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{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}{{Short description|American computer programmer and video game developer (born 1970)}}{{Other people|John Carmack}}{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}

factoids

{{efn|name=dob}}| birth_place = Shawnee Mission, Kansas, U.S.| death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Computer programmer, video game developer, engineer| employer = Keen Technologies (2023–present)Oculus VR (2013–2022)id SoftwareCommander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom (franchise)>Doom, ''Quake (series), Rage (video game)>Rage''FIRST=MICHAEL WEBSITE=POLYGON (WEBSITE) >DATE=NOVEMBER 22, 2013 ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20131122210250/HTTP://WWW.POLYGON.COM/2013/11/22/5134500/ID-SOFTWARE-FOUNDER-JOHN-CARMACK-RESIGNS, November 22, 2013, Founder, Armadillo AerospaceKatherine Anna Kang2021|end=divorced}}| partner = Trista DeLeon (2022–present)| children = 2| signature = John Carmack autograph.svg}}John D. Carmack IIMAGAZINE,weblink Happy Birthday John Carmack!, Patrick, Orndorff, Wired, August 20, 2008, wired.com, (born August 21,{{efn|name=dob |August 21, according to Carmack himself,TWEET, Carmack, John, ID_AA_Carmack, 1693306371943329995, August 20, 2023, August 20, 2023,weblinkweblink August 20, 2023, Thanks for the birthday wishes, but Wikipedia has always had my birthday wrong — it is the 21st of August..., but August 20 in other sources.BOOK, Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture,weblink The Rocket Scientist, 18, David Kushner, 2004, 9780812972153, Random House, Google Books,weblink August 20, 2023, }} 1970) is an American computer programmer and video game developer. He co-founded the video game company id Software and was the lead programmer of its 1990s games Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, and their sequels. Carmack made innovations in 3D computer graphics, such as his Carmack's Reverse algorithm for shadow volumes. In 2013, he resigned from id Software to work full-time at Oculus VR as their CTO. In 2019, he reduced his role to Consulting CTO so he could allocate more time toward artificial general intelligence (AGI). In 2022, he left Oculus to work on his AGI startup, Keen Technologies.WEB, Hays, Ashley Stewart, Kali, John Carmack, the consulting CTO for Meta's virtual-reality efforts, is leaving. 'I wearied of the fight',weblink December 17, 2022, Business Insider, en-US,

Biography

Early life

Carmack was born in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, the son of local television news reporter Stan Carmack. He grew up in the Kansas City metropolitan area, where he became interested in computers at an early age. He attended Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kansas and Raytown South High School in nearby Raytown, Missouri.{{sfn|Kushner|2003|pp=20–22}}Carmack was introduced to video games with the 1978 shoot 'em up game Space Invaders in the arcades during a summer vacation as a child. The 1980 maze chase arcade game Pac-Man also left a strong impression on him. He cited Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto as the game developer he most admired.WEB,weblink All the RAGE: John Carmack,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170320052321weblink">weblink March 20, 2017, Bethesda Softworks, As reported in David Kushner's Masters of Doom, when Carmack was 14, he broke into a school with other children to steal Apple II computers. To gain entry to the building, Carmack concocted a sticky substance of thermite mixed with Vaseline that melted through the windows. However, an overweight accomplice struggled to get through the hole and instead opened the window, setting off a silent alarm and alerting police. Carmack was arrested and sent for psychiatric evaluation. He was sentenced to a year in a juvenile home.WEB,weblink John Carmack Answers, October 15, 1999, Slashdot, November 27, 2012, live,weblink October 5, 2012, {{sfn|Kushner|2003|p=21}} He attended the University of Missouri–Kansas City for two semesters before withdrawing to work as a freelance programmer.BOOK, Jones, Steve, Encyclopedia of New Media: An Essential Reference to Communication and Technology Encyclopedia Of New Media, SAGE Publications, 0-7619-2382-9,weblink registration, 53, University of Missouri–Kansas City john carmack., December 10, 2002,

