Doom Guy: Life in First Person: Building DOOM and a Gaming Revolution

The inspiring, long-awaited autobiography of video-game designer and DOOM co-creator John Romero

“A highly entertaining and thoughtful memoir” (Wall Street Journal) * ”The best non-fiction gaming book of all time." (Forbes)

After decades in the gaming spotlight, Romero tells his story at last—revealing new, behind-the-scenes insight into the development of his games and his most pivotal creative and business partnerships, from the highest highs to the lowest lows. He shares hard-earned lessons about design, code, and an industry he helped define.

Romero, gaming’s original rock star, is the co-creator of DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein 3-D—landmark titles that reshaped the medium. Widely regarded as the godfather of the first-person shooter, a genre that still dominates the market, he holds a singular place in gaming history.

In DOOM Guy: Life in First Person, Romero recounts a difficult childhood and a groundbreaking career, beginning with his early days submitting Apple II game code to computer magazines and pushing boundaries wherever he could to keep building.

At id Software, Romero helped drive the design and technical breakthroughs that turned DOOM and Quake into cultural phenomena. This electrifying account captures the intensity of that era—from collaborative, heavy metal–fueled development to the high-profile falling-out with cofounder John Carmack—charting the rise of a visionary who forever changed how games are made.