John Carmack
Encyclopedia
John D. Carmack II is an American
game programmer
and the co-founder of id Software
. Carmack was the lead programmer of the id computer games Commander Keen
, Wolfenstein 3D
, Doom, Quake, Rage
and their sequels.
Though Carmack is best known for his innovations in 3D graphics, he is also a rocket
ry enthusiast and the founder and lead engineer of Armadillo Aerospace
.
where he became interested in computer
s at an early age. He attended Shawnee Mission East High School
in Prairie Village, Kansas
and Raytown South High School
in nearby Raytown, Missouri
. As reported in David Kushner's Masters of Doom
, "when Carmack was 14, he broke into a school to help a group of kids steal Apple II
computers, but during the attempted break-in one of the kids set off the silent alarm. John was arrested, and sent for psychiatric evaluation (the report mentions "no empathy for other human beings"). Carmack was then sentenced to a year in a juvenile home. ... he was asked "if you had not been caught, would you consider doing it again?" he answered "yes, probably" but when the therapist presented this evaluation he neglected to include "if you had not been caught" in his statement. He attended the University of Missouri–Kansas City
for two semesters before withdrawing to work as a freelance programmer.
, a computer company in Shreveport, Louisiana
, hired Carmack to work on Softdisk G-S (an Apple IIGS
publication), uniting him with John Romero
and other future key members of id Software
such as Adrian Carmack
(not related). Later, this team would be placed by Softdisk in charge of a new, but short-lived, bi-monthly game subscription product called Gamer's Edge for the IBM PC (MS-DOS) platform. In 1990, while still at Softdisk, Carmack, Romero, and others created the first of the Commander Keen
games, a series which was published by Apogee Software
, under the shareware
distribution model, from 1991 onwards. Afterwards, Carmack left Softdisk to co-found id Software
, where he remains.
He has pioneered or popularised the use of many techniques in computer graphics, including "adaptive tile refresh
" for Commander Keen
, raycasting for Hovertank 3-D, Catacomb 3-D, and Wolfenstein 3-D, binary space partitioning
which Doom became the first game to use, surface caching
which he invented for Quake, Carmack's Reverse
(formally known as z-fail stencil shadows) which he devised for Doom 3, and MegaTexture
technology, first used in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
.
Carmack's engines have also been licensed for use in other influential first-person shooters such as Half-Life, Call of Duty
and Medal of Honor.
When Carmack was on vacation with his wife, he ended up playing some games on her cellphone, and he concluded that the games weren't any good. He then decided he was going to make a good mobile game. When he got back from his vacation he revealed that he had started working on Doom RPG
.
Around the year 2000, Carmack became interested in rocketry, a hobby of his youth. Reviewing how much money he was spending on customizing Ferraris, he realized he could do significant work in rocketry and aerospace
. He began by giving financial support to a few local amateur groups before starting Armadillo Aerospace
. He taught himself aerospace engineering and is the lead engineer of the company. Since then he has made steady progress toward his goals of suborbital space flight and eventual orbital vehicles. In October 2008, Armadillo Aerospace competed in a NASA contest known as the Lunar Lander Challenge, winning first place in the Level 1 competition along with $350,000. In September 2009 they completed Level 2 and were awarded $500,000.
s, which he equates to "mugging someone". He has also contributed to open source projects, such as starting the initial port of the X Window System
to Mac OS X Server
and working to improve the OpenGL drivers for Linux through the Utah GLX
project.
Carmack released the source code for Wolfenstein 3D in 1995 and the Doom source code in 1997. When the source code to Quake was leaked and circulated among the Quake community underground in 1996, a programmer unaffiliated with id Software used it to port Quake to Linux, and subsequently sent the patches to Carmack. Instead of pursuing legal action, id Software, at Carmack's behest, used the patches as the foundation for a company-sanctioned Linux
port. id Software has since publicly released the source code to Quake, Quake 2 and most recently Quake 3, all under the GNU General Public License
(GPL). The Doom source code was also re-released under the GPL in 1999.
The id Tech 4 (Doom 3
Engine) has also been released as open source
under the GPL.
