I was excited by knowing that John Romero writes an autobiographic book. From view of a man who was of founders of id Software and was in it’s finest years when were creating breakthrough and grandiose games. It couldn’t be but curious. Delivery of book would take more than month. I started to read an illegal electronic version and I dropped two times, because I had feeling that I should pay. That point was until I saw that game developer’s header picture on X changed on acclaimed quotation of The Washington Post what wasn’t appreciate to put phrase from newspaper stopped to be journalistic. Romero lost my money.
I read many pages and ended after finishing chapter on development of Doom II. I couldn’t read it after Masters of Doom. David Kushner recreated atmosphere with all curses between developers. He demonstrates outside and inside of these people. Doom Guy has untold before and Romero’s telling on his past is wider than in Masters of Doom. Additionally, his story before he became famous is equally unusual and interesting. However, he writes everything in pieces. Stories of Doom Guy are cut and not fulfilled. Romero doesn’t write on origin on how he created word “deathmatch”. He only indicates on it’s appearance. Romero’s writing is confusing. An author of Doom Guy writes that he hasn’t interest on sex and very soon he marries on his pregnant girlfriend. Or the game developer tells that he bought houses for his relatives and paid for rehabilitation program for father had addiction. After that he goes on one of his relatives who got house loses it without explanation and his father started to use heavy drugs. Romero isn’t thorough about cat Mitzi on which he indicates two times and it’s second mentioning is murky, which I wouldn’t understand if I hadn’t read Masters of Doom. Mitzi in Kushner’s book has complete story.
NB. It ends tragic and by that adds another despise to John Carmack who his cat sent on death row.
Sometimes a gamemaker takes jumping in chronology whereas he mentions with everything. Ambience becomes lost. The book gets dry in telling. Even the neverheard before stories turned out as uninteresting. And I couldn’t read his hasn’t necessity reminding again on that things were different then as many people hadn’t Internet in 1993.
Not everything deplorable in Doom Guy. Romero wants to be an objective as he considers that he and Carmack needed in each other and they can’t be separate as well as he praises talents and achievements of other developers. He admits his guilt when he was heading Ion Storm (I made few forward jumps and checks after that chapter with Doom II and there I eventually ended with reading.), but Masters of Doom is a saturated book for reading about this company. I took magnificent from Romero’s Doom Guy as amazing story on Vietnam vet who decided to play Wolfenstein 3D (probably, I heard similar before.) and meeting with Scott Miller discloses surprising side from founder of 3D Realms. Sometimes wonderful was in reading of technical details of programming.
But Romero didn’t change in liking to have attention to himself. Empire of Sin, which was devastated by critics was in one mentioning as that he had involvement in it’s development whereas Romero lists media outlets talking and praising his created a single map for Doom after many years and the game developer writes quantity of downloads. John Romero is a pleasant person, but he doesn’t tell thorough as that about reason on his firing from id Software. Romero doesn’t give more than a fact that he spent less of working hours in development of Quake. The game developer writes that he isn’t interested in publicity when he was involved in Doom II’s development while that became one of things, which made his firing. The gamemaker softens parts of his reaction on himself in Doom II and famous game in Dungeons & Dragons. Romero reduces on parting ways with Mark Rein and id Software, which are simple separation in his narrating. The game developer doesn’t write that Rein’s leaving was due to creative disagreement in development of Spear of Destiny. Romero doesn’t mention this game there and that Rein walked away after it’s release. Doom Guy doesn’t explain at all about his Melvin comics. In these works can see talent in drawing when stories’ containment and it’s ostensible humor shouldn’t be unusual due to John Romero created them in school age. He doesn’t understand that he is a hypocrite by saying that would be very concerned if saw these drawings from his child. Moreover, from a man who created bloodbath games and writes in his book that doesn’t think that games bring to violence.
I don’t understand John Romero’s reasons in changing names of people who deceived him as was to a boy of same teen age who stole his money.
It’s Romero’s opinion, but tell that consoles in the end eighties and early nineties at least in his view are advanced computer is shocking statement from a man who develops games. That is his like by giving statement that good games released only on consoles then, but Romero makes to feel the games on computers didn’t exist before id Software started to make them. Once a creator of Karateka posted a letter from seventeen-year old John Romero who was impressed by that game and calls himself as “Disciple of the Great Jordan and worshipper of the Magnificent Mechner!” Romero writes on making game for PC as something unusual what’s small truth in different approach while it was one of computer machines.
I don’t critique him here. Just mention a moment. Romero in Doom Guy notes on having of ability of remembering of every minute, but he has mess with that and few times, as I read, he says that he can’t recall. However, he spoke in one interview that all developers of Doom were atheists while it was impossible to miss that Sandy Petersen is Mormon. Romero writes in his book about hiring the last where he already gets to know by reading it in his resume and it disturbs him that religion will trouble for development of studio’s project as that he and his same colleagues had prejudices of their young age about adapters of this faith. Romero couldn’t forget what surrounded him.
Development of Wolfenstein 3D has difference in describing with Masters of Doom. Kushner’s book narrates that gameplay element of dragging of bodies was cut, because it’s implementation was ugly on look. Romero’s version was in deciding to remove it and cross-dressing into Nazi uniform, because both things deprived to get fun.
John Romero said that every word is true in Masters of Doom and he sells signed copies of this book. Why isn’t his book so?
