Doom was a little bit before my time. Well, I should rephrase – it wasn’t before my time, but it was released far before I played games like Doom. Thus, today’s news that the programmer behind the famed shooter of yore, John Carmack, is departing id Software, may be just a little bit lost on me. I tend to associate him more with Oculus these days anyways, a company he joined back in August.
Understandably, id isn’t exactly thrilled about Cormack’s departure, but they seem more than at peace with the idea that this day would eventually come. Id studio director Time Willits had the following to say when talking to IGN about the recent news.
John Carmack, who has become interested in focusing on things other than game development at id, has resigned from the studio. John’s work on id Tech 5 and the technology for the current development work at id is complete, and his departure will not affect any current projects. We are fortunate to have a brilliant group of programmers at id who worked with John and will carry on id’s tradition of making great games with cutting-edge technology. As colleagues of John for many years, we wish him well.
Sounds like there are no hard feelings there – phew! As far as I know, Cormack isn’t the sort of fan-facing celebrity game-dev whose departure should spur any serious concern over id’s future, despite his considerable talents. Besides, we all know that the Oculus Rift looks flipping awesome.
I’m sure it takes a lot to pull a man away from the company he helped create, so John Carmack must really believe in the future (and present) potential of Oculus, and of the Rift, as something that could feasibly catch on or go mainstream. Either way, I look forward to whatever it is that his presence there helps to bring about.