Carmack is also noted for his generous contributions to charities and gaming communities. Some of the recipients of Carmack's charitable
contributions include his former high school, promoters of open source software, opponents of software patents, and game enthusiasts. In 1997 he gave away one of his Ferrari
s (a 328 model) as a prize to Dennis Fong
, the winner of the Quake "Red Annihilation" tournament.
at QuakeCon
1997 when she visited id's offices. As a bet, Kang challenged Carmack to sponsor the first All Female Quake Tournament if she was able to produce a significant number of participants. Carmack and Kang married in January 2000 and had a son in 2004. Carmack has a rarely updated blog
(previously a .plan
), and also occasionally posts comments to Slashdot
.
, in their past years the publishers of games by id Software, adopted this business practice as well. Other game developers, such as Blizzard Entertainment
and Valve
, have made similar statements.
“…after so many years immersed in the science of graphics, he [John Carmack] had achieved an almost Zen-like understanding of his craft. In the shower, he would see a few bars of light on the wall and think, Hey, that’s a diffuse specular reflection from the overhead lights reflected off the faucet. Rather than detaching him from the natural world, this viewpoint only made him appreciate it more deeply. ‘These are things I find enchanting and miraculous,’ he said, ‘I don’t have to be at the Grand Canyon to appreciate the way the world works. I can see that in reflections of light in my bathroom.’”
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
game programmer
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
and the co-founder of id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
. Carmack was the lead programmer of the id computer games Commander Keen
Commander Keen
Commander Keen is a series of video games developed by id Software in the early 1990s. The series focuses on the adventures of Billy Blaze, an 8-year old boy who travels through space and assumes the identity "Commander Keen". The series was successful at replicating the side-scrolling action of...
, Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D is a video game that is generally regarded by critics and gaming journalists as having both popularized the first-person shooter genre on the PC and created the basic archetype upon which all subsequent games of the same genre would be built. It was created by id Software and...
, Doom, Quake, Rage
Rage (video game)
Rage is a first-person shooter video game by id Software which was released on October 4, 2011 in North America. It uses the company's new OpenGL based id Tech 5 engine. The game was first shown as a tech demo on June 11, 2007, at Apple's WWDC, and was officially announced on August 2, 2007, at...
and their sequels.
Though Carmack is best known for his innovations in 3D graphics, he is also a rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
ry enthusiast and the founder and lead engineer of Armadillo Aerospace
Armadillo Aerospace
Armadillo Aerospace is an aerospace startup company based in Mesquite, Texas. Its initial goal is to build a manned suborbital spacecraft capable of space tourism, but it has stated long-term ambitions of orbital spaceflight. The company was founded by John Carmack.On October 24, 2008, Armadillo...
.
Youth
Carmack, son of local television news reporter Stan Carmack, grew up in the Kansas City Metropolitan AreaKansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
where he became interested in computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s at an early age. He attended Shawnee Mission East High School
Shawnee Mission East High School
Shawnee Mission East High School is a public secondary school in Prairie Village, Kansas, USA for grades 9–12. It is one of five schools operated by Unified School District 512....
in Prairie Village, Kansas
Prairie Village, Kansas
Prairie Village is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 21,447.- History :...
and Raytown South High School
Raytown South High School
Raytown South Senior High School is a high school located in Raytown, Missouri. The school was established in 1961, and graduated its first class of seniors in 1964. The enrollment at South peaked in the late 1970s, when it had the largest public school enrollment in the state of Missouri. As...
in nearby Raytown, Missouri
Raytown, Missouri
Raytown is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, United States, and is a suburb of Kansas City. The population was at 29,526 in 2010 census. The mayor of Raytown is David Bower.-History:...
. As reported in David Kushner's Masters of Doom
Masters of Doom
Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture is a book by David Kushner about id Software and its influence on popular culture, focusing chiefly on John D. Carmack and John Romero.-Content:...
, "when Carmack was 14, he broke into a school to help a group of kids steal Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
computers, but during the attempted break-in one of the kids set off the silent alarm. John was arrested, and sent for psychiatric evaluation (the report mentions "no empathy for other human beings"). Carmack was then sentenced to a year in a juvenile home. ... he was asked "if you had not been caught, would you consider doing it again?" he answered "yes, probably" but when the therapist presented this evaluation he neglected to include "if you had not been caught" in his statement. He attended the University of Missouri–Kansas City
University of Missouri–Kansas City
The University of Missouri–Kansas City is a public university located in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It is a branch of the University of Missouri System. Its main campus is in Kansas City's Rockhill neighborhood east of the Country Club Plaza...
for two semesters before withdrawing to work as a freelance programmer.
