Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop… (2003)

A foundational text in the history of video games. Essential reading for anyone with even a passing interest in this juggernaut of an entertainment industry and artform. Kushner tells the story in such an engaging way that it's hard to put down at times. ( )

The book chronicles John Carmack & John Romero's adventures into the gaming industry. It starts from their childhoods and follows them up until around 2004. The two John's had a great deal of influence on the modern PC game and it's interesting to see just how many other strands of connections there are between Doom and other games.

If you grew up playing Quake and Doom you'll enjoy this book. Otherwise I'm not sure it will keep your attention easily. ( )

This was fantastic and quite inspiring. ( )

Fast, energetic, full of attitude; yet the speed, energy, and 'tude are wholly those of the subjects at hand, John Romero and John Cormack, as they go from nobodies to the biggest rock stars of the PC gaming industry. Kudos to Kushden for writing a compelling, fun book that still feels responsibly done. He doesn't sermonize or extrapolate much. The only nitpicks I have are the occasional repetition of well established facts (why do so many bio books suffer from this?) and the long, dark tail of the Johns' careers. Can't blame the writer for that, but it does suck the fun out somewhat. Overall, one of the best software-story books I've read. ( )

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer. Title: Masters of Doom Series: ----- Author: David Kushner Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Genre: Biography Pages: 301 Synopsis: A Quick and Dirty Biography of John Romero and John Carmack, the Co-Creators of ID Software, which gave us Doom and Quake. My Thoughts: Overall, I'd say this was a pretty lackluster book. Serious issues were quickly gone over, motivations and thoughts barely sketched out, no footnotes, quotes or anything of substance. However, it brought such a dose of Nostalgia that I practically felt like a kid again! I remember my first computer, a dx2-66, on which I ran DOS 6.22 [not that nasty ol' 6.20 mind you!] and was the envy of my friends because I'd saved up and bought a cd-rom 4x. Oh man, I was blazing. I didn't really play Doom, but was introduced to Doom II: Hell on Earth. It was fantastic. It was everything my young self craved. Guns. Violence against a legitimate target. Being a bad ass hero. Double barreled shotgun. Puzzle solving along aside adrenalin inducing action. Then Heretic and Hexxen came out, based on Doom's graphic engine. Medieval Doom with bows and arrows, magic arcane items, more intricate puzzles. And Hexxen with its multi-hub puzzles. It was all awesome. Then Quake. I remember Quake so well because it required a Pentium 75 and my neighbor had just gotten one and there was no way I was going to be able to afford one for quite some time. And this book brought back all those memories and feelings. And that is why this was rated so high. The book itself was about two raging egomaniacs with different strengths who wouldn't and couldn't work together or with others. Because of that, they made and lost great people, companies and games. Kushner tries to end on a happy note, but you know it won't last because nothing has changed in the John's lives except their current circumstances. " ( )