Additionally, he was the ONLY person who could do a Doom-style engine that really worked for quite a while after Doom was released. Beyond just getting a working real time raycasting engine (on the processors of the time, a fairly difficult task), he was able to animate the sprites of the enemies, which was absolutely shocking to everyone in the industry. I remember reading something that Carmack said, which was to the effect of "Because of Moore''s Law, something that can be only done by a great programmer can be done by an adequate programmer two years later." While this is a little arrogant, it''s true; most of the features that Carmack includes are only incorporated into engines coming out 18 months after his.

But there is a ray of hope in all this, which is that you *can* do all the things that Carmack does, only not at the same time as he does. I imagine a lot of people could write a q1-esque engine right now, and a few less people could write q2 or q3 if given the time. Probably very few of them would be as "brutally efficient," but they''d work, and would have good frame rates and such. So here''s the deal: you may never be John Carmack, but you can still do what he does after he does it, and explore some pretty cool stuff along the way. As far as actually understanding what he says, I have a few suggestions for books:
-Computer Graphics: Practices and Principles (3rd edition coming out soon, I think)
-OpenGL Programming Guide (The Red Book)
-Something on Linear Algebra (it needs to be learned)
-If you haven''t already learned it, a basic text on Calculus

Now, you start working your way through the NeHe tutorials (nehe.gamedev.net), and use the books you have to understand what each tutorial is actually doing. Once you get the basics, the more complicated stuff comes much easier. And if that doesn''t pan out, I know of garbage men who make $70k a year, so all hope is not lost.

Good luck with your endeavours and all that.

I don''t want to be John Carmack, I want to be like him. Honestly its like we only talk about code and there is no fun in making all this crap. I''m in the industry to have fun and meet new people, that''s it. I don''t have passionate love for code but I do have love for the final product. I would love (and so would you) to have a game out and be in EB eavesdropping on kids saying "Yeah, *Enter title here* is awesome! That game is the $hit!". That would probably satisfy me and I could die with a smile on my face.

I know that you need to put up with the rain if you want the rainbow but there is a doubt that is stuck in my mind whether or not this is in fact the industry for me. I don''t enjoy coding at times especially if I''m not sure what I''m doing. I love to draw especially if it turns out good, same goes for writing. So I dunno. I''m sure once I get into graphics I''ll enjoy coding a lot more. I''m so bored of just letters even though I''m still not the best in it. That''s another thing, I get discouraged very easily. My other friend is just as wild about Carmack as me but he isn''t discouraged by him, he is motivated and excited. I''m not gonna talk about my life in depth anymore since I was verbally bashed over at anandtech being called a "freak" and Shi+ like that.

In conclusion, hopefully this is the industry for me. I like the people I meet (spare a few) and it''s a really neat, complex industry to be in, later guys.

"I don''''t watch TV.
I don''''t do sports."
-John Romero

The Lord disciplines those who he loves.

Well if you like drawing and writing maybe you should look into
"Game Design". You know, writing stories and creating graphics with 3DS Max or Maya or something like it.

See I think I''m more like Romero than anyone. He''s into multiple things especially when he was designing DOOM, he said he oversaw everything and that''s the way I am. But I think that''s bad that I''m not into one thing very deep. I dunno, what do you suggest? I like story and art, I''m OK with programming. Also, I don''t understand how everything goes together with a game like graphics, level design, and programming. How do they like squash it all together especially with like a level editor. Do they [id] make the level editor and do something with the file and input them into the code somehow? I need some clarity on this one, I''m completely lost. Is there a book on how to understand programming and graphics? Just need some knowledge.

"I don''''t watch TV.
I don''''t do sports."
-John Romero

The Lord disciplines those who he loves.

quote:Original post by id Nut
Also, I don''t understand how everything goes together with a game like graphics, level design, and programming. How do they like squash it all together especially with like a level editor. Do they [id] make the level editor and do something with the file and input them into the code somehow?

They save the level in some format of choice and from the game they load it. Very simple in theory.

quote:Original post by id Nut
I don''t have passionate love for code but I do have love for the final product.

Then you shouldn''t go into the industry. Why would any employer want someone who doesn''t have pride in their work, and only cares about the glory of finishing. Many gamers talk about how great it would be to be in the industry and make epic games, but very few would actually dedicate themselves to finish making them. The glits and glamour are very few and far between in this part of the entertainment industry, you have to love the job.

Maybe you shouldn''t be worrying about this right now. When you have a little more work experience and education behind your belt, dedication will be easier.



- Kevin "BaShildy" King
Game Programmer: DigiPen
www.mpogd.com

Don''t get me wrong, I do like to code when I know what I''m doing buy lately I''ve just been f*cking it up major. I think I will need to take a summer course before I become any good. Like I said, I''m easily discouraged. Isn''t Digipen a gaming school?

As Judge Schmells says in CaddyShack, "The world will always need ditch diggers." (EDIT, which I have done manually with pick-axe and shovell, and it SUCKS).

What I mean is there are very, very few people who can become like John Carmack, regardless of how hard someone tries. You have over-achievers, and you have under-achievers, but regardless, there is only so far you can take your intelligence. I work with a guy who is always asking me, "What book should I read to learn this?" and I just shake my head and tell him you can't learn this stuff from books; you have to learn this stuff on your own, and you have to UNDERSTAND it.

For example, I think only Einstein could have formulated the theories of relativity, but now that he has, average people like you and I can understand it, but there's no way in hell we could have created it. Same with Carmack; we understand how he did things now that it's done but couldn't have come up with it.

Don't try to compare yourself with the best; It's like trying to WILL yourself to be as fast as Maurice Green (sprinter). It cannot happen. He is the fastest man on the planet right now, and you cannot outrun him.

[edited by - BeerNutts on April 23, 2002 1:05:19 PM]

I think there are better 3d coders than JohnC. Don''t mistake me, he''s a great coder, and I really admire him, but what about Admir Elisovic. The Serious Sam engine is as good as an JohnC engine would be at this stage! It''s fast, I can handle more models at the same time, It''s very flexible, and the Levels can be huge, whereas in Quake3 they''re pretty limited. There are more guys that are able to that than you think!

cya,
Phil


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