Game programming
SoftdiskSoftdisk
Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines...
, a computer company in Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, hired Carmack to work on Softdisk G-S (an Apple IIGS
Apple IIGS
The Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
publication), uniting him with John Romero
John Romero
Alfonso John Romero is a game designer, programmer, and developer in the video game industry. He is best known as a co-founder of id Software and was a designer for many of their games, including Wolfenstein 3D, Dangerous Dave, Doom and Quake...
and other future key members of id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
such as Adrian Carmack
Adrian Carmack
Adrian Carmack is one of the four founders of id Software, along with Tom Hall, John Romero, and John D. Carmack . He had worked there as an artist. He was a major stock owner of id Software until he left the company....
(not related). Later, this team would be placed by Softdisk in charge of a new, but short-lived, bi-monthly game subscription product called Gamer's Edge for the IBM PC (MS-DOS) platform. In 1990, while still at Softdisk, Carmack, Romero, and others created the first of the Commander Keen
Commander Keen
Commander Keen is a series of video games developed by id Software in the early 1990s. The series focuses on the adventures of Billy Blaze, an 8-year old boy who travels through space and assumes the identity "Commander Keen". The series was successful at replicating the side-scrolling action of...
games, a series which was published by Apogee Software
3D Realms
3D Realms is a current video game publisher and former video game developer based in Garland, Texas, United States, established in 1987...
, under the shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
distribution model, from 1991 onwards. Afterwards, Carmack left Softdisk to co-found id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
, where he remains.
He has pioneered or popularised the use of many techniques in computer graphics, including "adaptive tile refresh
Adaptive tile refresh
Adaptive tile refresh is a computer graphics technique developed by id Software's John Carmack wherein only the graphical elements that have moved are rendered anew, thereby saving the computing power required to redraw the entire screen. He invented it to compensate for poor graphical capabilities...
" for Commander Keen
Commander Keen
Commander Keen is a series of video games developed by id Software in the early 1990s. The series focuses on the adventures of Billy Blaze, an 8-year old boy who travels through space and assumes the identity "Commander Keen". The series was successful at replicating the side-scrolling action of...
, raycasting for Hovertank 3-D, Catacomb 3-D, and Wolfenstein 3-D, binary space partitioning
Binary space partitioning
In computer science, binary space partitioning is a method for recursively subdividing a space into convex sets by hyperplanes. This subdivision gives rise to a representation of the scene by means of a tree data structure known as a BSP tree.Originally, this approach was proposed in 3D computer...
which Doom became the first game to use, surface caching
Surface caching
Surface caching is a computer graphics technique pioneered by John Carmack, first used in the computer game Quake to apply lightmaps to level geometry. Carmack's technique was to combine lighting information with surface textures in texture-space when primitives became visible , exploiting...
which he invented for Quake, Carmack's Reverse
Shadow volume
Shadow volume is a technique used in 3D computer graphics to add shadows to a rendered scene. They were first proposed by Frank Crow in 1977 as the geometry describing the 3D shape of the region occluded from a light source...
(formally known as z-fail stencil shadows) which he devised for Doom 3, and MegaTexture
MegaTexture
MegaTexture refers to a texture allocation technique facilitating the use of a single extremely large texture rather than repeating multiple smaller textures. It is featured in Splash Damage's game Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and was developed by id Software technical director John...
technology, first used in Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is a first-person shooter video game, and is the follow-up to the 2005 title Quake 4. It is also the first game in the series to be rated T by the ESRB...
.
Carmack's engines have also been licensed for use in other influential first-person shooters such as Half-Life, Call of Duty
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in 2003. It is the first game in a series with the same name. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. The game is based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine...
and Medal of Honor.
When Carmack was on vacation with his wife, he ended up playing some games on her cellphone, and he concluded that the games weren't any good. He then decided he was going to make a good mobile game. When he got back from his vacation he revealed that he had started working on Doom RPG
Doom RPG
Doom RPG is a mobile phone game developed by Fountainhead Entertainment. It combines the Doom first-person shooter franchise with role-playing elements. The storyline incorporates many of the events of Doom 3, but involves different characters than those in the computer version...
.
