This is a fascinating account of perhaps the most intriguing story in the world of computer gaming: the story of id Software's rise to prominence through the development of Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake, as well as the highly publicized split between the two men most responsible for these blockbusters, the two Johns: John Carmack and John Romero.
The book is not only an entertaining blow-by-blow account of the events that transpired in this story, but is also a cunningly crafted and penetrating look inside the psyche and personality of two fascinating human beings, and the wild initial success of colloboration followed by the bitter conflict bred by the polar forces that drove them. As such, its appeal transcends that of the video gaming community; it is a marvelous case study in sociology as well as a chronicle of the creation of computer games.
Masters of Doom is ultimately a "rise and fall" tale, in a sense. id Software, John Carmack, and John Romero will likely never reach the heights they achieved in the glory days following the release of Doom, but it is arguable that no single company or individual developer will ever do so again either.
The book is uncompromising in its account of the conflicts, and assesses blame only through the eyes of the people involved, without sounding preachy. Kushner assumes a neutral role and presents a remarkably balanced portrayal of the events, siding with neither Romero nor Carmack on the critical issues, leaving the reader with the accurate perception that both were right in their own way.
As a budding game programmer, I found the accounts of Carmack's technological breakthroughs (complete with rudimentary technical explanations as to how they were achieved) fascinating and inspiring. As a game enthusiast who largely cut his teeth on games like Wolfenstein and Doom, I found the story behind the creation of these masterpieces enthralling. And as a human being, I found Kushner's penetrating account of two personalities and the fruits and poisons of their collaboration positively enlightening.
David Kushner, you have done the gaming world an enormous service writing this book, and I strongly urge you to write others of its ilk.
If any of this sounds familiar to you and stirs up fond memories, this is a book you should definately purchase.
Anyone who has followed game development over the past decade will recognize the names of the principles - John Carmack, John Romero, Tom Hall, Adrian Carmark, Kevin Cloud, ID Software, Apogee, etc... David Kushner has created a literary time machine with his work, exhaustively researched (though factually inaccurate in several places), briskly paced, and extremely informative.
Sadly, the aforementioned "brisk pace" almost undermines the book. Kushner spends very little time on the childhoods of Romero and Carmark - about 20 pages each, just enough to indicate how difficult their childhoods were, how misunderstood and deprived they felt. Kushner rips through their early years, their maligned stint at Softdisk crunching out shareware, recruiting programmers and forming ID Software in Texas, Romero's hyped departure and the creation of ION Storm. Its all here, but often feels glossed over. I felt the need to know more about the principles. Any regret for the sacrifices they made for their success? To get inside their skulls, what are they really thinking?
Fact is, the book is probably a work of genius, considering its potentional audience. Its written by a guy with a short attention span for people with short attention spans. I enjoyed the heck out of it, but it left me with more questions than answers. Nuff said
The PC/Console gaming industry has already eclipsed that of the movie business, but in my opinion it's only just begun. Masters of Doom paints a colorful and detailed picture of the "garage and dorm-room" origins of game coding, on through to the big business, big money industry it is today.
I would reccomend this book highly to all interested in gaming, business, or good ol fashion American success stories.
Enjoy...