Masters of Doom - a really great startup story

Masters of Doom is one of the most interesting startup stories I’ve read.

I picked it up for the Carmack connection, really. The book does a great job covering the personalities of the “Two Johns”, the cofounders of id Software, and it sets the stage well with background information on what the rest of the games industry was up to at the time. That context makes their rise land properly.

Of the two Johns, Carmack was the one I found more compelling, purely for his focus. I like his quote “Focus is a matter of deciding what things you’re not going to do.” The book gives deep insight into the personalities and accomplishments of both him and John Romero, two very different people who needed each other to build what they built. That cofounder dynamic at id is the real draw, interesting and inspiring to watch.

It’s not perfect though, which is why it gets 4/5 from me rather than full marks. At times it goes into excessive detail describing minor characters who didn’t contribute much to the overall story. It also spends a little too much time on tangents that don’t add much useful information or context. In general the book keeps this to a minimum, and the second half in particular was a proper page turner for me.

Who should read it? It’s a perfect read if you’ve ever made a video game, or are interested in making one. I built a mobile strategy game back in uni, so watching two guys turn that same itch into an empire was exactly my kind of story. If games and startup stories do nothing for you, the minor-character detours will probably wear you down. For everyone in the target audience, get on it.