Career

Softdisk, a computer company in Shreveport, Louisiana, hired Carmack to work on Softdisk G-S (an Apple IIGS publication), introducing him to John Romero and other future key members of id Software such as Adrian Carmack (no relation). Later, Softdisk would place this team in charge of a new, but short-lived, bi-monthly game subscription product called Gamer's Edge for the IBM PC (DOS) platform. In 1990, while still at Softdisk, Carmack, Romero, and others created the first of the Commander Keen games, a series that was published by Apogee Software, under the shareware distribution model, from 1991 onwards.{{sfn|Kushner|2003|pp=63–66}} Afterwards, Carmack left Softdisk to co-found id Software.{{sfn|Kushner|2003|p=74}}Carmack has pioneered or popularized the use of many techniques in computer graphics, including "adaptive tile refresh" for Commander Keen,{{sfn|Kushner|2003|p=50}} ray casting for Hovertank 3D, Catacomb 3-D, and Wolfenstein 3D, binary space partitioning which Doom became the first game to use,{{sfn|Kushner|2003|p=142}} 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).WEB,weblink GameSpy: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars – Page 1, Accardo, Sal 'Sluggo', January 13, 2006, GameSpy, May 25, 2016, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160511012233weblink">weblink May 11, 2016, Quake 3 popularized the fast inverse square root algorithm.WEB, Beyond3D – Origin of Quake3's Fast InvSqrt() – Part Two,weblink September 17, 2021, www.beyond3d.com, 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. In 2007, when Carmack was on vacation with his wife, he ended up playing some games on his cellphone, and decided he was going to make a "good" mobile game.WEB, Anna, Kang, October 18, 2007, Q&A: Fountainhead's Kang Talks Orcs & Elves DS, Wii Possibilities,weblink live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130117020714weblink">weblink January 17, 2013, NEWS, Mike, Snider, Q&A with id Software's Kevin Cloud and Steve Nix, USA Today, July 18, 2007,weblink live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080523230030weblink">weblink May 23, 2008, File:John Carmack GDC 2010.jpg|thumb|Carmack giving a speech after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 10th annual Game Developers Choice AwardsGame Developers Choice AwardsOn August 7, 2013, Carmack joined Oculus VR as their CTO.NEWS, Keith, Stuart, July 30, 2019, Press Start: John Carmack joins Oculus Rift, Xbox One video recorder is for Gold members only, and more,weblink The Guardian, August 8, 2013, 0261-3077, www.theguardian.com, On November 22, 2013, he resigned from id Software to work full-time at Oculus VR.WEB,weblink Doom's John Carmack Leaves id Software To Focus On The Oculus Virtual Reality Headset, Alex, Wilhelm, November 22, 2013, Carmack's reason for leaving was that id's parent company ZeniMax Media did not want to support Oculus Rift.WEB,weblink Why John Carmack quit id Software, Yin-Poole, Wesley, February 5, 2014, Eurogamer, Gamer Network, February 5, 2014, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140222202220weblink">weblink February 22, 2014, Carmack's role at both companies later became central to a ZeniMax lawsuit against Oculus' parent company, Facebook, claiming that Oculus stole ZeniMax's virtual reality intellectual property.WEB, Orland, Kyle, Oculus accused of destroying evidence, Zuckerberg to testify in VR theft trial,weblink January 16, 2017, Ars Technica, January 16, 2017, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170116211622weblink">weblink January 16, 2017, NEWS, Alex, Hern, July 30, 2019, Facebook in row with games firm over Oculus Rift purchase,weblink The Guardian, May 2, 2014, 0261-3077, www.theguardian.com, NEWS, Sam, Thielman, July 30, 2019, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg testifies in Oculus Rift lawsuit,weblink The Guardian, January 17, 2017, 0261-3077, www.theguardian.com, The trial jury absolved Carmack of liability, though Oculus and other corporate officers were held liable for trademark, copyright, and contract violations.WEB, Orland, Kyle, Oculus, execs liable for $500 million in ZeniMax VR trial,weblink February 1, 2017, Ars Technica, February 1, 2017, live,weblink February 1, 2017, File:John Carmack - The Dawn of Mobile VR - Game Developer Conference 2015 - cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|Carmack speaking about "The Dawn of Mobile VR" during the Game Developers ConferenceGame Developers ConferenceIn February 2017, Carmack sued ZeniMax, claiming the company had refused to pay him the remaining $22.5 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=22500000|start_year=2017}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) owed to him from their purchase of id Software.NEWS, Manion, Wayne, John Carmack sues ZeniMax for $22.5 million,weblink March 13, 2017, Tech Report, March 10, 2017, live,weblink March 14, 2017, In October 2018, Carmack stated that he and ZeniMax had reached an agreement and that "Zenimax has fully satisfied their obligations to me", ending the suit.WEB,weblink 'Doom' co-creator John Carmack ends legal fight with ZeniMax, Daniel, Cooper, October 12, 2018, October 12, 2018, Engadget, On November 13, 2019, Carmack stepped down from the Oculus CTO role to become a "Consulting CTO" in order to allocate more time to his work on artificial general intelligence (AGI).WEB, Richard, Lawler,weblink John Carmack takes a step back at Oculus to work on human-like AI, Engadget.com, November 14, 2019, en, November 14, 2019, On August 19, 2022, Carmack announced that he has raised $20M for Keen Technologies, his new AGI company.WEB, John, Carmack,weblink John Carmack on Twitter, Twitter.com, en, August 23, 2022, August 19, 2022, On December 16, 2022, Carmack left Oculus to focus on Keen.

