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Reddit mentions of Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture

Sentiment score: 40
Reddit mentions: 73

We found 73 Reddit mentions of Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture. Here are the top ones.

Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture
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Found 73 comments on Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture:

u/samort7 · 257 pointsr/learnprogramming

Here's my list of the classics:

General Computing

u/ps_doge · 78 pointsr/gamedev

Wolfenstein 3D was written mostly in C, with some assembly, presumably hacks to make the game run faster.

You should read Masters of Doom, it gives a very non-technical(but technical) perspective of how some of these early 3d shooters (wolfenstein 3d, doom, quake) were made.

These guys were revered not just for the games they created, but the ways they could seemingly crush and optimize code to be as efficient as humanly possible. For example, Carmack popularized a use of the Fast inverse square root function as one of the ways to quickly render and maximize performance of lights and shadows across 3d models. One story from the book I mentioned recounts how he was able to recreate a fast, efficient version of Super Mario Bros on PC. This revolutionized side scrolling graphics on PC, because it basically didn't exist in a form fast or smooth enough to make game development viable until that point.

P.S. If you're really interested in this stuff, instead of a "quick google", you should maybe try a "slow google". Tortoises vs. hares. That kind of thing. :P

u/MrBleah · 58 pointsr/Games

Anything written about Daikatana at this point feels like beating a dead horse. Do we really have to kick Romero over this anymore?

If you want to get what I would consider to be the best summary of this and how it all came around Kushner's book Masters of Doom does a pretty good job of it.

http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155

u/Brak15 · 58 pointsr/Games

If you're interested to learn more about the people behind Doom, I highly recommend Masters of Doom. It's by far one of my favorite non-fiction books.

u/Calimariae · 28 pointsr/Games

If you enjoyed this you should read Masters of Doom, or listen to Wil Wheaton's very good reading of it (that's what I did).

It's a very interesting and entertaining book.

You still get a free audiobook when signing up to Audible, right?

u/thelastbaron · 25 pointsr/Games

Yeah I've always remembered it as Quake being id's big arena shooter game and all my experiences with the first two DOOM games were the single player campaign, though that nostalgia is probably filtered a bit because I also played the shit out of DOOM 64. And even reading Masters of Doom I got the sense that the networked component of DOOM was just sorta tacked on at the last minute.

u/LamdaComplex · 21 pointsr/Amd

The game they are referring to is Daikatana. You should read Masters of Doom if you want to learn about some legendary game developers. The rise of John Carmack and the downfall of John Romero. Although John Romero has chilled out in the many years since Daikatana and makes pretty low key mobile games and the like. His latest project, Blackroom, is a bit more ambitious than his recent work.

u/badsectoracula · 18 pointsr/Games

It is kind of a "lost last chapter" of Masters of Doom. If you have read that book, the article would fit naturally as if it was placed right after the book's ending and personally i liked it.

I suppose if you have zero context about the book or the author it'll feel a bit odd.

u/retroelyk · 17 pointsr/gamedev

It's hard not to be excited about technology when watching one of his keynotes, regardless of whether or not you understand the content.

Oh, and for those that haven't read it, I highly recommend Masters of Doom. Some really inspiring stories about early id.

u/freakorgeek · 16 pointsr/gaming

Read this book. Really well written, it's one of my favorites.

u/srnull · 15 pointsr/programming

Give Masters of Doom a read. Romero deserves plenty of credit.

u/synide · 15 pointsr/gaming

just picked up masters of doom yesterday from amazon:
http://twitpic.com/5q2r5e


I've heard it's a good read, and is the tale of Carmack and Romero:
http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310754280&sr=8-1


Also, carmack's twitter is ridiculous and funny to watch, because you never know what he is talking about:
http://twitter.com/#!/ID_AA_Carmack

u/andrewcooke · 13 pointsr/answers

for doom, you can look at the code - https://github.com/id-Software/DOOM

some commentary on the code:

u/whygrendel · 12 pointsr/KotakuInAction

I can't tell you. I can tell you the best book on game development I've ever read is Masters of Doom. I highly recommend that one.

