Masters of Doom (37 page)

Some players thought: Wolfenstein 3-D Frequently Asked Questions,
ftp://ftp.gamers.org/pub/games/wolf3d/docs/Wolfenstein-3D.faq
.
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“This game certainly goes heavy”: “Revived Game Is Heavy on the Gore,”
Toronto Star,
November 21, 1992, p. J4.
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“Wolfenstein 3-D may have no socially redeeming value”:
PC Computing,
December 1992, p. 176.
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“Nazis in Cyberspace”:
BBS Callers Digest,
August 1992, pp. 30–34.
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Tom documented: Romero’s archives.
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EIGHT: SUMMON THE DEMONS

one of “the most remarkable . . . success stories”: “Apogee: The Height of Shareware,”
Electronic Games,
1992, p. 45 [photocopy from Scott Miller’s archives; date missing].
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Fuzzy Pumper Palette Shop: John Mendoza,
The Official Doom Survivor’s Strategies and Secrets
(Alameda, Calif.: SYBEX, 1994), p. 257.
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“The overall effect is distorted”: Ibid.
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“We don’t know what nasty sludge”: “They’re Going to Hell for This One,”
Computer Gaming World,
June 1993, p. 102.
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NINE: THE COOLEST GAME

selling more than 4 million copies:
PC Data,
2000.
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“Its brilliantly designed and rendered 3-D images”: “Surrealistic Puzzle Paradise,”
Wired,
January 1994;
www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.01/streetered.htm?pg
=
3
.
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A community television program did a piece:
Nightly Business Report,
November 2, 1992.
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“You started posting hype”:
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
, August 19, 1993.
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“I was firing the shotgun”: Ibid., November 2, 1993.
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“The Night Before Doom”: Hank Leukart, comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, December 9, 1993.
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“A Parent’s Nightmare”: Douglas Adler,
Computer Paper,
December 1993, as cited in
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
.
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TEN: THE DOOM GENERATION