Workstyle

}}Carmack has maintained a sixty-hour work week, working a 10-hour day, six days a week, throughout his career. He has spoken publicly about the importance of long hours of uninterrupted focus in his work. Not only does high intensity allow him to make progress more quickly, but long hours are also critical to maintaining a focused mindset over time. Despite working such a demanding schedule, he has never experienced burnout.Carmack is also known for taking week-long programming retreats. These retreats involve a solitary, uninterrupted period away from his normal routine often sequestered in a random city and hotel.{{sfn|Kushner|2003|pp=252}} The goal of these retreats is to allow Carmack to operate at full cognitive capacity, tackling a specific, difficult problem or learning a new skill.TWEET, Carmack, John, @ID_AA_Carmack, 1218526548627804161, January 18, 2020, January 15, 2023,weblink I was doing a remote study/think time this week, and I tried a “no screen time day” as an experiment, restricting myself to printed books and papers. It was inconclusive. I missed finding instant answers and chasing references at least a dozen times during the day. I was ..., The solitude and physical isolation of these retreats offer the perfect environment for deep focus and reflection, making them an essential part of Carmack's creative process.Carmack was vocal about his frustration with the bureaucratic inefficiencies he encountered during his time at Meta.TWEET, Carmack, John, @ID_AA_Carmack, 1603931901491908610, December 16, 2022, January 15, 2023,weblink I have always been pretty frustrated with how things get done at FB/Meta. Everything necessary for spectacular success is right there, but it doesn't get put together effectively., In his departure memo, he stated, "We have a ridiculous amount of people and resources, but we constantly self-sabotage and squander effort," he wrote. "I have never been able to kill stupid things before they cause damage, or set a direction and have a team actually stick to it."WEB,weblink John Carmack leaves Meta with a memo criticizing the company's efficiency, Moon, Mariella, December 16, 2022, Engadget, Yahoo, January 15, 2023, Carmack subscribes to the philosophy that small, incremental steps are the fastest route to meaningful and disruptive innovation. He compares this approach to the "magic of gradient descent" where small steps using local information result in the best outcomes. According to Carmack, this principle is proven by his own experience, and he has observed this in many of the smartest people in the world. He states, "Little tiny steps using local information winds up leading to all the best answers."

Armadillo Aerospace

Around 2000, Carmack became interested in rocketry, a hobby of his youth. Reviewing how much money he was spending on customizing Ferraris,{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} he began by giving financial support to a few local amateur engineers. Carmack funded the company, called Armadillo Aerospace, out of his own pocket, for "something north of a million dollars a year." The company of hobbyists made steady progress toward their 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 $350,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=350000|start_year=2008}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).WEB,weblink NASA To Recognize Winner of Lunar Lander Challenge, December 1, 2008, NASA, November 27, 2012, live,weblink November 19, 2012, In September 2009, they completed Level 2 and were awarded $500,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=500000|start_year=2009}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).NEWS, Patrick, Michaels, Dallas Observer, Rocket Men From Mesquite's Armadillo Aerospace Are in Line For $1 Million X Prize,weblink September 14, 2009, September 14, 2009, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090918194500weblink">weblink September 18, 2009, WEB,weblink International Space Fellowship, Spacefellowship.com, November 27, 2012, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130624093733weblink">weblink June 24, 2013, WEB,weblink Lunar lander qualifies for prize – Cosmic Log, Cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com, November 27, 2012, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090915173132weblink">weblink September 15, 2009, The company went into "hibernation mode" in 2013.NEWS, Foust, Jeff, Carmack: Armadillo Aerospace in "hibernation mode",weblink August 6, 2013, NewSpace Journal, August 1, 2013, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130805222751weblink">weblink August 5, 2013, According to Carmack, the work in the Aerospace industry is "simple" compared to the work he does in video games.WEB, XPRIZE, John Carmack (Armadillo Aerospace) at NASA HQ,weblink YouTube, January 30, 2023,

