| John Romero | |
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| Born | October 28, 1967 Colorado Springs, Colorado |
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| Occupation | Video game designer |
| Spouse | Raluca Alexandra Pleşca |
Alfonso John Romero (born October 28, 1967[1] in Colorado Springs, Colorado) is a game designer, programmer, and developer in the video game industry. Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. The City of Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the County seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. A "game designer" is a person who designs Video games or one who designs traditional games such as Board games Video Games Designer A video game designer Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. The City of Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the County seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. A "game designer" is a person who designs Video games or one who designs traditional games such as Board games Video Games Designer A video game designer A game programmer is a Programmer who primarily develops Video games or related Software (such as Game development tools. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual that creates Video games A developer may specialize in a certain video The video game industry (formally referred to as Interactive entertainment) is the economic sector involved with the development, Marketing He is best known as a co-founder of id Software and was the lead designer for many of their personal computer games (all subsequently ported to consoles) including Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. id Software (ɪd officially is an American computer game developer based in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated Doom (officially cased DOOM) is a 1993 Computer game by Id Software that is a landmark title in the First-person shooter Quake is a First-person shooter Computer game that was released by Id Software on June 22, 1996. His game designs and development tools, along with new programming techniques created and implemented by id Software's lead programmer John Carmack, led to a mass-popularization of the first person shooter, or FPS, in the 1990s. A game development tool is a specialized Software application that assists or facilitates the making of a computer or video game. John D Carmack II (born August 20 1970) is an American Game programmer, and the co-founder of Id Software. A first-person shooter ( FPS) is an action Video game from the Shooter game The initial development of Maze War The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 He is also credited with coining the FPS multiplayer term "deathmatch. Deathmatch (abbreviated DM) is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many Shooter and Real-time strategy (RTS Computer games The goal "
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Biography
Apple II
John Romero's first game, Scout Search, was published in 1984 by inCider magazine, a popular Apple II magazine during the 1980s. Romero's first company, Capitol Ideas Software, was listed as the developer for at least 12 of his earliest published games. Romero captured the December cover of the Apple II magazine Nibble for three years in a row starting in 1987. Nibble was a magazine for Apple II Computer users with a focus on hobbyist programming. He also won a programming contest in A+ magazine during its first year of publishing with his game Cavern Crusader.
Romero's first industry job was at Origin Systems in 1987 after programming games for 8 years. Origin Systems Inc (sometimes abbreviated as OSI) was a Computer game developer based in Austin Texas that was active from 1983 to He worked on the Apple II to Commodore 64 port of 2400 A.D., which was eventually scrapped due to slow sales of the Apple II version. 2400 AD is a 1987 Computer role-playing game (RPG designed by Chuck Bueche and published by Origin Systems. John then moved onto Space Rogue, a game by Paul Neurath. Space Rogue is a science fiction computer game released in 1989 by Origin Systems, makers of the hit Ultima series for the Apple II and Paul Neurath is a veteran game designer and creative director in the Computer game industry During this time, Romero was asked if he would be interested in joining Paul's soon-to-start company Blue Sky Productions, eventually renamed Looking Glass Technologies. Looking Glass Studios was a computer game development company during the 1990s Instead, Romero left Origin Systems to co-found a game company named Inside Out Software, where he ported Might & Magic II from the Apple II to the Commodore 64. Might and Magic II Gates to Another World is a Computer role-playing game. He had almost finished the Commodore 64 to Apple II port of Tower Toppler, but Epyx unexpectedly cancelled all its ports industrywide due to their tremendous investment in the first round of games for the upcoming Atari Lynx. Nebulus, also known as Castelian and Tower Toppler, is a Computer game published by Hewson in the late 1980s for the Epyx Inc was a Video game developer and publisher in the late 1970s and entire 1980s The Atari Lynx was a Handheld game console released by Atari Corporation in 1989
During this short time, Romero did the artwork for the Apple IIGS version of Dark Castle, a port from the Macintosh. The Apple, the fifth model inception of the Apple II, was the most powerful member of the Apple II series of personal computers made by Apple Computer. Dark Castle may also refer to the movie production house Dark Castle Entertainment Dark Castle is a 1986 Computer Also during this time, John and his friend Lane Roathe co-founded a company named Ideas From The Deep and wrote versions of a game named Zappa Roids for the Apple II, PC and Apple IIGS. Their last collaboration together was an Apple II disk operating system for Infocom's games Zork Zero, Arthur, Shogun and Journey. Zork Zero The Revenge of Megaboz is an Interactive fiction Computer game, written by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in Arthur The Quest for Excalibur is an Interactive fiction Computer game written by Bob Bates and published by Infocom in 1989 James Clavell's Shōgun is an Interactive fiction Computer game written by Dave Lebling and released by Infocom in 1989 Journey is an Arcade game made by Bally Midway in the 1980s In 1983 the release of the Frontiers album brought the band Ideas From The Deep still exists to this day at IFD.
