#21 Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture

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