Games
Titles are listed below in reverse chronological order.| Date of Release | Title | Developer | Publisher | Credited for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | Doom 4 Doom 4 Doom 4 is the upcoming multi-platform installment of the Doom series by id Software. The game will use the company's new id Tech 5 engine and is slated for simultaneous release on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland... |
Technical Director, Engine programmer, Developer |
| October 4, 2011 | Rage Rage (video game) Rage is a first-person shooter video game by id Software which was released on October 4, 2011 in North America. It uses the company's new OpenGL based id Tech 5 engine. The game was first shown as a tech demo on June 11, 2007, at Apple's WWDC, and was officially announced on August 2, 2007, at... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland... |
Technical Director, Engine programmer, Developer |
| August 18, 2009 | Wolfenstein | Raven Software Raven Software Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them... |
Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard, Inc., formerly Activision, Inc. is the American holding company for Activision and Blizzard Entertainment. The company is majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA and was created through the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, announced on December 2, 2007, in a... |
Engine Programmer |
| September 28, 2007 | Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is a first-person shooter video game, and is the follow-up to the 2005 title Quake 4. It is also the first game in the series to be rated T by the ESRB... |
Splash Damage Splash Damage Splash Damage is an independently-owned British game development company that specializes in multiplayer first-person shooter games. The studio is best known as the creator of the Enemy Territory franchise for id Software.-History:... |
Activision Activision Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles... |
programming |
| May 1, 2006 | Orcs & Elves Orcs & Elves Orcs & Elves is a fantasy role-playing adventure video game for the mobile phone and Nintendo DS. It was developed by John Carmack and Fountainhead Entertainment, produced by id Software, published by EA Mobile and licensed by Nintendo for the DS version. It was first released on the mobile phone... |
Fountainhead Entertainment | Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers... |
producer/programmer/writer |
| October 18, 2005 | Quake 4 Quake 4 Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake first-person shooter computer games. The game was developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Raven Software has collaborated with id Software, the creators and historical developers of preceding Quake games... |
Raven Software Raven Software Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them... |
Activision Activision Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles... |
technical director |
| September 13, 2005 | Doom RPG Doom RPG Doom RPG is a mobile phone game developed by Fountainhead Entertainment. It combines the Doom first-person shooter franchise with role-playing elements. The storyline incorporates many of the events of Doom 3, but involves different characters than those in the computer version... |
Fountainhead Entertainment | id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
producer/programmer |
| April 3, 2005 | Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil is a first-person shooter video game developed by Nerve Software and id Software. It was released for the PC on April 3, 2005, as an expansion pack for Doom 3 and on October 5, 2005, for the Xbox video game console... |
Nerve Software Nerve Software Nerve Software is an American video game developer that was co-founded by ex-id Software employee Brandon James. Many of the original employees at Nerve were previously employed by Rogue Entertainment, another U.S... |
Activision Activision Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles... |
technical director |
| August 3, 2004 | Doom 3 Doom 3 Doom 3 is a science fiction horror video game developed by id Software and published by Activision. An example of the first-person shooter genre, Doom 3 was first released for Microsoft Windows on August 3, 2004. The game was later adapted for Linux, as well as being ported by Aspyr Media for Mac... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Activision Activision Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles... |
technical director |
| November 19, 2001 | Return to Castle Wolfenstein Return to Castle Wolfenstein Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a first person shooter video game published by Activision and originally released on November 19, 2001 for Microsoft Windows. It was made available on Steam on August 3, 2007. The single player game was developed by Gray Matter Interactive and Nerve Software... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Activision Activision Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles... |
technical director |
| December 15, 2000 | Quake III: Team Arena | id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Activision Activision Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles... |
programming |
| December 2, 1999 | Quake III Arena Quake III Arena Quake III Arena , is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game released on December 2, 1999. The game was developed by id Software and featured music composed by Sonic Mayhem and Front Line Assembly... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Activision Activision Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles... |
programming |