id Software
Romero moved to Shreveport, Louisiana in March 1989 and joined Softdisk as a programmer in its Special Projects division. Shreveport is the third-largest city and the principal city of the third largest Metropolitan area in the U Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport Louisiana. After several months of helping the PC monthly disk magazine Big Blue Disk, he officially moved into the department until he started a PC gaming division in July 1990 named Gamer's Edge (originally titled PCRcade). Big Blue Disk was a monthly Disk magazine that was published by Softdisk Publishing starting in 1986 getting its name from the nickname for IBM, "Big Softdisk is a software and Internet company based in Shreveport Louisiana. Romero hired John Carmack into the department from his freelancing in Kansas City, moved Adrian Carmack into the division from Softdisk's art department, and persuaded Tom Hall to come in at night and help with game design. John D Carmack II (born August 20 1970) is an American Game programmer, and the co-founder of Id Software. Adrian Carmack (born on May 5, 1969) is one of the four founders of Id Software, along with Tom Hall, John Romero, and John D Tom A Hall (born September 2, 1964) is a Game designer born in Wisconsin. Romero and the others then left Softdisk to form id Software. id Software (ɪd officially is an American computer game developer based in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. [2]
Romero worked at id Software from its incorporation in 1991 until 1996. He was involved in the creation of several milestone games, including Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Doom II and Quake. A personal computer Game (also known as a computer game or simply PC game) is a Video game played on a Personal computer, rather Doom (officially cased DOOM) is a 1993 Computer game by Id Software that is a landmark title in the First-person shooter Doom II Hell on Earth is a First-person shooter Video game created by Id Software. Quake is a First-person shooter Computer game that was released by Id Software on June 22, 1996. [2] He also served as Executive Producer (and Game Designer) on Heretic and HeXen. Hexen Beyond Heretic is a First-person shooter Computer game developed by Raven Software, published by Id Software, and distributed
Ion Storm
Romero later co-founded Ion Storm Inc. in Dallas, Texas with id co-worker Tom Hall, where he designed and produced Daikatana. Ion Storm Inc (sometimes spelled ION Storm) was a Texas based developer of computer games founded by John Romero, a co-creator of the wildly Tom A Hall (born September 2, 1964) is a Game designer born in Wisconsin. Daikatana is a First-person shooter Computer game developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive. [2] This ambitious shooter was announced in 1997 with a release date for the Christmas shopping season of that year. However, this release date slipped repeatedly in the coming months, and the game began to accrue negative press.
In particular, a 1997 advertisement boasting "John Romero's About To Make You His Bitch. . . . Suck it down" alienated many gamers. Historically the term " gamer " usually referred to someone who played Role-playing games or wargames. [3] The massive pre-hype for the game and the subsequent delays (it was not released until April 2000) led reviewers to 'lash out' at the game. [4] Upon release, Daikatana was critically panned and appeared on numerous "top 10 worst games" listings. However, it sold over 200,000 copies worldwide in its first year of sales. Romero has since claimed that the game generated enough sales to recoup its extensive production costs.
