Doom Guy: Life in First Person

Doom Guy: Life in First Person

2022 • 384 pages

Ratings4

Average rating4.3

15

The inspiring, long-awaited autobiography of video game designer and DOOM cocreator John Romero DOOM Guy: Life in First Person is the long-awaited autobiography of John Romero, 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 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 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.

Become a Librarian

Reviews

Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

A great and very honest memoir by one of my favorite game developers. I've read masters of doom before, but this one is different, more heartfelt and personal and more real.

December 11, 2023