December 10th marks the 30th anniversary of the groundbreaking FPS Doom, and to mark the big day, the game’s two engines, John Carmack and John Romero, will participate in a livestreamed discussion moderated by one of the most influential video game historians of all time, David Craddock about your video game.

 

The bare bones of id Software’s story are well known: A handful of ambitious guys working at a software company decide to strike out on their own and, through innovative technology, bold design, and the energy and drive of youth, create a game called Doom that shakes the world of PC games to its foundations. Fame and fortune follow them, but over time it all slowly unravels as the founders move on to other things amid rumors of recriminations and resentments.

It’s all very rock ‘n’ roll, which is appropriate given that Carmack and Romero are sometimes referred to as the Lennon and McCartney of the games industry. But it’s obviously not unfounded. In the Doom Guy’s recently released autobiography: Life in First Person, Romero said that he and Carmack were friends and have remained friends ever since they parted ways.

From the book:

“A lot has been written about our working relationship and eventual breakup. It’s been written as if we were fifty-year-old Stanford MBAs who knew everything about business, and not overworked, constantly crunching twenty-year-old brats with the whole world staring at us as we tried to bring out the best in ourselves while creating technology and design the world has never seen before. It’s written in polar terms, the ‘hostile’ is our favorite, one against the other, because it makes the story better. The truth is that Carmack and we were friends and we got along, and we still do.

The incredible discipline with which we worked as a team allowed us to create and release thirty-two games in six years. Something really cool happened between us, and I believe my creative drive was the heart of Carmack’s machine. We changed the world for the better.”

Romero and Carmack have also influenced their respective industries throughout their post-id Software careers, with Carmack in the worlds of VR and space exploration, and Romero with his continued work in the FPS genre, most recently with Sigil 2, the “unofficial sixth episode” of the original Doom, which will be released on December 10. But their history together remains fascinating, and this livestream will be a fun look back — and as a fan from those days, I have to admit, it’s great to see that, yes, they’re still pals.

“Despite the over-dramatized nature of their breakup, Carmack and Romero remain friends and have a deep respect for each other’s work,” Romero Games co-founder Brenda Romero told PC Gamer. “Both are really looking forward to this event, and David L. Craddock is an exceptional moderator and historian of FPS history.”

In fact, this isn’t the first time the Johns have signaled that things are fine between them: Carmack wrote a gracious back cover for Romero’s bio, tweeting: “To be perfectly clear – I wish him the best!”. Still, I’d say coming together for a live reminisce about the glory days is a big step beyond that, especially since we get to see it live.

“To Hell and Back: Romero and Carmack” airs live December 10 at 1:00 PM PT/4:00 AM ET/8:00 AM GMT on twitch.tv/theromero. However, don’t expect a surprise announcement that the band will be getting back together: Never say never, and all that, but Carmack, in addition to wishing Romero well, also made it very clear that it won’t happen.

Source: PC Gamer