Doom Guy: Life in First Person

by John Romero

When Carmack and I met, it was an absolute meeting of like minds. He was a fresh-faced nineteen-year-old who looked like he had yet to shave. I was all of twenty-two. I eventually discovered that we came from different sides of the tracks—his family was far more affluent than mine—but as we talked that evening, it was almost as if we had inhabited parallel lives when it came to games and programming, having both spent thousands of hours mastering our three obsessions: games, computers, programming. When I say “thousands of hours,” I mean that literally. Over the course of my life, I have bonded with programmers, including some of the most legendary figures in games and computer design, from Steve Wozniak to Bill Budge to Nasir Gebelli and others. However, on that first meeting, Carmack and I instantly connected on multiple levels because we shared a deep knowledge base and passion that creates instant bonds; we understood each other and the significance of our respective work, and we admired each other’s abilities. We spoke a language that, while rooted in normal, everyday English, was unique. We saw a world of possibility in games, and we knew we had the knowledge and drive to master it. We saw that in each other. It’s hard to describe how it felt. Imagine caring deeply about something, so deeply that you feel compelled to master it. Imagine no one around you gets it—not your family, not your partner, not your friends. Not really. Imagine meeting someone else just like yo...