==Status== | ||
| Line 11: | Line 12: | ||
===Good=== | ===Good=== | ||
* The book goes into a lot of detail about the lives of John Romero and John Carmack, where they obtained their skills, the challenges they faced growing up, and their rise to stardom in the video game industry. It also includes general life stories of [[Tom Hall]], [[Adrian Carmack]], and various other people involved with their lives. | * The book goes into a lot of detail about the lives of John Romero and John Carmack, where they obtained their skills, the challenges they faced growing up, and their rise to stardom in the video game industry. It also includes general life stories of [[Tom Hall]], [[Adrian Carmack]], and various other people involved with their lives. | ||
| − | * Kushner had direct interviews with | + | * Kushner had direct interviews with some of the people in the book, so a lot of the information is first-hand. |
| − | * The book isn't just fan praise, it includes a lot of history which puts the id | + | * The book isn't just fan praise, it includes a lot of history which puts the id developers in a negative light including how they abandoned the previous companies they worked for leaving the owners in a mess, how they fired their own friends, how their bad management styles made their work environments hell for everyone else, and even how John Carmack had his cat Mitzi euthanized because she was interrupting his programming too much. |
===Bad=== | ===Bad=== | ||
| − | * Throughout the book, the author gets basic game information wrong. For example, he suggests players tried to "shoot" the Easter egg in ''[[Adventure]]'', but the game doesn't even have a way to shoot, | + | * Throughout the book, the author gets basic game information wrong. For example, he suggests players tried to "shoot" the [[Easter egg]] in ''[[Adventure (video game)|Adventure]]'', but the game doesn't even have a way to shoot, he also states [[Video Graphics Array|VGA]] stands for "Video Graphics ''Adapter''," instead of the correct, "Video Graphics ''Array''." I noticed about one error like this per chapter, and it makes me question the accuracy of everything else. |
| − | * The book includes a lot of dialogue, but, since the people in the book | + | * The book includes a lot of dialogue, but, since the people in the book didn't recorded their conversations, and the book wasn't written until several years after any of the events transpired, the vast majority of the dialogue can't be accurate. Kushner probably wrote the dialogue in the manner of how the people spoke based on the interviews he had with the developers. |
===Ugly=== | ===Ugly=== | ||
Revision as of 16:09, 16 June 2020
Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture is a non-fiction biography written by David Kushner and published on 2003-05-06. It is about the lives of the game developers who co-founded id Software and created the video game Doom, focusing mostly on John Romero and John Carmack. The book describes their lives from childhood into adulthood as they expanded their video game hobby into a career, and into stardom.
Personal
I bought this book as part of a Humblie Indie Bundle for game-themed audio books, and, being a big fan of the games of id Software, especially Doom, I listened to it, finishing it on 2019-11-25.
Status
I own the audio book read by Wil Wheaton and have read it.
Review
Good
- The book goes into a lot of detail about the lives of John Romero and John Carmack, where they obtained their skills, the challenges they faced growing up, and their rise to stardom in the video game industry. It also includes general life stories of Tom Hall, Adrian Carmack, and various other people involved with their lives.
- Kushner had direct interviews with some of the people in the book, so a lot of the information is first-hand.
- The book isn't just fan praise, it includes a lot of history which puts the id developers in a negative light including how they abandoned the previous companies they worked for leaving the owners in a mess, how they fired their own friends, how their bad management styles made their work environments hell for everyone else, and even how John Carmack had his cat Mitzi euthanized because she was interrupting his programming too much.
Bad
- Throughout the book, the author gets basic game information wrong. For example, he suggests players tried to "shoot" the Easter egg in Adventure, but the game doesn't even have a way to shoot, he also states VGA stands for "Video Graphics Adapter," instead of the correct, "Video Graphics Array." I noticed about one error like this per chapter, and it makes me question the accuracy of everything else.
- The book includes a lot of dialogue, but, since the people in the book didn't recorded their conversations, and the book wasn't written until several years after any of the events transpired, the vast majority of the dialogue can't be accurate. Kushner probably wrote the dialogue in the manner of how the people spoke based on the interviews he had with the developers.
Ugly
- Nothing.
Media
Covers
Hardcover, USA.
Audiobook.
Links
