Masters of Doom (36 page)

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Like a lot of people in their thirties, I grew up in the same nascent gamer culture
as the Two Johns. My favorite birthday present was a paper bag filled with tokens
from Wizards, my neighborhood arcade. Wizards was
the
place: dark and windowless like a casino, lined with all the latest games flashing
and beeping along the walls. I dumped a sizable portion of my lawn mowing money there.
I owned the high score on Crazy Climber. And, after a challenging night with a bottle
of Boone’s Farm apple wine, I triumphantly vomited on a game called Omega Race. I
was only a kid, but I sure felt free.

With video games came other explorations of fantasy, control, and rebellion. One time
my friends and I chucked a smoke bomb into a creek, only to see a six-foot tongue
of flames lick the sky. I never ran so fast in my life. We played Dungeons and Dragons.
We launched lizards high above the suburbs in tiny model rockets. My first attempt
at hacking occurred at Chuck E. Cheese—the pizza parlor arcade chain launched by Atari’s
Nolan Bushnell. This was in the early 1980s, and “the Cheese” had just gotten in a
few primordial computers. For a token, we could type in any kind of message and the
computer would speak it back in its robotic voice. Of course we immediately tried
to type profanities, but the machine was programmed not to accept them. So we typed
“phuck the manager” instead, taping down the keys so the message looped.

I was in my twenties working at an online bulletin board service in New York City
when I first heard about Doom. One night late after work, a friend of mine booted
it up and I jumped in for a round. Several hours later, we stumbled out into the darkness.
This
was a game. A couple years later, in 1996, I managed to convince an editor to assign
me an article about the subculture of Quake: the latest from id Software. The next
thing I knew I was tripping over wires in a University of Kansas flophouse where the
two top clans, Impulse 9 and the Ruthless Bastards, had convened for a marathon deathmatch.
These people were sacrificing everything to inhabit, modify, and create alternate
realities. This wasn’t just a game, this was a world—a relatively (and alluringly)
undocumented world—filled with characters and stories and dreams and rivalries. That
world led me to the Two Johns.

I spent the next six years exploring and chronicling the lives and industry of gamers.
It was both amazing and frustrating to me that this multibillion-dollar business and
culture remained such a mystery to so many people, and that mystery was breeding confusion
and misperceptions everywhere I turned. To me, the story of John Carmack and John
Romero was a classic American adventure that captured the birth of a new medium and
the coming of age of two compelling and gifted young people. By telling it, I hoped
to give gamers the respect and understanding they deserved. And I wanted the reader
to have a good time.

NOTES

The greatest challenge of telling a story I didn’t experience firsthand was precisely
that. With the exception of about a half dozen scenes I witnessed—such as the gaming
conventions, the University of Kansas deathmatch, Carmack’s rocket launch—most of
this book relies upon the memories of others.

To re-create the story of the Two Johns, I conducted hundreds of interviews over six
years, often with each person on multiple occasions. After moving to Dallas in the
fall of 2000 for research, I became known in offices, barbecue joints, and bars around
town as “the guy writing the Book.” John Romero and John Carmack each spent dozens
of hours in person answering my most picayune questions: how they were feeling, what
they were thinking, what they were saying, hearing, seeing, playing. What they and
others couldn’t recall, I unearthed from websites, newsgroups, e-mails, chat transcripts,
and magazines (though I drew from some of these articles, I made a point of getting
the gamers’
own
versions of what happened as well). I also played a delirious amount of games: at
home, online, and at a couple tournaments (yeah, I lost).

I spent six months transcribing all my taped interviews. From this material, I assembled
a narrative of dialogue and description that re-creates the events as faithfully and
accurately as possible. As often as appropriate, I told the story from each person’s
point of view to give readers the different perspectives.