Open-source software

Carmack is an advocate of open-source software, and has repeatedly voiced his opposition to software patents, equating them to robbery.WEB,weblink Are Video Game Patents Next?, Slashdot, June 1, 2005, November 27, 2012, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131207201122weblink">weblink December 7, 2013, 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.WEB,weblink John Carmack Goes On Coding Retreat With OpenBSD, Larabel, Michael, March 5, 2018, Phoronix, March 5, 2018, live,weblink July 7, 2018, Carmack released the source code for Wolfenstein 3D in 1995 and the Doom source code in 1997, first under a custom license and then under the GNU General Public License (GPL) in 1999. When the source code to Quake was leaked and circulated among the Quake community underground in 1997 after licensee Crack dot Com was hacked,MAGAZINE, Annaliza, Savage, Hackers Hack Crack, Steal Quake,weblink Wired (magazine), Wired, January 10, 1997, February 14, 2023, a programmer unaffiliated with id Software named Greg Alexander used it to port Quake to Linux using SVGALib. As this was more feature rich than Dave Taylor's earlier X11 port, he sent the patches to Carmack.WEB, Wilson, Hamish, February 27, 2023, Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer – Part 27: Lost Souls,weblink GamingOnLinux, February 27, 2023, Instead of pursuing legal action, id Software used the patches as the foundation for a company-sanctioned Linux port maintained by new hire Zoid Kirsch, who later ported Quakeworld and Quake II to Linux as well.WEB, An interview with Dave "Zoid" Kirsch of linux quake fame,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/19990910231358weblink">weblink Linux Power, Barath, Raghavan, Jeremy, Katz, Jack, Moffitt, September 10, 1999, February 19, 1999, February 27, 2023, id Software has since publicly released the source code to Quake in 1999, Quake 2 in 2001, Quake 3 in 2005 and lastly Doom 3 in 2011 (and later the BFG Edition in 2012). The source code for Hovertank 3D and Catacomb 3D (as well as Carmack's earlier Catacomb) was released in June 2014 by Flat Rock Software with Carmack's blessing.WEB, Twitter, Carmack, John, @ID_AA_Carmack: Thanks to Flat Rock...,weblink live,weblink July 14, 2014, WEB, bit-gamer, Halfacree, Gareth, Early id Software game engines open-sourced,weblink live,weblink January 6, 2018, June 9, 2014, April 7, 2018, He has since expressed regret on using the copyleft GPL over the more permissive BSD license.WEB, Twitter, @ID_AA_Carmack,weblink John, Carmack, July 5, 2021, February 27, 2023, The recent discussions around copilot are a good opportunity to say this: I wish I could have licensed the Id source code releases as BSD. The GPL virality wound up being a net negative, and more value would have come from BSD. My partners would never have gone for it, though... I touched on that recently with the comment about open source culture and game dev; the best aspects of GPL work didn't manifest, but tons of opportunities to just copy-paste-modify were lost due to license concerns. It is possible that some of the source ports wouldn't have been as open, but I'm pretty sure there would have been more total users of the code, likely making the amount shared in the open still greater. I'm still supportive of lots of GPL work, but I don't think the restrictions