| December 9, 1997 | Quake II Quake II Quake II, released on December 9, 1997, is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Id Software and distributed by Activision. It is not a sequel to Quake; it merely uses the name of the former game due to Id's difficulties in coming up with alternative names.The soundtrack for Quake II... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Activision Activision Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles... |
programming |
| March 31, 1997 | Doom 64 Doom 64 Doom 64 is a video game for the Nintendo 64 released by Midway Games in April 4, 1997. It is part of the Doom first-person shooter video game series.-Features:Key differences from the computer games in the series include:*32 exclusive new levels.... |
Midway Games Midway Games Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the... |
Midway Games Midway Games Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the... |
programming |
| June 22, 1996 | Quake | id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
programming |
| May 31, 1996 | Strife | Rogue Entertainment Rogue Entertainment -Rogue Entertainment Group, Inc.:Rogue Ent. is a record label group, music distribution company, graphics/web design firm, audio production/engineering firm, and promotion company based out of Richmond, Va... |
Velocity | engine programmer |
| October 30, 1995 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | Raven Software Raven Software Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
3D engine |
| 1996 | Final Doom Final Doom Final Doom is a first-person shooter video game that uses the game engine, items and characters from Doom II. It consists of two 32-level megawads , The Plutonia Experiment by the Casali brothers, and TNT: Evilution by TeamTNT. Final Doom was released in 1996 and distributed as an official id... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
GT Interactive | programming |
| December 23, 1994 | Heretic | Raven Software Raven Software Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
engine programmer |
| October 10, 1994 | Doom II: Hell on Earth | id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
GT Interactive | programming |
| December 10, 1993 | Doom | id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
programming |
| 1993 | Shadowcaster Shadowcaster ShadowCaster is a first-person/role-playing computer game from 1993 developed by Raven Software. It was released by Origin Systems after Electronic Arts acquired them... |
Raven Software Raven Software Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them... |
Origin Systems Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004... |
3D engine |
| September 18, 1992 | Spear of Destiny | id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
FormGen FormGen FormGen Corporation was a shareware and computer game company that was founded in 1987 by Randy MacLean and James Perkins. The company was later bought out by GT Interactive in 1996.... |
software engineer |
| May 5, 1992 | Wolfenstein 3D Wolfenstein 3D Wolfenstein 3D is a video game that is generally regarded by critics and gaming journalists as having both popularized the first-person shooter genre on the PC and created the basic archetype upon which all subsequent games of the same genre would be built. It was created by id Software and... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Apogee Software 3D Realms 3D Realms is a current video game publisher and former video game developer based in Garland, Texas, United States, established in 1987... |
programming |
| 1991 | Catacomb 3-D | id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
programming |
| 1991 | Commander Keen: Aliens Ate My Babysitter! Commander Keen Commander Keen is a series of video games developed by id Software in the early 1990s. The series focuses on the adventures of Billy Blaze, an 8-year old boy who travels through space and assumes the identity "Commander Keen". The series was successful at replicating the side-scrolling action of... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
FormGen FormGen FormGen Corporation was a shareware and computer game company that was founded in 1987 by Randy MacLean and James Perkins. The company was later bought out by GT Interactive in 1996.... |
programming |
| December 15, 1991 | Commander Keen: Goodbye Galaxy! Commander Keen Commander Keen is a series of video games developed by id Software in the early 1990s. The series focuses on the adventures of Billy Blaze, an 8-year old boy who travels through space and assumes the identity "Commander Keen". The series was successful at replicating the side-scrolling action of... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Apogee Software 3D Realms 3D Realms is a current video game publisher and former video game developer based in Garland, Texas, United States, established in 1987... |
programming |
| 1991 | Commander Keen: Keen Dreams Commander Keen Commander Keen is a series of video games developed by id Software in the early 1990s. The series focuses on the adventures of Billy Blaze, an 8-year old boy who travels through space and assumes the identity "Commander Keen". The series was successful at replicating the side-scrolling action of... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
programming |
| 1991 | Shadow Knights Shadow Knights Shadow Knights is a platform game created by id Software and published by Softdisk in 1991.This is one of the several games written by id Software to fulfill their contractual obligation to produce games for Softdisk, where the id Software founders formerly were employed. It is a basic platform... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
design/programming |
| 1991 | Rescue Rover 2 | id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
programmer |
| 1991 | Rescue Rover Rescue Rover Rescue Rover is a computer puzzle game from id Software, published by Softdisk in 1991. The game was distributed as shareware, with the first 10 levels making up the shareware version, and another 20 levels being present in the registered version.... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
