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John Carmack facts for kids
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John Carmack
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Carmack at the 2010 GDC
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| Born | August 20, 1970 Roeland Park, Kansas, United States
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| Residence | Heath, Texas |
| Alma mater | University of Missouri, Kansas City (dropped out) |
| Occupation | CTO, Oculus VR, Inc. Founder, Armadillo Aerospace |
| Known for | Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, Rage |
| Spouse(s) | Katherine Anna Kang (m. 2000) |
| Children | 2 |
John D. Carmack (born August 20, 1970) is an American computer programmer, engineer, and businessman. He co-founded id Software. Carmack was the lead programmer of the id video games Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, Rage and their sequels.
In 1999, Carmack appeared as number 10 in TIME's list of the 50 most influential people in technology. In March of 2006, Carmack was added to the Walk of Game, an event that names the most important people in video games.
He is best known for his innovations in 3D graphics, such as his Carmack's Reverse algorithm for shadow volumes. In August 2013, Carmack took the position of CTO at Oculus VR.
Contents
Early life
Carmack, son of local television news reporter Stan Carmack, grew up in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area where he became interested in computers at an early age. He attended Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kansas and Raytown South High School in nearby Raytown, Missouri.
Carmack was introduced to video games with the 1978 shoot 'em up title Space Invaders in the arcades during a summer vacation as a child. The 1980 maze chase arcade game Pac-Man also left a strong impression on him. He cited Shigeru Miyamoto as the game developer he most admired.
He attended the University of Missouri–Kansas City for two semesters before withdrawing to work as a freelance programmer.
Personal life
Carmack was so successful at id that by mid-1994 he had purchased two Ferrari Testarossas. He met his wife Katherine Anna Kang at the 1997 QuakeCon. Carmack and Kang married on January 1, 2000. They had a son in 2004.
As a game developer, he differs from many of his contemporaries by avoiding commitment to a final release date for any game he is developing. Instead, when asked for a release date on a new title, Carmack will usually reply that the game will be released "when it's done."
He loves pizza. During his time at id Software, a medium pepperoni pizza would arrive for Carmack from Domino's Pizza almost every day, carried by the same delivery person for more than 15 years. Carmack had been such a regular customer that they still charge him 1995 prices.
Games
Titles are listed below in reverse chronological order.
| Release date | Title | Developer | Publisher | Credited for |
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| May 13, 2016 | Doom | id Software | Bethesda Softworks | Former technical director, former engine programmer, former developer |
| October 16, 2012 | Doom 3 BFG Edition | id Software | Bethesda Softworks | Technical director, engine programmer, developer |
| October 4, 2011 | Rage | id Software | Bethesda Softworks | Technical director, engine programmer, developer |
| September 28, 2007 | Enemy Territory: Quake Wars | Splash Damage | Activision | Programming |
| May 1, 2006 | Orcs & Elves | Fountainhead Entertainment | Electronic Arts | Producer/programmer/writer |
| October 18, 2005 | Quake 4 | Raven Software | Activision, Bethesda Softworks (republished 2012) | Technical director |
| September 13, 2005 | Doom RPG | Fountainhead Entertainment | id Software | Producer/programmer |
| April 3, 2005 | Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil | Nerve Software | Activision | Technical director |
| August 3, 2004 | Doom 3 | id Software | Activision | Technical director |
| November 19, 2001 | Return to Castle Wolfenstein | id Software | Activision | Technical director |
| December 18, 2000 | Quake III: Team Arena | id Software | Activision | Programming |
| December 2, 1999 | Quake III Arena | id Software | Activision | Programming |
| November 30, 1997 | Quake II | id Software | Activision | Programming |
| March 31, 1997 | Doom 64 | Midway Games | Midway Games | Programming |
| June 22, 1996 | Quake | id Software | GT Interactive | Programming |
| May 31, 1996 | Final Doom | id Software | GT Interactive | Programming |
| October 30, 1995 | Hexen: Beyond Heretic | Raven Software | id Software | 3D engine |
| December 23, 1994 | Heretic | Raven Software | id Software | Engine programmer |
| September 30, 1994 | Doom II: Hell on Earth | id Software | GT Interactive | Programming |
| December 10, 1993 | Doom | id Software | id Software | Programming |
| 1993 | Shadowcaster | Raven Software | Origin Systems | 3D engine |
| September 18, 1992 | Spear of Destiny | id Software | FormGen | Software engineer |
| May 5, 1992 | Wolfenstein 3D | id Software | Apogee Software | Programming |
| 1991 | Catacomb 3-D | id Software | Softdisk | Programming |
| 1991 | Commander Keen in Aliens Ate My Babysitter! | id Software | FormGen | Programming |
| December 15, 1991 | Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy! | id Software | Apogee Software | Programming |
| 1991 | Commander Keen in Keen Dreams | id Software | Softdisk | Programming |
| 1991 | Shadow Knights | id Software | Softdisk | Design/programming |
| 1991 | Rescue Rover 2 | id Software | Softdisk | Programmer |
| 1991 | Rescue Rover | id Software | Softdisk | Programmer |
| 1991 | Hovertank 3D | id Software | Softdisk | Programming |
| 1991 | Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion | id Software | Softdisk | Programming |
| 1991 | Dark Designs III: Retribution | Softdisk | Softdisk | Programmer/designer |
| December 14, 1990 | Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons | id Software | Apogee Software | Programming |
| 1990 | Slordax: The Unknown Enemy | Softdisk | Softdisk | Programming |
| 1990 | Catacomb II | Softdisk | Softdisk | Developer |
| 1990 | Catacomb | Softdisk | Softdisk | Programmer |
| 1990 | Dark Designs II: Closing the Gate | Softdisk | Softdisk | Programmer/designer |
| 1990 | Dark Designs: Grelminar's Staff | John Carmack | Softdisk | Developer |
| 1990 | Tennis | John Carmack | Softdisk | Developer |
| 1990 | Wraith: The Devil's Demise | John Carmack | Nite Owl Productions | Developer |
| 1989 | Shadowforge | John Carmack | Nite Owl Productions | Developer |
Images for kids
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Carmack during the 2005 X PRIZE Cup in Las Cruces and Alamogordo, New Mexico
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John Carmack at QuakeCon 2009
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ohn Carmack during his keynote “The Dawn of Mobile VR” during the Game Developer Conference 2015