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Salka

Is John Romero REALLY dating an 18 year old?

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Man I think Romero has looked really goofy since he grew that moustache. Does anyone else remember when he didn't have it?

yeah, i do. i thought his clean-shaved face with long, straight hair looked pretty cool. he does look pretty goofy now.

and yes, romero was really over-rated. every1 at id software says that now ... hell, every1 says that now. but its been a while since id have had a visionary designer ... i think tom hall was a good one, but other than that, i cant remember any id software guys being great designers ....

... which is a pity really, because despite the fact that i love their games (and cant wait until i get my new laptop to play doom3 on) i cant help but feel that id software should be pushing the boundarys a little more.

SiN

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"In crunch mode on Grim, I sometimes wouldn't answer my e-mail until two in the morning," he recalls. "When I did, there would often be a response from John within a second or even a phone call. I'd be like, 'John, it's 2am here in California; it must be like 4 in Texas. What are you doing at work?'" He says Romero would always say the same thing: "I'm working on Daikatana. It's going to rock." According to Schafer, there's only one thing to say about Romero's interest in his game: "The dude cares."

and my personal favorite

"People see John in the ads, yelling about how he wants to force you to assume a sort of female, canine relationship with him," explains Tim Schafer, designer of LucasArts' Grim Fandango. "I could see why people might see this as arrogance and machismo on John's part, but I honestly think it just flows from John's natural excitement for what he was doing."

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Much like how I feel about id (which I explained in another thread a minute ago), I can't help but like Romero too despite any good logical reasons for me not to feel that way. I guess it's for the same reason Tim likes him (I remember reading those Tim quotes when they came out). He's always so damn committed to what he's working on and some part of me just has to respect that.

Basically it boils down to that Romero and id both just really strongly have their own vision (obviously they do not share those particular visions at the moment). They may be often misguided and not really executed very well (at least in Romero's case) but damn it they have some fucking visions and that's more than you can say for most people making games or doing anything else.

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He is undeniably a great game designer.

I think that, while there's nothing wrong with dating an 18 year old when you're 36... I mean, it's love that counts, not age... I still think it's just a little inappropriate for him to have pictures of said girlfriend in his photo gallery such as this one, and this one.

I mean, okay, they seem to be innocent enough and all. But there seems to be more pictures of her than of him WITH her. I just get the feeling he's kind of showing her off or something.

I don't know. If I was an 18 year old girl fangirl called Rhaluka... I'd be just a tiny bit suspicious.

Also, somebody should slap Romero for using so many crap photoshop filters.

He may be a dedicated game designer, but I get the feeling he thinks he's a lot better than he really is. There's nothing wrong with self-believe, but the guy appears to have it in abundance. That, or he's just had a really unfortunate set of interviews that make him come across as such.

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Yeah, I wasn't taking into account that weird dating thing because that particular bit of knowledge did not enter the realms of my awareness regarding Romero until today...

I mean I guess it's cool if they're both consentual or whatever, but it's still sort of creepy.

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Yeah, it is funny... but what way were you looking at it, Deadsy?

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Tom Hall, American McGee and John Romero were the only actual game designers who worked at id. I think what held back John more on his solo project wasn't his design skill, but rather his personality. Once he became project leader, there was no one there to contain his enthusiasm.

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Yes and yes.

That picture is fucking hysterical. I hadn't seen it before. Where is it from?

It's from planetdaikatana's report of the Daikatana launch party back in the Ion Storm days.

Tom Hall, American McGee and John Romero were the only actual game designers who worked at id. I think what held back John more on his solo project wasn't his design skill, but rather his personality. Once he became project leader, there was no one there to contain his enthusiasm.

I agree on this.

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I agree on this.

Yeah, that's the view I held a year or two after Daikatana came out and the dust had settled. It still seems to make sense.

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I can't help but like Romero too despite any good logical reasons for me not to feel that way. I guess it's for the same reason Tim likes him (I remember reading those Tim quotes when they came out). He's always so damn committed to what he's working on and some part of me just has to respect that.

i totally agree. i mean, as i said before, the guy is definitly over-rated, and seems a bit cocky, but i respect the guy like hell. u kno, i program games, and one of my main problems have been commitment & long-term enthusiasm. both are closely connected ... when ur enthusiastic at the beginning of the project, ur commitment is strong and u work very efficiently ... but as the project progresses, u get bored, lose enthusiasm and lose commitment too ... at that point its very difficult to continue working on the project. the fact that John Romero was able to stick with Daikatana for 4 years, after it had been ridiculed like hell, and still get up and say, "It's going to rock", thats some insane stuff. and for that, he has my respect. im always rooting his stuff on, and keeping track on what hes working on (currently at midway working on a Gauntlet game) ... i hope he does get back to his peak like at id software.

Tom Hall, American McGee and John Romero were the only actual game designers who worked at id. I think what held back John more on his solo project wasn't his design skill, but rather his personality. Once he became project leader, there was no one there to contain his enthusiasm.

i think john carmack was the one who always kept him in place ... made sure he wouldnt go too crazy, or become too full of himself. i mean, carmack was always in the spotlight too, so maybe romero was a little, errr, "tamer" then.

although once he founded Ion Storm, he went completely nuts ... he made HUGE mistakes from the start, the most glaringly obvious one being that he hired a massive amount of staff right at the start ... big mistake, the in-studio culture wasnt allowed to grow well.

but mcgee and hall seem to be fine ... anachronox came out very well, and alice was excellent.

SiN

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You know who's dedicated? Derek Smart. That man just won't give up.

What's more surprising is that his games seem to be getting better.

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Yeah, it is funny... but what way were you looking at it, Deadsy?

I have difficulties in expressing myself regarding this matter.

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You know who's dedicated? Derek Smart. That man just won't give up.

What's more surprising is that his games seem to be getting better.

I know a lot of people who hate Mr Smart, and I count myself as one of them. Yes, so he's obviously talented and dedicated, but have you seen the way he talks down to gamers on his forums? You know, in a Why-haven't-you-read-the-bloody-manual-now-I'm-going-to-ban-you kind of way. It's just not acceptable to do that, IMO.

And yes, the games are getting better. But not by enough to justify a new purchase or even the time taken. Which is perhaps not surprising, as he seems to passionately believe that those who slate his products are simply wrong. All of us???

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Ha! Notice the resignation Warren has compared to John and Stevie. He clearly knows that further association with these guys is going to be bad for him, while the other two are elated to be in his presence. :grin:

Hah! Becasue no!

Infact they're actually all on drugs and while the other two are in the middle of a laughing fit, Warren is just comming up and his head is spinning.

It's obvious when you think about it.

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