helped in this particular case., The release of id Tech 4 occurred despite patent concerns from Creative Labs over Carmack's reverse,WEB, Kepley, Travis, February 11, 2014, How we almost lost Doom 3 and id for good,weblink Opensource.com, November 30, 2011, while the original Doom source release shipped without music due to complications with the Cygnus Studios developed DMX library (which lead to the Linux version being selected for release).WEB, Wilson, Hamish, March 14, 2022, Building a Retro Linux Gaming Computer – Part 16: We Are All Doomed,weblink GamingOnLinux, February 2, 2023, Carmack has since advised developers to be careful when utilizing middleware, noting how it can limit the possibilities of later releasing source code.WEB, Plunkett, Luke, February 12, 2023, As More Games Disappear Forever, John Carmack Has Some Great Advice About Preservation,weblink Kotaku, February 10, 2023, Tim Sweeney has implied this issue has hindered potential releases of older Unreal Engine source code.WEB, Papadopoulos, John, January 19, 2015, Epic's Tim Sweeney Says That Unreal Engine 1 May One Day Go Open Source,weblink DSOGaming, February 10, 2023, On the other hand, despite his technical admiration for the system,WEB, John, Carmack,weblink Operating systems, John Carmack's .plan, March 18, 1997, I consider linux the second most important platform after win32 for id. From a biz standpoint it would be ludicrous to place it even on par with mac or os/2, but for our types of games that are designed to be hacked, linux has a big plus: the highest hacker to user ratio of any os. I don't personally develop on linux, because I do my unixy things with NEXTSTEP, but I have a lot of technical respect for it., February 19, 2023, Carmack has several times over the years voiced a sceptical opinion about Linux as a gaming platform."id on Linux: "disappointing" and "support nightmare" {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428203133weblink |date=April 28, 2015}} from Slashdot (John Carmack, December 8, 2000)WEB,weblink id Software: Linux Hasn't Produced Positive Results, Michael, Larabel, Phoronix, August 4, 2012, February 13, 2023, In 2013, he argued for emulation as the "proper technical direction for gaming on Linux",MAGAZINE,weblink He reiterated his support for improving emulation as the "proper technical direction for gaming on Linux," noting that native ports don't do much that a good emulator wouldn't be able to handle., John Carmack Argues Against Native Linux Games, Andy, Chalk, February 6, 2013, September 29, 2013, The Escapist (magazine), The Escapist, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140113172607weblink">weblink January 13, 2014, and in 2014 he voiced the opinion that Linux might be the biggest problem for the success of the Steam Machine.WEB,weblink John Carmack thinks the Steam Machine's biggest problem is Linux, James, Plafke, October 21, 2013, August 22, 2014, extremetech.com, Carmack specifically noted, Linux might be the Steam Machine's downfall, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140826115534weblink">weblink August 26, 2014, Carmack contributes 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.WEB,weblink id Software co-founder John Carmack to receive BAFTA Fellowship, Kerr, Chris, March 24, 2016, Gamasutra, March 24, 2016, live,weblink March 28, 2016,

