An Ion Storm!, Part 1: The Ascent to Gamer Paradise

This article tells part of the story of John Romero. At id, the company was rolling in millions of dollars and we just had walls. It was the whole Carmack idea of, “I don’t need anything on my walls, all I need is a table and a computer and a chair,” instead of, “Okay, we’ve got a lot of money, why not make a really bad-ass office?” — John Romero Romero is chaos and Carmack is order. Together they make the ultimate mix. But when you take them away from each other, what’s left? — id Software artist Paul Steed It was Trip Hawkins who first opened the can of worms. In 1983, to celebrate the release of Electronic Art’s first half-dozen games, he proclaimed their developers to be the rock stars of the new digital generation. The advertising campaign that followed was built around Annie Leibovitz-inspired photographs of his charges, trying a little bit too hard to look cool there in moody black and white, with Pinball Construction Set creator Bill Budge proudly showing off an actual studded…