John Carmack Reveals Reason For Id Software Departure

[Andy Chalk]

John Carmack Reveals Reason For Id Software Departure

John Carmack says he'd hoped for a development deal between ZeniMax Media and Oculus VR but when it didn't work out, he decided to leave.

It was big news when John Carmack will allow it [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/129920-John-Carmack-Departs-Id-Software] suggested that it may not have been entirely amicable, but in a new interview with USA Today he said it was simply a matter of wanting to pursue interests that ZeniMax Media, which acquired Id Software in 2009, wasn't interested in.

"It would have been a huge win," Carmack said of his plan to bring Wolfenstein: The New Order, Doom 4 and other Id titles to the Oculus Rift headset. "It seemed like a sensible plan for me."

Carmack said he probably "would have been content" staying at Id and carrying on with the work it was doing if ZeniMax and Oculus had been able to strike a deal. "But they couldn't come together on that which made me really sad. It was just unfortunate," he said. "When it became clear that I wasn't going to have the opportunity to do any work on VR while at Id software, I decided to not renew my contract."

Despite his sadness at leaving, Carmack made it clear that he has no regrets, saying that he thinks "VR is now one of the most exciting things that can be done" in the industry today. "I've seen this when we transitioned from 2D games to 3D games and everybody has seen the mobile transition, right now in the last five years," he said. "After you have been around for a while, you can notice some of the trends. It really feels like VR has the possibility to be something really huge."

Late last year, Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe said Carmack was "spearheading [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130563-John-Carmack-Spearheading-Mobile-Development-At-Oculus-VR]" mobile development at the company and suggested that his work there would have an impact comparable to that of Doom in 1993.

Source: USA Today [http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/02/03/john-carmack-on-oculus-rift/4938887/]


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[FalloutJack]

To be fair, I think making a Doom game in VR would renew its freaky violent horror show feel, so I understand where he's coming from.

 

[Alpha Maeko]

Let's face it. We're... doomed.

*ehem*

Oculus Resident Evil, anyone?

 

[fix-the-spade]

So essentially Carmac had to choose between taking the safe pay cheque from Zenimax or chasing his dreams when Zenimax decided that the numbers didn't add up to their liking. I'm quite surprised at that actually, compared to how many big names leave 'their' companies it all sounds quite civilised.

Oculus Resident Evil, anyone?

I raise you Occulus First Person Dead Space.

Entering Zero Gravity, good luck keeping that pasta down

 

[Vivi22]

To be fair, I think making a Doom game in VR would renew its freaky violent horror show feel, so I understand where he's coming from.

Agreed. And I've got to be honest: now that VR is looking like something that could actually be practical, and not the cumbersome pipe dream it was in the 90's and earlier, Oculus is one of the few pieces of hardware I'm interested in actually seeing come to market. This and the Steam controller interest me more than any new console generation to be honest.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Hmm... well that pretty much settles it in my book. Whatever I may think of his actual games, Carmack is definitely someone to listen to when it comes to graphics technology. If he says that VR is an actual thing(for gaming) now, I'm inclined to listen.

 

[Remus]

I'd buy the OR for Mirror's Edge 1 and 2 alone. Throw in a new Doom title and I'll never leave my computer again. Or heck, why not Outlast? Ok, maybe creepy mutated naked psychos with fully erect schlongs might be a bit much for VR. but the potential, oh the potential.

 

[Weaver]

I really feel this is better for him. The man is, in my opinion, a genius. He has a savant like mastery of graphics technology and linear algebra optimizations. He pioneered modern shadow volumes with the famous "Carmack's Reverse" algorithm. Most importantly, his implementation of a fast Binary Space Partitioning tree used in the Doom engine was the first of it's kind, and the core algorithm is still used in games today.

Also, he doesn't believe in software patents and all these techniques are freely available which has arguably led to widespread advances in gaming technology given how prolific his work is.

IMO, Oculus is a fantastic fit for him. It's new, it's cutting edge, it hasn't really been done this well before and that is Carmack at his best. I'd way rather VR technology advance because of him than we get another Doom 4.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

To be fair, I think making a Doom game in VR would renew its freaky violent horror show feel, so I understand where he's coming from.

Agreed. And I've got to be honest: now that VR is looking like something that could actually be practical, and not the cumbersome pipe dream it was in the 90's and earlier, Oculus is one of the few pieces of hardware I'm interested in actually seeing come to market. This and the Steam controller interest me more than any new console generation to be honest.

I'm the complete opposite then, The rift hasn't in any way interested me in wanting to use it and the same can be said about the Steam controller, I'm more happy with my 360 gamepad and looking more forward to grabbing a Wii U and a PS4 down the road.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

This is why I love Carmack. He's more interested in games and tech than the whole business side of it. And he's excited for novelty. What a great guy.

 

[UltimatheChosen]

This is why I love Carmack. He's more interested in games and tech than the whole business side of it. And he's excited for novelty. What a great guy.

Yes...So he decides to shoot himself in the foot. Hooray for progress! This is a bit like flipping the table at a date because the girl said "no".

How is he shooting himself in the foot?

He doesn't need the money, he could have retired a long time ago if that was all he was after.

He just wants to do things that interest him.