Like a lot of parents: Kent,
First Quarter,
p. 373.
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By choosing to release the blood-and-guts version: Sheff,
Game Over,
p. 460.
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Senator Lieberman was also joined: Cited in J. C. Herz,
Joystick Nation: How Video Games Ate Our Quarters, Won Our Hearts, and Rewired Our
Minds
(New York: Little, Brown, 1995), p. 189.
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“Satan’s efficient agents”; media-effects research: Jones,
Killing Monsters,
pp. 134–137.
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New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia: Kent,
First Quarter,
p. 4.
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a $6 billion industry: “Games People Play,” p. 51.
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“The PTA is concerned”: “Video Games: Help or Hazard to Children’s Health?” UPI, November
16, 1982.
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“Children are putting their book fees”: “Video Games—Fun or Serious Threat?”
U.S. News & World Report,
February 22, 1982, p. 7.
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shut down arcades: “Video Games Assailed in Asia,”
Facts on File World News Digest,
December 31, 1982.
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“Video Games—Fun or Serious Threat?”:
U.S. News & World Report,
February 22, 1982, p. 7.
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“Video Game Fever—Peril or Payoff for the Computer Generation,”
Children’s Health,
September 1983, pp. 24–25.
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“The video game craze”: “Pac-Man Perils,”
MacNeil/Lehrer Report,
December 29, 1982.
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C. Everett Koop: Sheff,
Game Over,
p. 189; Herz,
Joystick Nation,
p. 184.
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“Dr. Nicholas Pott”: “Invasion of the Video Creatures,”
Newsweek,
November 16, 1981, p. 90.
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“There is no evidence”: “Personality Differences Between High and Low Electronic Video
Game Users,”
Journal of Psychology
114, 1983, pp. 159–165. Cited in Herz,
Joystick Nation,
p. 184.
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“A lot of kids who are good”: “Invasion of the Video Creatures,” p. 90.
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The hearings were filled with impassioned statements: Joint Hearings Before the Subcommittee
on Juvenile Justice, One Hundred Third Congress, Serial No. J-103-37, December 9,
1993.
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Though a global network of computers had been around: Freiberger and Swaine,
Fire in the Valley,
pp. 409–411.
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“It was a mob scene”: “A Doom Boom,”
Dallas Morning News,
May 17, 1994, p. 15A.
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“Since today’s release of Doom”: “ ‘Doom’ Bursts onto College Computer Networks,”
Houston Chronicle,
December 15, 1993, Business, p. 1.
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Intel . . . Texas A&M: “ ‘Doom’ Bursts onto College Computer Networks,” p. 1.
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“People sprint in here”: “Lovers of Guts and Gore Should Meet This Doom,”
Courier-Journal
(Louisville, Ky.), May 7, 1994, p. 2S.
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“3-D tour de force”: “3-D Applications Can Add New Dimension to Business World,”
PC Week,
January 31, 1994, p. 59.
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“The once-dull PC”: “The Best in Arcade Game Software,”
Compute,
January 1994, p. S1.
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“The follow-up to Wolfenstein 3-D”: “Games,”
The Guardian
(London), January 13, 1994, p. 17.
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“This game is so intense”: “Doom Awaits Fun-Seeking PC Owners,”
Arizona Republic,
March 6, 1994, p. E1.
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“You know . . . I do have a battle-ax”: “A Visit to the id Office,”
Electronic Games,
January 1995, p. 39.
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They were philanthropic: “Doom’s Day Afternoon: id’s Hell on Earth,”
Computer Player,
October 1994, p. 28.
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“I wanted to buy them things”: “Former Student Repays School with Computer Equipment,”
Kansas City Star,
April 21, 1994, p. C4.
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“Microsoft is committed to delivering”: “Microsoft Gets Serious About Fun in Windows,”
Business Wire,
April 26, 1994.
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“heroinware”: “Hit Game Sequel Spells ‘Doom’ Again,”
San Francisco Chronicle,
October 8, 1994, p. E1.
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“Privately held id Software”: “Profits from the Underground,”
Forbes,
May 9, 1994, p. 176.
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The New York Times:
“Wallowing in Doom,”
New York Times,
May 15, 1994, Styles, p. 8.
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USA Today:
“ ‘Doom’ Brings a New Dimension to 3-D Games,”
USA Today,
May 25, 1994, p. 3D.
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Variety:
“It’s Doomsday in Hollywood,”
Daily Variety,
July 5, 1994, p. 7.
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“Everyone is talking”: “A Doom Boom; Software Firm Creates a Monster Hit via the Information
Superhighway,”
Dallas Morning News,
May 17, 1994, p. 15A.
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China was considering banning Doom: “Good, Strong Guidelines Needed; ‘Gory’ Game Gives
Cause for Concern,”
South China Morning Post,
March 22, 1994, p. 1.
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Brazil . . . would later outlaw the game: “Duke Nukem Banned in Brazil,” Reuters,
December 21, 1999.
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Night Trap . . . Mortal Kombat II: Kent,
First Quarter,
pp. 382–384.
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Austin Virtual Gaming: “Virtual Addiction,”
Austin American-Statesman,
April 2, 1994, p. F1.
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“So we can beat everybody”: “Players Get Virtual Kicks in Doom Tournament,”
Austin American-Statesman,
May 8, 1994, p. B1.
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ELEVEN: QUAKES

“Every man and woman should play”: Cited in Johan Huizinga,
Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture
(Boston: Beacon, 1955), pp. 18–19.
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“play . . . is a
significant
function”: Ibid., p. 1.
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“a society without games”: Marshall McLuhan,
Understand Media: The Extensions of Man
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964), pp. 208–211.
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“Quake won’t be just a game”: “Doom’s Day Afternoon: id’s Hell on Earth,”
Computer Player,
October 1994, p. 28.
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“It’s as close to virtual reality”: “Doom and Links 3.6 Pro Give Hours of Fun,”
Chicago Sun-Times,
October 17, 1994, Financial, p. 54.
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“Virtual Mayhem and Real Profits”:
New York Times,
September 3, 1994, sec. 1, p. 35.
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“Doomonomics”: “Doomonomics,”
Economist,
May 25, 1996, pp. 12–14.
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“an entire file”: “Power Finance or Boot Strap?”
Red Herring,
December 1994, p. 81.
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In Quantico, Virginia: “Doom Goes to War,”
Wired,
April 1997, pp. 114–118.
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D!Zone . . . surpassed Doom II: “Top Software,”
Entertainment Weekly,
June 9, 1995.
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TWELVE: JUDGMENT DAY

