[nikofeyn]

that's a bit of a hyperbole isn't it? the obvious counterexample is tim sweeney, who arguably has the more successful game engine and also video games.

there are undoubtedly many game programmers and programmers in general that are completely unknown to the public and maybe even their peers that would be in the running for being "the best".

carmack seems to enjoy his status, which feeds it even more. he is no doubt good, but his cult following may cloud how good he is a bit.

also, who wants to rewrite code they've already written? there's plenty of incentive to want to take code you've already written. nobody likes solving the same problems twice.