This Post Has 11 Comments

1. Great Read, Wonderfully Written
   I highly recommend reading this after finishing “Masters of Doom”. It sheds so much more insight on the events described in that book, and even offers a few corrections. John Romero is one of the GOATs and if you’re a fan of ID software, or computer programming in general, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

   Reply

2. Good, interesting book
   I have been wanting to read this book for a while, and it was worth the wait. Great story and easy to read

   Reply

3. Excellent All Around
   As a Doom fan myself, when I learned that John Romero was writing his autobiography, I knew I had to pick up a copy. However, given that David Kushner’s Masters of Doom is one of my personal favorite books, I was unsure what additional details Doom Guy would bring. Indeed, some of the stories John tells here are rehashed from Kushner’s masterpiece, but there is so much more that Romero reveals in this book.John starts out describing his early life with great detail, and we finally get a glimpse into his background, and how it led to his passion for making games. We get far greater detail than the several pages Kushner dedicated to John’s origin story. Romero then goes on to telling the story of his early game industry days before arriving at Softdisk.For readers familiar with Masters of Doom, the chapters dedicated to the Softdisk and id Software days cover many of the same stories as in Kushner’s work, but there is still a great level of context John adds to the story. In fact, on several occasions Romero corrects the record on some inaccuracies or conflated stories that have previously been widely reported. He puts much more detail on the design of Quake, and explains all the work he did to deliver products such as the Master Levels and Final Doom. He also brings a very different perspective and set of facts about his eventual split with id compared to the usual hostile portrayal of “Romero versus Carmack.”Romero’s telling of Ion Storm seems shorter than Kushner’s, but John includes a lot of extra context and you get a real sense of the lessons he learned from its demise. Romero then wraps everything up with a few chapters detailing his post-Ion Storm life up to the present day, including his creation of SIGIL.If you’ve read Masters of Doom, this book will still provide a lot of extra context and is very complementary. If not, you’ll still get a great story with all the key events told in excellent detail.

   Reply

4. Legends relayed by a legend
   Doom Guy was the autobiography I expected and then some. I did the Audible version, so hearing the man himself tell his life story gave it an extra touch, I think. I will sight read it for a re-read at some point.The history of id software and all the beloved franchises Romero worked on was fantastic, as well as the tale of Ion Storm. The number of callouts to beloved developers and games made reading this book feel like reliving a huge part of my childhood over again, similarly to the recent FPS documentary, which is likewise fantastic for those interested in such things.There was depth here I was not expecting, and plenty of surprising things. It’s a treasure trove for those with an interest.An absolute must read for fans of first-person shooters, id software, Doom, Quake, etc.

   Reply

5. For 90s PC FPS fan, this is truly something special
   My Mac/PC gaming journey started in 97 with the likes of lots of Quake, then Quake 2, Quake 3, Unreal, etc. I got into the modding scene, first with playing AQ2 and then with being a team member on a Q3 mod called Urban Terror, and fondly remember those days. I credit gaming with giving me my professional direction in life as a dev. So I love biographies from my gaming hero of those daysMasters of Doom has long been my favourite book of this genre, a seminal text. But I have to say that Romero gives that a really tight run for its money with this autobiography. So often the more you learn about your heroes, the more they depress you with their flaws and ego. But with Romero, what cuts through is his huge empathy and introspection. Sure that may have all come about post-early career, but it makes his writing about it so much more engaging and relatable. I walked away only liking Romero more, for his successes and flaws, but most of all as a person for how it relates to his historyFor someone of my era and interests, this was so well worth the read, and is a wild ride. As a fan of Masters of Doom, I highly recommend reading this in addition, as a second perspective is always appreciated, as is discussion of all the post-id software life

   Reply

6. Like the first half
   It was a great book in the first half, and the second half is just fine. The narrative is repetitive and tiresome.