programmer |
| 1991 | Hovertank 3D Hovertank 3D Hovertank 3D is a vehicular combat game developed by id Software and published by Softdisk in April, 1991. It is considered a significant precursor of the first-person shooter genre, made popular by id Software's subsequent releases, Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
programming |
| 1991 | Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion Dangerous Dave In The Haunted Mansion Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion is a 1991 sequel of the computer game Dangerous Dave. It was created by John Romero, John Carmack, Adrian Carmack and Tom Hall. It was developed on the Shadow Knights engine with some extra code for smoother character movement... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
programming |
| December 14, 1990 | Commander Keen: Invasion of the Vorticons Commander Keen Commander Keen is a series of video games developed by id Software in the early 1990s. The series focuses on the adventures of Billy Blaze, an 8-year old boy who travels through space and assumes the identity "Commander Keen". The series was successful at replicating the side-scrolling action of... |
id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... |
Apogee Software 3D Realms 3D Realms is a current video game publisher and former video game developer based in Garland, Texas, United States, established in 1987... |
programming |
| 1990 | Slordax: The Unknown Enemy | Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
programming |
| 1990 | Catacomb II | Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
developer |
| 1990 | Catacomb Catacomb (video game) Catacomb is a 2-D game created by John Carmack. It was originally created for the Apple II, and later ported to the PC. It should not be confused with The Catacomb, which is the second game in the series . It supports EGA and CGA graphics.In the game you play the magician Petton Everhail... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
programmer |
| 1990 | Dark Designs II: Closing the Gate | Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
programmer/designer |
| 1990 | Dark Designs: Grelminar's Staff | John Carmack | Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
developer |
| 1990 | Tennis | John Carmack | Softdisk Softdisk Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Founded in 1981, its original products were disk magazines... |
developer |
| 1990 | Wraith: The Devil's Demise | John Carmack | Nite Owl Productions | developer |
| 1989 | Shadowforge | John Carmack | Nite Owl Productions | developer |
Armadillo Aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
. He began by giving financial support to a few local amateur groups before starting Armadillo Aerospace
Armadillo Aerospace
Armadillo Aerospace is an aerospace startup company based in Mesquite, Texas. Its initial goal is to build a manned suborbital spacecraft capable of space tourism, but it has stated long-term ambitions of orbital spaceflight. The company was founded by John Carmack.On October 24, 2008, Armadillo...
. He taught himself aerospace engineering and is the lead engineer of the company. Since then he has made steady progress toward his goals of suborbital space flight and eventual orbital vehicles. In October 2008, Armadillo Aerospace competed in a NASA contest known as the Lunar Lander Challenge, winning first place in the Level 1 competition along with $350,000. In September 2009 they completed Level 2 and were awarded $500,000.
Free software
Carmack is a well-known advocate of open source software, and has repeatedly voiced his opposition to software patentSoftware patent
Software patent does not have a universally accepted definition. One definition suggested by the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure is that a software patent is a "patent on any performance of a computer realised by means of a computer program".In 2005, the European Patent Office...
s, which he equates to "mugging someone". He has also contributed to open source projects, such as starting the initial port of the X Window System
X Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
to Mac OS X Server
Mac OS X Server
Mac OS X Server is a Unix server operating system from Apple Inc. The server edition of Mac OS X is architecturally identical to its desktop counterpart, except that it includes work group management and administration software tools...
and working to improve the OpenGL drivers for Linux through the Utah GLX
Utah GLX
Utah GLX was a project aimed at creating a fully open source basic hardware-accelerated 3D rendering for XFree86 and OpenGL before the introduction of the Direct Rendering Infrastructure in XFree86 version 4.0, which is what is used today....
project.
Carmack released the source code for Wolfenstein 3D in 1995 and the Doom source code in 1997. When the source code to Quake was leaked and circulated among the Quake community underground in 1996, a programmer unaffiliated with id Software used it to port Quake to Linux, and subsequently sent the patches to Carmack. Instead of pursuing legal action, id Software, at Carmack's behest, used the patches as the foundation for a company-sanctioned Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
port. id Software has since publicly released the source code to Quake, Quake 2 and most recently Quake 3, all under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
(GPL). The Doom source code was also re-released under the GPL in 1999.
The id Tech 4 (Doom 3
Doom 3
Doom 3 is a science fiction horror video game developed by id Software and published by Activision. An example of the first-person shooter genre, Doom 3 was first released for Microsoft Windows on August 3, 2004. The game was later adapted for Linux, as well as being ported by Aspyr Media for Mac...
Engine) has also been released as open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
under the GPL.
