The inspiring, long-awaited autobiography of video-game designer and DOOM co-creator John Romero
"A highly entertaining and thoughtful memoir" (Wall Street Journal) * "The best non-fiction gaming book of all time." (Forbes)
After decades in the gaming spotlight, Romero tells his story at last—revealing new, behind-the-scenes insight into the development of his games and his most pivotal creative and business partnerships, from the highest highs to the lowest lows. He shares hard-earned lessons about design, code, and an industry he helped define.
Romero, gaming's original rock star, is the co-creator of DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein 3-D—landmark titles that reshaped the medium. Widely regarded as the godfather of the first-person shooter, a genre that still dominates the market, he holds a singular place in gaming history.
In DOOM Guy: Life in First Person, Romero recounts a difficult childhood and a groundbreaking career, beginning with his early days submitting Apple II game code to computer magazines and pushing boundaries wherever he could to keep building.
At id Software, Romero helped drive the design and technical breakthroughs that turned DOOM and Quake into cultural phenomena. This electrifying account captures the intensity of that era—from collaborative, heavy metal–fueled development to the high-profile falling-out with cofounder John Carmack—charting the rise of a visionary who forever changed how games are made.
Praise
“The video game–creating legend recounts a life in the programming trenches…Students of game-making and business alike will find useful, sometimes rueful lessons.”Kirkus
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“A surprisingly moving autobiography… [Romero] manages to appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike with this celebration of triumphing over adversity.”Publisher's Weekly
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“DOOM GUY: Life in First Person is the best piece of historical nonfiction that has been written about video games to date and everyone should read it.”
—Screenrant
“A straight-talking insider account of an inspiring self-made career marked by amazing highs and difficult lows.”
—Daily Beast
"Romero’s Doom Guy: Life in First Person is not only among the most interesting windows into the rapidly evolving videogame scene of the 80s and 90s–it’s arguably the best non-fiction gaming book of all time, giving a unique insight into one of the industry’s most transformative eras through the eyes of one of its groundbreaking pioneers.”
—Forbes
“Enthralling, informative, entertaining, exciting, mesmerizing, jaw-dropping, a wild ride, brilliant, well-written, fun, and so much more. These are just some of the terms I can use when describing John Romero’s new book.”
—Native Viewpoint
"A highly entertaining and thoughtful memoir”
—The Wall Street Journal
"An exuberant firsthand account."
—Wired.com
“DOOM GUY: Life in First Person is the best piece of historical nonfiction that has been written about video games to date and everyone should read it.”
—ScreenRant
“It’s this openness that makes Doom Guy absolutely necessary reading for anyone with even a passing interest in the history of the video game medium.”
—Comic Book Video Games