The party was in full swing: “Microsoft Shows Games at Halloween Bash,” UPI International,
October 30, 1995.
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Sales for Doom II:
PC Data,
2000.
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GTI’s sales; “[GTI] came out of nowhere”: “GT Masters Software Universe with New-Fangled
Sales Smarts,”
Crain’s New York Business,
July 1, 1996, News, p. 4.
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a cover story on id: “The Egos at Id,”
Wired,
August 1996, pp. 122–127.
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THIRTEEN: DEATHMATCH

In a dark room: The story of this tournament originally appeared in different form
in my article “Blood Sport,”
Spin,
June 1997, pp. 104–107.
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“bloody amazing”: “ ‘Quake’: Bloody Amazing,”
USA Today,
June 27, 1996, p. 5D.
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“a towering programming feat”: “10 on the Richter Scale: id Software Quake Action
Game Software Review,”
Computer Gaming World,
October 1996, p. 174.
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“Quake delivers the most carnage”: “Multimedia: The Best and Worst of 1996,”
Entertainment Weekly,
December 27, 1996.
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“Electronic games”:
Spin,
June 1997, p. 106.
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“Lots of people will read”: E-mail interview with Chris Spencer on January 8, 1997,
posted on onenet.quake newsgroup.
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Time
magazine estimated: “Cyber Elite: Inside the Top Fifty Time Digital Cyber Elite,”
Time Digital,
October 5, 1998,
http://www.time.com/time/digital/cyberelite/36.htm
.
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“the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory of Gaming!”: “Game Designers Take Penthouse; Programmers
of ‘Doom’ Create Culture Clash at Texas Commerce Tower,”
Dallas Business Journal,
July 25, 1997, p. 1.
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“cyber elite”:
Time Digital,
October 5, 1998.
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“cool companies”: “Cool Companies,”
Fortune,
July 7, 1997, p. 84.
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“Id is a technology-oriented company”: “Connected: There Is Another Way to Achieve
the Sort of Financial Security That Brings the Freedom to Throw TVs out of Hotel Windows
and Drive Rolls-Royces into Swimming Pools,”
Daily Telegraph,
April 29, 1997, p. 15.
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“After I left”: “Braindrain at id: Mood ‘Dark and Gloomy,’ ”
Wired News,
January 18, 1997,
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,1539,00.htm
.
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“It’s going to happen”: “Merchant of Doom Is Reborn as the Ion Man,”
The Times,
April 16, 1997, features section.
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“the creative talent behind [id]”: Ibid.
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“the man responsible”: “Connected,” p. 15.
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“After he got rich and famous”: “Beyond Doom and Quake: Everything That Game Designer
John Romero Touches Turns to Gore. And to Gold,”
Time,
June 23, 1997, p. 56.
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“I always flip my hair”: Dear Romero! PlanetQuake, June 9, 1999,
http://www.planetquake.com/features/mynx/dearromero.shtm
.
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“I bought my first Ferrari”: “Intergraph, id Software, Rendition, and ClanRing to
Sponsor QUAKE Tournament,”
Business Wire,
March 7, 1997.
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FOURTEEN: SILICON ALAMO

Note: Though parts of this chapter draw from an article that appeared in the
Dallas Observer
about Ion Storm (“Stormy Weather,”
Dallas Observer,
January 14–28, 1999, pp. 34–46), I chose not to include here the internal e-mails
published in the
Observer
piece.

“New Cowboys”: “Greetings from America’s Secret Capitols,”
Time,
July 13, 1998,
www.time.com/time/magazine/archives
.
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