Carmack is also noted for his generous contributions to charities and gaming communities. Some of the recipients of Carmack's charitable
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
contributions include his former high school, promoters of open source software, opponents of software patents, and game enthusiasts. In 1997 he gave away one of his Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
s (a 328 model) as a prize to Dennis Fong
Dennis Fong
Dennis "Thresh" Fong is an entrepreneur and retired celebrity pro gamer. Fong has been called "the Michael Jordan of video games", a "Top 20 Entrepreneur Under 35" by Red Herring magazine, and voted as the "Top North American E-Sports Figure of All Time" by the E-Sports Entertainment Association,...
, the winner of the Quake "Red Annihilation" tournament.
Personal life
Carmack met his wife Katherine Anna KangKatherine Anna Kang
Katherine Anna Kang is a video game industry figure, machinima film producer, designer, entrepreneur and business woman. In 2000, as founder and CEO of Fountainhead Entertainment she championed machinima and became known as one of machinima’s biggest supporters...
at QuakeCon
QuakeCon
QuakeCon is a bring-your-own-computer computer gaming event with a competitive tournament held every year in Dallas, Texas, USA. The event, which is named after id Software's game Quake, sees thousands of gamers from all over the world attend every year to celebrate the company's gaming dynasty...
1997 when she visited id's offices. As a bet, Kang challenged Carmack to sponsor the first All Female Quake Tournament if she was able to produce a significant number of participants. Carmack and Kang married in January 2000 and had a son in 2004. Carmack has a rarely updated blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
(previously a .plan
Finger protocol
In computer networking, the Name/Finger protocol and the Finger user information protocol are simple network protocols for the exchange of human-oriented status and user information.-Name/Finger protocol:...
), and also occasionally posts comments to Slashdot
Slashdot
Slashdot is a technology-related news website owned by Geeknet, Inc. The site, which bills itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters", features user-submitted and ‑evaluated current affairs news stories about science- and technology-related topics. Each story has a comments section...
.
Professional philosophy
As a game developer, Carmack stands apart from many of his contemporaries by avoiding commitment to a final release date for any game he is developing. Instead, when asked for a release date on a new title, Carmack will usually reply that the game will be released "when it's done." Employees at Apogee3D Realms
3D Realms is a current video game publisher and former video game developer based in Garland, Texas, United States, established in 1987...
, in their past years the publishers of games by id Software, adopted this business practice as well. Other game developers, such as Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
and Valve
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
, have made similar statements.
Famous quotes
In the David Kushner book, Masters of Doom, (Random House, 2003) p. 295. Kushner is describing the programmer John Carmack:“…after so many years immersed in the science of graphics, he [John Carmack] had achieved an almost Zen-like understanding of his craft. In the shower, he would see a few bars of light on the wall and think, Hey, that’s a diffuse specular reflection from the overhead lights reflected off the faucet. Rather than detaching him from the natural world, this viewpoint only made him appreciate it more deeply. ‘These are things I find enchanting and miraculous,’ he said, ‘I don’t have to be at the Grand Canyon to appreciate the way the world works. I can see that in reflections of light in my bathroom.’”
