LudoScience

Masters of Doom David Kushner - 2003

History of videogames (focused book)

Masters of Doom

Author(s) : David Kushner
Editor : Random House
Publication date : 05-06-2003
Language : english English

This book tells the story of id Software, the company that created the game "Doom". It mainly focuses on the life of the two key people of the studio, John Romero and John Carmack, from their first experience with videogames during their youth to their split-up after the massive success of "Quake". It also goes through the numerous hits that they created throughout their careers: "Commander Keen", "Wolfenstein 3D" and of course "Doom". Full of unique information and trivia, this book is also written in a very fluid style, which makes it both captivating and instructive. The book is some kind of substitute that allows us to experience the key moments of the life of two videogame geniuses, such as the atmosphere of the country house they rented to created "Wolfenstein 3D", how they chose to sell their games as sharewares without telling their employer first, or when they first uploaded the Doom shareware version to a BBS. Besides an exploration of an important part of the history of videogames (the birth of the FPS game genre and their culture, the shareware wave, the first LAN parties, etc.), this book provides us with an entertaining story full of unexpected events, that matches the quality of the best thriller novels. This book is simply fascinating, and it is therefore strongly recommended to any videogames fan.

 


Keywords : id software, john carmack, john romero, doom, wolfentstein 3d, commander keen, quake, shareware