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Sign up todayDoom Guy
Life in First Person
Narrator
John Romero
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Length
17 hours 4 minutes
Language
English
The inspiring autobiography of video game designer and DOOM cocreator John Romero
Doom Guy: Life in First Person is the long-awaited autobiography of gaming’s original rock star and the cocreator of DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein—some of the most recognizable and important titles in video game history. Credited with the invention of the first-person shooter, a genre that continues to dominate the market today, he is gaming royalty.
Told in remarkable detail, a byproduct of his hyperthymesia, Romero recounts his storied career—from his early days submitting Apple II code to computer magazines and sneaking computers out of the back door of his day job to do programming projects at night in his garage to a high-profile falling out with his id Software cofounder John Carmack, as well as his continued role in the gaming industry today as the managing director of Romero Games Ltd.
His story is truly one of a self-made man, founding multiple companies after a childhood filled with violence and abuse drove him to video game design where he could create new worlds and places to escape to. An alcoholic father, a racist grandfather who did not approve of Romero’s parents’ mixed-race coupling, and a grandmother who once ran a brothel in Mexico combine for an illuminating story of his youth—a story that has never before been revealed.
After years in the gaming spotlight, Romero is now telling his story—the whole story—in his own words.
Computer and video game legend John Romero has designed and published more than 130 games since his first sale as a teenage programming prodigy at the age of sixteen. His major achievements include coinventing a series of revolutionary computer games that launched the industry’s most popular genre, the first-person shooter. He lives in Galway, Ireland.
Computer and video game legend John Romero has designed and published more than 130 games since his first sale as a teenage programming prodigy at the age of sixteen. His major achievements include coinventing a series of revolutionary computer games that launched the industry’s most popular genre, the first-person shooter. He lives in Galway, Ireland.
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Reviews
“DOOM made gaming cool and transformed game developers from nerds into rock stars, and John Romero’s brazen public persona defined the era. Reconciling the legend of John Romero with the warm, supportive game designer with whom I met as an unknown young programmer is a mystery that this book finally reveals in a wonderful narrative following Romero from modest game programming roots to the apex of video game stardom.”
“The story of Doom and John Romero is about how being generous with talent and knowledge, as this book is, can change the world.”
“The author is candid in his discussion of the Columbine shooters, who were addicts of his blood-soaked scenarios…Students of game-making and business alike will find useful, sometimes rueful lessons.”
“Surpisingly moving…[Romero] manages to appeal to gamers and nongamers alike with this celebration of triumphing over adversity.”
“John’s games have inspired countless gamers and game developers. In his memoir you’ll learn that his life is as inspirational as his work.”
“While John tells the behind-the-scenes stories about making many elements of today’s gaming industry…it’s the personal stories about his challenges, his choices, and his relationships that I love in this book.”
“For years, I thought that I had been born too late and missed out on participating in the heroic eras of computing. Only much later did I realize that Romero and I were at the nexus of a new era—the 3D game hackers.”
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