[troughway]

I find it a curiosity that John Carmack is perpetually touted as the whiz kid even though Tim Sweeney has done far, far more from both a technological standpoint and a business standpoint. But then again I'll never understand the fawning to begin with so there's that.

[jonas21]

Carmack came first. id's groundbreaking games -- Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake -- were all released by 1996, while Unreal didn't come along until 1998.

It's natural to have a lot of respect for the pioneers because those who come after are building upon what they created.

[senko]

Masters of Doom is a great book going in length about the personalities and talents of Carmack and others from the early days of id Software. If you're genuinely curious about it, I think you'll find the book a fascinating read.

[troughway]

Read it some 15 years ago.

[Grazester]

Is Sweeney the lead programmer with Unreal still? Carmack seemed to care more about the technical side of things and programming. I think to him ID Software just served for allowing him to just do what he loved to do.

[troughway]

I faintly recall an interview with one of the developers not too long ago, maybe a few years ago or so, where they said Sweeney still touches some 80% of the code base.

Also, there's always this old gem that HN should get giddy about: https://www.st.cs.uni-saarland.de/edu/seminare/2005/advanced...

I just think JC/Abrash/etc have an aura/cult of personality that doesn't seem all that impressive when you get someone who is a powerhouse of tech and business acumen like Sweeney next to them.

[bananabiscuit]

What makes those slides so special?

[turing_complete]

Do we have to choose? They are both giants.

[IronRanger]

Because Tim Sweeney is just not as charismatic, unfortunately. Great guy though.

[fullstop]

Rocket League used to have Linux support before he came along. Now playing it in Linux can get you banned from their platform.