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John Romero Back In The Game

Posted by Zonk on from the rock-your-world dept.

Gamespot reports that John Romero, the well known former id software designer, has opened his own development studio for the first time in several years. From the article: "Romero and Midway parted ways after just two years. He had been hired, along with former Ion Storm colleague Tom Hall, in October, 2003. His departure in July of this year was amicable on the surface, but chatter among industry wags suggested the Midway brass weren't entirely impressed with the work Romero and his team produced. At the time of his departure, Romero and Hall were working on the still-unreleased action role-playing game Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows."

6 of 47 comments (clear)

  1. Ego the size of a planet... by Godeke · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There was a time I thought Romero was interesting: before I actually learned anything about him and just knew he was part of ID. Talk about letting a little success go to your head... he's like a warning label for the entire concept of ego overtaking your rational thought processes.

    --
    Sig under construction since 1998.
    1. Re:Ego the size of a planet... by RealityMogul · · Score: 4, Funny

      Unfortunately, people keep feeding that ego too. Look at his forums. There's a user with the name of JohnRomeroWorshiper. Of course, that could just be Romero himself.

    2. Re:Ego the size of a planet... by Jim+Hall · · Score: 4, Interesting

      There was a time I thought Romero was interesting: before I actually learned anything about him and just knew he was part of ID. Talk about letting a little success go to your head... he's like a warning label for the entire concept of ego overtaking your rational thought processes.

      No kidding! I just finished reading Masters of Doom and didn't realize until then how much of a prick John Romero really was. For those who haven't read the book - it's a "rise and fall of Id Software" book. It's interesting that after DOOM was released, Romero clearly became more interested in playing games than writing them. He pretty much left all the game-writing to John Carmack. The book spells out how Romero was a better programmer in the beginning, but Carmack quickly surpassed him and left Romero behind. Pretty much because Romero lost focus.

      These days, Romero is a big hype machine. Diakatana, anyone? Ha ha ha ha!

    3. Re:Ego the size of a planet... by fistfullast33l · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Yeah that book definitely sealed Romero's fate in the minds of most id fans, IMO. If you didn't know Romero before the book, you definitely knew after that his games were to be avoided. There's a reason why this guy is getting his first studio in "several years." When John enters a room, another whole person enters behind him. Between him and Carmack, the lesson to learn is that the best gamers definitely do not make the best developers. When asked by PC Gamer if he were stranded on a deserted island what one game would he want with him, Carmack's response was, "actually I'd just like a compiler."

  2. New Slashdot Moderation Feature? by telstar · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is there any way to moderate the developer mentioned in a story "Overrated"?

  3. Re:Daikatana - what was all that about? by Lisandro · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Gamespot had a great article about the development of Daikatana, and pretty much resumes why the game ended being as bad as it was. Great read.