[whatever_dude]

I think it has a recurring theme that any time he got involved, things didn't go well so he decided to let go of it.

That's not to say he didn't have influence; many times the games' stories were derived FROM the tech, not the other way around. Doom was originally supposed to be much more story- and character-driven, but that took a backseat given the focus on the development side was on the gameplay mechanics.

Also, this quote:

> Story in a game is like a story in a porn movie. It's expected to be there, but it's not that important

From "Masters of Doom".

[dosgonlogs]

He was the Dungeon Master in their Dungeons & Dragons games. John Romero loved Carmack's campaign world, but John Romero destroyed it, Opening up a gateway to hell, and then immediately regretted it (but they got the idea for Doom from it), since it was a long running campaign in a world completely designed by John Carmack. I think Heretic/Hexen and Quake also borrowed heavily from their D&D games. Masters of Doom is an awesome book.

[whatever_dude]

Good point. I forgot about that.