I can also recommend Jordan Mechner's Journals from the development of Prince of Persia.

u/_badwithcomputer · 11 pointsr/programming

If you're interested in Carmack's coding history and the development history of id software through Quake3 then I highly recommend the book Masters of Doom its a nice little insight to Carmack's meticulous coding style and attention to performance.

u/10GuyIsDrunk · 11 pointsr/Vive

Have you read this? Haven't read it myself but I've heard good things and it seems like it was written for people like you. I'd love something similar about VR with a smaller section devoted to how we got here, but the brunt of it focused on this VR gen and in particular the beginnings and the stuff that happened prerelease.

u/mwally · 11 pointsr/pcmasterrace

If you haven't already, you should read "Masters of Doom." It'll give you a whole new insight into gaming history, and make you even more respectful of John Carmack.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0812972155

u/monolithfiji · 10 pointsr/spelunky

Masters of Doom is a great book about John Carmack, John Romero, and the creation of Id Software in the 90s. I highly recommend it!

u/JenkemKing · 8 pointsr/gamernews

Give this book a read. It's a really easy and actually gives a good history of PC gaming.

u/zom-ponks · 7 pointsr/retrogaming

I'm thinking Masters of Doom is a good one.

u/odonian_dream · 6 pointsr/gamedev

Masters of Doom




If that's not going to inspire the shit out of him I'll kill myself making a Doom clone in Html/CSS.



u/UtterlyDisposable · 6 pointsr/retrogaming

Just posting to bump Masters of Doom which does a good job of bringing to light the events which reshaped PC gaming as well as explains Romero's eventual fall from grace.

To sum it up:

-Romero is worthy of a little more sympathy than most give him, but only a little.

-However amazing a programmer that you think John Carmack is, you're mistaken. He's more amazing than that, though possibly at the expense of other things.

You'll have to read the book to know the rest.

u/acdcfanbill · 6 pointsr/pcgaming

If you're interested in id's history "Masters of Doom" is a really good book.

http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155/

u/Sturmgeshootz · 6 pointsr/gaming

I highly recommend Masters of Doom to anyone interested in learning more about the history of Doom, id, Ion Storm, and everything that went on between Romero and Carmack. Great read.

u/MogMcKupo · 5 pointsr/PS4

read Masters of Doom

A really good book about the rise and fall of ID, Carmack, and Romero.

There's a great part about after Doom was put out, got huge, and this dude in Kansas who ran a modem switching service that started a grassroots type campaign getting people to 'matchmake' pretty much.

If you paid him like 5 bucks a month, he'd allow you to call in and make matches or be paired with a random person.

Seriously, he was the original matchmaker. ID caught on, and fully promoted this, he became a ally to ID and FPS multiplayer.

u/cocoflunchy · 5 pointsr/gamedesign

Not exactly theory of game design, more like history of game making but really good ;)

u/ElDiabetoLoco · 5 pointsr/learnprogramming

In the same spirit, "Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture" is a pretty good book too, it's about ID Software, John Carmack & Romero, Doom, Quake..

Link

u/RichOfTheJungle · 5 pointsr/movies

I'm such a sucker for tech success stories (Masters of Doom was a great book and I loved The Social Network).

I bought this on Amazon a long time ago after renting it from Netflix. Such an awesome movie. I bought it with Revolution OS which I have yet to watch (it's been years. I really should just watch it).

u/Thimble · 4 pointsr/technology

Masters of Doom was a good read.

While not about video games, Dreaming in Code is close to the spirit of the wired article.

u/Colspex · 4 pointsr/4chan

Commaner Keen - it has nazi symbols in it.

Note: This was to bring attention to ID Softwares upcoming game Wolfenstein 3D which was about to change the world. Read the book "Masters of Doom" - the most amazing story you will ever come across.

u/chuan_l · 4 pointsr/oculus

Our first home computer —
Was a Dick Smith "System -80" with fake wood
panelling and a built in tape deck. It had a pretty
awesome keyboard and 16 Kb on a green screen.

The 1st game we bought in 1981, "Penetrator"
came in a plastic ziplock baggie with photocopied
manual. I think we played this for months, until
we found the local TRS -80 meet up at some high
school after hours.

A bunch of shady middle -aged men standing
around high speed cassette duplication machines,
with pocket knives jammed between PLAY and
FFWD buttons for high speed dubbing. We'd go
home pretty excited with C90's filled with Scott
Adams text adventures.

_

In hindsight, after reading David Kushner's
"Masters of Doom" I'm even more impressed by
the relatively smooth scrolling, sound and overall
production on "Penetrator" given the hardware.

I'm pretty sure it was also the first game for
a home computer to ship with a level editor that
you could use to build your own maps and save
them to cassette back in 1982.

