It would take something significant to sway him. A little stability wouldn’t be bad, but he wasn’t eager to compromise his hard work and ideals to get there. Though he enjoyed the idea of the freelance lifestyle, he was having trouble making rent and would frequently find himself pestering editors like Jay to express him his checks so he could buy groceries. But, then again, times were getting rough. When Carmack pulled up to Softdisk in his brown MGB, he had no intention of taking the job.

He picked up the phone and gave John Carmack one last pitch. Romero pleaded with Jay to try him again. The Whiz Kid had already turned down a job offer three times because he liked working freelance. Masters of Doom was a treat to listen to, and finished it completely in a few short days (I went on extra walks as an excuse to listen to it). Romero was impressed by the apparent similarities to himself. And he even knew how to port from the Apple II to the PC. Jay said there was someone he knew who was definitely hard-core. David Kushner takes readers inside the rags-to-riches adventure of two rebellious entrepreneurs who came of age to shape a generation. All that remained was to get another programmer, someone who knew the PC and, just as important, could fit in with Lane and Romero. Masters of Doom is the first book to chronicle this industrys greatest story, written by one of the mediums leading observers. “Romero ran back to the Apple II department to tell Lane and Jay the good news: “Dudes, we’re fucking making games!” Lane would now be editor of Gamer’s Edge, Softdisk’s new bimonthly games disk for the PC. Masters of Doom is the first book to chronicle this industry’s greatest story, written by one of the medium’s leading observers. Masters of Doom is the first book to chronicle this industry's greatest story, written by one of the medium's leading observers.

Masters of Doom by David Kushner