During this time, Romero was also rumored to have been killed (aptly enough, with a headshot) and a photograph of his corpse with a bullet wound was also spread through the Internet – Romero himself later stated that the picture was taken for Texas Monthly, and that "maybe he shouldn't have taken it". In Computer gaming, a headshot is the projectile-induced injury to the head of an enemy often resulting in increased damage or instant death Texas Monthly is a monthly American Magazine published in Austin, Texas. [5]
Romero departed with Tom Hall immediately after the release of Hall's Anachronox game and the subsequent closing of the Dallas Ion office. Anachronox (əˈnækrənɒks is a 3-D, third person Computer role-playing game produced by Tom Hall and the Ion Storm games
Monkeystone Games
In July 2001, Romero and Hall founded Monkeystone Games in order to develop and publish games for mobile devices, and Monkeystone released 15 games (approximately) during its short lifespan of three and a half years. Monkeystone Games was a Video game developer and publisher founded by John Romero, Tom Hall, Stevie Case, and Brian Moon A mobile device (also known as cellphone device, handheld device, handheld computer, "Palmtop" or simply handheld) is a pocket-sized Some highlights of their developments included Hyperspace Delivery Boy (Pocket PC, PC, Mac, Linux, GBA), Congo Cube (Pocket PC, PC, BREW, J2ME), and Red Faction for the Nokia N-Gage. Hyperspace Delivery Boy! is the first title released by Video game production company Monkeystone Games. For the video game franchise by Volition see Red Faction (series Red Faction is a First-person shooter The N-Gage is a Mobile telephone and Handheld game system based on the Nokia Series 60 platform
Midway Games
In mid-October 2003, Romero joined Midway Games as Project Lead on Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows. Midway Games ( (formerly Midway Manufacturing) is an American Video game publisher. Gauntlet Seven Sorrows is a Role-playing game. It is the follow up to Gauntlet Legends and Gauntlet Dark Legacy. While he continued to maintain his working relationship with Monkeystone, Lucas Davis took over running the office. The Monkeystone team moved to Austin, Texas to work on Midway's Area 51 title until its release. Area 51 is a First-person shooter developed in tandem for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC, and is a loose Remake on Monkeystone Games closed down in January 2005. John moved from Project Lead to Creative Director of Internal Studio during this time.
At the end of June 2005, Romero left Midway Games mere months before the completion of Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows.
Slipgate Ironworks
On August 31, 2005, Romero confirmed[6] that he has been working on a yet-to-be-announced MMOG at his newly opened development studio, Slipgate Ironworks. Events 1056 - Byzantine Empress Theodora becomes ill dying suddenly a few days later without children to succeed the Throne Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [2] It has been reported that the name is temporary. "For the record," Romero wrote, "I'm co-founder of a new game company in the Bay Area and am much better off in many ways than I was at Midway. The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Bay, is a geographically and ethnically diverse metropolitan region that surrounds the " He also said that he would not reveal anything about the company or the game until 2007.
On July 22, 2006, John Romero and former co-worker Tom Hall guest hosted episode 53 of the podcast The Widget. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Tom A Hall (born September 2, 1964) is a Game designer born in Wisconsin. A podcast is a series of audio or Video digital-media files which is distributed over the Internet by syndicated Download [7]
Cyberathlete Professional League
On December 20, 2006, John Romero announced a new FPS project for the Cyberathlete Professional League titled Severity for both consoles and PC. Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Cyberathlete Professional League ( CPL) founded in June 1997 was a professional sports tournament organization specializing in computer and console video game competitions [8] Tom Mustaine (ex-Studio Director at Ritual Entertainment) will act as Director of Game Development at CPL's new studio. Ritual Entertainment was a Computer game Software developer established in 1996 and based in Dallas, Texas.
It is stated that Severity will be a multiplayer first person shooter. The game will be built on technology licensed from id Software.
Personal life
Between 1999 and 2003,[9] Romero was involved with Stevie Case, a prominent female gaming industry figure who achieved early notoriety for beating him in a Quake deathmatch. Stevana "Stevie" Case (born September 7, 1976) is a recognized figure from the Video game industry. Until their breakup in early 2003, Case was the COO of Monkeystone Games. A chief operating officer or chief operations officer ( COO) is a Corporate officer responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the Corporation [9] In January 2004, Romero married Raluca Alexandra Pleşca, originally from Bucharest, Romania. Bucharest ( Romanian: Bucureşti) is the Capital city, industrial and commercial centre of Romania. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania He has two children with his ex-wife, Kelly - Michael and Steven Patrick Romero - and one daughter with his ex-wife, Elizabeth - Lillia Antoinette.
Trivia
- In 2002, Romero put his heavily modified Ferrari up for auction on eBay. Ferrari SpA is an Italian Sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy eBay Inc is an American Internet company that manages eBaycom an Online auction and shopping Website in which people and businesses buy and [10] Some of the modifications included a parallel port from the engine compartment into the cockpit next to the passenger's seat which one could plug a laptop into, and tune the engine while the car was running. A parallel port is a type of interface found on Computers ( personal and otherwise for connecting various peripherals A laptop computer, also known as a notebook computer, is a small Personal computer designed for mobile use.