Funny how things come full circle —
That cover art for "Penetrator" on ZX Spectrum
to portray the expected gameplay [ ! ] looks a lot
like "Eve Valkyrie". In turn, Philip Mitchell was the
Carmack -like figure at Melbourne House. Mad
respect to the early explorers.

u/Xela79 · 3 pointsr/oculus

read the book "Masters of Doom" for an entertaining and informational piece of the two John's !

http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155

u/semifraki · 3 pointsr/gaming

Guys, just read Masters of Doom. Now you know everything.

u/drmario_proctologist · 3 pointsr/todayilearned

Anyone interested in Doom and gaming history in general should read Masters of Doom. It's really well written and very entertaining. Get it along with The Making of Prince of Persia, because, why not.

u/willy-beamish · 3 pointsr/gaming

You would probably love this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155

It's mostly about DOOM but it talks a lot about Commander Keen.

u/LastnameWurst · 3 pointsr/pcgaming

That was a pretty cool video, If you want to read more about id and how John Carmack and John Romero I recommend Masters of Doom. It is a really good read and puts you into the mindset of how revolutionary the stuff these guys were doing at the time.

u/krissern · 3 pointsr/firstof

> This video has 21 minutes of me playing DOOM before the sound effects were put in as well as some early deathmatching with Shawn Green. - John Romero

This footage was shot November 1993, the game was released December 10, 1993 (Wiki).

Doom was create by the guys at id Software.

These legends revolutionised the gaming industry by creating games such as Command Keen, Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake.

Fun facts:

u/Idoiocracy · 3 pointsr/TheMakingOfGames

For more on the history of Doom and Quake's development, check out the book Masters of Doom which chronicles both John Carmack's and John Romero's lives, and includes anecdotes from Michael Abrash.

You might also be interested in reading Michael Abrash's Graphics Programming Black Book, published in 1997 as a compilation of Michael's writings on assembly and graphics programming, as well as a specific chapter on Doom and Quake technology. It is fully available for free online.

The "Metaverse" that Michael Abrash references in his announcement is from Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. His vision of a virtual reality that inspired so many others is described on pages 23 to 27 from that novel and can be read online for free.

u/Psyladine · 3 pointsr/gaming

Theirs was an amazing story, like the dream of every teenager's wish of being a game developer. Then the subsequent nightmare and reality of that success.

u/eco_was_taken · 2 pointsr/IAmA

With these questions you may really enjoy reading the book Masters of Doom. It's about id Software but it was the same time period as when Cliff Bleszinksi gaining popularity with his games (it mentions several of his games like Jazz Jackrabbit and Unreal).

It'll give you a great understanding of what the wild west of game development was like. It's really well written and surprisingly engaging.

u/draeath · 2 pointsr/blender

There was a lot of conflict and infighting going on with the style for Quake. I think the colors they went with were a compromise.
Romero was pushing for medieval, while the rest of the team wanted to continue Doom's direction.

u/artimaticus8 · 2 pointsr/gaming

http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1374812801&sr=8-1

Very interesting book detailing this and their early days. Its a bit dated (was released in 2003), but a great read for those interested in gaming, none the less.

u/idelovski · 2 pointsr/croatia

> Dostojevskom...

Kockara sam u jednom danu pročitao. Doduše, imao sam gripu i ležao u krevetu, ali svejedno.

Moja najdraža knjiga ikad - Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture. Počneš čitat i ne možeš stat.

edit - kad sam imao cca 16 godina pročitao sam nekoliko knjiga od Svena Hassela. Kod nas ima jeftinih džepnih izdanja sad, njegove knjige su isto takve da ih počneš čitat u petak navečer i onda dva dana ne radiš ništa nego samo čitaš.

> Hassel je bio iznimno popularan u Hrvatskoj sredinom sedamdesetih i osamdesetih godina prošlog stoljeća, kada je Nakladni zavod Globus Zagreb izdao sedam od 14 njegovih romana. Svaki se roman morao dotiskavati, tako da je Hassel uskoro postao jedan od najprodavanijih stranih pisaca svih vremena, čije su knjige na području bivše Jugoslavije prodane u više od sto tisuća primjeraka.

u/merdock79 · 2 pointsr/booksuggestions

This is a tough one but I’ll give it a shot. Masters of Doom. https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155

u/Moon4u · 2 pointsr/gamedev

There is Masters of Doom, but I don't know if that is exactly what you are looking for.

u/espero · 2 pointsr/linux

I listened to an audiobook while driving a year ago, Master's Of Doom. An amazing story and incredibly entertaining to listen to the story of my childhood heroes. Memorable quote:
> The computer. It contained worlds.

u/myusernamesaretaken · 2 pointsr/gaming

If you enjoyed this I highly recommend you read Masters of Doom, which goes into more detail of the rise and fall of ID software and is an extremely entertaining read for any gamer.

u/raindogmx · 2 pointsr/gaming

Meh. Thanks for lecturing me on id software history. You are right. Congratulations.