Personal life

Carmack was so successful at id that by mid-1994 he had purchased two Ferraris: a 328 and a Ferrari Testarossa.MAGAZINE, Lombardi, Chris, July 1994, To Hell and Back Again,weblink Computer Gaming World, 20–24, In 1997, he gave away one of his Ferraris (a 328 model) as a prize to Dennis Fong, the winner of the Quake tournament "Red Annihilation".MAGAZINE, Davison, John, How 'Quake' Changed Video Games Forever,weblink Rolling Stone, June 22, 2016, July 21, 2017, He met his now ex-wife Katherine Anna Kang, at the 1997 QuakeCon 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 predicted a maximum of 25 participants, but there were 1,500.{{sfn|Kushner|2003|p=281}} Carmack and Kang married on January 1, 2000, and planned a ceremony in Hawaii. Steve Jobs requested that they would postpone the ceremony so Carmack could attend the MacWorld Expo on January 5, 2000. Carmack declined and suggested making a video instead.WEB, John, Carmack, Facebook,weblink Facebook, March 18, 2020, Carmack and Kang had a son Christopher Ryan in August 2004.WEB,weblink Rebuilding, New team member, Armadillo Aerospace News Archive, August 16, 2004, John, Carmack, September 30, 2023, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20040817044247weblink">weblink August 17, 2004, Their second son was born in November 2009.Carmack is divorced as of 2022. On May 26, 2022, he announced his divorce and how he met his partner Trista through the VR Beat Saber games he would host via Twitter.WEB,weblink Relationship related post, Twitter, May 27, 2022, August 8, 2022, As a game developer, Carmack differed from many of his contemporaries by avoiding commitment to a final release date for any game he was developing. Instead, when asked for a release date on a new game, Carmack would usually reply that the game would be released "when it's done".WEB,weblink GameSpy: John Carmack: QuakeCon 2008 Keynote Highlights – Page 6, Pc.gamespy.com, November 27, 2012, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120210193443weblink">weblink February 10, 2012, Employees at Apogee, in their past years the publishers of games by id Software, adopted this business practice as well.WEB,weblink DNF Dallas Business Journal Article, 2008, and stuff – Page 4 – 3D Realms Forums, Forums.3drealms.com, November 27, 2012, live,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121018112949weblink">weblink October 18, 2012, In 2019, as a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience, Carmack stated that his beliefs have changed over time: "I largely recant from that now." On Rage{{'s}} 6-year development time he says: "I think we should have done whatever it would have taken to ship it 2 years earlier". Carmack also reflected on the internal development of Quake in this regard and described it as "traumatic" and says id Software could have split the game into two parts and shipped it earlier.PODCAST,weblink John Carmack: What Went Wrong With "Rage", The Joe Rogan Experience, YouTube, Joe Rogan, Rogan, Joe, August 28, 2019, 0:43, September 2, 2021, bot: unknown,weblink September 2, 2021, Carmack has a blog last updated in 2006 (previously a .plan, which could be accessed by making a finger request for johnc@idsoftware.comBOOK, Cadenhead, Rogers, Sams Teach Yourself Java 6 in 21 Days, Lemay, Laura, Sams Publishing, Sams, 2007, 978-0-672-32943-2, 5th, Indianapolis, Indiana, 462, Rogers Cadenhead, Laura Lemay, ), an active Twitter account, and also occasionally posts comments to Slashdot.Carmack supported the 2012 presidential campaign of Libertarian Ron Paul,WEB, Page by Page Report Display (Page 5052 of 7433),weblink Federal Election Commission, March 13, 2014, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150428203357weblink">weblink April 28, 2015, and is an atheist.TWEET, ID_AA_Carmack, 18382634732224512, December 23, 2010, @eastwood333 I don't believe in god, but I don't see any correlation between religiosity and human virtues. Merry Xmas everyone!, "Having a reasonable grounding in statistics and probability and no belief in luck, fate, karma, or god(s), the only casino game that interests me is blackjack," he wrote in a .plan file." — John Carmack, David Kushner, as quoted in Masters of Doom: How two guys created an Empire and transformed pop culture (2003). During a conversation with Joe Rogan, Carmack revealed that he had trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo for several years as a hobby.WEB, BjjTribes, August 1, 2021, John Carmack details his BJJ and Judo experience,weblink August 1, 2021, BjjTribes, en-US, During his time at id Software, a medium pepperoni pizza would arrive for Carmack from Domino's Pizza almost every day, carried by the same delivery person for more than 15 years. Carmack had been such a regular customer that they continued to charge him 1995 prices.MAGAZINE, Thomsen, Michael, The Deathmatch Daydreams of Tim Willits, Electronic Gaming Monthly, June 2011, 248, 23–24, On occasion he has commended the efforts of similarly focused programmers â€“ first Ken Silverman, who wrote the Build engine for 3D Realms, and later with Tim Sweeney of Epic Games, who wrote the Unreal Engine.

