Episode Details

What I learned from reading Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner.

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[0:35] For a new generation, Carmack and Romero personified an American dream: they were self-made individuals who had transformed their personal passions into a big business, a new art form, and a cultural phenomenon.

[1:19] His (John Carmack) game and life aspired to the elegant discipline of computer code.

[1:40] Romero wants an empire. I just want to create good programs.

[3:07] No matter what Romero suffered he could always escape back into games.

[4:55] Romero’s stepdad smashed Romero’s face into the machine as punishment for playing video games.

[5:24] He beat Romero until the boy had a fat lip and a black eye. Romero was grounded for two weeks. The next day he snuck back to the arcade.

[7:40] One afternoon his father left to pick up groceries. Romero wouldn't see him again for two years.

[8:53] Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built by Duncan Clark. (Founders #32)

[10:20] Arcade games were bringing in $5 billion a year. Home systems were earning $1 billion. His stepfather did not believe game development to be a proper vocation. You'll never make any money making games he often said.

[11:28] A business is just an idea or service that makes somebody's life better. —Richard Branson

[12:58] Richard Garriott came to fame in the early eighties through his own initiative + Explore/Create: My Life in Pursuit of New Frontiers, Hidden Worlds, and the Creative Spark by Richard Garriott.

[13:20] Ken and Roberta Williams also pioneered the Ziploc distribution method, turning their homemade graphical role-playing games into a $10 million–a–year company.

[14:19] Carmack quickly distinguished himself when he was only seven years old. He scored nearly perfect on every standardized test placing himself at a ninth grade comprehension level.

[15:03] The Cook and The Chef by Tim Urban

[16:05] Carmack had never worked on a computer before but took to the device as if it were an extension of his own body.

[16:39] All they desired is be able to create their own world.

[17:08] The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich.  (Founders #14)

[17:44] He read the passage about computers in the encyclopedia a dozen times.

[18:36] He relished this ability to create things out of thin air. As a programmer he didn't have to rely on anyone else.

[18:54] A book that inspired John Carmack: Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Stephen Levy

[20:35] When Carmack finished the book he had one thought: I'm supposed to be in there.

[21:09] If you want to understand the entrepreneur, study the juvenile delinquent. The delinquent is saying with his actions, “This sucks. I’m going to do my own thing.” —Let My People Go Surfing (Founders #18)

[22:48] Carmack was sentenced to one year in juvenile detention. Most of the kids were in for drugs. Carmack was in for an Apple II.

[24:24] Carmack knows what he wants to do with his life and then he eliminates everything else that’s not that.

[24:32] Carmack relished the freelance lifestyle. He was in control of his time, slept as late as he wanted, and, even better, answered to no one.

[27:16] How id Software was born.

[31:26] Super Mario Brothers 3 sold 17 million copies. The equivalent of 17 platinum records —something only artists like Michael Jackson had pulled off.

[33:20] Carmack was of the moment. His ruling