Here is your prize: Masters of Doom

u/wdalphin · 2 pointsr/gaming

Masters of Doom. Fantastic book. I grew up around the time it was all happening, but never knew what was going on, just that these amazing games were being released by this tiny company. The two Johns and Chris Roberts (who created Wing Commander) made me want to be a game designer. Or rather, I had wanted to be one from the age of 4, but they showed me that it was possible for one person to come up with something amazing. I've read this book about once a year for the nostalgia.

I also recommend reading Jordan Mechner's journals on the making of Prince of Persia. The guy kept tons of records of everything about making the game. It's pretty amazing to read. His journals are available on Amazon as well.

u/LoveScoutCEO · 1 pointr/IAmA

Mr. Baird, I believe you and I are on the same page. There has to be the situation and an awareness on the part of policymakers for an industry to grow. For instance, my hometown Shreveport, Louisiana invented the modern video game industry, but there was no sense that this was a real industry and once they had the money they were gone. Here is a great book about that: https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155

In a case like that I just wonder if Shreveport ever had a chance, because it is anything but cool and I don't know how you could hold on to a bunch of young rich guys who could live anywhere.

Perhaps it was the same thing with Microsoft which was born in Albuquerque and moved to Seattle as soon as it was a money making business, but I don't think Seattle was that cool. For young guys with a lot of money cool does matter.

Lincoln, Des Moines, and Columbia, Missouri can compete on good schools, cost of living, and general quality of life to people in their thirties, but not to people in their twenties. They really want to live somewhere cool in a way old guys often forget - unless they sell real estate or sports cars.

I enjoyed your answers.

u/mnemosyne-0002 · 1 pointr/KotakuInAction

Archives for the links in comments:

  • By whygrendel (amazon.com): http://archive.is/CLDlC

    ----
    I am Mnemosyne 2.1, Ask not what kek can do for you. Ask what you can do for kek. - John F. Kekidy ^^^^/r/botsrights ^^^^Contribute ^^^^message ^^^^me ^^^^suggestions ^^^^at ^^^^any ^^^^time ^^^^Opt ^^^^out ^^^^of ^^^^tracking ^^^^by ^^^^messaging ^^^^me ^^^^"Opt ^^^^Out" ^^^^at ^^^^any ^^^^time
u/jacenat · 1 pointr/AskGames

http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335567255&sr=8-1

Masters of Doom. Tells the story of John Carmack and John Romero. Touches games like Commander Keen, Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake, Daikatana and Deus Ex.

It's not the best written book I read, but certainly one of the ones I enjoyed the most.

I read it a few months back and if you have questions about content, lenght or other stuff, feel free to ask.

u/ClownFundamentals · 1 pointr/truegaming

Maybe this is a little too longform for you, but Masters of Doom is a great book about the rise of id Software.

u/SuperFk · 1 pointr/gaming

And the book Masters of Doom is a really good book to learn about these folks.

u/dinopepo · 1 pointr/argentina

estoy por empezar masters of doom

u/fadedthought · 1 pointr/gamedev

I hope these are what you're looking for.

If I find any additional stuff, I'll edit the post - also if anyone else finds stuff similar to what I linked, feel free to drop info, i'd love to read more of this stuff!

Obligatory Subreddit Plug

/r/TheMakingOfGames - A subreddit featuring a lot of behind the scenes stuff.

Books

Masters of Doom is a book that follows the lives of John Carmack and John Romero, the creation of what became iD Software, and some of the most memorable games of our generation. (Daikatana's failure, Doom, The super mario clone that eventually became Commander Keen, Quake, etc.)

Jacked is a book that follows the creation of what became a memorable game studio (Rockstar Games) and one of the most memorable franchises of our lifetimes. (Grand Theft Auto)

Stay Awhile and Listen is a book that tells the story of the company known as Blizzard and the difficulty of creating Warcraft as well as the fight to create Diablo.

[Hourences] (http://www.hourences.com/product/the-hows-and-whys-of-the-games-industry/) is a book written by someone who's worked freelance / contract for quite some time now. The basic questions this book will attempt to answer are: Why would one want to work in the games industry? Or why not? And, if the decision has already been made, then: What would one look for or expect? How can one pick a good mod (modification) team or a development studio that will fit one’s personality and meet one’s expectations?