   Reply

7. O livro detalha a história de vida de John Romero, um ícone na criação de games dos anos 90, que junto com John Carmack e seus amigos na empresa ID Software, revolucionaram o mercado de games com a criação do gênero First Person Shooter, um gênero popular até hoje e o modo Deathmatch que ainda é um grande atrativo de vários jogos modernos.A versão que comprei é a de Capa Dura e o livro é muito bonito, possui boa encadernação e possui uma história incrível descrita em diversos capítulos interessantíssimos (narrada pelo próprio Romero), desde a infância complicada, perrengues que passou quando criou os primeiros games, segundo com a criação dos seus games mais famosos, saída da ID Software e criação dos demais jogos que lançou depois, prosseguindo até os jogos e projetos mais recentes dele (pelo menos até a publicação do livro).O livro é indispensável para apaixonados por games e também para quem está na jornada de criar os próprios jogos como gamedev. Recomendo.

   Reply

8. I demolished this book in about 3 sittings simply because I was so enthralled. If you love id, Doom or videogames in general, you must read this. The insights and stories provided by John are invaluable to videogame history. While it may be difficult to take the man at his word on events and conversations that happened 30+ years ago, it should be noted that nobody mentioned in this book has ever come out and said that he’s being dishonest about any of it. Just a fascinating read, highly recommended!

   Reply

9. Da fan di Doom, leggere questo libro in lingua originale è stato come entrare nella mente di John Romero, di Id Software e degli anni ’90 in toto. Romero soffre di ipertimesia, quindi ricorda ogni particolare nei minimi dettagli e dipinge ogni singolo evento, persino il suo passato tragico, nei più minimi dettagli.Da leggere assolutamente!

   Reply

10. Knapp 370 Text. Keine Bilder. Da hat man lange zu lesen.Bei den ersten 100 Seiten geht es um die Kindheit. Es hat nicht immer etwas mit Computern zu tun, aber es war sehr interessant. Das hätte sich ein Hollywood-Autor auch nicht besser ausdenken können.Erst danach geht es um Keen, Doom, Quake, Daikatana, …Mein Englisch ist schlecht, aber das Buch war trotzdem leicht zu lesen. Es kamen zwar öfters Wörter vor, die ich nicht kannte, aber ich habe zugegebenermaßen nicht jedes Wort nachgeguckt, sondern einfach weitergelesen, weil es so spannend war.Am Anfang fällt es noch nicht auf, aber nach etwa 1/3 des Buches fällt dann doch auf, wie die Beschreibungen sich mehrfach wiederholen und in die Länge ziehen.Trotzdem interessant. Wer sich da so alles gegenseitig kannte (einiges wusste ich auch schon aus dem Sierra Buch), wie schnell man einen Job bekommen konnte, verlieren konnte oder freiwillig gewechselt hat. Das Buch ist insgesamt in einem sehr positiven Stil geschrieben, auch wenn man zwischen den Zeilen an einigen Stellen auch lesen kann, dass es ziemlich geknirscht hat.Es gab eine Stelle im Buch, wo ich mir ziemlich sicher bin, dass es so nicht stimmt: Romero erzählt am Anfang, dass er BASIC Programme geschrieben hat, Bücher dazu gelesen hat, … Und als er erst später Assembler gelernt hat, hat er zum ersten mal Variablen benutzt und war ganz überrascht über diese neue Technik. Ich kann mir ehrlich gesagt nicht vorstellen, dass er vorher schon mehrere BASIC Programme geschrieben hat, ohne jemals eine Variable benutzt zu haben. Aber gut…Keine Angst. Abgesehen von der Erklärung, was Variablen sind, wird fast gar nicht über Programmierung gesprochen (zumindest nicht so, dass man dafür Ahnung vom Programmieren haben müsste). Die Schwerpunkt liegen eher darauf, wie man eine Firma gründet, ein Team führt, Marketing betreibt, Geld verdient, Spiele entwirft, ….In Summe auf jeden Fall ein tolles Buch. Lohnt sich zu lesen.

    Reply

11. Excellent storytelling that takes you on a journey not only through the author’s tumultuous upbringing and adventurous life choices, but also through the fascinating historical years that shaped modern gaming industry, its design and technology.I warmly recommend this book for anyone who have ever in their life enjoyed a videogame, as well to those of us that had to grow up in an unstable home.

    Reply