- Romero's favorite game of all time is Chrono Trigger. is a Console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in [11]
- He enjoys listening to Heavy Metal music. Romero is the one who supplied Bobby Prince several Heavy Metal records as source of inspiration for the Doom music. Robert Prince, also known as Bobby Prince, is a Composer and sound designer Doom (officially cased DOOM) is a 1993 Computer game by Id Software that is a landmark title in the First-person shooter
- Wrote a comic book in high school with "10 Different Ways to Torture Someone"; featured entries such as "Poke a needle all over the victim's body and in a few days . . . watch him turn into a giant scab" and "burn the victim's feet while victim is strapped in a chair. "[12]
- The webcomic Penny Arcade has a running joke that John Romero is actually a woman, often commenting on how hot 'she' is. Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are Comics Published on a Website, often exclusively providing easy access to an Penny Arcade is a Webcomic written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. [13]
- The webcomic MegaTokyo made several jokes about John Romero and regarding Ion Storms high turnover rate. Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are Comics Published on a Website, often exclusively providing easy access to an Megatokyo is an English-language Webcomic created by Fred Gallagher and Rodney Caston, debuting on August 14 2000 Gallagher's style [14]
- He makes a guest appearance on an episode of Code Monkeys. For the phrase on which this program's title is based see Code monkey. In the episode, he is a young employee of Gameavision, pitching his idea for Doom to a thoroughly unimpressed Mr. Doom (officially cased DOOM) is a 1993 Computer game by Id Software that is a landmark title in the First-person shooter Larrity, who contradicts each one of the game's most noteworthy features. As they talk, they walk the halls of Gameavision headquarters, which are designed to look like a level taken from the game.
Doom II and Final Doom
In the Doom II final level "Icon of Sin", the boss is a giant goat's skull with a fragment missing from its forehead. A boss is a computer-controlled opponent which is found in Video games Their purpose is to test the skills that the player has accumulated over the course of a game It says, "To win the game, you must kill me, John Romero!", distorted and in reverse to sound like a demonic chant. One can use the "idclip" cheat to enter the boss and see Romero's severed head which is skewered to a post. The player defeats the boss (without the idclip cheat) by shooting rockets into its exposed brain after activating a lift and riding it; this kills the boss because Romero's head functions as its hit detection point; when he "dies", the boss is killed and the game is finished. Using the idclip cheat allows the player to walk through the wall blocking the head. The player can then kill it.
The name "Romero" is also written in blood on one of the walls in level 19 "Shipping/Respawning" in Final Doom. Final Doom is a First-person shooter Computer game that uses the game engine items and characters from Doom II.
References
- ^ John Romero at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ a b c The Escapist - John Romero: The Escapist Interview. The Escapist.
- ^ "The Top 7... PR Disasters" Game Radar
- ^ "Romero Threatens to Make You His Bitch". Top 25 Dumbest Moments in Gaming History. June 2003. GameSpy.
- ^ Dunkin, Alan. "Romero Speaks... From the Grave?" GameSpot. August 28, 1998.
- ^ News - John Romero's new studio. September 21, 2005. Events 1217 - The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Eurogamer.
- ^ The Widget - Games, Tech, Whatever >> Ep. 53 - Just Hanging Out
- ^ Romero Announces New CPL Specific FPS
- ^ a b "Interview with the Goddess: Stevie Case and John Romero. March 2002. GameWEEK.
- ^ Brutal Luxury. Rome. ro. Retrieved August 14, 2006. Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Verbosity -- John Romero interview.
- ^ Masters of Doom by David Kushner. Quoted in The Weekly Standard, Vol. The Weekly Standard is an American opinion Magazine published 48 times per year 012, Issue 23. [1]
- ^ Penny Arcade! - H-O-T Spells Hot!
- ^ MegaTokyo - [6 E3 Ionstorm Exit]
- Kushner, David (2003). David Kushner is a writer who has contributed to publications including Wired, The New York Times, Rolling Stone and Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture, Random House. 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 ISBN 0-375-50524-5.
External links
Articles on the rise and fall of Daikatana
- "Stormy Weather" article at the Dallas Observer
- "From 'Doom' to Gloom: The Story of a Video Game Flop", NPR Morning Edition story on Romero, part of a series of other famous debacles
- Knee Deep in a Dream: The Story of Daikatana, a GameSpot series of behind-the-scenes articles on Romero and his work on Daikatana
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Romero, Alfonso John |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | famous computer game designer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 28, 1967 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
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