Minecraft: The Story of Notch A story about Notch before, during, and after the rise of Minecraft - talks about his family, his life, etc.

Rise of the Dungeon Master the story of Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, one of the most influential games ever made. Like the game itself, the narrative casts the reader into the adventure from a first person point of view, taking on the roles of the different characters in the story.

Documentaries / Movies

Double Fine Adventure - A game following the conception and delivery of what would become "Broken Age"

Indie Game: The Movie - Follows the trials and tribulations of indie developers trying to "make it big" and/or "continue to succeed".

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang - Follows how Minecraft was formed, Notch, and the impact the game has made on generations.

Amneisa Fortnight 2012 A documentary that follows various groups doing a "game jam" that eventually became published games.

[Amneisa Fornight 2014] (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIhLvue17Sd7Y5qXNqV1wDPtdNPjZ-tw0) Same as the 2012, just a documentary following the game jam.

GDC Post Mortems A good variety of games, the ups and downs, from indie to AAA.

u/Underbelly · 1 pointr/videos

Fascinating. If you like this kind of story, the book about the making of Doom is a great read. https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155

u/vz0 · 1 pointr/argentina

> Si te la pasas boludeando con jueguitos no vas a tener nunca poder adquisitivo.

Eso le decian a John Romero sus padres, cuando conocio a John Carmack.

Source.

u/ctarbet · 1 pointr/gaming

For a long time, Carmack didn't even own a mattress. He slept on the floor and spent most of his time coding. They were raking in money from game sales.

https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155

u/balefrost · 1 pointr/AskProgramming

I don't remember if I had finished it, but I found What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry to be interesting (and it's especially interesting to consider in light of the trend toward cloud computing - if counterculture influenced the personal computing revolution, what cultural force is pushing us into the cloud?)

Not related to hackers or the computer revolution at all, but I also very much enjoyed Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture.

There are also a lot of fun stories on https://www.folklore.org/ relating to the creation of the original Macintosh. Along those same lines is the documentary from 1995 called Triumph of the Nerds. You can find it on YouTube.

If you want to see something truly amazing, go watch The Mother of All Demos. Or rather, first imagine yourself in 1968. Intel had just been founded earlier that year. The moon landing was still ~ 6 months away. Computers were things like the IBM System/360. UNIX was at least a few years away, much less the derivatives like BSD. OK, now that you have the proper mindset, watch that video. It's pretty amazing to see all the things that they invented and to see just how many have survived to this day.

u/savagehill · 1 pointr/gamedev

A fun entertainment read is Masters of Doom about the early days of Id pushing the limits on PC gaming.

I don't know what his contraints are, but if he wants to work on games & game design skills without being able to access a computer, but can use art supplies, then you could get him some blank playing cards and some thin-point sharpie markers. I found those were pretty solid for just sketching up random cards on, and can easily be used to whip up card-game prototypes.

Card games aren't video games, but some of the skills are transferable I bet.

u/3DJelly · 1 pointr/pcmasterrace

Not so much about PCs as about PC gaming. Masters of Doom is required reading for gamers who like history.

u/thayes89 · 1 pointr/suggestmeabook

Not entirely related, but Masters of Doom was an amazing read. As someone who grew up playing Doom, this is an awesome behind the scenes look as to how it was created and offers insight on other games & graphics too.

u/cszg · 1 pointr/cscareerquestions

People are throwing books that you'll come across as textbooks anyway or books that, while awesome for real-world preparation, won't prove interesting to most high school grads.

I'd recommend Masters of Doom, which is a story and history of CS blended in. It's an excellent, excellent read and should be relatable on some level.

http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Doom-Created-Transformed-Culture/dp/0812972155

Enjoy and good luck.

u/scandalousmambo · 1 pointr/linux

Yeah, really. Start with this book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0812972155

Every game that made use of Carmack's engines (Quake and derivatives) ran natively on NeXTSTEP:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeXTSTEP

The first series of hardware engines, including the first Voodoo graphics drivers were heavily influenced by Carmack's work. Almost all the games that targeted those engines were binary compatible with various flavors of UNIX and later Linux. The commercial versions weren't released, but there were builds, because porting everything from NeXTSTEP and variants and back would have bankrupted the industry.

Then there's Android, which got an incredible head start on gaming because of the thousands of Linux codebases and open source utilities available for it day one. Had Google been required to start from scratch, Android would have drowned in six months.