Among the people I interviewed are, in no particular order, John Carmack, John Romero,
Tom Hall, Adrian Carmack, Al Vekovius, Alex St. Johns, American McGee, Angel Munoz,
Barrett Alexander, Robert Kotick, Brandon James, Christian Ankow, David Grossman,
David Datta, Gabe Newell, Graeme Devine, Inga Carmack, Stan Carmack, Jan Paul van
Waveren, Jay Wilbur, Jerry O’Flaherty, Eric Smith, Jim Dose, Kenneth Scott, Kevin
Cloud, Lane Roathe, Larry Goldberg, Larry Herring, Michael Abrash, Mike Breslin, Mike
Wilson, Paul Steed, Robert Atkins, Rob Dyer, Robert Duffy, John Schuneman, Ginny Schuneman,
Ron Chaimowitz, Sandy Petersen, Scott Miller, Sean Martin, Shawn Green, Brian Eiserloh,
Steve “Blue” Heaslip, Stevie Case, Sverre Kvernmo, Dennis “Thresh” Fong, Trent Reznor,
Tim Sweeney, Mark Rein, Tim Willits, Todd Hollenshead, Todd Porter, Tom Mustaine,
Warren Spector, William Haskins, “DWANGO” Bob Huntley, Harry Miller, Audrey Mann,
Lori Mezoff, Andrea Schneider, Cliff Bleszinski, Matt Firme, Rob Smith, Richard “Levelord”
Gray, Katherine Anna Kang, Donna Jackson, Paul Jaquays, Will Wright, Sid Meier, Doug
Lowenstein, Seneca Menard, Noel Stephens, Luke “Weasl” Whiteside, Bobby Pavlock, Doug
Myres, Mark Dochtermann, Steve Maines, Brian Raffel, Steven Raffel, Joost Schuur,
Will Loconto, Jeff Hartman, Stan Nuevo, Chad Barron, Kelly Hoerner, Robert Westmoreland,
Pam Wolford, Dave Taylor, Drew Markham, Hank Leukart, Jim Perkins, Roman Ribaric,
Arthur Pober, Bob Norwood, Chris Roberts, Rick Brenner, Gene Lipkin, Vince Desiderio,
Max Schaefer, David Brevik, Gary Gygax, Clint “_fo0k” Richards, Tom “Entropy” Kizmey,
Larry Muller, Frans P. de Vries, Dan Hammond, Alex Quintana, Billy Browning, Jay Franke
. . . Sorry to anyone I neglected to list.

Portions of this book are drawn from articles of mine that originally appeared in
publications including
Spin, Salon, Rolling Stone, Wired News, Feed, Spectrum, POV,
and
Popular Science.

The notes here reflect the supplementary resources cited. Some of the articles are
from magazines that no longer exist beyond some old photocopies in gamers’ archives;
as a result, some page numbers and dates were unavailable as noted.

INTRODUCTION: THE TWO JOHNS

one afternoon in April 2000: I attended this conference and observed the events described,
including the meeting of Carmack and Romero.
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more money . . . than on movie tickets: According to the Motion Picture Association
of America, moviegoers spent $8.4 billion at U.S. box offices in 2001, while, according
to the NPD Group, Americans spent $10.8 billion on video games.
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“Romero wants an empire”: E-mail interview with Chris Spencer on January 8, 1997,
posted on onenet.quake newsgroup.
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ONE: THE ROCK STAR

James Dallas Egbert III disappeared: William Dear,
Dungeon Master: The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984).
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$25 million in annual sales: Interview, Gary Gygax.
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the D&D rule book:
Player Handbook: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons
(Renton, Wash.: TSR, 1995).
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sales reaching over $7 billion: Martin Campbell-Kelly and William Aspray,
Computer: A History of the Information Machine
(New York: Basic Books, 1996), pp. 131–153.
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Three years later in 1961: Steven Levy,
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
(New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1984), pp. 50–69.
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Ten years later . . . Will Crowther: Ibid., pp. 140–141.
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the language of the priests: Ibid., p. 19.
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arcade games bringing in $5 billion a year: “Games That People Play,”
Time,
January 18, 1982, p. 51.
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In one, a dog named Chewy: John Romero’s personal archives.
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a homemade comic book called
Weird:
Ibid.
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Apple had become the darling: Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine,
Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000), p. 118.
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the Two Steves: Ibid., pp. 253–263.
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hacked Spacewar: Steven L. Kent,
The First Quarter
(Bothell, Wash.: BWD Press, 2000), pp. 25–28.
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Woz was equal parts: Freiberger and Swaine,
Fire in the Valley,
pp. 261–262.
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But the Apple II . . . was mass market: Ibid., p. 267.
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Ken and Roberta Williams: Levy,
Hackers,
pp. 280–302.
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Silas Warner: Personal homepage,
http://pwp.value.net/penomee/silas.htm
.
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“Machine of the Year”: “Machine of the Year: The Computer Moves In,”
Time,
January 3, 1982.
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$536 million in losses: Kent,
First Quarter,
p. 198.
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$1 billion in sales: Ibid., p. 214.
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comics he called “Melvin”: John Romero’s personal archives.
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the good news came: Ibid.
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“When I win”: Ibid.
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“I’ve been learning computers”: Ibid.
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TWO: THE ROCKET SCIENTIST

In second grade, only seven years old: School report letter in Inga Carmack’s personal
archives.
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his top five problems: Inga Carmack’s archives.
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when he refused to do extracredit homework: Ibid.
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The game was so compelling: Herman,
Phoenix,
p. 51.
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a letter to his teacher: Inga Carmack’s archives.
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WarGames:
Ibid.
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“Though some in the field”: Levy,
Hackers,
pp. 6–7.
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Bulletin board systems came about: Freiberger and Swaine,
Fire in the Valley,
p. 142.
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The WELL: The WELL,
www.thewell.com
; Howard Rheingold,
The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier
(New York: HarperCollins, 1993), pp. 17–37.
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new television series,
Star Trek: The Next Generation:
“Encounter at Farpoint,” airdate: September 28, 1987.
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“Why can’t you realise”: Inga Carmack archives.
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Wraith: Nite Owl Productions, 1990.
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THREE: DANGEROUS DAVE IN COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