Recognition{|class"wikitable sortable"|+Accolades for John Carmack

!scope="col" | Date!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Award!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Description1996}}| Named among the most influential people in computer gaming of the year and of all timeGameSpot's lists.HTTP://WWW.GAMESPOT.COM/FEATURES/15MOST/HTML/MI96_01.HTML?TAG=STITIALCLK ARCHIVE-DATE=MAY 14, 2010 TITLE=GAMESPOT - /FEATURES/15MOST/HTML/MI96_01.HTML DATE=FEBRUARY 6, 2005 ACCESS-DATE=APRIL 12, 2012 ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20050206125123/HTTP://WWW.GAMESPOT.COM/FEATURES/15MOST/HTML/MI_02.HTML, February 6, 2005, 1997}}|Named among the most influential people of all time|#7 in Computer Gaming World list, for game design.CGW 159: The Most Influential People of All Time1999}}| Named among the 50 most influential people in technologyTime (magazine)>Time's list.weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20000510222914weblink">Time Digital 50 from Time2001–03}}| 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}}Massachusetts Institute of Technology>MIT Technology Review TR100MAGAZINE=TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ACCESS-DATE=AUGUST 16, 2011, 2003}}(Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture>Masters of Doom)| Masters of Doom is a chronicle of id Software and its founders.2005}}| Name in filmDoom (film)>Doom featured a character named Dr. Carmack, in recognition of Carmack who co-created the original game.2006-03}}| Added to the Walk of GameWalk of Game is an event that recognizes the developers and games with the most impact on the industry.HTTP://WWW.WALKOFGAME.COM/INDEX.HTML DATE=FEBRUARY 26, 2009 ACCESS-DATE=NOVEMBER 27, 2012 ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20090226224041/HTTP://WWW.WALKOFGAME.COM/INDEX.HTML, February 26, 2009, 2007-01}}| Awarded 2 Emmy Awardsid Software 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 first independent game developer to be awarded an Emmy since the Academy began honoring technology innovation in 1948.HTTP://WWW.EMMYONLINE.ORG/RELEASES/PDF/58TH_TECH_ENG_WINNERS.PDF PUBLISHER=EMMYONLINE.ORG URL-STATUS=DEAD ARCHIVE-DATE=MARCH 6, 2012, 2007–09}}| Television appearanceDiscovery Channel Canada Daily Planet (TV series)>Daily Planet featuring his rocket designs along with the Armadillo Aerospace team.2008}}| HonoredTechnology & Engineering Emmy Awards for Quake's pioneering role of user modifiability.CONTACT BRIAN ASHCRAFT: COMMENT TITLE=2008 TECH EMMY WINNERS DATE=JANUARY 8, 2008 URL-STATUS=DEAD ARCHIVE-DATE=MAY 25, 2012, He is the only 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 game video games.HTTP://WWW.VIRTUALCHAOS.CO.UK/BLOG/2007/01/10/JOHN-CARMACK-ID-SOFTWARE-TAKE-TWO-EMMY-AWARDS/ URL-STATUS=LIVE ARCHIVE-DATE=MARCH 4, 2016, Along with Don Daglow of Stormfront Studios and Mike Morhaime of Blizzard Entertainment, 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 Interactive Achievement Awards.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}2008–10}}| Won X-PrizePUBLISHER=GIZMODO.COM ACCESS-DATE=NOVEMBER 27, 2012 ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20121009060120/HTTP://GIZMODO.COM/5069551/ARMADILLO-WINS-LUNAR-LANDER-CHALLENGE-LEVEL-1-CRASHES-ON-2, October 9, 2012, 2009}}| Named among the 100 top game creators of all timeIGN's list.HTTPS://WWW.IGN.COM/TOP/GAME-CREATORS/10.HTML WEBSITE=IGN ACCESS-DATE=NOVEMBER 13, 2023 ARCHIVE-DATE=APRIL 20, 2014, 2010-3-11}}| Lifetime Achievement AwardGame Developers Conference Lifetime Achievement award for his work.HTTP://WWW.PRNEWSWIRE.COM/NEWS-RELEASES/2010-GAME-DEVELOPERS-CHOICE-AWARDS-TO-HONOR-JOHN-CARMACK-OF-ID-SOFTWARE-WITH-LIFETIME-ACHIEVEMENT-AWARD-EVENT-TO-BE-HOSTED-BY-SEMINAL-GAME-DESIGNER-WARREN-SPECTOR-84945937.HTML PUBLISHER=PRNEWSWIRE.COM URL-STATUS=LIVE ARCHIVE-DATE=OCTOBER 9, 2012, 2016-3-7}}|BAFTA Fellowship Awardwebsite=www.bafta.org access-date=April 8, 2016 archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410154514weblink |archive-date=April 10, 2016}}2017-5-3}}|Honorary DoctorateUniversity of Missouri, Kansas City for "his work in cutting edge tech & comp sci".HTTPS://INFO.UMKC.EDU/NEWS/THEY-HAVE-TOUCHED-OUR-LIVES website=info.umkc.edu url-status=live weblink >archive-date=January 5, 2018}}

