Summary
Before John Romero became one of the most iconic and successful figures in the gaming industry, he struggled with a very difficult upbringing. Growing up in the desert of Tucson, Arizona, Romero dealt with a complicated family life and financial insecurity that one would expect would be a huge barrier to a person’s potential to succeed. In spite of his circumstances, he persevered and became an incredibly gifted coder at a young age, and his unending fascination with computers and games would eventually turn him into one of gaming’s most memorable success stories as co-creator ofDoomand other genre-defining first-person shooters.
Game Rant sat down with John Romero to discuss his recently published autobiographyDoom Guy: Life in First Personwhere he opened up about his troubled past and detailed all the major turning points that led to creatingDoomand where he is today. Romero felt that it was important to share these difficult experiences in order to inspire the countless individuals who are unfortunately experiencing similar situations, and hopes that his story will serve as an example of how far someone can go if they relentlessly pursue their passions.
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There’s No Magic Secret To Success
As a kid with limited financial resources,John Romero’s love of gamesand natural curiosity led him to spend countless hours at the local college’s computer lab among other students, as this was the only chance he had to be around computers at the time. His determination to learn everything there is to know about the craft was and continues to be the driving force behind his success. This is something he feels is possible for anyone with a similar love for technology.
“There’s no magic there. It’s just like ‘Oh, this is what you do to do that. You just kind of focus on the thing, and you just keep doing it.’ Whether it’s programming or design or writing or art or whatever, you just stay the course. And I want to make sure that everybody knows I totally love my family. We’re still in touch. It was a great family, but that’s where I grew up. I’ve totally made peace with anything bad because when you’re a kid, you don’t know it’s bad that you don’t have any money because money is not even a concept kids get, so you just grew up there.
“Now some people, when they get a little older and they’re teenagers, and they feel like they’re disadvantaged, I think this is a good book for them to look at and go, ‘You can do it. You can totally do it.’ Technology is transformative. Learning technology can get you anywhere, and so I think that’s part of the message.”
He hopes that his story resonates with other people who are similarly disadvantaged as an example of how passion can level the playing field. At the end of the day, no matter the resources that are available to a person, it’s the amount of time and effort they put into their craft that determines their capabilities and whether they realize their potential. He believes this is the case for most pursuits, whether someone is working on the nextbest first-person shooteror aspires to become a great artist.
If He Can Do It, Anyone Can, Says Romero
Romero’s story constantly underlines the importance of people doing what they love. Being immersed in one’s passion will lead them to improve their skills in that area and gravitate toward other people who promote further growth, and this can be seen throughout Romero’s book as each victory can be traced back to his singular focus on coding and game design. Looking back, it almost seems inevitable that the ever-curious youngster in the computer lab would go on to become one of theco-creators ofDoom,Quake,andWolfenstein 3Damong other things.
“I hope people really enjoy the history that’s in there. I think people will take away the message of ‘Do the thing that you love.’ And I feel that people will come away with this overall tone of positivity that I have with my story.
“And also, if I can do it, you can totally do it. There’s nothing different about me than anyone else. It’s all about spending the time. You’ve got to spend the time and just do the thing that you’re interested in doing.”
The book offers some extremely valuable insights into gaming history and the developer mindset of someone who has recently earned a lifetime achievement award. Anyone with a passing interest in either participating in the field or learning about its history can benefit from hearingJohn Romero’s story.
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