In 1864, Confederate soldiers: John Andrew Prime,
Shreveport’s Civil War Defenses,
http://www.shreve.net/~japrime/lagenweb/defenses.htm
.
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its burgeoning clones: Freiberger and Swaine,
Fire in the Valley,
p. 349.
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Softdisk occupied two buildings: I saw the buildings during a visit in November 2000.
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By refusing to incorporate: Freiberger and Swaine,
Fire in the Valley,
pp. 357–365.
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Defender: Kent,
First Quarter,
p. 118.
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Nintendo was on the way: David Sheff,
Game Over: Press Start to Continue
(Wilton, Conn.: GamePress, 1999), p. 3.
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FOUR: PIZZA MONEY

“Dear John . . . Loved your game”: John Romero archives.
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“Dear John . . . loved your game”: Ibid.
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a brief article: “Into the Depths,”
PC Games Magazine,
1990 [photocopy from Romero’s archives; month and page number missing].
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“Scott: You, sir, have serious psychological problems”: Romero’s archives.
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“Dear Mr. Miller”: Ibid.
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Andrew Fluegelman: “Try It, You’ll Like It,”
Forbes,
November 28, 1988, p. 227.
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Warren Robinett: Herman,
Phoenix,
p. 44.
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“
The Fight for Justice
”: Text from “Previews!” screen of Commander Keen: Marooned on Mars, Apogee Software
Productions, 1990.
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“Superlative alert!”: Unidentified shareware catalog, 1991 [photocopy from Scott Miller’s
archives; month and page number missing].
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“sets a new standard for shareware games”: “Games That Are More Than Keen,”
BBS Caller’s Digest,
1991 [photocopy from Scott Miller’s archives; month and page number missing].
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“For stimulating”: “Commander Keen: Invasion of the Vorticons,”
PC Magazine,
December 1991, p. 69.
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FIVE: MORE FUN THAN REAL LIFE

Violent fantasy . . . had an ancient history: Many such examples appear in Gerard
Jones,
Killing Monsters: Why Children
Need
Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence
(New York: Basic Books, 2002).
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first video game to be banned: Kent,
First Quarter,
pp. 73–74.
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primal desire: Randall Packer and Ken Jordan,
Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality
(New York: W. W. Norton, 2001), p. xx.
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cave paintings in Lascaux: Ibid.
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“dazzling and incomparably more solid”: Aldous Huxley,
Brave New World
(New York: Harper and Row, 1946), p. 113.
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Morton Heilig: Morton Heilig, “El Cin del Futuro,”
Espacios
(Mexico), no. 23–24, January–June 1955, as cited by Packer and Jordan,
Multimedia,
p. 227.
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“The environments . . . suggest a new art medium”: Myron Krueger, “Responsive Environments,”
American Federation of Information Processing Systems
46, June 13–16, 1977, pp. 423–433, as cited by Packer and Jordan,
Multimedia,
p. 115.
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Scott Fisher: Scott Fisher,
Virtual Interface Environments: The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design,
edited by Brenda Laurel (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1989), as cited by Packer
and Jordan,
Multimedia,
pp. 237–251.
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“kind of electronic persona”: Ibid., p. 246.
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SIX: GREEN AND PISSED

Someone siphoned gasoline . . . Adrian was particularly miserable: Id anthology, id
Software, 1996.
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“
WANTED: CLERIC
and/or
THIEF!
”: Tom Hall’s archives.
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On a cold winter day: Id anthology.
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a NeXT computer: Freiberger and Swaine,
Fire in the Valley,
p. 372.
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SEVEN: SPEAR OF DESTINY

They wanted the games banned: “Games That People Play,” p. 52.
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“Id software is brought to you”: Audiotape from Romero’s archives.
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“There’s no surprise”: Ron Dippold, “Wolfenstein 3-D Reviewed,”
Game Bytes
[photocopy from Romero’s archives; date and page number missing].
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“how popular Wolf 3-D is”: Romero’s archives.
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“more like an interactive movie”: Wolfenstein Review,
Shareware Update
[photocopy from Romero’s archives; date and page number missing].
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“single-handedly justifying the existence of shareware”: “Wolfenstein 3-D,”
Video Games and Computer Entertainment,
September 1992, p. 113.
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Even
Computer Gaming World:
“The Third Reich in the Third Dimension,”
Computer Gaming World,
1992, pp. 50, 52.
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A Kentucky entrepreneur hooked up a version: “Reality Rocket Enables You to Really
Get into Video Game,”
Courier-Journal
(Louisville, KY), September 19, 1992, p. 2S.
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