This concludes the free lectures. If you want more information, you know where to look.

u/binocular_gems · 1 pointr/truegaming

This question really piqued my curiosity, because it reminded me not to take the things I know for granted. Being born in the early 80s, and having been introduced to videogames by older siblings and my parents in that decade, and then being involved with videogames either in the industry or as an avid enthusiast, the obscure (and most times useless) history of the medium is something I've taken for granted.

Recently, as older millennials and younger Gen X'ers have reached maturity (or middle age), there have been a surge in books, documentaries, and other materials about videogames... As they're seminal in many of our lives and so now we're looking back and writing these nostalgic retrospectives. Many are trash, even some of the best are still trash, but I'd recommend a few of them... The following are either entertaining, informative, or some balance of both:

  • Blake Harris' Console Wars Amazon, a book released in 2014 that details the rise and fall of Sega of America. I think the writing is rough, at least, it tries to Aaron Sorkinize too much of the history and comes off insufferably cheesy at times, enough so that I just had to put the book down and shake my head with douche shivers, but because Harris' has one on one interviews and access to Kalinske, the head of SoA at the time, you get a lot of first hand details that just aren't available anywhere else.
  • David Kushner's Masters of Doom Amazon, written in 2004 was one of the first contemporary books to get into the details of the videogame industry. This was mostly an untapped medium when Kushner was writing the book, as writing about a videogame company was just not in fashion in 2002 or 2003. Like Console Wars, the conversations are fictionalized but most match up to the actual events detailed in the book. It follows the origins and rise of id software, one of the most influential western developers who more or less invented the first-person shooter (even if they weren't truly the first, they certainly popularized the genre and most of what we take for granted in the first-person genre, id pioneered and introduced). id's fingerprints are on thousands of modern games, and the two founders of the company -- John Carmack and John Romero -- are often considered father's of modern action games, they also have a tumultuous relationship with one another, at the time often likened to John Lenon and Paul McCartney, and so the story of id software is also the story of their personal relationship.
  • Gaming Historian YouTube Channel (google it, it should come up). Many of these videos are dry and some border on clickbait, but the majority are well researched and provide a good nugget of history into videogames.
  • The King of Kong Documentary. It's not completely factual and it takes artistic license to make a better story, but it's probably the best videogame-focused movie ever made, even despite those inaccuracies. Why you should watch it? It's a great introduction into competitive gaming in the 1980s and how videogames worked. There are other materials that have informed this movie and you can start with the movie and just google questions, and because the movie was so popular there's a lot of interesting research that goes into the mechanics of it.
  • NoClip, a Youtube Channel. NoClip has only been around for a year or a little more, but they're well funded and produced videogame documentaries... Most focus on some new aspect of gaming, but still walk back into the influences of the developers, which aren't cheesy... they're well informed and well made. Particularly, the interview with the developers of CD Projekt and how being under the heel of communism influenced how they built games and ultimately what makes a game like The Witcher so compelling.
  • SuperBunnyHop YouTube Channel. Guy who does breakdowns of videogames and his informative retrospectives are some of my favorites. He introduced the concept of, "But what do they eat?" to me, which goes into a wider theory about creating realistic or believable game worlds. If you're in any game world, walking around, and there are creatures living there, if the game subtly answers the simple question "But what do they eat?" it makes the game world so much more believable because it's an indication that the developers/designers have really put more thought into the believability of their world. Most great games answer this central question or punt on it in a convincing way.
  • Joseph Anderson YouTube Channel. His video breakdowns of games are just so good. He's probably most recently gotten notoriety by being critical of Super Mario Odyssey, at least, critical enough to say "the game isn't perfect..." And after playing Odyssey and feeling kinda meh on it after a while, I watched his video and it just felt so apt for me. He also does great analysis of mostly recent games, but most of those are informed by previous games, and goes into the mechanics of balance, pacing, mechanics, and the simple systems that inform most good game.
  • RetroGame Mechanics Explained YouTubeChannel. These are typically technical breakdowns of how concepts in retrogaming worked, and are usually pretty involved. Not always light watching but informative.
  • Mark Brown's Game Maker's Toolkit YouTube Channel. Breakdowns of videogame theories/concepts, largely.

    This is by no way supposed to be an exhaustive list, just a list of stuff that I enjoyed and others might too... Part of these videos/movies/books is video game theory, part is history, part is just sheer entertainment value, but I think anybody who is into videogames enough to talk on 'True Gaming,' would probably enjoy most of those.