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You are here: MacNN Forums > Enthusiast Zone > Gaming > John Carmack leaves id Software

John Carmack leaves id Software
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lpkmckenna
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Nov 22, 2013, 05:31 PM
 
Holy crap! There's "end of an era," and then there's this.

John Carmack resigns from id Software to focus on Oculus VR | The Verge
     
The Final Dakar
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Nov 22, 2013, 05:37 PM
 
He's leaving for promising tech at least.
     
subego
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Nov 22, 2013, 06:03 PM
 
Kinda sad he was in a position where he felt he needed to get in a dig on the way out.
     
P
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Nov 22, 2013, 06:25 PM
 
He has enough cash to last several lifetimes, and he found more amusing things to occupy his life. I suspect that this thing - timed as it was to be just after the console launches - was planned for months at least. He has been a bit independent, promoting both Mantle and G-sync, lately.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
lpkmckenna  (op)
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Nov 22, 2013, 06:31 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Kinda sad he was in a position where he felt he needed to get in a dig on the way out.
Um, what dig is that?
     
subego
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Nov 23, 2013, 01:13 AM
 
His tweet.
     
lpkmckenna  (op)
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Nov 23, 2013, 02:14 AM
 
Originally Posted by John Carmack
I wanted to remain a technical adviser for Id, but it just didn't work out. Probably for the best, as the divided focus was challenging.
This doesn't look like a dig at all. I think you're imagining things.
     
subego
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Nov 23, 2013, 05:16 PM
 
You're pretty obviously meant to read between the lines. He might as well have said "it's complicated".

"[D]idn't work out" is meant to pose the question to the reader "why?"

When "why" is not offered, that will be interpreted as "I don't want to talk about it".

The only reason you don't want to talk about it is:

1) It happened because you're a schmuck.
2) It happened because they're schmucks.
     
reader50
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Nov 23, 2013, 05:38 PM
 
I read it as time constraints. Code consulting with iD requires detailed time. A new VR company takes dev time for new things. Along with his space rocketry research. He overbooked and had to cut back to what was most interesting for him.
     
subego
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Nov 23, 2013, 05:50 PM
 
Technical adviser is such an open job description, he didn't even have to do anything.

Seriously. Just having him talk at QuakeCon is worth whatever he's asking.

I interpret it as "I'm not wasting my time with jackasses... maybe you shouldn't either".
     
subego
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Nov 23, 2013, 06:59 PM
 
Let me put it this way. Carmack has to know everyone is going to go amateur Kremlinologist on his exit tweet.

There are close to an infinite amount of ways he could have phrased it where there was no room for interpretation whether the split was amicable.

I am almost positive you are meant to interpret the absence of such a statement as indication the split was acrimonious.

An amiable split would have a tweet like "Time to let my baby go out on its own... I see great things in the future!"

Compare and contrast that to "it didn't work out".

This is a slam from someone with enough class to be diplomatic about it.
     
P
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Nov 23, 2013, 07:29 PM
 
Reading some more about it, things have not been good at iD for a long time. I think Oculous Rift is more fun, and in the end he just gave up on iD.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
subego
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Nov 23, 2013, 07:42 PM
 
Which has gotta really suck for him on some level. The whole thing is just sad.
     
subego
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Nov 23, 2013, 07:45 PM
 
Thinking of Carmack got me to recall how he used to use his .plan like a proto-blog.

Memories...


Edit: also, yet another example of him being ahead of the curve.
     
lpkmckenna  (op)
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Nov 24, 2013, 05:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by reader50 View Post
I read it as time constraints.
That's exactly how it reads to me.
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Technical adviser is such an open job description, he didn't even have to do anything.
See, not only are you reading things that aren't there, you're now ignoring something he actually said. "Divided focus" implies ID took time and effort away from his work at Occulus.

Regarding his job as "technical advisor," Bethesda is almost certainly trying to use iD tech 5 for sequels to Fallout or Elder Scrolls, and I can see that as a very demanding job.

If Bethesda is throwing all its effort into Fallout and Elder Scrolls sequels while actively hampering Doom and Rage sequels, I could see why Carmack would lose interest in helping them.
     
subego
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Nov 24, 2013, 08:55 PM
 
You misinterpret my comment.

It was a mistake for iD to demand that much of his time. Pretending he's doing stuff is worth millions to iD. Without the Carmack name, iD is just another developer.
     
subego
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Nov 24, 2013, 09:11 PM
 
The new iD will be like the old joke about the guy selling the axe George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree...

"It's the same axe, the head's only been replaced twice, and the handle only three times".
     
   
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