Games

{{Incomplete list|date=August 2008}}{| class="wikitable sortable"|+Video games worked on by John Carmack!scope="col"|Release date!scope="col"|Game!scope="col"|Developer!scope="col"|Publisher!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Credited for valign="top"October 16, 2012}}| Doom 3 BFG Edition| id Software| Bethesda Softworks| Technical director, engine programmer, developer valign="top"October 4, 2011}}Rage (video game)>Rage| id Software| Bethesda Softworks| Technical director, engine programmer, developer valign="top"September 28, 2007}}| (Enemy Territory: Quake Wars)| Splash Damage| Activision| Programming valign="top"May 1, 2006}}| Orcs & Elves| Fountainhead Entertainment| Electronic Arts| Producer/programmer/writer valign="top"October 18, 2005}}| Quake 4| Raven Software| Activision, Bethesda Softworks (republished 2012)| Technical director valign="top"September 13, 2005}}| Doom RPG| Fountainhead Entertainment| id Software| Producer/programmer valign="top"April 3, 2005}}| (Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil)| Nerve Software| Activision| Technical director valign="top"August 3, 2004}}| Doom 3| id Software| Activision| Technical director valign="top"November 19, 2001}}| Return to Castle Wolfenstein| id Software| Activision| Technical director valign="top"December 18, 2000}}| (Quake III: Team Arena)| id Software| Activision| Programming valign="top"December 2, 1999}}| Quake III Arena| id Software| Activision| Programming valign="top"November 30, 1997}}| Quake II| id Software| Activision| Programming valign="top"March 31, 1997}}| Doom 64| Midway Games| Midway Games| Programming valign="top"June 22, 1996}}Quake (video game)>Quake| id Software| GT Interactive| Programming valign="top"May 31, 1996}}| Final Doom| id Software| GT Interactive| Programming valign="top"October 30, 1995}}| (Hexen: Beyond Heretic)| Raven Software| id Software| 3D engine valign="top"December 23, 1994}}Heretic (video game)>Heretic| Raven Software| id Software| Engine programmer valign="top"September 30, 1994}}| (Doom II: Hell on Earth)| id Software| GT Interactive| Programming valign="top"December 10, 1993}}Doom (1993 video game)>Doom| id Software| id Software| Programming valign="top"1993}}| Shadowcaster| Raven Software| Origin Systems| 3D engine valign="top"September 18, 1992}}Spear of Destiny (video game)>Spear of Destiny| id Software| FormGen| Software engineer valign="top"May 5, 1992}}| Wolfenstein 3D| id Software3D Realms>Apogee Software| Programming valign="top"1991}}| Catacomb 3-D| id Software| Softdisk| Programming valign="top"1991}}| Commander Keen in Aliens Ate My Babysitter!| id Software| FormGen| Programming valign="top"December 15, 1991}}| Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy!| id Software| Apogee Software| Programming valign="top"1991}}| Commander Keen in Keen Dreams| id Software| Softdisk| Programming valign="top"1991}}| Shadow Knights| id Software| Softdisk| Design/programming valign="top"1991}}| Rescue Rover 2| id Software| Softdisk| Programmer valign="top"1991}}| Rescue Rover| id Software| Softdisk| Programmer valign="top"1991}}| Hovertank 3D| id Software| Softdisk| Programming valign="top"1991}}| Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion| id Software| Softdisk| Programming valign="top"1991}}| Dark Designs III: Retribution| Softdisk| Softdisk| Programmer/designer valign="top"December 14, 1990}}| Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons| id Software| Apogee Software| Programming valign="top"1990}}| (Slordax: The Unknown Enemy)| Softdisk| Softdisk| Programming valign="top"1990}}| Catacomb II| Softdisk| Softdisk| Developer valign="top"1990}}Catacomb (video game)>Catacomb| Softdisk| Softdisk| Programmer valign="top"1990}}| Dark Designs II: Closing the Gate| Softdisk| Softdisk| Programmer/designer valign="top"1990}}| Dark Designs: Grelminar's Staff| John Carmack| Softdisk| Developer valign="top"1990}}| Tennis| John Carmack| Softdisk| Developer valign="top"1990}}| Wraith: The Devil's Demise| John Carmack| Nite Owl Productions| Developer valign="top"1989}}| Shadowforge| John Carmack| Nite Owl Productions| Developer

References

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Bibliography

• BOOK, Kushner, David, 2003, (Masters of Doom, Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture), New York, Random House, 0-375-50524-5,

External links

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