undefined | Better HN

0 pointsintexpress2y ago0 comments

> Meanwhile, id under Carmack kept cranking out hit after hit for years, essentially shrugging off Romero's firing like nothing happened.

I don't think that is accurate...

The output of id Software after Romero left (post Quake 1) was a clear step down. The technology was fantastic but the games were boring and uninspired, at best "good" but never "great". It took a full 20 years for them to make something interesting again (Doom in 2016).

After Romero left, id Software's biggest success was really as a technology licensing house, but not as a games developer. Powering games like Half Life, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, ...

Meanwhile Romero's new company (Ion Storm) eventually failed, but at least the creative freedom there led to some interesting games, like Deus Ex and Anachronox. And even Daikatana is a more interesting game than something like Quake 2 or Quake III.

0 comments

trenchgun2y ago

Romero had basically no involvement in Deus Ex.

Daikatana was a commercial and critical failure. Quake 2 and Quake III were commercial and critical successes.

intexpressOP2y ago

Deus Ex wouldn’t exist if Romero hadn’t created Ion Storm and given creative freedom to Warren Spector to make his dream game

Daikatana had some interesting design ideas but had problems with technology, esp. with AI programming. It was too ambitious for a new team which lacked someone like Carmack to do the heavy technical lifting

Quake 2 and 3 were reviewed less favourably than earlier titles, and they also sold less copies. They were good but not great - basically boring but very pretty to look at.

krustyburger2y ago

The comment you’re replying to wasn’t claiming that Romero designed Deus Ex, but that his leaving id led to the game getting made. It absolutely did.

From Wikipedia:

>After Spector and his team were laid off from Looking Glass, John Romero of Ion Storm offered him the chance to make his "dream game" without any restrictions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_Ex_(video_game)

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse