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By: Geoff Keighley
Designed By: Ethan O’Brien
Part 1: Building a Mystery
For gamers of the Doom generation, the name id Software holds this mythic allure of a little 13-person all-star gaming shop in Mesquite, Texas, that doesn't 
id programmer John Cash |
play by the rules. According to pop culture, id is as anticorporate as they come, a bastion of rock star-like behavior: "Everyone believes id doesn't set release dates, we all have long hair, are obnoxious, and most importantly, drive Ferraris," says id programmer John Cash.
Today, it's high noon during an uncharacteristically warm November day in Mesquite, and for some reason, the 13 Ferraris seem to be missing from the parking lot outside id's humble abode on the sixth floor of an obsidian-black office building. Stepping off the elevator 
John Carmack |
and into the lobby, a young 29-year-old man seems to fit the profile of an id-ster: pale-faced, long hair, dressed in black. But he's also incredibly affable as he walks off the elevator and into the parking lot. "We're really getting close to shipping Quake III Arena," he admits. Next, he pulls out his keys, and you just wait for him to walk over to his Ferrari. But then, as if to shatter the image of id in an instant, he walks up to a 1999 silver Honda Civic and opens the door.
The sign above the main reception desk won't apply today. |
"No, everyone at id does not drive a Ferrari," confesses id artist Kenneth Scott, as he gets into his car, almost acting as if he's sorry to frag the mythic lore of id. Standing next to him, 43-year-old level designer Paul Jaquays, who has kids and regularly attends church, looks over to his minivan and says, "Yeah, you know those license plate sayings? Mine should be, 'My other car is a Ferrari.'" Somehow, things just don't fit. Has id developed a superego? Where are the bad boys of gaming, those Texas lone stars and defiant Gen-Xers who set the industry on fire? For some reason, vestiges of the pop-culture-defined id are hard to come by... but reminders of its accolades are not.
Next:
The Timeless Office
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