Masters of Doom

Berglund Authority Level 3

by Jeffrey Barlow <barlowj@pacificu.edu>

Kushner, David. Masters of Doom. How Two Guys Created An Empire and Transformed Pop Culture. New York: Random House, 2003.

For anyone interested in a long series of topics such as: the impact of the internet, the dot com mania, computer gaming, multi-media, the evolution of computers, pop culture, teen-agers, and politicians, this book should probably be considered a must-read. The author, David Kushner, has both excellent credentials as a writer, and the sort of access to the demi-monde of gamers that makes a book such as this possible.

Perhaps the central point of this book is that computer gaming is a serious business. The income from sales of computer games was 10.8 billion at the time of writing, well in excess of that generated from Hollywood films. Yet the two superstars of this book, John Romero and John Carmack, are largely unknown. Romero and Carmack are the developers of the mega-hit game "Doom" as well as many lesser-known titles.

Masters of Doom is probably the single best book for those outside the circle of avid gamers because it links the development of the game to so many other elements of American culture. We learn how Romero and Carmack anticipated the technological developments that would make their games possible, or instantly saw the applicability of new developments in computer graphics. They also understood how the Internet itself would make possible on-line gaming, now a major pastime for millions of people worldwide.

We also learn that this is an industry that goes well beyond the obvious market of teen-age boys, and that many gamers are now well into their adulthood. The link between gaming and popular culture is particularly interesting as Kushner presents it. Everything from the high school shootings of the recent past to congressional action to somehow legislate game content is put into a useful context.

As Kushner concluded:

I spent the next six years exploring and chronicling the lives and industry of gamers. It was both amazing and frustrating to me that the multi-billion dollar business and culture remained such a mystery to so many people and that mystery was breeding confusion and misperceptions everywhere I turned. To me, the story of John Carmack and John Romero was a classic American adventure that captured the birth of a new medium and the coming of age of two compelling and gifted young people. By telling it, I hoped to give the gamers the respect and understanding they deserved. And I wanted the reader to have a good time.

We conclude that, as ambitious as these goals were, he has been extremely successful in meeting them, and that Masters of Doom should be regarded as a classic work in the fields covered by the cultural impact of the computer and of the Internet.