Recognition
| Date | | Award | | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | List of the 50 most influential people in technology | #10 in Time Time (magazine) Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong... s list |
| 2001-03 | Won award for community contribution for the Quake 3 engine. | Used in 12 games. Bestowed at 2001 Game Developer's Conference Award Ceremony. |
| 2001-03-22 | Inducted into Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame | The fourth person to be inducted, an honor bestowed upon those who have made revolutionary and innovative achievements in the video and computer game industry. |
| 2002 | Named to the MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in... Technology Review Technology Review Technology Review is a magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was founded in 1899 as "The Technology Review", and was re-launched without the "The" in its name on April 23, 1998 under then publisher R. Bruce Journey... TR100 TR35 The TR35 is an annual list published by MIT Technology Review magazine, naming the world's top 35 innovators under the age of 35.Some of the most famous winners of the award include Larry Page and Sergey Brin , Linus Torvalds , Jerry Yang , Jonathan Ive , Mark Zuckerberg... |
Included as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35. |
| 2003 | One subject of book Masters of Doom | Masters of Doom is a chronicle of id Software and its founders. |
| 2005 | Name in film | The film Doom Doom (film) Doom is a 2005 science fiction horror film, loosely based on the Doom series of video games created by id Software. It was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak.... featured a character named Dr. Carmack, in recognition of Carmack who co-created the original game. |
| 2006-03 | Added to the Walk of Game Walk of Game The Walk of Game is a year-round attraction in the United States honoring the icons and pioneers of the video game industry, and is located inside Metreon, an entertainment shopping center in San Francisco, California... |
Walk of Game Walk of Game The Walk of Game is a year-round attraction in the United States honoring the icons and pioneers of the video game industry, and is located inside Metreon, an entertainment shopping center in San Francisco, California... is an event that recognizes the developers and games with the most impact on the industry. |
| 2007-01 | Awarded 2 Emmy Awards | Carmack and id Software Id Software Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack... were awarded with two Emmy Awards. The First was Science, Engineering & Technology for Broadcast Television, which includes broadcast, cable and satellite distribution. The Second was for Science, Engineering and Technology for Broadband and Personal Television, encompassing interactive television, gaming technology, and for the first time, the Internet, cell phones, private networks, and personal media players. id Software is the very first independent game developer to be awarded an Emmy since the Academy began honoring technology innovation in 1948. |
| 2007-09 | Television appearance | Appeared on Discovery Channel Canada Discovery Channel Canada Discovery Channel is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel devoted to nature, adventure, science and technology programming. Discovery Channel is currently owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc... Daily Planet Daily Planet (TV series) Daily Planet is a television program on Discovery Channel Canada which features daily news, discussion and commentary on the scientific aspects of current events and discoveries. The show first aired as @discovery.ca in 1995. It was renamed to Daily Planet in 2002. The show relaunched with in high... featuring his rocket designs along with the Armadillo Aerospace Armadillo Aerospace Armadillo Aerospace is an aerospace startup company based in Mesquite, Texas. Its initial goal is to build a manned suborbital spacecraft capable of space tourism, but it has stated long-term ambitions of orbital spaceflight. The company was founded by John Carmack.On October 24, 2008, Armadillo... team. |
| 2008 | Honored | Carmack was honored at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Award Technology & Engineering Emmy Award A Technology and Engineering Emmy Award is given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievement in technical or engineering development... s for Quakes pioneering role of user modifiability. He is the only game programmer Game programmer A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"... ever honored twice by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, having been given an Emmy Award in 2007 for his creation of the 3D technology that underlies modern shooter Shooter game Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common... video games. Along with Don Daglow Don Daglow Don Daglow is an American computer game and video game designer, programmer and producer. He is best known for designing a series of pioneering simulation games and role-playing games, as well as the first computer baseball game and the first graphical MMORPG, all between 1971 and 1995... of Stormfront Studios Stormfront Studios Stormfront Studios was a video game developer based in San Rafael, California which had one of the longest creative histories in the industry. In 2007, the company had over 50 developers working on two teams, and owned all its proprietary engines, tools and technology. As of the end of 2007 over... and Mike Morhaime of Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard... , Carmack is one of only three game developers to accept awards at both the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards and at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences , founded in 1996, is a non-profit organization that promotes computer and video game entertainment with the annual D.I.C.E. Summit event, where its Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony has been held annually since 1998... Interactive Achievement Awards. |
| 2008-10 | Won X-Prize | Carmack's Armadillo Aerospace won the $350,000 Level One X-Prize Lunar Lander Challenge. |
| 2010-03 | Lifetime Achievement Award | Was awarded the Game Developers Conference Game Developers Conference The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking... Lifetime Achievement award for his work. |
Further reading
- Abortion in BelarusAbortion in BelarusAbortion in Belarus has been legal since November 23, 1955, back when Belarus was a republic of the Soviet Union. The current abortion legislation dates from December 31, 1987 and is one of the most liberal abortion laws in Europe, allowing on-demand abortion until the twenty-eighth week of...
- Kushner, DavidDavid KushnerDavid Kushner is a writer who has contributed to publications including Wired, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, IEEE Spectrum and Salon. From 1994 to 1996 he worked as a senior producer and writer on the SonicNet website. The first edition of his non-fiction book, Masters of Doom, was published...
(2003). Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop CultureMasters of DoomMasters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture is a book by David Kushner about id Software and its influence on popular culture, focusing chiefly on John D. Carmack and John Romero.-Content:...
, New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50524-5.